Nature's Tea Leaf

Neither weather nor schedule (writing conference; intense planning followed by marathon knocking out of curriculum content) next week are conducive to much time outdoors, so I’m trying to tank up on fresh air—a teeny bit of leaf sweeping followed by a long session in the glider sopping up the gold and orange tree color that’s so strong you can taste it.

This is what I chose to enjoy while tanking up my personal solar battery. Smooth and gentle green tea, a little cereal sweetness to it. Ignore the package instructions (1 minute)—it takes two well, and it resteeps well. Perfect for an afternoon so quiet you can hear the leaves rustle.

Getting braver and braver with this one…let it go a full three minutes. Now we’re talking. Tangy and a little sweet.

Hadn’t had this one for a while, and forgot that at the recommended 1 minute steep time, all you get is delicately tinted water. Pleasantly delicate, but definitely not enough oomph for a morning tea. Next time, two minutes, minimum, for me to be able to taste a thing.

(Sorry…no refinement or elegance here :)

I save green teas, largely, for Sunday afternoons, when I have time for one more cuppa than usual but don’t need to amp myself up on lots of caffeine.

This was the first one that shuffled to the the top of the basket. It’s my second go-round with these cute little yarn balls. I still prefer a steep longer than the recommended 1 minute—-I’ve been doing 90 seconds-2 minutes, but when I do, it’s light and rich (are those terms contradictory?) and silky. Not a bit vegetabley.

Wow—my first Dragon Pearls (with thanks to Nature’s Tea Leaf)!
Wouldn’t you just love to sit and watch how these little leafy gems
are rolled? They look like little pea-sized balls of yarn. Gorgeous! I couldn’t wait to see what unraveled.

For my first taste test, I stuck to the prescribed quantity and
temperature parameters (1 tsp/8 oz at 175), and I meant to stick to
the 1 minute steep time as advised. But the cup was so pale, and the
first sip reminded me of nothing but faintly tinted water, so I bucked protocol and bounced the balls back in for another 45 seconds.

And I’m glad I did. Now we’ve got a delicate cup o’leaf with a touch of gentle, grainy (taste, not texture) sweetness. Holds up nicely to a second steep as well.

I guess I just don’t have a delicate or dainty bone in my body; too
many years of drinking boorish black teas that bonk you over the
head…so my apologies if I steeped a little too long or too harshly.
But in doing so, I coaxed out a subtle and pleasant flavor that I
think would appeal to green tea beginners. (I still consider myself a novice.)

This is sadly good-bye to Nature’s Tea Leaf, both this tea and the company. This is the last little scrap of leaves from the last bag of all the tea I have ordered from them. I just looked at the reviews for this tea and almost everyone had received it as a free sample from the company. I drank my free sample and ordered more.

This is old. I was looking forward to clicking “Remove From Cupboard” just to celebrate a sipdown but saw that I had never added it to my cupboard. That happens a lot.

As old as it was, it was very good. It seems strange to say but my first impressions if this tea were the same tea-sipper was getting from a Yunnan Dian Hong. After I warmed the gaiwan and added the leaves, I literally held it to my husband and said smell it! It smells like chocolate! Not cacao nibs this time, but real chocolate, like a candy bar. After the rinse,mit was chocolate and SMOKE. But the taste was neither!

The taste was warm, sweet hay. It was fresh and light, but not weak. My husband said he really loved this one. He is trying to describe the tea now, whereas he used to joke and say “it is hot and has tea-like qualities.” For this one, he said, “I would say it is very soothing to my throat, but that implies that I had an ache and I didn’t.” I asked if it was the complete lack of astringency and briskness that he liked, and he thought that was it.

I was on a mailing list, so I am a bit sad that the company didn’t let us know they were closing, but it must be very hard to shut down a company that you believed in and worked to make successful. I wish them the best in their next endeavors.

Nature’s Tea Leaf sent this free for review. It is hard to call it a sample – their portions are so generous!

GMathis is right. Touch these leaves and you will wish you had a pillow made of them. Soft, fluffy, fuzzy, downy. Also, not really easy to scoop in a teaspoon so I just reached in and grabbed a couple of pinches and put them in my eight ounce gong fu pot.

I knew this was likely too much leaf for such a small pot, but not by much, so I cut my steep time a bit. Quite a bit. I ended up with a soft and cozy cup.

There was a really sharp tang to the smell of the wet leaves, but it is no where present in the taste of the liquor.

Last time I drank this I got all oat and soft grain flavors. This time I can smell and taste a tiny, demure peek of fruitiness with the grain. I have had three steeps and plan to keep going with this one because steep three has the most fruity taste so far. I began with a one minute steep and have been increasing it about thirty seconds since. This is contrary to recommended steeping but as I said, I knew I put in more leaf than necessary and I am getting great results from it.

Two years ago, white tea was just hot water to me. I am thankful for the companies that let us try new things and expand our horizons and help us learn to appreciate all that is in tea.

Thank you, Nature’s Tea Leaf!

Hubby and I are having this free sample from Nature’s Tea Leaf as our meditative evening tea. I made two steeps and will probably go for more tomorrow with these leaves, but I don’t want too much caffeine tonight!

The steeped liquid is pale. The aroma is soft but not weak. The taste is of soft grain, oats, with a smooth creaminess. I have had white tea that just got lost in the cup and was more or less like drinking a cup of hot water. You won’t have that issue with this tea. Soft, smooth, but with creaminess and body. This did just what I wanted it to do this evening.

Thank you, Nature’s Tea Leaf, for the samples!

This is part of the free sample sent by Nature’s Tea Leaf for review.

I could hardly wait to have this tea with our Chinese buffet takeout again tonight! This is a really excellent green tea. I almost put three teaspoons in my Beehouse pot, but then remembered how beautifully it resteeps and put just one teaspoon in my eight ounce pot instead. Since it only needs a one minute steep it really isn’t any trouble and saves leaf so I can have more later! I steeped it five times! We were still throwing it back, and I did it all over again. So…I guess we must have had at least sixty ounces between the two of us tonight!

This will probably be my next tea order. Nature’s Tea Leaf has sent some really awesome samples and they have even more I want to try! Thank you, NTL!

Tea party today was a revisiting of several teas that I have been drinking this week already. My guest started out loving black tea but not caring much for any other kinds. Over time she has grown to like many oolong and green teas, but black tea is still her favorite. That is why her reaction to this tea was especially significant today.

We had started with a Lapsang to cut the sweetness of what we were eating. I poured this as our second tea, she absentmindedly took a sip, then stopped talking and sipped more more in surprise. “This is very good!” she exclaimed.

Yep. That’s exactly what it is. The unfurling pearls put on a lovely show and the tea is fantastic, steep after steep. This is a keeper.

Oh wow. Oh wow oh wow oh wow.

Due to a wedding rehearsal dinner last night, Chinese buffet take out got bumped to tonight after the wedding. I was soooo ready for it. I needed to pick a tea to go with it and wanted to choose from the selection Nature’s Tea Leaf sent me for review.

I picked up this package and thought it would be a good choice, thinking It was jasmine. Then I noticed it didn’t say jasmine anywhere on it. What? I didn’t know there was such a thing as dragon pearl tea that WASN’T jasmine! Intrigued, I stood by my choice.

I used one nice full teaspoon of leaves in my eight ounce gong fu pot. The directions said to steep for one minute. I kept checking it because I didn’t see how that could be enough time for the pearls to begin to unfurl and give good flavor. I poured it up at the one minute mark anyway. Then did a second and a third and a fourth and a fifth!

The liquor starts out pale, not a golden yellow but almost a peachy pale yellow. Subsequent steeps were a little darker. ALL steeps were really truly delicious!

This is….maybe similar to a DragonWell? But nutty nutty nutty. I have never had roasted chestnuts but if this is really what they taste like, I want some! Hubby whooped up on it, matching me cup for cup. He thought it was good, too! We got forty ounces of tea from one teaspoon of pearls.

This is PERFECT with food. I think I am in love with a new green. Smooth, but palate clearing. Hearty without bitterness or astringency. Assertive enough to go with food and really complement the meal.

Thank you, Nature’s Tea Leaf! This is superb!

This was the first tea I tried from my generous samples from Nature’s Tea Leaf, thank you so much!
I love brewing this one in a glass pot, to see the flowers unfurl and swirl around when I pour a cup. It has definitely been the prettiest tea that I have ever brewed but unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy the taste.
A friend I was brewing it with said it tastes like stale funky mint, or soapy potpourri and I’d have to agree. The taste is mild, thankfully, but just isn’t good I’m sorry to say. I would love to have this brewing in my glass pot as a center piece during a tea party while using my other tea pots for brewing other tea. Maybe someone else will like it as I tend to be rather picky with floral, herbal, or puerh types.

I’ve had this one a couple of times now, because I wasn’t quite sure how to describe it after the first. Very floral, very mild – I can barely taste the pu’erh – but the flavor depends quite a bit on which particular flowers make it into your teaspoon! The first time I tried it, it smelled like chamomile but tasted mostly of lemon and mint. This time it still smells like chamomile (or rather, Chrysanthemum I suppose), but tastes more like hibiscus with a hint of rosemary. The color of the liquor is a lovely pale orange, and the dry leaf is goreous, between the lemon, rose, jasmine, Chrysanthemum, and everything else – all different colors and textures.

I found the steeping instructions on the website (2tsp, 185 degree water, 2 minutes) worked better than the ones on the bag (1tsp, 202 degree water, 1 minute); the flowers are way too fluffy for 1tsp to do much, and the flavor came out better with a longer steep time.

I couldn’t help comparing this one to the Nature’s Bloom Pu-erh, since the composition is quite similar. I liked that one much better for having a stronger flavor, and more of the flowers I like (rose, jasmine) than those I don’t (hibiscus, Chrysanthemum).

I’ll probably be putting up a swap soon for this and a few other things that haven’t suited me, so if this sounds up your alley comment here or watch the swaps thread :)

Getting back to the samples from Nature’s Tea Leaf, this was the top bag so I am drinking it. There aren’t any ingredients listed on the bag so I was surprised to see lavender. The rosebuds are so pretty in here though, but I am not a big fan of lavender.

And I can’t say I’m a big fan of this tea either. I can do rose, I can do jasmine, but I draw the line at lavender. I only steeped this for about 2 min, 20 seconds to try to avoid the strong qualities of puerh I don’t like, but even worse for me is puerh combined with lavender.

I guess maybe I’ll give it one more shot as a cold brew since that worked with another puerh blend but LAVENDER. Always just tastes like soap to me. At least it’s a more palatable soap than cilantro.

All the samples I’ve gotten lately that I haven’t chosen are things I likely would never choose of my own accord.

I don’t care for savory herbs or spices in a tea especially not one I’m going to drink cold. But this actually works for me. I think the steeping time might be a bit too long because there’s a little bit of bitterness. I went with 5 minutes and the package says 5-7. At the same time I don’t think it gives the herbal side of this tea enough time to come out.

Mostly it tastes like white peony though, with a touch of lemon and a vague herby taste. That is totally fine by me, herbs like rosemary are hard for me to handle dried let alone in tea, so I’m glad it’s not super apparent.

This probably isn’t something I would ever buy myself for the time being, but I can see it being somewhat helpful with allergies in warmer months because it’s definitely good iced. I got flowers again at Trader Joe’s yesterday and set myself off sneezing, so I had to leave them at my boyfriend’s until tomorrow and hope I’ll be fine then.

Cold-brewed overnight, 4 tsp tea (came out to 10g) for 20oz water.

Color: light yellow/olive, slightly opaque. Scent: not much, because it’s cold, but gingery! Maybe a little lemon too. Taste: Wow that’s spicy. Herb-spice, not pepper-spice. I decided to add some honey to this because I was finding the rosemary and ginger pretty overwhelming; with honey, everything is smoothed out a bit and I can taste more of the lemon. This is very tangy and refreshing; the word “tonic” comes to mind. I haven’t had rosemary in beverages often, so that’s really standing out to me.
The white tea is completely overwhelmed by the spices, at least with the way I brewed it; their website recommends steeping hot then pouring over ice. Maybe I’ll try that next time.

Overall, this is very refreshing and tastes like it’s good for you :) I’d drink it on a hot day, or if I had an upset stomach. This is going on my list of “teas to drink when sick”

Backlog:

A remarkably fresh Silver Needle, I loved how fluffy and soft the needles were. Sweet, delicate, vegetative … notes of hay. Crisp and really pleasant to sip. A very impressive Silver Needle.

Here is my full-length review of this one: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/04/04/organic-silver-needle-white-tea-from-natures-tea-leaf/

This is another tea from the tea box!

The liquid is a very pale yellow, and there’s not much in the way of smell. A slight hint of something herbal, but that’s about it. The taste is unique. It comes in waves. First, it’s the peony, then a mix of lemon and ginger, and finally the rosemary. The rosemary lingers on the tongue, so the next sip is a peony/rosemary flavor which is actually really nice. I can’t say that all of the flavors meld together, but it’s still an enjoyable tea.

I doubt that I would ever order this one, but it was definitely a fun tea to try. It’s also made me curious about white iced teas. I’d love to try more of those!

I have a Monday deadline for a project I’m working on, so after dinner I decided to make myself a cup of tea before grabbing yarn and hook. I chose this tea out of my sample drawer and set about making a cup. The tea leaves caught my eye because of their golden color and length (long and spindle-y). Interesting. My mind kind of wandered as I was preparing it, and the tea had a few minutes to cool because my son wanted to show me his latest drawings. When I came back into the kitchen I picked up my cup, took a sip, and wow! Oh-holy-yumminess!

This tea taste like poached stone fruits drizzled with honey. It’s sweet and light, but the finish has almost a syrupy feel. If I didn’t know better I would swear it was a dessert tea. I’m glad I was caught off guard by this tea because it made me stop what I was doing and just enjoy. I haven’t tried many Yunnans yet, but now I’m intrigued and looking forward to trying more.

One more for the shopping list, but this one is getting bumped to the top.

Edited to add: This tea is from the tea box. Thanks Tea Sipper for yet another great tea!!!

Backlog:

Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea! It’s really a beautifully crafted tea – the leaves scrolled up in little rings. So lovely! It’s fun to watch them brew too!

Delightfully vegetative with notes of fruit, overall, I’m finding the flavor to be mellow yet invigorating. A really lovely cuppa.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/03/16/daughter-rings-green-tea-from-natures-tea-leaf/

Another tea from Michelle’s swap we did just before Christmas. Wow was that lovely Steepsterite generous, I still haven’t made it through her collection! Seriously, I’m never doing 2 swaps at once again, its given me too many things to try and I’m not sure I’ll ever get through it all! Yep, exaggeration of course…

Anywho, the lovely other half did my tea pickings for today, and he suggested this one. I’ve just brewed it up in my Timolino at work, and even though this is meant to be an iced tea, its quite tasty. I can detect each of the spices included (the ginger, rosemary and lemon), as well as a hint of the white base. Its a very easy to drink tea hot, and is going perfectly with our cool yet sunny day.

If you have some of this in your cupboard try it warm, its quite tasty.

I had written a whole note on this tea but then lost it — don’t you just hate that? starting over…

I hardly remember what it’s like to sleep for a full 8 hours due to the broken arm, which I’m sure everyone is sick of hearing me complain about! At least I can look forward to the sling/swath coming off in a couple weeks.

So I did not sleep well last night and wanted something strong this morning. This is a decent yunnan that has notes of mostly cocoa with a bit of spice/pepper in the finish. Equally nice to sip on plain as it is to throw a bit of soymilk in there. Not destined to be a must have item for me, but pleasant enough for breakfast.

I went to Nature’s Tea Leaf just now and saw a few reviews that look like they were taken from Steepster people – I hope they put the reviews there themselves and they weren’t taken from the site (it’s happened before with other companies).

Anyway this is a really nice yunnan! I bought a lot of flavored pu-erhs from Nature’s tea Leaf which I was not totally crazy about but this is really good. It does have a rich, honey type of taste mixed with some woodiness and a bit of pepper. That does sound strange but it’s so good. Smooth and mellow too. This is one of the only few yunnans I have in my tea collection and I have no idea why. I will definitely enjoy finishing off the rest of the tin.

I would order from Nature’s Tea Leaf again, they have a range of interesting looking teas in their line including some herbals.