Gyokuro Shaded Imperial - Japanese Green Tea Co

 This Japanese Shaded Gyokuro is a beautiful dark green color and has a strong scent of buttery sweet grass. 

Cinn City Rou Gui Wuyi - Heirloom Tea Company

Cinn City is a rock oolong that smells earthy with a faint smell of floral.

Houston Tea Festival - Harry Teapotter and the Perfect Cuppa

 Holy moley are you ready for all these images?? Above was a cute vendor that sold necklaces, tea and other assortments! I got a sample of Texas Pecan which is a blend of black tea and coffee that I can't wait to review! I had that tea while I was there with cream and sugar and it was delicious.

Small Leaf Yin Zhen - Tea by the Sea

 The tea smells of a vegetal variety with crisp smells that remind me of rain.

Small Leaf Yin Zhen is a white tea harvested in the first harvest. I steeped this tea at 175F starting with 10 seconds. I found this tea to sip in vegetal in the beginning and then open up with notes of hay and honey. I was able to steep this tea 6 times before flavor started to drop off. If you would like to purchase this tea you can find it here for $5 for 2 oz. Tea by the Sea is a new company that hopes to start up a store front where they have lots of aquariums and premium tea to drink and sell. If you'd like to learn their story - visit them here.

If you have any questions comments or concerns please feel free to send me a PM! Want to decide which tea I review next? Don’t hesitate to ask! 

xoxo

Jordan

Secret Garden's Secret Tea - Secret Garden Tea Company

 Well this tea name is a mouthful, yeah? Well it is fitting because this tea is LOVELY and I'd take a mouthful of it any day.

I steeped this tea at 212F for 4 min as the instructions suggest. This tea sipped in with a vanilla creaminess accompanied with a hazelnut finish (Is that the secret ingredient? I wonder..). I found this tea to be my favorite of all that I've tried from them. It's very refreshing and naturally sweet. You can pair this tea with some sweet treats or have it by itself as desert on its own. Even my significant other tried this tea and stood back and said, "oh.. that was not what I was expecting - it has so much depth, really good" If you get any tea from their website, I can't recommend this one enough.

And if you're wondering if I watercolor painted some flowers just for this review.. you'd be right haha. I felt it was fitting to have some floras in a secret garden tea review.

If you have any questions comments or concerns please feel free to send me a PM! Want to decide which tea I review next? Don’t hesitate to ask! 

xoxo

Jordan

Christmas Spice Tea - Secret Garden Tea Company

 Okay can we just stop and admire how big those pieces of fruit are? Secret Garden Tea Company contacted me about reviewing their tea and doing a HUGE giveaway of $200 to their store!!!

I steeped this tea at 212F for 4 minutes. This tea sips in with a good amount of spice from the cinnamon, hints of citrus and lots of berry. I picked up some fig and malt flavors underneath and it is deliciously sweet all by itself. I've tried a lot of Christmas tea blends, and I have to say this one takes the cake because it doesn't taste artificial or overpowering. Everything balances out well creating a warm cup of tea on a cold winter day!

I have a few more teas from this company to review and I've tried most of them - and I really have to say that I wish I could win this giveaway because when I want a cup of western brewed tea - this tea company has some delicious offerings. If you would like to enter, be sure to check out my Instagram post here.

If you have any questions comments or concerns please feel free to send me a PM! Want to decide which tea I review next? Don’t hesitate to ask! 

xoxo

Jordan

Spirit Old Growth Shou Puerh - Global Tea Hut

 Global Tea Hut sent me this shou puerh to review!

I steeped this tea at 212F starting with two rinses and then 15 seconds for the first infusion. I continued steeping this tea increasing the steeping time by 10 seconds and then 30 seconds once I hit a minute. Alright - This is where I become transparent. I do not like shou, there's only one shou tea I've tried and loved and it's because it was dry storage, some are okay but not something I would drink often while others I put away forever. Shou actually causes me to have bad stomach aches making it hard for me to drink more than a couple infusions. So with this in mind, I will be reviewing this tea on what flavors I got and not whether I liked it - you can decide if those flavors appeal to your pallet!

"Spirit" A 2017 old growth shou puerh smells like wet moss on a log mixed with the earth around it. Flavor wise this tea sipped in similarly with more mushroom/earthy and some seaweed notes. As I continued to steep this tea it started to taper off the mustiness and I was left with a more hearty cup that continued to deliver. Despite the pictures, this tea can come in DARK, as dark as coffee and coats the tongue. As shou goes, this is a more enjoyable cup to brew - I do feel like I want to let it rest for 6 months before trying it again to see how the mustiness mellows out. For all of you shou lovers out there, I do recommend trying this tea! You can check out their website here.

If you have any questions comments or concerns please feel free to send me a PM! Want to decide which tea I review next? Don’t hesitate to ask! 

xoxo

Jordan