Introducing My Taste Guide for Thunderbolt Teas

© 2010 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved.
No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.

Awhile back my humans (A.C. and her hubby) received 7 samples from Thunderbolt Tea. It took them awhile longer to get to taste-testing them, but the overall results were very satisfactory. The reviews are posted on this blog, but my humans have been thinking that a special tasting guide was needed. They put one together for their own use here at home and now want to make it available to you.

Feel free to copy and print this for your own private use. (Please do not use for any other purpose without written permission from my humans.) The best way to do this is to right click on the image and select Open Link in New Tab (or new window) and print from there. Unfortunately, Blogger limits what my humans can do with the image size. It either has to be too big so that the right side gets cut off or too small so it's hard to read. Sigh!

Wrapping Up the Great Springtime

© 2010 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved.
No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder. It’s been a lot of fun focusing on green teas for Spring. My humans and I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. We wanted to present a bit of a wrap-up for you, sort of a summary for handy reference:

Teas Reviewed and Ratings: The English Tea Store’s Genmaicha Tea

The English Tea Store’s Bohemian Raspberry Green Tea

Hsin Tung Yang Jasmine Green Tea

The English Tea Store’s Japanese Sencha Kyoto Cherry Tea

Chaa Jasmine Green Tea

The English Tea Store’s Japanese Sencha Tea

Revolution Tropical Green Tea

Obubu’s Kabuse Sencha (Green Tea)

Numi Emerald Sun Flowering Green Tea with Chrysanthemum

The Original Ceylon Tea Company Green Tea

Obubu’s Houjicha (Roasted Green Tea)

Kalahari Tea’s ChocoLatté Green Tea

Don’t miss the floral/fruity line-up coming soon. Meanwhile, this little teapot has a few more teas to sample. The fun never ends. Toot toot!

Disclaimer: Some of these teas were provided by the company named. Some of these teas we bought at local stores. Regardless, the rating of the teas and any opinions concerning them are always strictly objective.

Review: The Original Ceylon Tea Company Green Tea

© 2010 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved.
No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.

Part of
The Subject: Green Tea from The Original Ceylon Tea Company.

Rating:

Water temperature: 180° F

Steeping time: 3 minutes

Tea type: Green

Scents, flavorings, etc.: N/A

Aroma, dry: Planty, grassy (faint)

Aroma in the cup, plain: Grassy, mild

Taste, plain: Grassy, mild, no bitterness

Aroma in the cup, enhanced: N/A

Taste, enhanced: N/A

2nd Infusion: Didn’t do

Chilled: Didn’t try

Comments:
Not only is this a bagged tea, but it’s a Lipton-like flo-thru bag with string and tag. Sigh! Yes, once in a while we have to buy bagged tea, being unable to find what we want in a loose form. Also, we’ve had this tea in our pantry for a couple of years (yes, we said “years”). However, we took all of this into account when trying the tea.

All in all, despite it being teadust in a bag and two years past its expiration date, this tea was surprisingly good. It retained a mild, grassy taste with no harshness or bitterness. Overall, quite satisfying and great to have on hand if you want a quick cup of green tea.

We didn’t give it a try chilled but think that it has potential as a tasty choice.

Disclaimer: We bought this tea at a local store. However, No matter if purchased or a free sample, the rating of the tea and any opinions concerning it are always strictly objective.

Review: Revolution Tropical Green Tea

© 2010 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved.
No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.
Part of
The Subject: Tropical Green Tea from Revolution.


Rating:

Water temperature: 180° F

Steeping time: 3-5 minutes (per instructions on box)

Tea type: Green

Scents, flavorings, etc.: Various (see comments)

Aroma, dry: Strong peppermint, other delicate aromas, slightly grassy

Aroma in the cup, plain: x

Taste, plain: x

Aroma in the cup, enhanced: N/A

Taste, enhanced: N/A

2nd Infusion: Didn’t do

Chilled: Didn’t try

Comments:
Little Yellow Teapot here. My humans bought this tea awhile back for this taste test. It’s taken them some time to get around to it. Then, they discovered it contains peppermint, so wifey couldn’t have any. Hubby had to do it all, allergies notwithstanding.

On with the review by hubby:

Besides Hyson and Dragonwell green teas, the ingredients list on the box includes orange peel, peppermint leaf, jasmine flowers, lemon verbena, marigold flowers, blue malva flowers, and pineapple flavor. Unfortunately, the peppermint overwhelms the other flavors and aromas, so why bother? There also isn’t anything “tropical” about this tea. It makes more sense to present the fine green teas (Hyson and Dragonwell) on their own and let their grassy flavor come forward.

That observation aside, I have to say that this tea is pleasant on the tongue and a great after-meal sipping tea, free of bitter and harsh elements. The citrus mixing with the mint comes through somewhat. For me the sachet is better than most. It’s large enough to let the tea, flowers and fruits interact with the water. Wifey still thinks it’s a waste, though. She’d rather just cut open the nylon bag and toss the contents loose into the cup or teapot.

We didn’t give it a try chilled but think that it has potential as a tasty choice.

Disclaimer: We bought this tea at a local store. However, No matter if purchased or a free sample, the rating of the tea and any opinions concerning it are always strictly objective.

Review: Chaa Jasmine Green Tea

© 2010 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved.

No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.

Part of
The Subject: Jasmine Green Tea from Chaa.

Rating: 

Water temperature: 180° F (see comments)

Steeping time: 2.5 minutes (see comments)

Tea type: Green

Scents, flavorings, etc.: Jasmine petals

Aroma, dry: Strong jasmine

Aroma in the cup, plain: Strong jasmine

Taste, plain: Strong jasmine (lingers), no bitterness

Aroma in the cup, enhanced: N/A

Taste, enhanced: N/A

2nd Infusion: Lighter color, fainter jasmine, edgier

Chilled: Didn’t do, since didn’t really like other jasmine green chilled

Comments:
Another jasmine green tea for you floral tea lovers. Large pieces and visible bits of jasmine. The jasmine aroma and taste are fairly strong, overwhelming the taste of the tea. There is no bitterness but a lingering aftertaste of the jasmine.

 

We did our best to follow the directions on the side of the can. They said to boil the water and then let it cool for 1.5 minutes, which we did. They then said to steep for 2.5 minutes, which we did. However, we had to vary in a few areas:

Amount of tea used: They specify 1 tsp. per 6 oz. of water. We used about half of that and still found the tea too strong. You might want to start with about a third of that amount unless you like really strong jasmine green tea.

Infuser basket: The tea comes with a tiny infuser basket with only a few holes. That may be why they specify using so much dry tea to get a decent infusion. We steeped our tea loose and had to use less.

Number of infusions: We did not do the 3 to 4 they say can be done. 2 infusions were enough for us. It’s that powerful.

The 1st and 2nd infusions were about the same color (brownish yellow), with the second one having slightly more jasmine fragrance.

 

We skipped trying this tea chilled since the previous jasmine green wasn’t as appealing chilled as hot.

Disclaimer: We bought this tea at a local store. However, No matter if purchased or a free sample, the rating of the tea and any opinions concerning it are always strictly objective.

Review: Hsin Tung Yang Jasmine Green Tea

© 2010 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved.
No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.
Part of

The Subject: Jasmine Green Tea from Hsin Tung Yang Co., Ltd.

Rating:

Water temperature: 180° F

Steeping time: 3 minutes

Tea type: Green

Scents, flavorings, etc.: Jasmine petals

Aroma, dry: Strong jasmine, but grassiness still there

Aroma in the cup, plain: Strong jasmine

Taste, plain: Strong jasmine, buttery feel in mouth

Aroma in the cup, enhanced: N/A

Taste, enhanced: N/A

2nd Infusion: Lighter color, fainter jasmine, edgier

Chilled: Lighter color, fainter jasmine, edgier

Comments:
First, we want to point out that we bought this tea at a local store about 4 years ago. We have had some of the tea during those years but mostly drink black tea, so this sat in our cupboard all that time. The tea was kept sealed and dry, though. When we opened the package for this tasting, the wonderful aroma of jasmine burst out strong and fragrant, just like it did on that first tasting years ago. That’s remarkable and great news for the cost conscious among us. The container is a simple cardboard cylinder with metal ends. The tea is in a plastic bag inside the container. We put a clip on the plastic bag to keep it airtight. Simple, low cost, and effective, like the plastic pouches some other companies use.

Plain in the cup, that jasmine aroma emanates strongly from the brownish yellow liquid. The flavor, though, is mild with a buttery feel and no bitterness. This tea, a Chinese green, is very different from the Japanese greens (Kabuse Sencha and Houjicha) we tried recently. We found it refreshing, soothing, and calming. The 2nd infusion was slightly lighter in color with a fainter jasmine aroma and an edgier feel in the mouth, not buttery.

Chilled, the tea is a bit cloudy in appearance (purely an aesthetic consideration that has nothing to do with the quality and taste of the tea). The Jasmine fragrance is still evident, though fainter than when the tea is hot. Definitely needs sweetener to avoid bitterness. I recommend adding it when the tea is still hot and before chilling.

What’s most amazing is that this tea cost us $2.00 for 2.11 ounces back when we bought it. Quite economical compared to other teas. The cost per cup is mere pennies. If you like Jasmine green tea, definitely give this one a try. No claims about organic, fair trade, ethical partnerships, or the latest fad. Just great tea and value for your tea dollar. As consumers, that’s what matters most to us.

Disclaimer: We bought this tea at a local store. However, No matter if purchased or a free sample, the rating of the tea and any opinions concerning it are always strictly objective.

Review: Numi Emerald Sun Flowering Green Tea with Chrysanthemum

© 2010 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved.
No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.
Part of The Subject: Emerald Sun from Numi Tea.

Rating:
Water temperature: 180° F (the package says to boil)
Steeping time: 3 minutes (the package says 2-3 mins)

Tea type: Green
Scents, flavorings, etc.: Chrysanthemum petals
Aroma, dry: Grassy, faint floral
Aroma in the cup, plain: Grassy, faint floral
Taste, plain: Grassy, faint floral, surprising hint of smokiness
Aroma in the cup, enhanced: N/A
Taste, enhanced: N/A

2nd Infusion: Didn’t try, even though Numi recommends it

Chilled: Didn’t try, but think it should be good

Comments:
Little Yellow Teapot here. I am quite devoted to the tea preparation process, as you could probably guess from the very fact that I’m a teapot. This was one of those times that I put that concern for proper preparation ahead of my own desires and once again handed over the steeping of this tea to a more capable vessel: Miss Flower Bowl. Seemed like an appropriate arrangement for this flowering tea.

On with the tea tasting.

First, if you want to try to steep your flowering tea in a flower bowl, like we did, remember that they are usually not made of tempered glass and may shatter when you pour in the hot water. Warm the bowl first under running hot water. Another issue was that when we opened the box of Numi flowering teas, we found unlabeled, clear plastic packets. I had to guess through sense of smell and how the tea looked which one was the Emerald Sun. Very disappointing. Not every customer will know how to tell one from the other.

Despite succumbing to the bombardment on his respiratory system by the tons of pollen and other allergens filling the air around our house this time of year, hubby soldiered on as able-bodied assistant in our tea tasting adventures. He heated the water, warmed the flower bowl, and gently placed the dry tea “bloom” in the bowl. I poured in the hot water and set the timer. That’s called division of labor.

The tea liquid is a medium yellow with a tinge of brown. The flavor of the steeped tea was satisfying, with a surprising smokiness but little or no floral. ’Mums do tend to be rather mild, not like the heady jasmine aroma, so this is not surprising. Also, as a flowering tea, this one doesn’t give enough of a show to make it worth the effort. In fact, the “bloom” looked downright ragged.

As with other tea companies who promote the latest acreage-production-lowering fads like “organic”, we have to deduct a half teapot for the sheer nonsense on the Numi box (“please recycle,” number of trees saved, and so on). Come on, folks, we need to shake off these ideas that put an unnecessary burden on tea farmers and drive up the cost of tea for us all.

Disclaimer: We bought this tea at a local store. However, No matter if purchased or a free sample, the rating of the tea and any opinions concerning it are always strictly objective.

Review: Kalahari Tea’s ChocoLatté Green Tea

© 2010 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved.
No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.

The Subject: ChocoLatté Green Tea from Kalahari Tea.


Part of

Rating:
Water temperature: 180° F
Steeping time: 3 to 5 minutes per the directions on their package

Tea type: Green
Scents, flavorings, etc.: Peppermint, cocoa, chocolate flavoring
Aroma, dry: Strong mint, softer cocoa, no green tea
Aroma in the cup, plain: Mint and cocoa, slight green tea
Taste, plain: Mint and cocoa, slight green tea
Aroma in the cup, enhanced: Same
Taste, enhanced: Sweetener makes this tea taste more like candy than tea

2nd Infusion: Didn’t do since is a bagged tea

Chilled: Didn’t do

Comments:
First, take a moment during steeping for a big, BIG, BIG whiff. Aaaaahhhhh! The peppermint and cocoa give a heavenly aroma to this tea. Too bad I can’t end my review there. In all fairness to you, I have to go on.

At this point I have to tell you that, being allergic to peppermint (I didn’t get a chance to select the samples the company sent me and so didn’t have a chance to tell them that) especially when combined with chocolate, I had to turn over the tasting to hubby. He was happy to oblige.

We steeped the tea for 3 minutes, and then hubby tried some. We continued steeping for another minute, and he tried some more then. At this point, I have to turn the review over to hubby.

Hubby here. Thank goodness my wife is allergic to this tea. More for me. Just kidding. At 3 minutes, the tea was really good, the mint and chocolate worked well with the tea taste. The mint really stayed on my tongue and the cocoa flavor filled my mouth. At 4 minutes, the mint and tea taste were about the same, but the cocoa taste had become more prominent. With sweetener added, this tea is like a liquid after dinner mint and would be great for after that evening meal. Well, that’s about all. Back to the wife.

This tea loses half a teapot for being bagged, half a teapot for calling that hemp bag a “sachet” (doesn’t compare with other true sachets such as Mighty Leaf’s) and half a teapot for being organic. (I guess they’re not paying attention to the increasing number of reports of people getting sick from a new strain of e-coli bacteria in organic produce. There’s even a commercial out about it, except they forget to tell you the spinach that made the little boy sick was organic.) Out of the remaining 3.5 teapots, hubby rated it a 3.

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, the rating of the tea and any opinions concerning it are always strictly objective.

Review: The English Tea Store’s Japanese Sencha Kyoto Cherry Tea

© 2010 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved.
No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.

Part of
The Subject: Japanese Sencha Kyoto Cherry Tea from The English Tea Store.

Rating:

Water temperature: 180° F

Steeping time: 3 minutes

Tea type: Green (Japanese)

Scents, flavorings, etc.: Cherry

Aroma, dry: Strong cherry

Aroma in the cup, plain: Cherry with slight grassy

Taste, plain: Cherry and slightly grassy

Aroma in the cup, enhanced: N/A

Taste, enhanced: N/A

2nd Infusion: Lighter color, cherry taste much milder so that tea taste comes through, no bitterness

Chilled: Refreshing, cherry taste maintained, good as is, better with sweetener

Comments:

Dry, the cherry scent is strong and overwhelms the smell of the green tea. Fortunately, in the steeped tea, the cherry flavor is lighter than anticipated. The mild green tea grassiness comes through with no bitterness or harsh aftertaste. However, the cherry taste seems to be cumulative, that is, it gets stronger with each sip since the flavor lingers on your tastebuds and builds up. By the time I finished a small cupful the cherry taste was downright overwhelming. Hubby, though, thinks this tea compares favorably to Monk’s Blend, one of his favorites.

Definitely a tea we could drink daily and one of the best flavored teas we’ve tried to date. Also, add it to your list of teas to try chilled. We did and were quite pleased overall. I did notice that there was an after-aroma of strong grassiness after each mouthful. The sweetener helps reduce this. Still very pleasant, though.

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, the rating of the tea and any opinions concerning it are always strictly objective.

Review: The English Tea Store’s Japanese Sencha Tea

© 2010 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved.
No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.

Part of

The Subject: Japanese Sencha Green Tea from The English Tea Store.

Rating:

Water temperature: 180° F

Steeping time: 3 minutes

Tea type: Green

Scents, flavorings, etc.: N/A

Aroma, dry: Pleasant grassiness, a hint of spinach

Aroma in the cup, plain: Mild, grassy

Taste, plain: Mild, grassy, no bitterness or spinach taste

Aroma in the cup, enhanced: N/A

Taste, enhanced: N/A

2nd Infusion: Lighter, weaker, still very drinkable

Chilled: Grassy, no bitterness, could use a touch of sweetener

Comments:

Temps are still unseasonably high, so we again made sure we tried some of this chilled as well as hot. This time, though, we only chilled it for 2 hours, not overnight. Tea cooled this way tends to be a bit cloudy, but still tastes great.

The tea hot is mild, grassy, and not bitter. Great tasting and good for you. How rare is that these days?

Chilled, this tea holds its grassy flavor and no bitterness. Again, I can drink it unsweetened, but hubby thinks a touch of sweetener would be just right.

A good everyday tea, hot or chilled, but we prefer the fruity goodness of the Raspberry Green Tea. However, enjoying a little chilled melon with the green tea makes up for it.

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, the rating of the tea and any opinions concerning it are always strictly objective.

Review: The English Tea Store’s Bohemian Raspberry Green Tea

© 2010 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved.
No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.
Part of
The Subject: Bohemian Raspberry Green Tea from The English Tea Store.

Rating:

Water temperature: 180° F

Steeping time: 3 minutes

Tea type: Green
Scents, flavorings, etc.: Raspberry
Aroma, dry: Strong raspberry with pleasant grassiness
Aroma in the cup, plain: Milder raspberry and stronger grassiness
Taste, plain: Milder raspberry and stronger grassiness
Aroma in the cup, enhanced: N/A
Taste, enhanced: N/A

2nd Infusion: Lighter, weaker, still very drinkable

Chilled: Raspberry, grassiness comes through with slight tang.

Comments:

In the wake of 90-degree temps in the area at present, we wanted to be sure to try this tea chilled. So, this review is a little different. It was conducted over a couple of days. First, we tried the tea hot. Then, we put some in the ‘frig overnight and tried it the next morning (preferable to steeping the tea up strong and then pouring over ice, which dilutes the tea as the ice melts).

As for the hot version, we were quite pleased that the strong raspberry fragrance in the dry tea was subdued in the steeping. This let the grassy flavor of the green tea come through, very mild tasting, with no bitterness or astringency. Otherwise, we might as well just have an herbal tisane made of dried raspberry. That tea taste is very important. It adds a quality to the tea that is the reason to drink tea. Plus, you get various health benefits (readily found in an online search) from the green tea.

Chilled, this tea holds its raspberry flavor yet still has plenty of grassy green tea goodness coming through in every mouthful. I can drink it unsweetened, but hubby thinks a touch of sweetener would be just right.

A great everyday tea, hot or chilled. We’ll be keeping some in our tea pantry.

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, the rating of the tea and any opinions concerning it are always strictly objective.

Review: The English Tea Store’s Genmaicha Tea

© 2010 A.C. Cargill photos and text – All rights reserved.
No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.
Part of
The Subject: Genmaicha Tea from The English Tea Store.

Rating:

Water temperature: 180° F

Steeping time: 3 minutes

Tea type: Green (Japanese)

Scents, flavorings, etc.: Toasted rice kernels

Aroma, dry: Planty, grassy green tea aroma with toasty rice overtones

Aroma in the cup, plain: Planty, grassy green tea aroma with toasty rice overtones

Taste, plain: Planty, grassy green tea aroma with toasty rice overtones

Aroma in the cup, enhanced: N/A

Taste, enhanced: N/A

2nd Infusion: Lighter color, slightly cloudy, more toasted taste comes through, no bitterness

Chilled: Didn’t try

Comments:
This version of Gen Mai Cha (Japanese green tea with toasted rice) compares favorably with others we’ve tried. The tea leaf pieces are good size and about half of the bulk of the product is toasted rice (one piece was even “popped” like popcorn, as you can see in the photo above). Very typical for this tea.

This Genmaicha has that fresh, grassy flavor and aroma typical for this tea mix. It is well complemented by the toasty scent and aroma of the rice. It smells wonderful dry, while steeping, and in the cup. The “liquor” is a yellowish green and feels full in the mouth, with no hint of the spinachy, kelpy taste in some other Japanese green teas.

Hubby is so impressed with this tea that he’s thinking of making up a huge potful (or maybe even a coffee urn full) to have during the day. This is certainly a tea that you can drink all day, since the flavor is mild with no bitter aftertaste.

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, the rating of the tea and any opinions concerning it are always strictly objective.