Choice Organic Teas: Early Grey
August 27th, 2008
Choice Organic’s Earl Grey is made from Fair Trade Certified black tea, organic orange peel, organic oil of bergamot, and organic safflowers. This tea is another example of Choice Organic’s commitment to social responsibility and customer satisfaction. Their Whole Leaf organic products contain loose leaf tea in a pyramid tea bag; which gives the tea consumer a quality tea in an easy to use tea infuser.
Earl Grey is a popular black tea blend often referred to as an afternoon tea. I like it anytime of the day, especially in the morning. There’s one catch to liking Earl Grey, you have to like the flavoring of the Bergamot oil. Bergamot is a citrus fruit described as a cross between a pear lemon and a grapefruit. The flavor combines to create a flavorful black tea that is a favorite of many. With the Choice Organic Earl Grey, I didn’t find the flavors to be overpowering. I typically do not add milk, sugar, and honey to tea, but this one needed something extra to bring it to its full flavor potential. I think most people that enjoy Early Gray in a tea bag will enjoy this tea. If it had just a bit more flavor from the start, I would have been more satisfied with my cup. Keep in mind this product is organic and fair trade.
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One of the first things you notice when you drink loose leaf tea is the quality and consistency of the leaves. This Oolong is both consistent in size and shape and the leaves unfurl to reveal their beautiful jade green color. It’s a very relaxing and entertaining tea experience. The scent of the dried Oolong was very elegant. The air from the Anxi mountains escapes from the leaves. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about tea, it’s the strength it gives you simply by enjoying the scent and taste. I know it sounds odd to those of you that don’t enjoy tea, but the scent of the dried tea is very much a part of the tea experience. This is a tea where you can get lost in the scent. Anyway, as the tea steeped it was fun to peek in the clay tea pot to see how the leaves were unfurling. The first cup had an oceanic vibe with a light buttery flavor. As the tea cooled the sweet floral flavors were revealed. You can get several steepings from the lush tea leaves. I really enjoyed the subtle tones of this tea. I’ve read about the treacherous nature of the mountain and just how difficult it is to pick tea there, let alone drive up or down the mountain. So, for those of you that farm and pick this tea - Thank you!
I’m sitting here enjoying a 500mL bottle of The REPUBLIC of TEA’s Blackberry Sage iced tea. It is such a crisp and relaxing beverage. The unsweetened tea pops with a delicious ripe blackberry flavor and scent. The iced tea is very smooth and pure. I find the blackberry flavor to be very polite. In other words, the flavors in the bottle are not offensive and overpowering. I’ve never been able to detect the sage flavor in this bottle, but personally I’m satisfied with the black tea and blackberry pairing. As I’ve mentioned in the past, The REPUBLIC of TEA’s glass bottled teas are meant to impress. If you are a blackberry flavored tea drinker, this is a must try. Buy a couple of bottles and serve them with a nice meal.
Earlier this year I was pleasantly surprised by the crisp, smooth, delicate flavors of The REPUBLIC of TEA’s glass bottled iced teas. I’ve been craving one ever since I finished my last bottle. At the moment, I’m drinking the Mango Ceylon glass bottled iced tea. It is absolutely delightful. There is such a purity about this tea. The tea is unsweetened, yet it is so flavorful. The base Ceylon tea is just so smooth and refreshing. As your mouth is cooled and refreshed there is a release of tropical fruit that coats the palate and excites your taste buds. The fruit flavor is very light and well-defined. The mango flavor is perfectly balanced to the tea. Again, this is not a beverage loaded with sugar. The bottle itself is a work of art. I’d highly recommend serving this tea as a compliment to a luxurious dinner. If you like to have a special meal from time-to-time or you want to impress your guests with a high-quality tea beverage - this is it.
Dr. Tea has been all over the Internet and TV-land promoting his book titled 
Choice Organic Teas has recently introduced eight new whole leaf organic teas. The teas are neatly packaged in an artistic wrapper. The tea itself is contained in a biodegradable tea pyramid (mesh-like). Today, I’m drinking Lychee white. The white tea is both organic and fair trade. From the start, this tea’s fragrance will make your mouth water. The dry tea has an inviting sweet scent to it. It’s a very welcoming scent. As you inhale the fragrance, it awakens your senses and motivates you to get your day moving along. If you drink white tea for its low caffeine content, you’ll enjoy the relaxing nature of the tea. The lychee is a small fruit native to southern China. The lychee flavor found in tea reminds me of a mix between a sweet grape and a raspberry. You need to try it for yourself and decide. Regardless of what it reminds me of, it tastes great. To prepare the tea, I let the water sit for about 3-5 minutes after it boiled. I let the tea pyramid float in the water for about 2-3 minutes. I was left with a delicious cup of tea. The white tea was very enjoyable. The flavor is very well balanced. The white tea and lychee flavors blend together to create a beautiful medley of flavors. For an extra touch, Choice Organic added organic osmanthus flowers to the mix. This is easily one of my favorite Choice Organic products, and I can’t wait to try the other new flavors.
Today, I’m trying Dr. Andrew Weil for tea - Darjeeling Elemental Purity. Dr. Andrew Weil for tea is distributed by ITO EN. This is an individual tea bag. The mesh tea bag came sealed in a plastic wrapper. The wrapper appears to do an excellent job at retaining the freshness of the tea. Since the tea bag is mesh, you could clearly see the finely cut Darjeeling black tea. The string on the bag was very short. Depending on the cup you use to steep the tea, it could be problematic. I steeped the tea in water that was just below a boil. I let the bag soak for about 2-3 minutes. The scent from the infusion was fresh, and it gave me hope that this would not be disappointing. I could smell a faint grape-like scent with a classic muscatel vibe that was inviting my mouth to take a sip. Unfortunately, that’s about all of the positive things I can say about this tea. It was lacking the powerful taste properties usually present in Darjeeling teas. All in all, it was very bland. The finely cut tea in the mesh tea bag does not even lend itself to presentation points. There was nothing awful about this tea. It smelled good, and it didn’t taste horrible. It just fell below the standard set by so many other tea brands.