I’ve been drinking Choice Organic teas for a couple of years.  The Whole Leaf Organics line clearly shows an evolution with the tea selections offered by Choice Organic.  I was very fortunate to try several of the new selections.

Reasons to enjoy Whole Leaf Organics (WLO):

• Choice Organic Teas offers the largest selection of exclusively organic and Fair Trade tea pyramids, keeping in line with its long-time commitment to manufacturing organic and Fair Trade teas.
• Whole Leaf Organics (WLO) tea pyramids are fully biodegradable.
• Choice Organic Teas does not use any PVdC in their packaging.
• The 100% recycled box is printed with soy ink and features a unique cover with a die-cut pyramid window, offering a peek at the tea garden-inspired painting commissioned by Seattle artist Maija Fiebig.

Black Tea: Estate Blend Darjeeling: This tea exceeded my expectations by having a lot more flavor and character than I anticipated.  Darjeeling’s muscatel flavor is always inviting, but this one had a welcomed grape-like flavor that added a special element to the tea. Choice Organic described the tea as having a floral, nutty taste.  Either way, it was really good. The leaves expand in the tea pyramid during the steeping process to remind the consumer that they are drinking tea from real organic Darjeeling tea leaves rather than dust and fannings.  This is a great choice for tea drinkers looking for a solid/flavorful organic black tea in a convenient tea bag.

Green Tea: Jasmine Green: I haven’t always enjoyed Choice Organic’s green teas, but this one was very refreshing.  It was definitely my favorite green tea offered by Choice Organic.  The pan-fired organic Chinese green tea was very pronounced with an oceanic and slight smoke flavor.  The jasmine flavors balanced perfectly with the green tea to create an enjoyable cup.  Choice Organic described the tea as having a lightly floral, almost sweet taste to it. I have to agree with their description, but I want to add that the green tea flavor shines through the jasmine.  For me, that is a definite plus. The split personality of the green tea and sweet-jasmine flavors combine to create one delicious cup of green tea.  It was gone too fast.

Herbal (Caffeine-free): Chamomile Citrus: If you enjoy Chamomile, you’ll love this one.  The chamomile dominates the cup, but your taste buds are hit with orange peel, hibiscus, and lemon myrtle (all organic).  The zesty citrus flavors mixed with chamomile were very interesting.  I think this one would be perfect with honey and a tad bit of your favorite sweetener.  Again, the key to this herbal is you have to enjoy chamomile.  Choice Organic describes this herbal as: citrusy blend brings out the best of mild-mannered chamomile. Its sweet, floral taste comes from whole yellow chamomile flowers harvested on a Fair Trade farm in Egypt. Orange peel and pink hibiscus add a light, fruity essence.

That completes a long list of Choice Organic teas that I’ve been fortunate to recently drink.  It’s exciting to see the direction the company has taken with this line.  The quality of “bagged” teas continues to be raised by companies like Choice Organic.  This is welcomed change for all of us.

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English Breakfast Tea: Let me start by saying English Breakfast tea is quite confusing for new tea drinkers. If you are an experienced tea drinker, you know what I’m talking about. You’ve probably established your favorite English Breakfast teas by now. Anyway, almost every account of its origin that I’ve read did relate the tea as a breakfast compliment. That said, this is an anytime of the day tea. Keep in mind it does have caffeine, but almost all black teas have caffeine. Choice Organic’s english breakfast tea is a blend of teas from Ceylon, Assam, and East Africa.  The tea is organically grown and certified fair trade.  This blend comes in a pyramid tea infuser.  All-in-all, I felt the tea was on par with other bagged teas.  The tea was very smooth, but it did require milk and sugar to bring out the flavor.  With Assam tea in the blend, I expected it to have more of a kick.  This tea is perfect for the casual tea drinker.  If you require more of a bold flavor, this is not the tea for you.

Jade Green: I was looking forward to trying this one.  I let the water cool to about 180 degrees and steeped the tea for about 3 minutes.  Like the other Choice Organic teas, the tea comes in a pyramid biodegradable tea infuser, and it’s organic and fair trade certified.  The tea has an interesting almost fruity flavor to it.  The vegetal flavor was slightly bitter for my taste, but the faint almost floral flavor helped me through the cup.  I’ve had bad luck with Choice Organic’s green teas.  The bitterness is just too much for me to truly enjoy the cup.  Choice Organic describes the tea as: A healthful blend that brews up a mellow yet lively cup. It’s an artful combination of fine green teas grown in the lush jungles of China and the sweeping hills of India — offering a light, almost fruity taste with a gentle finish.

Sweet Liquorice Mint: I don’t often take the time to drink an herbal tea (tisane), but when I do, I prefer something minty.  This was a great herbal tea.  It was sweet and minty.  The flavor lingers leaving your mouth with a fresh minty taste.  I highly recommend this tisane to anyone that likes peppermint, spearmint, or liquorice root.  The tea is absolutely delicious.  This would be a great tea after a meal.  Not only will it leave a smile on your face and cleanse your palate, it will help you digest your meal.  One of the ingredients is organic cornflowers.  I cannot honestly say I detect the flavor, but I applaud Choice Organic for adding something unique and interesting to the herbal blend.  Sweet Liquorice Mint is a caffeine free beverage because it does not contain tea.  So, feel free to drink this one all day long.  I can’t say enough about the flavor of this blend - awesome.

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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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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.

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