Two Great Deliveries

Last Friday, two deliveries were made to my house.  One was an edible fruit arrangement by Edible Arrangements, and the other was an organic tea sampler box from Two Leaves Tea Company. 

The edible fruit arrangement tastes as good as it looks!  Cantaloupe, honeydew, fresh pineapple, grapes, and strawberries - chocolate dipped and plain.  Yum!  Thanks so much Ruth, Paul and girls!

A rep from Two Leaves Tea Company contacted me awhile back to ask if I would sample their teas, and I agreed.

Two Leaves Tea Company is a small, gourmet tea company located in the mountains of Basalt, Colorado, and was founded in 2005.  The founder, Richard Rosenfeld, traveled the world on business, where the meetings were synonymous with great cups of tea.  In the states, however, he didn't find a great cup of tea as readily available.  Endeavoring to remedy that situation, Mr. Rosenfeld visited tea gardens in China, Sri Lanka, and Japan to establish relationships with tea growers for the purpose of obtaining premium, organic, whole-leaf teas for his company. 

The Tea Sampler package [which can be ordered at their website for $7.95 plus shipping] contains 15 sachets.  Five Assam sachets - mountain grown in Assam, India.  Perfect for getting the day off to a good start.  Five Tamayokucha Japanese style green tea sachets - hill grown in China, and their best selling green tea, said to be perfect for keeping focused in the afternoon. And lastly, five Organic Better Rest Blend sachets for a great night's sleep.  I love their website description: If the sandman has passed you by, try this relaxing blend of chamomile, peppermint, hops and valerian [as well as lemongrass, lemon balm, fennel, rosehip peels, ginger, anise, and orange peels] for a bedtime ritual.  

Let the tasting and reviewing begin!   The first tea I sampled was the Organic Assam Breakfast Tea [while it's referred to as a breakfast tea, it's not the classic English Breakfast].  

The tea was steeped in 212 degrees [boiling] water for 4 minutes.

Though full-bodied, it was pleasantly smooth, and didn't have a bracing or bitter "in your face" taste.   I could have easily drank it plain without the addition of milk or sugar, but I wanted to try it both ways.  It is delicious either way.   The company described this Assam tea  as yielding a multi-layered malty [barley] flavor, but I'm adding the tasting term "mellow" to this tea - a smooth roundness, with no pronounced astringency or tartness.

The second tea I sampled was the Tamayokucha green tea.  Green teas often get a "bum rap," because they are frequently steeped in water that is too hot, thereby scorching or stewing the leaves, producing a bitter, astringent tea.  Whenever I hear someone say they don't like green tea, my first thought is that it's probably been improperly prepared.  The water temperature for green tea shouldn't exceed 185 degrees.  My electric kettle heats the water to 180 degrees. I steeped this tea at the recommended brewing time of 3 minutes.

The company described this tea as having a sweet, light flavor with no bitterness, and I agree.   I experienced  a fresh, slightly grassy flavor, but it was smooth, and pleasant tasting  with no astringent aftertaste.

Green teas are popular for their health benefits, and since they sustain two or more steepings, they provide a bonus, cost saving value.

The last tea I steeped wasn't technically "tea" since it contains no camellia sinensis leaves.  It's what is known as an herbal infusion or tisane.

Since the caffeine content in tea inhibits my sleep, I stop drinking it late in the afternoon. However, I usually want something hot and comforting to drink in the evenings, so herbals are perfect, since they contain no caffeine.

Better Rest Blend looks similar to green tea in the cup, but there is a brownish hue to it.  I steeped it in 212 degree water [boiling] for 4 minutes.

There's a lot of flavors going on in this blend.  The company description states there's a familiar flavor of chamomile, enhanced with subtle hints of peppermint and lemon.  But my taste buds picked up on the fennel and anise as well, and I could smell them too.  This is a very good herbal and one that I will enjoy in the evenings.

It's been a pleasure to sample these two teas and herbal, and I highly recommend them.  I will definitely be ordering more.  Thank you, Two Leaves Tea Company!