Just Organic Tea

This tea brews as expected. It’s a light floral tea, very subtle. I’ve found the leaves from any of the Just Organic teas don’t get much larger once you brew them. I’m not sure what that means as to the quality of the teas but I find it interesting.

This tea is pretty tasty. The flavors are unexpected. For a peach apricot flavored tea it’s much heavier on the lemon flavors than peach or apricot. The peach comes through very lightly.

I can’t tell what flavor its supposed to be. Tastes…. green…. and like the lemony tulsi trio tea….
I think the tulsi flavored the white tea :(

Never ha tulsi before. Looked it up, my dad used to grow this stuff. :)
It reminds me of world markets spice section. Vaguely tastes like chai.

Happy Saturday everyone! I am still pretty under the weather, but luckily I feel better rested and less freezing cold than I did yesterday, it is the little victories when the Lupus flairs happen. Today’s plans involve origami (I am in the middle of a Bascetta Star) reading (currently reading a book on fermenting your own veggies) and Minecraft (because it is always a part of my day) all nice relaxing activities perfectly augmented by tea.

Today’s tea is Just Awesome Assam from Just Organic Tea, an (as it says on the tin) Assam black tea from Banaspaty Estate in India. Back in the day when I was making the switch to loose leaf tea all the time I discovered a real love for Assam, it is not a favorite, but I still have a great deal of fondness for it. The aroma of the tea is malty and bright with a bit of a roasted peanut finish. It is a fairly mild Assam, but it is a nice aroma, even if I wish it was a bit stronger.

Brewing the leaves brings out that rich malty notes I was craving from the dry leaves. It is very brisk with a slight woody oak quality. The liquid without its leafy friends is malty with notes of sweet potato and a bright yet earthy finish.

My cup of tea is brisk, malty, and nicely bright. Just the perfect pick-me-up for people, like me, who really need a boost in the morning. The more I sip the more I notice that it has depth, more so than I initially believed. At first I thought…not a bad Assam, nothing outstanding, but quite passable. As I sipped more I noticed earthy tones at the finish and sweet potato in the middle. I added some cream and sugar for a real traditional breakfast tea and found that the additions complimented the tea nicely.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/05/just-organic-tea-just-awesome-assam-tea.html

This is my first time trying tulsi, so just for that thanks Just Organic Tea! Dry, this tea smells exactly like the inside of one of my friend’s (who happens to be Indian) apartment. I know that’s not all that helpful but I really can’t think of anything else that smells like that. When brewing, it smells a bit like green beans. To be honest, it tastes like green beans too with a tiny, slightly basil-y kick at the end. The flavors are extremely mild though. I like it some, but I wouldn’t seek out more tulsis.

I saw hibiscus as the second ingredient and was not particularly stoked about trying this sample. And for good reason. Hibiscus, why do you ruin everything?! This tea smells like apple cider… or Christmas. It does not taste like apple cider, at all. Sad day. I wish it tasted the way that it smells because I would be in heaven. But as it is… its definitely not for me. Too much hibiscus not enough everything else. The cinnamon does shine through nicely, but its just not enough to win me over.

Sipdown! (207)
This is another sample that I was so lucky to try out and review. It’s a nice assam, with just the right amount of malt, and the hint of juiciness underneath. I think that if the price were right it’d be a good one to stock up around drink for every day use!

ETA: This tastes even BETTER once it’s cooled a little. Bumping my rating up in appreciation!

First time tasting Tulsi, thanks for the Samples Just Organic Tea.

hmmm… not sure what to make of this one. I love the idea of the health benefits that it provides with repeated drinking for sure. I alternated between really liking and not really liking this with pretty much every sip. I can’t make up my mind whether I genuinely like it or feel like it is not for me.

Definitely very herbaceous. Strong basil notes and a little citrus and spice. Some sips were purely a mouthful of basilness, others were more complex and the basil mingled with the other notes. I think I’d have to try this a few more times to clear my confusion, haha.

Nice smooth black tea. It brewed up much lighter than I was expecting, but then again I did brew it at a lower temp (180) then the recommendation (195). I got a nice molasses flavor. Definitely a nice tea, though not my favorite flavors in black tea.

This was another sample I received from Just Organic Tea. Trying to get through tasting them all so I can decide which to request now that their kickstarter is finished.

Thank you Just Organic Tea for sending me this sample!

This is a nice and delicate chai. It is not super spicy. I like the balance between the tea and the spices. One does not drown out the other which makes for a nice sipping experience. I did add the organic sugar packet that JOT sent with my tea samples. It was just the right amount of sweetness for my cup.

This isn’t my favorite chai, but it is a chai I’d would happily serve at a tea party or with friends who may be uncomfortable with super spicy teas.

Although I’m pretty sure I’ve never had an Earl Grey before, I always figured I wouldn’t like it. I decided to be brave and try my sample of this anyway. It wasn’t terrible, but like I suspected, I’m not a fan. Better than I was expecting, but I won’t be purchasing. And because I’m pretty sure that it’s earl greys in general, and not just this earl grey I don’t like, I wont be rating.
Funny side note, I enjoy notes of bergamot in colognes and perfumes, just don’t like the taste apparently.

You know, Peony flowers are incredibly beautiful. The bushes in the front and back yard have exploded into full bloom and I took it upon myself to bring one of the flowers inside for my desk. The blossom is huge and just keeps getting bigger, and the smell is intoxicating! Apparently the petals are edible too, though I need to do more research before I dig in and start munching on them, because I think the Ents would come and take away my Naturalist license if I poisoned myself on a garden flower. Speaking of spring and flowers, I think I should have a spring cleaning sale in my shop to prepare it for the inevitable onslaught of origami, especially Kusudama flower balls.

Keeping on theme with flowers and spring, today’s tea from Just Organic Tea is Just a Taste of Spring, a blend of Green Rooibos, Calendula Flowers, Hibiscus Flowers, Cinnamon, Cornflowers, and Blueberries. This tea just screams ‘going to be a tart tea’ which has me more than a little worried. I have a real aversion to anything tart…sour I love, but tart and I have a track history of not getting along. The aroma is pretty tart, but there are also strong floral notes and hay notes. Of course there is a blend of sweet and tart from the blueberries, a delicate balance with those berries as to whether or not they will be sweet or tart. The finish is warm spicy cinnamon, reminding me of a patch of warm sunlight on a cool spring day.

The steeped leaves have a much more tart aroma and the cinnamon is much stronger. There are more subtle notes of blueberry and green wood with a touch of hay. The liquid without the collection of spring time things is a really bright blend of tart, floral, and fruity. There is cinnamon warmth that sneaks in around mid-sniff and stays until the finish, building in intensity.

Time for tasting, and I will admit I am a bit apprehensive. The taste is initially quite tart, not mind numbingly convulsion inducing tart, but still I made the pucker face. There are metallic notes from the hibiscus (it always tastes very metallic to me) and a strong blueberry presence that starts tart and fades to sweetness. Around the time the blueberry becomes sweet I notice woody notes from the rooibos and tingly warmth from the cinnamon, the finish is mildly floral. I am not sure how to approach this tea, I cannot recommend it because I am baffled by anyone liking tart things. But luckily the world is vast and everyone’s taste differs, even though I am hardly qualified to talk about a tart tea, I can certainly say this one was different than others I have attempted to try. The spicy notes from the cinnamon took the edge off and added a level of tolerance to a tea usually I would be unable to tolerate.

For photos and blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/05/just-organic-tea-just-taste-of-spring.html

This is a nice, light green tea. The flavour is sweet, floral, and a little tangy.

Nice! This is one of those “bit of” teas. There is a bit of malt, a bit of orange, a bit of crusty bread. I’m also tasting cane syrup. I haven’t had cane syrup on years and years, but I’m loving the dark sweet note in this tea. The combination of all the flavors is delicious. It’s something I can see myself thoroughly enjoying as an afternoon tea.

This one is going on my shopping list.

This tea is quite a mix of different flavors. Between work and wedding planning it has been a very stressful week already (it’s only Tuesday?!) and I heard Tulsi can be calming. I feel a bit calmer and relaxed but hot tea usually does that. This tea tastes of fairly strong lemon and pepper, an interesting mix.

I received this sample from Just Organic. My fiance and I shared a mug of this last night and we didn’t agree on what it tasted like. He tasted black tea, vanilla, and maple syrup. And I swear it tasted like vanilla indian food to me. I have no idea why but I thought it smelled like I walked into an indian restaurant. Cardamom, curry. So I didn’t love it because my tastes buds seemed a little off.

This is a very relaxing tea. The tulsi is accompanied well by mint and lemon flavoring and is great right before bed! It reminded me a lot of the “sleepy” teas you can find at your grocery store, just a little better quality.

Currently I am in the rather extensive process of cutting up 448 pieces of origami paper into quarters by hand. Yes the blade on my trusty paper cutter has bit the dust so I must use scissors to do the task. At about halfway finished I have not encountered any hand cramps or really botched cuts, so I consider this a win, the bigger win, of course is planning all the fun things I am going to fold with the paper when I am done. Pretty soon I will have to either start selling them or just leaving them on random people’s doorsteps, because I am running out of room to store said origami!

Today’s tea is an herbal blend by Just Organic Tea, Just a Trio of Tulsi, which is, as the name implies, a blend of three different kinds of Tulsi. Also known as Holy Basil, this Indian herb is used in both Ayurveda and is considered sacred to the Hindu religion. This specific tea blends together Krishna (purple leaf or dark leaf) Tulsi, Rama (green leaf) Tulsi, and Vana (wild leaf) Tulsi, though I am not experienced enough in Tulso to tell the difference just yet. The aroma quite herbaceous with strong notes of basil, sage, and a hint of lemon. There is a finishing note of sweet hay.

Brewing the leaves brings out a nice peppery aroma in the wet leaves, along with a much clearer citrus and a very strong basil aroma. Again there is a finishing note of sweet hay…I find myself tempted to cook with this tea, I bed it would taste very good with fish or chicken.

It is time to drink my herbal brew. The taste is, as expected, quite herbaceous, there are strong notes of basil and a slight hint of citrus. This fades to lettuce which also lends to a cooling sensation that was perfect (when I wrote the tasting notes for this tea in my notebook it was blistering hot) and very relaxing. The mouthfeel is very smooth and the aftertaste was honey sweet. Each time I try a Tulsi tea I seem to like it more and more, the flavors are complex enough to hold my interest, while at the same time being simple enough to just relaxingly sip without thinking about it. I will certainly have to try more of this because I have a sneaking suspicion it would be good iced!

For photos and blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/05/just-organic-tea-just-trio-of-tulsi-tea.html

I was already quite tea-high because I’ve had like six mugs of tea today, which is unusual for me on a work day. I grabbed this one randomly out of the sample pile (which I should really put in a box or a bag or something) and stared at the leaves for awhile while contemplating if i really wanted to brew more tea.

The only familiarity I have with peony is that lovely flowery scent from some fragrances. I really like the smell of peony. I was looking at the kind-of pointy leaves and wondering if these were leaves from the flower or what? The leaves don’t smell like flowers. The label said white peony. Maybe this is a white tea that’s named peony for some odd reason. Is it tea or is it not tea? My caffeine high didn’t help with thinking so I gave up on the problem and brewed it anyway.

I brewed in a Kati cup that I got in Barnes and Noble the other day. I wondered in to spend my gift card on one of those Aladdin tea infuser mugs, and instead walked out with a ‘tea steeping mug’ which I think is their dupe of the timolino (which I don’t have and cannot compare) and the Kati cup, which I had been adding every single design of to my Amazon wish list. The leaves didn’t expand much, which was interesting, but the leaves were pretty much flat when dry and flat when wet, so go figure. I thought I overbrewed it, and at too high a temperature, because I didn’t look at the directions until after starting to brew, but it seems OK.

I have not much experience with white teas, so I feel like in that regard I can’t say much about it. But it smells like a very subtle and sweet tea, and it IS a subtle and sweet tea. I do like it, but I can’t really say much of anything about it. You know, except that it looks NOTHING like the white peony picture on the Adagio Tea site. This was a nice end to a long and tiring day.

I think Tulsi is a more acquired taste. It’s ok, but I don’t think I’d reach for this one.

Oh, this is a very nice smooth black tea… It’s light and malty. I taste honey, and bread fresh from the oven. Oh man. One cup is really not enough. I almost want to kickstart it just to get 2-4 oz more of this!

My samples arrived today! Yay!

So this is an interesting orange spice tea. Usually it’s all orange and fake sugar/cinnamon but… believe it or not… I can actually taste the black base in this version.

I think I actually prefer this to other orange teas. I guess there are other orange teas that aren’t orange/cinnamon but I don’t recall any offhand. So I’ll stick with this one.

The base is interesting too. It’s harder to say with a blend, but it seems sorta darker/maltier than I’m used to. Almost reminiscent of some of the Kenyan teas. It’s a little woodsier, and it has a rich aftertaste. It’s still really good after it cools.

This is just a nice simple green tea. No bitterness or astringency here. Relaxing and enjoyable.

I’ve been fairly impressed with Just Organic Tea’s teas. I did end up funding their kickstarter… mostly for that Charming Chai, so I’m interested to see what the new teas they have added since they shipped these sample packets out, are like.