Mighty Leaf Tea

Happy Valentines Day!
I’m actually a bit of a fan of Valentines, not for the rampant commercialism, but because I think its nice to have a day to remind us to be kind to those we love. A dozen roses not required. Though I am a stationary freak, so everyone got a card this year.
The converts (boyfriend and his roommate) are really into Mightly Leaf tea, and I’m afraid I’m not as up on it as they are. But its still a decent enough cup, and as I’m on a bit of a citrus kick, is quite nice.

So my newly converted tea friends (my boyfriend and his roommate, proud owners of their own tea station), really like this tea, so offered some to me.
I like citrus teas, and I was hoping that I’d like this more, but I think that Mighty Leaf may not be quite the company for me. The flavors seem a little…. light. Ah well.
I’ve got a bunch of backlogs from this weekend, so be prepared for some of that.

Bright and refreshing, yet soothing. Just had this tea for the first time the other night, as I was suffering from simultaneous bouts of anxiety and cramps. As I sat there trying to decide which tea I should drink before bed, I suddenly remembered that I had purchased a Mighty Leaf sample box a while back – this tea was the one I reached for, and I wasn’t disappointed. Typically, I’m someone who adds sugar, sugar+milk, or honey to every type of tea….with this one I didn’t have to add anything and it still tasted amazing. I will definitely be replenishing my supply when I run out!

This is my go-to tea when I need a chocolate hit. The mint is not very pronounced; in fact it gets lost in the chocolate and the rooibos. But the chocolate comes through and the rooibos supports it well. It’s a great dessert tea.

Fruity without being annoyingly so or tasting artificial. Nice and light, good for a cheer-up. Very peachy.

Backlog. I went to a cute cafe to yesterday to meet up with a friend and get some work done. While they are known for coffee, they had a nice selection of Mighty Leaf teas. I’ve been wanting to try some more Mighty Leaf because I love White Orchard, so I bought a cup of this one. Houjichas are one of my favorite types of teas, so I’ve become a bit picky about them. Compared to my favorite houjicha, this one was weaker and slightly more dried anchovy tasting, but for a bagged tea, it was actually really smooth and nice. If I needed a houjicha on the go, I’d be happy with this one.

This tea is good, despite the fact that it reminds me of artificial melon more than real melon (think Jolly Ranchers). As far as white teas go, I have only found one I really liked though – so I might just be picky.

It’s definitely worth a sip, and I wouldn’t refuse it if it was offered to me. But I don’t think I’d keep it permanently stocked in my tea closet. I’m still on the lookout for that perfect melon tea…

Teeny Tiny TTB Round 2

Even though the box is on its merry way to the next person in line, I still have this and one more tea to try (they were single servings so I just kept them to try later). I really like the idea of a mint chocolate rooibos, but this is actually the first one I’ve tried. Mighty Leaf has pretty cool sachets, the actual sachet part is made of the usual silky plastic material, but the edges are actually sewn with thread and so is the string. Interesting! Okay, so I took one whiff of this and thought why would anyone use spearmint in a mint chocolate tea…? Weird.

The steeped tea smells like spearmint gum, I don’t really smell any chocolate. I definitely don’t taste any chocolate either… It just tastes like rooibos and spearmint gum had a lovechild. Nope, not cool. It’s not undrinkable, but it’s pretty meh.

The tea that started me on tea. Fruity notes, stronger sweet aroma than flavor, but still enjoyable. Can withstand multiple brewings fairly well.

Add some milk and sugar and this tea rules!

My second chamomile citrus tea for the night! I’m going to have to stop telling people I don’t like chamomile at this rate. The scent of the dry tea is intense lemon! and orange! and then some faint chamomile in the background. Brewed, the scent mellows out considerably to a more generic citrus, and I can detect the lemongrass and maybe a hint of the mint. The taste is also quite citrusy, a bit tart (but in a good way – maybe that’s the hibiscus but if so it’s quite subtle) and an interesting blend with orange peel, lemongrass, and lemon myrtle all contributing. I can barely detect the chamomile, which works pretty well for me, but might not be a plus for you chamomile fans out there. :)

Upon opening the paper package that the tea bag came in I can immediately smell the tea; unfortunately it smelled like strong cough syrup to me. The silk tea pouch with sewn edges looked very nice though, it definitely adds to the experience.

Once hot water is added the heated smell is less like cough syrup and and more pleasant like fruit and flowers, and I could identify the mangos. I checked the ingredient list and saw no mangos, but just a second later realized it was in the “natural flavours”. It was an odd moment expecting to see mango in the list but didn’t, perhaps it would help to list it in brackets.

The tea is mild and thin-bodied, reddish orange liquor, and does not have a lot of depth, but I could smell the fruit while I drink it. It leaves a minty kind of aftertaste in the mouth that reminds me of peppermint, and sometimes at the very end a whiff of honey. It will probably not go well with milk as it does not have the astringency (being a rooibos) to offset the milk. It needs more character for my taste, but I can see it go well with fruit pieces as an iced tea.

The aroma of the dry leaves is powdery, warm, with hint of cocoa powder and very muted vanilla. The liquor is a dull copper and smell of powdery/chalky sweetness reminiscent of marshmallows, but not quite vanilla. The character of the tea leaves is not prominent. This tea may work with a splash of milk and sugar for a sweet tea, but the flavour of the tea would be considerably diluted.

This is one of those times where I’m not quite sure what this tastes likes because, as I realize only after having brewed it, I have no idea what chamomile tastes like on its own. I assume floral, but this doesn’t really taste floral to me. I think I taste citrus and the tartness of hibiscus. And that’s kind of it except at the end where I get a very light minty coolness on my tongue. The more sips I take right now, the more I begin to like it. I wasn’t so sure at first. And, by the way, what the heck happened here? I was so sure at the beginning of my tea journey that I 100% did not like lemon or orange flavors….and then I found out that bergamot is a variety of citrus and everything has gone downhill since then. I feel like I’ve been lied to….by my own self….for like a really long time.

This Orange Dulce from Mighty Leaf is a pleasant surprise. I’m not really sure why I am surprised except maybe because I’m not that fond of their Earl Grey, and I naturally presumed that this blend would be like Earl Grey only with bergamot switched out and replaced by orange oil.

In fact, this is an orange and vanilla blend. It tastes smooth and creamy even without cream! I’ll experiment with one of my other sachets at a later date to find out whether with half & half added this ends up creating a creamsicle effect.

Or maybe I won’t add cream, since this tastes good as is! Orange Dulce might be a good choice for people who find Constant Comment and other heavily spiced orange-black tea blends too heavy on the spice (above all, clove).

1 sachet for 250mL water @85C, steeped six minutes, drunk bare.

I really enjoyed this blend. I got a minty note — the liquorice, maybe? — and some spices. it gave a decent mate kick, too. My office smelled great.

Backlog
After 11:59 pm rolled around on Friday night and all my assignments and quizzes and exams were either finished, or past due, and I decided to celebrate the end of D-day (most things due in one day that I’ve ever had).

I add sweetener to teas, so I don’t mind hibiscus in teas because it’s not overly tart with the sweetener.

Sweetened, I quite liked this. Tart in a pleasant way, citrusy, and just overall pretty tasty.

Backlog

So yesterday, between assignments, I stumbled to the kitchen, eyes blurry from staring at a computer screen, and searching for tea. This was sitting out on the counter, so it was chosen.

This smells like alcohol, something I’ve noticed in 52teas Honeybush blends. But it was already in my hand, and instead of searching for something else I decided to give it a shot anyway.

When I first got really into tea, I thought Rooibos was the bomb, and order a few different Rooibos teas, including 50g straight Rooibos loose and a box of straight Rooibos bags. Now, I realize I don’t like it as much as I thought, and all that straight Rooibos sits untouched.

Anyway, point is, when the Rooibos flavor is stronger in a blend, I’m not as pleased as I used to be. And while I didn’t really notice any alcohol in the taste (huge plus), there is a lot of woody Rooibos taste. There’s also some creaminess, seemingly from the coconut. And some spice.

Overall, not bad, but not my favorite.

I drank this while studying for one of my exams today. The dry scent was sweet and vanilla-y, but the flavor was basic black tea base, maybe a touch creamy, and not much vanilla to be seen. Overall pretty unremarkable, not the worst, but I’ve had better.

Today is going to be a busy stressful day. I’ve got a mountain of coursework to do and no desire to do any of it. As such I wanted something sweet an decadent to encourage myself. I reached for this.

This smells of caramel and a touch of truffle, with the barest hint of something fruity. Steeped up the smell is that of basic black tea, as well as sweet caramel.

I added sweetener (of course) and then because I was feeling indulgent, I added a splash of milk as well. Before added the milk, the black base was just as strong, if not stronger, than the caramel. After milk, the caramel became more creamy and apparent.

Even though the caramel is the star of the show here, there is some truffle at the end of the sip, and sometimes the pear comes out to play as well.

One of my favourite teas and you can steep it up to three times. It is fruity and smooth and so delicious. Love it and I also love the lychee fruit, so I may be biased.