Mighty Leaf Tea

I wasn’t expecting this one to be so different from the Organic Breakfast that’s sold under the “Mighty Leaf” range, rather than this one from the ML Collection. It is, though, and I could tell immediately. I don’t think this one contains any darjeeling. it’s much sweeter and maltier, and it doesn’t have the metallic tang I associate with Mighty Leaf’s darjeelings. On this point alone, it’s a much more palatable breakfast tea for me. I feel it’s a more robust blend, as well. It definitely accepts milk more readily without becoming ridiculously weak, and it has more body. By that, I think I mean the “darker” notes are more pronounced, and it potentially has a heavier mouthfeel. I did detect a hint of chocolate while sipping on this one, and that complemented the malty flavour wonderfully.

On the whole, this struck me as a very pleasant breakfast tea. There are a good few bags in my ML Collection Master Sampler, so I can enjoy some more cups of this one and firm up my opinion. For a first impression in less than ideal brewing circumstances (process workshop away from the office), though, I think it stood up pretty well.

I got this iced tea at the coffee place in the hospital next to the building where I work. I can’t believe it’s been there this whole time and I’ve never tried it! I liked this tea a lot because the mango was not garish or overwhelming. It was simply fresh, fruity, and delicious!

I used to love this tea, back when I first had a Mighty Leaf Master Sampler. That was about two years ago now, though, and today I realised that my tastes have changed fundementally. Either that, or the tea has changed. I think it’s safer to assume it’s me.

I used to think it was delicate, juicy, and wonderfully melony. I’ve been in a Processfix workshop for the last two days (last one tomorrow), so I took a small supply of tea bags knowing that loose tea wouldn’t be practical. This was one I pulled out this afternoon. I let my water cool first, added the bag, and gave it about two minutes. The liquor quickly turned a fairly deep yellow, so I was expecting at least some bitterness from the base. Fortunately it was smooth and relatively sweet tasting.

My problem with this tea is the flavouring. I got a lot of peach, but it was the kind of plasticy, artificial peach I can’t get along with. Sometimes it even gives me a headache. There was no melon to be found. The flavouring didn’t completely overpower the base, which was actually the nicest thing about this tea, although I would have preferred just white rather than a white/green blend. And some melon, obviously.

It’s not that this is a bad tea…I just can’t believe my recollection of it from two years ago was so vastly different to today’s experience. Unfortunately, once I’ve finished the bags in my sampler box, it won’t be one I come back to again.

That does it for my supply of Mighty Leaf Organic Green Dragon. This was my final sachet. No more for me because it’s just not as good as other greens in this general long jingy category. (I also continue to believe that this is a blend…)

In today’s steep-off chez sherapop, Mighty Leaf Organic Green Dragon in a sachet is going sip-to-sip, sniff-to-sniff against Les Palais des Thés Long Jing in a muslin sachet.

Both teas brew up golden, and the taste is different enough to reconfirm my suspicion that the Mighty Leaf is a blend of Long Jing with some other teas. The taste is more robust and while enjoyable, it does not really match the profile of the many Long Jings I’ve tried of late.

This tea is perfectly good, but more vegetal and less chestnuty, so I would not recommend it to those seeking a silken Long Jing experience.

In today’s steep-off chez sherapop, Mighty Leaf Organic Green Dragon is going sip to sip, sniff to sniff against Adagio Zhejiang Long Jing, both in the sachet format.

My first observation upon brewing up glasses of these teas side by side is that the Mighty Leaf smells more vegetal. In fact, it reminds more of the Wissotzky Timeless Green than any of the Long Jings I’ve tried. It tastes good, but could it be a blend?

Further evidence is that not all of the leaves are of the same flat sheathlike shape characteristic of single origin Long Jing. I do believe that this tea is good (I love the Wissotzky, after all!), but I’m not convinced that this is the better Long Jing.

jump sent this my way….as a practical joke i’m sure….since i do not like jasmine! but i’ll drink everything ppl send me. even smelly toe tea. :) I couldn’t drink much of this because it was REALLY jasmine smelling but the half cup i did drink was pretty decent for a bagged tea. however i was super glad i had my other tea! lol

Mmm. Vanilla and orange! The hot water at work is not very hot, so I didn’t get to really steep this the way I would have had I been at home, but it was tasty!

I was pleasantly surprised by this little tea bag! First of all, with a bit of sweetener added, it tastes like an orange creamsicle! Mine lasted two steeps but I tend to like my blacks a little less full bodied. Also, while I prefer loose tea at home, you really can’t beat bagged for the office (where this was consumed). Would certainly pick up on sale!

Mighty Leaf has a special place in my heart as the first tea through which I discovered, a couple of years ago, that good teas in a bag or sachet could be just as fantastic as loose leaf. So I tried this one when I was getting breakfast at a cafe this morning. Unfortunately it’s a little bit of a letdown compared to some of their other black teas like Orchid Oolong. The tea was both very robust and mellow, but there wasn’t anything unique about it. In fact, I’m having a hard time coming up with anything further I can say to describe it. Still, it’s pretty decent as a breakfast blend.

I love jasmine teas, and this one is very enjoyable. It’s $24.95 for 3 oz. and since Mighty Leaf has coupons/sales pretty regularly, it can be picked up for even less.

The unbrewed tea smells lovely. I usually steep this for around 2-3 minutes and the jasmine aroma while brewing is noticeable.

I’ve only tried one other jasmine pearl tea, and this one is better. I enjoyed the flavor, but I think the shorter brew times are best because it starts to get a little bitter at longer steeps.

I’d love to get some samples of this style from different vendors and see if I can pick up on the differences.

From the Here’s Hoping Traveling Tea Box #2

I liked the lemongrass and berry flavors in this tea, but the mint tasted too much like toothpaste. It was sugar sweet instead of herb-y sweet, if that makes sense. I think if the mint were different I would like this one a lot.

grassy fields of mint
filled with grazing cows and sheep
nostrils flaring wide

My glass of Mighty Leaf Organic Mint Mélange tasted better tonight, perhaps because I had already come to the conclusion that it is straight-up spearmint, not a mélange of anything but spearmint leaves, and certainly not peppermint!

Tonight I appreciated the freshness of the spearmint in and of itself. It really tasted like freshly cut spearmint, so that’s a plus, if one happens to be looking for a spearmint tisane. Adding hot water to the dried leaves brought them back to life again!

I also noticed that the sachet is very generously stoked. Mighty Leaf seems to put 3 grams in most of its sachets, not the standard 2 grams.

I am confused by the company description of this Organic Mint Mélange. For one thing, it’s not a mélange, at least as far as I can tell from the scent and the taste. This is straight-up spearmint—just like the fresh spearmint which grew wild in our yard when I was a child.

The second confusion is the identification of the mint as peppermint. This is not peppermint! As someone who has imbibed my fair share of peppermint tea (most recently, from Harney & Sons, but also earlier from Stash), and who has used lots of Japanese peppermint oil both for cooking and for tea, I must insist that this is not that. Even the picture on the box is of spearmint!

I do think that this offering from Mighty Leaf stands out from the crowd—but that’s just because most mint tea does feature peppermint, not spearmint!

Boy oh boy oh boy did I screw up. I stored these cellophane-wrapped sachets of Mighty Leaf Organic Spring Jasmine in the same box as some of their mint-tea sachets. BIG MISTAKE! Now the jasmine-scented green tea is mint-scented, jasmine-scented green tea.

The cellophane is a bad idea anyway, in my not-so-humble opinion, but I suppose that one needs to make this sort of mistake only once….

After a recent and rare positive experience with a jasmine-scented tea (from Numi), I’ve been wondering whether my tastes and physiology have changed or it’s just that I now drink better tea. I figured that the MIghty Leaf Organic Spring Jasmine would be a safe bet, especially since the scent of the sachet revealed both true jasmine and high-quality green tea.

The brew struck me as a bit bitter initially, but I also noticed that it was on the hot side, so I’ll try with cooler water next time. Interestingly, as the tea cooled down, the flavors became smoother and more appealing as well, so the brewing temperature might not be the only factor in proper tea gustation. Perhaps it also should be imbibed at a lower temperature?

second infusion: the spent green leaves looked so fresh and smelled so fragrant that a second round seemed de rigueur. In fact, the sachet made a full large second glass of very good jasmine-scented tea! The jasmine scent was lighter, but that just allowed the green tea to shine through. Now I am happy to have picked up a box of these sachets. I’ll do a steep-off with the Numi soon, though I’ll only be able to compare the first infusions since the Numi is in a filter bag, and I’ve yet to successfully reinfuse tea in that format.

Scheherazade’s Super Sipdown Week! #23

I quite like this one, on occasion. Basil is one of my favourite herbs, and it pairs well with the mint here. It’s nicely refreshing!

The first time I tried a mighty leaf sampler, this was one of my favourite teas. It’s a refreshing, cleansing blend of peppermint and basil, and it really does taste that straightforward. Basil is one of my favourite flavours, anyway, especially in cooking, so it’s no surprise that I get along with this one!

The peppermint is definitely the strongest flavour here, and it has a pleasant coolness and crispness. The basil is subtle but detectable, and adds a tinge of peppery depth, making this a slightly more unusual tea than might be expected. It’s the kind of cup you don’t really have to think about — there isn’t much complexity, after all! Perfect for a busy day when a clean, fresh tasting drink is required. I think this one would also be good iced in the summer, so it’s another one I’ll have to make a note to keep back for the warmer days to come!

Brewed this one properly at home, and there’s still some bitterness to be found. It’s not terrible, but it is there. In a lot of ways, it spoils the sweet, light fruitiness of this tea for me. Nice enough, but not one I’d keep in my cupboard long term.