Sarabeth's Tea

Backlog:

As I wrote in my review of this tea: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/06/07/pure-ceylon-tea-from-sarabeths/ this is a surprisingly strong Ceylon.

Surprising because I don’t usually think of a Ceylon as a particularly strong tea, and also surprising because it came from a teabag.

A smoothly flavored Ceylon, nicely round. Notes of malt, fruit, earth and even a delightful undertone of caramel. It’s quite a pleasant cup.

I saw Sarahbeth’s Tea at a grocery store and decided to try the Earl Grey because the other flavors did not sound very palatable to me, but I was curious about the brand.

This Ceylon Earl Grey brews up amber and tastes pretty smooth—no scratchiness or bad aftertaste as in many grocery store Earl Greys… The base tea is just as important here as the bergamot. In fact, the scent is rather light. This is not bad for a quick batch on a cooler day—provided that one enjoys Ceylon tea.

The tin contains 40 bags, but each bag contains only 1.5 not 2 grams, so some people would do better with 2 bags for one glass. I’ll try that next time. I drank mine with light cream, and the brew looked more cloudy than creamy. With half and half this would be too dilute for me.

Backlog:

I’m not always excited to try “decaffeinated” teas. I’m not usually thrilled to try naturally caffeine free tisanes either, but if given a choice between the two, I’d probably choose a caffeine free tisane over a decaffeinated tea. I had several bad experiences many years ago with decaffeinated teas, and that horrible chemical-y aftertaste continues to offer a lingering “ghost” of a flavor on my palate when I think of decaffeinated teas. It’s all in my head, of course, but, it’s difficult to get past those bad episodes.

That said, this was a decent tea! It doesn’t have that chemical-y, weird, off decaffeinated flavor that I remember from my previous decaffeinated experiences. It has a light, refreshing flavor. It is slightly “thinner” than a caffeinated green tea. But this thinness does not create an unpleasant cup. It’s quite nice.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/03/25/decaffeinated-green-tea-from-sarabeths/

Backlog:

Had I not known I was opening a tin of Earl Grey tea, I might not have guessed it by the aroma. This has to be one of the most softly scented bergamot teas I’ve yet to encounter. A little disconcerting for this bergamot fan, but, I decided not to let it sway me yet.

It’s a decent tea. The bergamot is a subtle flavor, more subtle than I usually want in a Earl Grey blend, but, the flavor is there, and it doesn’t taste artificial. The black tea has a good flavor to it. This is certainly not the worst Earl Grey tea I’ve had, but, I can’t say it’s my favorite either.

It’s a good Earl Grey tea for those who like their bergamot on the softer side.

Doubling up on the tea bags helps enhance the bergamot flavor a little – and this DOES make an incredibly refreshing iced tea!

Backlog:

This is a pretty good green tea. The Acai is quite tart, and I’m not usually a fan of tart flavors, but, since Acai is a tart berry, I guess I anticipated that this would be tart. There is a good balance between green tea and berry taste, and the buttery notes of the green tea soften the tart notes of the Acai just a bit to make it more palatable to my tart-sensitive palate.

I liked it … my daughter really liked it. Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/02/26/acai-green-tea-from-sarabeths/

I oversteeped this. Read: I completely, utterly forgot I made a cup of this. Horror of horrors, I left a green tea steeping for at least 15 minutes. And yet somehow it’s not bitter or grassy at all. This actually tastes a lot like a fruity oolong to me, and I love that. It’s much mellower than a lot of greens I’ve had, and the fruit is natural and doesn’t overpower the cup like I always worry about with red fruit. This cup ended up pretty good! And it’s a sipdown because mom gets the other bag.

Backlog:

A tasty flavored green tea. The pomegranate flavor is subtle but in keeping with the delicate quality of the sweet green tea. A nice, silky texture to the cup, and I enjoyed the balance of flavor of fruit flavor and tea. Really good as an iced tea.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/01/27/pomegranate-green-tea-sarabeths/