In the past, I have reviewed a few teas from Simple Loose Leaf’s tea subscription service. However, since then, their subscription service has changed. From design to structure, I’m excited to review a tea from this new and improved service. In a lovely presented box, they have provided larger quantity of teas for their May box. Instead of 5 teas at 7 grams each, there is now 4 teas at 10 grams each. I enjoy this better because sometimes too many teas at once feels overwhelming and I really like to be able to give full focus to one tea at a time. In addition, if there is a tea I really love, I’m definitely happy to have more of it! Another neat addition is that Simple Loose Leaf has also included 4 packets of organic cane sugar. While I don’t typically sweeten my teas, I will be giving it a try in some black teas.
Ingredients: Chinese Green Tea
Steep Time: 2 minutes
First Sip Thought: “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…”
Smell: With vibrant colours, the aroma of this tea is just as enchanting. Quite grassy with subtle hints of smokiness. The spiral rolled leaves unfurl beautifully leaving a light golden liquor.
Taste: I decided to review this tea from Simple Loose Leaf’s May Tea Box because I consider it to be my favourite out of the four provided. Out of all the green teas I have tried, I think this may be in my list of top 3 favourites. It actually reminds me more of a white tea than green. Which leads me to think this would be a great green tea for beginners. As a very crisp brew, this Chinese Jade green tea never fails to satisfy. The first few sips were quite grassy, changing to a nice smoky, nutty flavour. With those two flavours, chestnuts roasting is the perfect description I can think of. Each infusion brings out a more intense chestnut finish that blends wonderfully with the vegetal flavours. I think I’m going to use this tea for the green tea vinegar recipe in Annelies’ Steeped: Recipes Infused with Tea cookbook. It calls for Dragonwell but the smoky qualities of this tea tells me I just may enjoy this more!
Verdict: 4 out of 5 tea leaves