TasTEA Time! Touch Organic Mango Green Tea

What:  Green Tea with Mango

Where:  China

Why Should I Care:  So, mango green tea done right is probably my favorite mixture of fruit and tea.  Mango has this sweet, slightly floral flavor that is great as a refreshing summer drink or in the winter when you really want a refreshing summer day.  However, I mentioned in the Dilmah Mango Tea review that mango isn't that uncommon of a tea flavor, but it's apparently hard to get it right.

Packaging:  Foil envelopes with the eco paper.

Non-Taste Senses:  It's a slightly golden colored green tea with a nice mango scent (which isn't as strong as the Dilmah).

Taste:  Oh sweet lawd, this is good.  Yes, I know I'm a sucker for mango tea but this is pretty close to perfect. The mango and tea flavors are perfectly balanced.  It's a relatively sweet and fragrant tea while also being light. I would like to see a slightly stronger mango flavor but I always want a stronger mango flavor and this tea is good with sugar and iced.

Overall:  I don't think I've ever been disappointed by Touch Organics.  Each tea of theirs is fragrant, full-bodied and premium quality.  This one is no exception and is sure to bring a little sunshine on a winter day.

My Rating:  Buy it!  Here's the site.

TasTEA Time! Touch Organic Apricot White Tea

What:  White Tea with Apricot

Where:  China

Why Should I Care:  Inexpensive White tea is relatively hard to find, organic is even harder.  Now, this particular brand mixes with green tea which isn't that uncommon of a practice (I read in an article that dim sum restaurants usually mix in a little black tea to add color and flavor).  Plus, apricot is a unique flavor.

Packaging:  I would say it's IFWS, but it's in this folded envelope style as opposed to the foil pillow (yes, that is how i'm describing them).  Also, the paper used in the sachets is like brown bag paper.  I'm pretty sure it's unbleached so that's a plus.

Non-Taste Senses:  It's this nice yellow color and has a light, apricot smell.

Taste:  Both the tea and apricot flavors can be described as light and refreshing but that doesn't mean that they're weak.  I'm also gonna suggest that you lower the steeping temperature too since there's a mixture of green tea in it.  It's nice with some sugar and would be refreshing chilled.

Overall:  It's pretty hard to screw up white tea,   This has a nice fruity flavor with a light tea taste.  Is it freaking amazing?  No.  Is it worth checking out?  Yes.

My Rating:  Try it!  Here's the site.

TasTEA Time! The Tea Farm's Rosemary Tea

First off, the instructions they put on the package is wrong.  If you do buy this, make sure the water is boiling then soak it for at least 5 minutes.  The package gives instructions for green tea and it doesn't work so well for the tough rosemary.

What:  It's pretty much just rosemary

Where:  Apparently it's a product of China

Why Should I Care:  When I ordered from the Tea Farm, they mixed up the sizes of the tea I got so I'm stuck with a 4 oz bag of Rosemary tea (which is actually pretty sizable).  The question is, do I want to return this or should i just keep the tea since it'll last me for a while.  Wikipedia tells me that rosemary forms a neurlogical barrier against free radicals, is anti-carsigenic and improves the quality of memory although it reduces the speed of recall.  In other words, this might be a great study tea.

Packaging:  It's in a nice foil-lined bag, which is resealable but still a total pain.

Non-taste Senses:  The tea itself is almost clear with a yellow-green tint.  It smells like Rosemary.

Taste:  It's actually pretty refreshing.  It has a light taste with a bit of a cooling effect and a little bit of natural sweetness.  Sugar is a nice touch and I'd recommend just drinking it warm.

Overall:  It's not bad, but I kinda wish they would have added some ceylon or something.  I mean, why would I want to order this when I can just go to Giant Eagle and get some rosemary.  On the other hand, I can make some delicious pork chops with the extra.

My Rating:  Try it while it's still november.  If you order something from the Tea Farm, you can add this to your order for free this month.  Yeah, it's just rosemary but if you don't like it, use it for some recipes   Pass any other month.

TasTEA Time! Price of Peace Green Tea

What:  Cheap Green Tea

Where:  "China"

Why Should I Care:  I got a 100c pack for $3.20.  That's pretty much it.  The tea talks about being all-natural but the truth is, they're ALL all-natural.

Packaging:  The good news is that they're all individually wrapped.  The bad news is that it's in paper.  If you're going to wrap something, there isn't any point unless it's in something like foil or plastic.  You're going to lose flavor just as quickly with paper as you would if the tea was naked.

Non-taste Senses:  It looks like green tea (the cheap kind you find everywhere) and it smells like green tea.

Taste:  At first, it tastes ok.  But there's something that emerges in the middle of the flavor which is...terrifying.  It hits you at the sides of your mouth and it's this extreme sour/bitterness which is ruining whatever taste this stuff has.  It's funny because I brewed this before and each time I did, it was meh for a variety of reasons.  Discounting the times that I didn't brew it correctly, I also remember it having a slight chlorine taste.   Honestly, I doubt anything would save it.  Sugar actually makes it worse and I doubt icing it would be successful.

Overall:  I know this is cheap and I love cheap things, but sometimes you have to look at quality.  The reason I got this was because I drink a good 2 to 3 pots of tea per day and I could use this to help me save those slightly pricier teas but honestly, I don't drink this as much as I thought I would.  Yes, I explained that the taste was awful but it's also because you can find better tea for a couple cents more.  Instead of buying this, go buy some chun me loose leaf or Heath and Heather Jasmine Green.  They're not the best, but they're good buys for the price

My Rating:  Pass.  The company doesn't seem to have a website, but a lot of their other products are getting great reviews *shrug*.