What is green rooibos?

Green rooibos is made from the South African Aspalathus linearis plant, just like red rooibos or red bush tea. Rooibos is very similar to the real tea. There are green and red types, similar to green and black tea. Red rooibos goes really well with milk, just like black tea, and green rooibos is better served without milk, just like green tea. And then, there’s the flavour. Red rooibos is earthy and rich, while the green rooibos has a flavour similar to green tea, but without the grassiness.

But unlike real teas, rooibos, both green and red, will never become bitter, no matter how long you steep them for. And they are both caffeine free. If you don’t like the flavour of red rooibos, don’t automatically dismiss this type. The flavour is very different, and you may be pleasantly surprised.

Tick Tock Organic Green Rooibos

Although this tea type is available from specialised tea shops, it’s not as readily available in supermarkets or in tea bags. Tick Tock is for sure changing that, by offering both options that can be found not only online, but in Tesco and Waitrose too.

Loose leaf green rooibos loose similar to red rooibos, except, it’s yellow-greenish. Dry leaves have a less intense scent too, not as earthy but more herbaceous and much more neutral. You will need to use a fine-mesh strainer or a disposable tea filter for making this tea. This herbal tea has very small, fine leaves, which makes it very difficult to brew in many infuser mugs or teapots with a built-in strainer.

What does it taste like?

To make a cup of tea, you’ll need 1-2 teaspoons of tea leaves and a cup of water. Steep it for 5-10 minutes in boiling water.

This tea tastes like a mellow green tea, but with absolutely no bitterness. Just like red rooibos, it cannot get bitter no matter how long you steep it for. Flavour is slightly earthy, with hints of boiled greens. Since there’s no bitterness, only a very pleasant flavour, you don’t need to add any condiments.

The best way to drink it is pure, hot or cold. You can also use it as a very neutral base for making iced teas and blend it with other ingredients. As a base tea, it will give colour and depth, but it will be quite neutral and capable of carrying different flavours – from zesty to sweet, even spicy.

If you love green teas or want to find a mild tasting herbal tea with no caffeine, this herbal tea is a great tea to try.

Tea Recap

Water or milk? Water.

Day or night? Day or night.

Hot or iced? Hot or iced.

Sweetened or Pure? Pure or with a teaspoon of sugar or honey.

Caffeine? No

What’s the price? Starting from 2.25 GBP.

Where to buy? Get it from Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Tick Tock website, Waitrose, Tesco or Ocado.

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What is the Authentic Matcha?

Until recently, the only authentic matcha came from Japan. In fact, it still does, if by authentic we mean using original techniques and special tea plants. Japanese tea producers are using very specific methods and tea cultivars that result in a unique colour, texture and flavour profile of matcha tea. Other tea powders are usually simply grounded green teas, with less intense colour and flavour, unlike the real matcha. More often than not, they are quite bitter too, grey instead of green and often not as pleasant to drink as real matcha.

But recently, all this has changed. It’s no longer possible to make assumptions about matcha tea quality based purely on the country of origin. As tea drinkers are becoming more demanding, the rules about quality are becoming stricter, and about the terroir looser. Ultimately, new proper matcha teas from other countries are becoming available too.  

These days, there are teas that deserve the name matcha even though they are not coming from Japan. They will taste slightly different from the Japanese powdered green teas, but that’s anything but a disadvantage. In fact, it’s bringing novelty and new excitement into the world of powdered teas.

Korean matcha is one of those teas that definitely deserves more attention.

What is Korean Matcha?

Korean Hadong matcha from SEEIN is matcha powder grown and produced in Hadong from naturally shaded tea leaves. It’s an organic, GMO free, ceremonial grade single origin tea.

Japanese matcha is usually made from special Japanese tea cultivars and tea leaves shaded under bamboo covers for ¾ weeks before harvesting.

And that’s the first difference.

Ceremonial grade doesn’t mean the tea will have a certain flavour. Among others, it means it will be harvested from younger leaves than culinary grade matcha and is best for preparing with water. However, it does not define the flavour of the tea.

The second difference is the actual terroir. If you were to make two teas of the exact same type growing in two different locations, you would get two teas with a very different flavour. The flavour of Korean matcha is closer to the flavour of other Korean green teas than to the favour of Japanese matcha. And the same is true for Japanese matcha.

This Hadong matcha has a deep, intense green colour, which may be slightly darker than most Japanese matcha teas. It has a strong and intense fresh green scent that’s incredibly inviting.  

What Does Hadong Korean Matcha Taste Like?

To make this matcha powder, use the same method as you would for making Japanese matcha. You’ll need 2 chashaku of tea powder, 70-90 ml of water, chasen and a chawan.

Hadong Korean Matcha is a beautiful matcha to prepare, with a wonderful layer of foam and a lot of depth.

It has a slightly nuttier and warmer flavour than a “regular” Japanese matcha. This tea has a very light astringency, and light sweetness and grassiness. This matcha is slightly deeper than a common Japanese matcha, but nevertheless, delicious. If you’ve ever tried some Korean green teas, you will immediately recognize the same flavour notes, somewhere between daejak and sejak teas. It has a unique Korean green tea character.

It’s very easy to prepare. This tea is amazing for drinking both hot and cold. It’s great for cooking as well because it gives a wonderful deep green colour without the need to use too much powder. SEEIN states it has 29 mg of caffeine per gram, so you can easily adjust the amount to suit your preferences.

And then, there’s the price. Most matcha powders usually come with a hefty price tag. It’s quite rare to find a good and affordable green tea powder, which makes this one absolutely amazing for cooking or making iced matcha drinks.

Tea Recap

Water or milk? Water or milk.

Day or night? Day.

Hot or iced? Hot or iced.

Sweetened or Pure? Pure or with a teaspoon of sugar or honey.

Caffeine? Yes

What’s the price? Starting from 5.50 GBP.

Where to buy? Get it from Amazon.

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What is osmanthus?

Camellia sinensis tea leaves and flowers go extremely well together. Just take a sip of a perfectly blended rose or jasmine tea, and you’ll see what a harmonious match they are. With highly aromatic, floral and fruity notes, osmanthus flowers take this bond to another level. Never heard of osmanthus flowers? You are not alone. They are common in Asia, but much less common in western countries.

Osmanthus flowers are edible flowers from Osmanthus fragrans tree originating in Asia. These small, beautiful yellow flowers are extremely fragrant and flavourful, and unlike any other flower in the world. Because of their unique sweet peach/apricot flavour, they are often used for scenting pure teas and even for making desserts. Osmanthus teas are not as common as jasmine teas, but they are equally aromatic. While jasmine teas usually have a green tea base, osmanthus flowers can be added to other types of tea too – white, oolong, green, black and dark.

Base of Osmanthus Baozhong tea from Tea Repertoire is a Taiwanese Baozhong oolong tea from a biological tea farm in Nangang.

What is baozhong tea?

Baozhong tea is a unique green oolong tea from Taiwan. Taiwan is famous for its high mountain oolong teas, which makes Baozhong really stand out. It has bigger twisted leaves, and is light, floral and green, with no bitterness. This tea makes for a delicious cuppa on its own, without the need for any condiments. It’s lighter than many common green teas, with a unique flavour profile that’s perhaps the best described as a link between Taiwanese green teas and high mountain teas.

How to brew Osmanthus Baozhong tea?

The best way to enjoy any great tea is to preheat your tea ware first. In a preheated teapot, Osmanthus Baozhong is a genuine delight with sweet, deep, intense floral and apricot notes.

Use about 2.5 grams of tea leaves per cup of water, and steep for 4-5 minutes at 85 degrees Celsius. You can steep oolong teas at higher temperatures than green tea, but lower than black.

Brewed tea has a bright yellow-green colour with light, fresh, sweet apricot and milky, beautifully balanced flavour. You can re-steep the same tea leaves a couple of time. If you want to use a re-steeping method, you can use more tea leaves, less water and shorter steeping time. The second infusion will offer lighter and fresher notes of Baozhong tea, with osmanthus slowly fading with each subsequent infusion.

If you are looking for a gentle, but extremely flavourful fruity and floral gentle tea with no added flavourings, Osmanthus Baozhong is a perfect tea. Natural floral notes and incredible lightness make this tea a great daily tea. But perhaps, the best way to enjoy it is when you need some time out and want to pamper yourself with delightful flavours and scents.

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What is Hide & Seek Breakfast tea?

Hide & Seek Breakfast tea from The Tea Leaf Co. is a hidden gem. The Tea Leaf Company is based in the UK, with a mission to offer everyone a great cup of tea, while respecting the tea tradition and people at the same time. Their teas are simple, but unique. There wouldn’t be a more appropriate name for this tea than Hide & Seek.

So, what’s the story behind Hide & Seek? In 1848, The East India Company sent a Scottish botanist to steal tea seeds, plants and production methods from China and transfer them to India. His name was Robert Fortune. After a lot of seeking and hiding, Robert Fortune was fortunate enough to succeed. Today, India is one of the most important and largest tea producers in the world. There’s hardly a tea drinker that hasn’t tried at least one Indian tea.

Hide & Seek Breakfast tea is an Indian black tea too, named after the Robert Fortune’s tea hunt. But there’s an even more interesting side to this tea. Many breakfast teas are made with Indian, Chinese, Kenyan and Ceylon teas. They may be single origin or blends. Most Indian breakfast teas are made with strong, bold, and malty Assam tea. And Hide & Seek? It comes from a family tea garden in Nagaland, an Indian state that’s rarely mentioned in the world of tea. Nagaland tea is not something you would easily find.

Hide & Seek, why have you been hiding so long?

Imagine a strong and malty Assam, blended with second-flush rich and muscatel Darjeeling and breezy and brisk high-grown Ceylon tea. That’s what Hide & Seek smells like. It has dark brown broken leaves with some lighter buds and greener leaves. This is a single origin tea, hand-picked, and hand rolled tea.

Steep 1 teaspoon of tea leaves in 1 cup of water for 5 minutes at 90 degrees Celsius. This tea has zero bitterness, even if you over-brew it. It’s strong and full-bodied, with deeper malty and fruity notes, but light at the same time, too.

Hide & Seek Breakfast would be great for tea drinkers that enjoy exploring pure and specialty teas, and tea drinkers that love breakfast blends that will taste great both pure and with milk. It’s great for forgetful tea drinkers too – you can over-brew it and still enjoy a great cup of tea.

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