Purple Mint Tea from JusTea

Today’s review will focus on another new Purple Tea product from JusTea. This is the Purple Mint Tea. It is a blend of purple tea leaves, spearmint and peppermint leaves, and rose petals.

If you did not read my recent review of the Purple Leaf Tea from JusTea, which includes much more information on Purple Tea, and some special limited time offers from JusTea, go check it out now.

Let’s get to the review.

Purple Mint Tea from JusTea – Dry Leaves

The dry leaves vary in color from the pale green of the mint leaves, the dark charcoal grey of the purple tea leaves, and the dark red of the rose petals. The vast majority of the mix consists of the peppermint and spearmint leaves (>/= 90%), with maybe 5% of purple tea leaves, and <5% of rose petals. The refreshing aroma is also dominated by spearmint and peppermint scents. The rose petals and purple tea are undetectable.

The dry leaves were infused in 200°F water for 3 minutes.

Purple Mint Tea from JusTea – Liquid

The tea liquid has a dark golden-yellow color. The aroma is strongly dominated by the sweetness of the spearmint and the spiciness of the peppermint scents, and there is a slight trace of rose petals. The scent of the purple tea leaves is undetectable. The body is medium-full, with a refreshing, mentholated feel, and a lively texture. The taste is dominated by the peppermint and spearmint, and the rose petals and purple tea are undetectable. The aftertaste continues the refreshing, mentholated feel that coats the tongue and throat, and the mint character.

Purple Mint Tea from JusTea – Wet Leaves

The wet leaves again vary in color from the green of the mint leaves, the green and purple of the purple tea, and the pinkish-white of the wet rose petals. The mint leaves are all small fragments, the purple tea leaves are all medium to large fragments (with a bud or two in the mix), and the rose petals are large fragments. The aroma again is dominated by the sweet spearmint and the spicy peppermint. A mentholated, tingly, cool feel in the nose is very interesting and unique.

The combination of the peppermint and spearmint truly hits all parts of the tongue (and nose), and is quite the sensation to focus on. The coolness touches the front end of the tongue, followed by the spicy bite towards the middle, and an extra mentholated feel at the back. Although I would prefer to see, smell, and taste a little more of the rose petals and purple tea in the mix, the blend of the spearmint and peppermint is very tasteful and uplifting (even without the caffeine). Increasing the proportion of the tea and roses is an easy problem to solve, if other reviewers and consumers feel the same way I do. But the cool, mentholated feel was the highlight of this experience.

You can purchase 60 grams of the Purple Mint Tea for USD $12.00 from the JusTea website.

Many thanks to JusTea for providing this sample of Purple Mint Tea, and thank you to my readers for taking your time to check out this review. Cheers!

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Giddapahar Spring Gold 1st Flush 2017 Darjeeling Tea from Lochan Tea

As I prepared to write this post, I was reminded that it has been nearly five years since I began reviewing teas. That reminder came when I found that the last time I reviewed a tea from the Giddapahar Estate was back in 2013. It’s amazing to look back, read that review, and notice how my interpretation of smells and tastes have changed, and how the same product from the same estate has evolved.

The Giddapahar Tea Estate is located in the Kurseong Valley of West Bengal, India. The 95 hectares of tea gardens are situated at an altitude ranging from 4,500 to 5,200 feet above sea level, produce an average of 30,000 kilograms of tea per year, and consist primarily of traditional China and clonal tea bushes. The name Giddapahar translated into English means “Eagles Cliff”.

This sample of Giddapahar Spring Gold 1st Flush 2017 was provided by Lochan Tea. Many thanks to the Lochan family for their generosity in sending these samples.

Let’s get to the review…

Giddapahar Spring Gold 1st Flush 2017 Dry Leaves

The dry leaves have the typical Darjeeling 1st flush variance in color, ranging from pale green to dark brown. The leaves are all medium to large fragments, with few bare stems, and some silver tips in the mix. The leaves have the standard rolled appearance. The aroma has scents of brown sugar, toasted oats, wild flowers, honey, and light cinnamon. It is a very sweet, enticing aroma.

Dry leaves were infused in 190°F water for 3:00 minutes.

Giddapahar Spring Gold 1st Flush 2017 Liquid

The tea liquid had a bright, pale yellow, honey-like color. The aroma had scents of roses, toasted oats, wild blowers, brown sugar, and light honey. The body was medium, with a silky, mellow texture that seemed to coat the tongue and throat as it passed. The taste had notes of roses, wild flowers, and lighter notes of toasted oats, honey, and brown sugar. The floral character dominated the taste, and the aftertaste maintained a lingering, dominantly floral character. The tea had a noticeable and tangible uplifting energy, which is something that I truly appreciate in a good quality Darjeeling 1st flush tea.

Giddapahar Spring Gold 1st Flush 2017 Wet Leaves

The wet leaves have a fresh, pale green color, with spots of light brown. The leaves are medium to large fragments, with few whole leaves and buds. The leaves have a smooth, delicate feel. The aroma has scents of roses, wild flowers, lighter scents of honey, and what I would describe as black licorice, which was very interesting. I had to keep resetting my sense of smell to make sure that I was properly smelling the black licorice, but that is my conclusion.

In my opinion, Giddapahar Tea Estate continues to produce high quality Darjeeling style teas with an affordable price tag. The classic Darjeeling 1st Flush characters are dominant (floral and lightly sweet), and the uplifting energy is definitely there. The black licorice scent on the wet leaves was very nice, and I wish I had noticed it in the aroma or taste of the liquid itself. Overall, this was an excellent 1st Flush tea!

You can purchase the Giddapahar Spring Gold 1st Flush 2017 Darjeeling Tea from Lochan Tea at the price of USD $9.00 for 50 grams of tea.

Thank you for taking your time to read my review of the Giddapahar Spring Gold 1st Flush 2017 Darjeeling Tea!

Purple Leaf Tea from JusTea

On behalf of the good people at JusTea, I am happy to introduce the readers of this blog to their newest product, the Purple Leaf Tea. This organically grown, fairly-traded, one of a kind tea is carefully produced by small-scale farmers in Kenya. JusTea can actually  arrange to have you meet the purple tea farmers via Facebook Live!

Purple Tea Field in Kenya (Image used with permission from JusTea)

Purple tea is certainly one of the lesser known types of tea in the market, especially among the casual tea drinkers. The term “purple tea” has created somewhat of a debate in the tea industry, as it has challenged the more traditional classifications of tea (black, green, white, oolong, etc), and the criteria used to determine the classification of specific tea products. And although I can understand the purist viewpoint, I can also understand the marketing benefit of differentiating Purple tea from Green tea, although the processing technique is nearly identical.

That being said, I would expect the popularity of the JusTea Purple Leaf Tea to increase in the future, as awareness and consciousness of better nutrition and wellness gain traction in the United States, and around the globe in general. In particular, Purple Tea producers and the Tea Research Foundation of Kenya claim that the fresh purple tea leaves contain an antioxidant known as Anthocyanin. This is the same antioxidant that is present in blueberries and pomegranates, and we all are familiar with the healthy reputation of those two products. So expect to see more and more Purple Tea products popping up in your local grocery store.

Purple Tea Bud (Image used with permission from JusTea)

So, let me tell you a little about the promotions going on at JusTea. As of the publishing of this post, JusTea is offering a free tea sample as a birthday gift to anybody who signs up for the newsletter on their website. We all could use more free tea, right?! Also, they are also offering an opportunity to enter to win a pair of John Fluevog shoes AND free Purple Leaf Tea for a year! Honestly, I don’t know much about the shoes, but they are rather expensive (I am not an expensive shoe kind of guy, except my Timberland hiking boots). So you will get an expensive pair of shoes and a year’s supply of healthy, delicious Purple Leaf Tea. So be sure to check those promotions out while they last!

Alright, so let’s get to the tea review.

Purple Leaf Tea from JusTea – Dry Leaves

The dry leaves have a uniform charcoal gray color. The leaves appear to be medium to large fragments, with a few bare stems and buds in the mix. The leaves appear to be hand-rolled. The aroma has scents of dark chocolate, dried plum, freshly picked spinach, light smoke, and light vanilla.

The dry leaves were placed in a ceramic tasting cup and infused with 175°F water for 3 minutes. The leaves can be reused at least 2 or 3 times.

Purple Leaf Tea from JusTea – Tea Liquid

The liquid has a color that reminds me of the flesh of a plum, with a pale, light purple color. The aroma has scents of plum, wet stones, and a pleasant earthiness. The body is medium, with a clean, brisk, lively mouthfeel. The taste has notes of plum, wet stones, cooked spinach, fresh swiss chard, and a light earthiness. The aftertaste carries the clean, mineral essence of wet stones and very light plum.

Purple Leaf Tea from JusTea – Wet Leaves

The wet leaves are mostly a fresh, forest green color, with some spots of purple. There are a few bare stems, and a few nicely developed buds. The leaves are unusually thin and delicate. The fragments are mostly medium to large size, with a few leaves that are nearly fully intact. The aroma has scents of steamed spinach, chard, wet stones, light plum, and earth.

The Purple Leaf Tea from JusTea is an excellent escape from other teas, and is certainly unique in its own rite. I really enjoy the tastes of the mineral and earthiness, which is often found in teas that are pan-fired, as the Purple Leaf Tea is. The feel and texture of this tea was also noteworthy, having a clean, refreshing, and brisk character. The color is most definitely unique and interesting, with a pale, light purple color that looks similar to the flesh of a plum. The used leaves were uniquely delicate and soft. The experience of this tea, from start to finish, can best be summarized as unique.

The Purple Leaf Tea from JusTea is currently selling for USD $13.60 for 60 grams, not including any applicable shipping fees or taxes. They also offer the following Purple Tea blends:

Purple Jasmine – USD $12.00 for 90 grams.

Purple Mint – USD $12.00 for 60 grams.

Purple Rain – USD $12.00 for 90 grams.

All of these 60 and 90 tins come nicely wrapped in colorful fabric, and also include a hand carved wooden teaspoon. As I mentioned in my review of the Nandi Hills Black Tea, the packaging design is pretty awesome, and the wooden teaspoon is an interesting keepsake.

Thank you to JusTea for providing this sample of Purple Leaf Tea, and thank you to all of you who took your time to read this post. Cheers!