April’s Teas Have Been Delivered, Enjoy! 2013
From tea growers to blenders to world-leading sommeliers, our community includes people at every step of the process. We taste dozens of teas each month, with no affiliation to blenders, and chose the blends that inspire us most to share with you. We do this by having our team of tea connoisseurs and sommeliers sample and score the teas for look, region, aroma and of course, taste. We take pride in delivering a variety of world-class blends to your door every month – we feel we deserve it, and so do you!
Check out April’s teas below. Now taking orders on May’s teas shipping on the 17th.
Testimony
“We have had the pleasure of exploring the tea catalogues of over 60 blenders to date. However, only one of our blenders has constantly dedicated themselves to the betterment of the human race: Aromatica Fine Tea. This month with a humble pride we feature Freedom Tea. Aromatica donates all proceeds from this tea to the International Justice Mission of Canada to fight human trafficking internationally. If you love this tea as much as we do, we strongly recommend contacting Aromatica at myaromatica.com and placing direct orders. It’s using your hard-earned dollars to make a statement of change. Also this month we are featuring Grandpa’s Anytime Tea, cultivated and grown by Arthur Komo, who turns 113 this year and is the oldest tea farmer in the world! And after spending a year exploring the Rishi tea catalogue we have our last taster’s choice coming your way, Maghreb Mint. It’s a green tea mint base that incorporates the spices of the Middle East. Our last featured tea this month is Fireberry: a dark, rich, smooth and slightly tart tea that will leave you burning for more. We hope you enjoy!"
Michael Menashy, Tea Sparrow Family
Tiesta Tea’s Fireberry
Description: Dark, rich, and smooth. Who doesn’t want that? With a combination of all your favorite berries, this charmer will definitely leave you burning for more. (Another amazing iced tea!)
Ingredients: Rooibos tea, hibiscus, currants, rosehips, elderberries, and cranberries.
Steeping Instructions: Steep 2 teaspoon per 8 ounces (1 cup) of boiling water for 4 to 5 minutes.
Tea Sparrow Suggests: Steep 1 tablespoon per 8 ounces (1 cup) of boiling water for 4 to 6 minutes.
Health Benefits: The phrase "herbal tea” or “tisanes” usually refers to infusions of fruit or herbs made without the tea plant. Regarding their benefits, apart from being the perfect refreshment on hot summer days, they are also packed with vitamin C. So it’s a great way to get your vitamin C without having to eat all the sugars that come with whole fruits.
Michael Menashy, Tea Sparrow Family – “Gorgeous fruit tea with a base of rooibos. Brew it strong…don’t be afraid.”
Michelle Gruder, Tea Enthusiat – “Naturally sweet, slightly tart from the berries. What a great caffeine-free desert tea.”
Aromatica’s Freedom Tea
Description: Intense lemon taste in a caffeine free, high antioxidant base. What could be better? Only one thing: proceeds from this tea are donated to International Justice Mission Canada to fight human trafficking internationally.
Ingredients: Green rooibos, red rooibos, lemon myrtle, lemon verbena, and lemongrass, with just a hint of vanilla.
Steeping Instructions: Steep 1 teaspoon per 8 ounces of not-quite-boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes.
Tea Sparrow Suggests: Steep 1 tablespoon per 8 ounces of boiling water for 4 to 6 minutes.
Health Benefits: This incredibly flavoured caffeine-free tea is growing quickly in popularity but did you know that it also contains high amounts of antioxidants? Although the antioxidants found in rooibos tea are different from those in green tea, they are still known to fight off free radicals in the body. Rooibos tea is also known to fight off cardiovascular disease, liver disease and lower blood pressure.
Michael Menashy, Tea Sparrow Family – “Nice variety of lemon used. Very relaxing yet invigorating blend. Make a great ice tea as well.”
Royal Tea of Kenya’s Grandpa’s Anytime Tea
Description: One of two teas named after Arthur Njuguna Komo, who turns 113 this year, and is the oldest tea farmer in the world, Grandpa’s Afternoon Tea is a dark CTC tea, able to stand up to milk and sweeteners. It brews into a lovely red liquor. This is a tea for those who want bold, strong flavor.
Ingredients: Thika District Black Tea.
Steeping Instructions: Steep 1 teaspoon per 8 ounces (1 cup) of boiling water for 3 minutes.
Tea Sparrow Suggests: Steep 1 tablespoon per 8 ounces (1 cup) of boiling water for 3 minutes.
Health Benefits: Most people don’t realize black tea comes with many of the similar health benefits as green tea, including reduced risk of stroke and heart disease, among many others. As well, black tea is said to increase energy, aid in digestive health and to promote healthy skin and hair. Black tea’s tannins are also great immunity-boosters.
Michael Menashy, Tea Sparrow Family – “This reminds me of the tea I grew up drinking. Granular, strong and flavourful. Awesome with honey and milk.”
Rishi’s Maghreb Mint
Description: One of Rishi’s first mint blends that remains one of their most popular. Full-bodied sweetness, bold mint flavor and zesty notes of cardamom, ginger and spices. Maghreb Mint can be infused like tea or boiled North African style with sugar, water and/or prepared with milk like Masala Chai.
Ingredients: Organic green tea, organic ginger, organic cardamom, organic peppermint, organic liquorice root, organic fennel, organic cloves, organic black pepper.
Steeping Instructions: Steep 1 tbsp per 8 ounces (1 cup) of boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes.
Tea Sparrow Suggests: Steep 1 tbsp per 8 ounces (1 cup) of boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes. Add a touch of honey to round off the flavours.
Health Benefits: By now, the health benefits of green tea have been well-established. Here are just a few of the reasons we love it so much: it’s been shown to fight cancer and heart disease, lower cholesterol, prevent diabetes and stroke and to fight infection. It’s tough to beat that!
Darcy McMurray, Tea Enthusiast – “I really like the way the spices complement the peppermint and green tea base. It’s both complicated and simple. Bold but not overstated.”
Jenny Dent, Tea Enthusiast – “Love it even more as it cools down. The taste stays and dances on your tongue.”