Teabag - Genmaicha

Tea: Genmaicha
Vendor: Maeda-en
Price: $4.50 / 10 teabags
Vendor Description: Craving a good cup of tea, but not in the mood to deal with the mess? We have just the solution for you!
Maeda-en is proud to offer you deliciousness and convenience all at the same time: crushed Genmai-cha (leaves AND rice!) are packed in mesh pyramid bags for the maximum steeping & easy clean up. It brews the beautiful green liquor, and tastes just like a whole leaf brew!

Teabag: The teabag for this tea has some very small rice in it. I would guess to say that the rice has been crushed like the tea. There is a quite a bit of dust on the teabag as well as inside of the package. There is a moderate amount of stem pieces in the mix. The mix reminds me quite a bit of the mix that was in the sencha teabag.

1st Infusion Parameters: 185F, 3min, 5 oz, 1 teabag (2g)

1st Infusion: The tea comes out lightly murky, through the murkiness there is a lightly radiant yellow-green color. The aroma is very broad and strong and is primarily represented by the toasted rice aroma. It reminds me very much of rice crackers. The flavor of the tea itself has a medium strength with a very soft flavor. It is very much dominated by the rice flavor.

Rating: 5/10

Conclusion: Like the sencha this teabag was an improvement on their previous product's design, although like the sencha I would have liked to see more leaf in the bag. I also didn't really see any reason to crush the tea, larger leaf like that used by most nicer teabag producers would have probably been nicer.

Teabag - Sencha

Tea: Sencha
Vendor: Maeda-En
Price: $4.50 / 10pc
Vendor Description: Craving a good cup of tea, but not in the mood to deal with the mess? We have just the solution for you!
Maeda-en is proud to offer you deliciousness and convenience all at the same time: crushed Sencha leaves are packed in mesh pyramid bags for the maximum steeping & easy clean up. It brews the beautiful green liquor, and tastes just like a whole leaf brew!

About this tea: Recently Maeda-en contacted me and wondered if I would like to give their teabags another go around. It seems that since my last review of their gyokuro teabags they switched from using a satchel type teabag to using a tetrahedral teabag shape.

Teabag: Each of these teabags comes individually wrapped. When opening up the teabag, quite a bit of powder comes out with the teabag. The amount of tea reminds me of a matcha laced genmaicha, but this is just because maeda-en apparently crushes their sencha for packing in the teabag. The teabags are in fact now a tetrahedral shape, and they are filled with small pieces of sencha leaf. The leaf is all very uniform in size and shape, it is smaller than rooibos in size. There is a noticeable light green glint of stem in the mix. The aroma of the teabag is a bit unusual, it is lightly marine in aroma and smells very broad in nature. Unlike some of the more specific teas it has a very overall green aroma to it.

1st Infusion Parameters: 1 teabag (2g), 5oz, 185F, 2min
1st Infusion: This teabag produces a murky darker green colored tea. There is not much of an aroma to it. The flavor is light and clear. The flavor is quite broad with a light central flavor to it. There is no astringency or bitterness, but overall the flavor seems a bit light. The used teabag is not pressing against the sides of the mesh strongly meaning plenty of space in the teabag, but at the same time there is room to have added more leaf in and still not see any size issues.

Rating: 5/10

Conclusion: While this is a significant improvement from the satchel type of teabags before, the tea is not terribly impressive. Granted it probably felt a bit weak due to the ratio I used, one teabag held 2g, wheras for this volume of water I'm normally using 3-5g at a shorter infusion time. The flavor was very broad, which I am getting the feeling that this was intentionally blended as such. All in all it's a somewhat inexepensive solution for individually wrapped teabags, good for taking tea on the go.

Marrakesh Mint

Tea: Marrakesh Mint
Vendor: Mighty Leaf
Price: $9.95 / 15 teabags
Vendor Description: Marrakesh Mint green tea is made from China Gunpowder green tea blended with refreshing Moroccan peppermint. Packaged in a silken tea pouch, our gourmet teabag, this blend will whisk you away to cascading waterfalls deep in the mountains of Morocco. Host friends and family with this lively green tea brightened with peppermint cultivated on a mountain in Tiznit.

Teabag: The teabag is made in the typical style for Mighty Leaf, sewed together mesh pouches. There really wasn't anything truly remarkable about this teabag, it has a rather strong peppermint aroma to it, but aside from that appears to be a pretty normal green tea.

1st Infusion Parameters: 1 teabag, 5oz, 185F, 3min

1st Infusion: The tea produces a surprisingly deep brown hue, one of the darker I've seen for a green tea. The tea has a very crisp mintiness to the flavor, it's the most noticeable portion of the flavor, behind that though is a rich tea flavor that plays second seat to the peppermint. The tea provides a good overall tea feeling where the peppermint does well to shine forward as mint normally does. There is a little bit of astringency on the back end.

Rating: 5/10
Conclusion: Nothing truly remarkable here. It is a simple green tea with some peppermint added in for a crisper flavor. If you're looking for a mint flavored green tea teabag this is a good option, but if that's not what you're looking for, there's probably something else you want.

Jasmin Mandarin Special Grade

Tea: Jasmin Mandarin Super Grade - 8201
Vendor: Lupicia USA
Price: $8.50 / 10 teabags
Source: China
Vendor Description: The highest grade Jasmin tea produced using Chinese green tea as a base. It has a sweet fragrance like a spring wind, which is so refreshing that once tasted you can't forget it.

Teabag: This teabag is a normal Lupicia teabag, trigonal pyramidal w/ nylon style mesh. It contains about 3g of brownish green leaf. There is a very strong and sweet Jasmine aroma to it.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5oz, 185F, 1:30

1st Infusion: The infusion has a pale light brown hue to it. There is a rich strong Jasmine aroma to it. The flavor is sweet and light, it feels very reserved for a flavored tea. There is a medium astringency to finish the overall light flavor. The flavor and is very conservative compared to the aroma.

2nd Infusion Parameter: 3:00, 185F

2nd Infusion: There is a light brown hue to it again. It still smells very nicely of Jasmine. the flavor is smooth with a medium astringency. Everything about this tea feels quite permeated by Jasmine.

Rating: 8/10

Conclusion: This tea was overall fairly nice. The somewhat high amount of astringency is a bit of a downside. The scenting was very pleasant and lasted for more than one infusion which was enjoyable. At almost a dollar a teabag it feels a bit pricey, but for a good Jasmine flavor it's worth it.

Teabag - Apricot Houji

Tea: Apricot Houji - 8228
Vendor: Lupicia USA
Price: $6.50 / 10 teabags
Vendor Descripton: One of our proudest products, which is a blend of Houjicha with the rich sweet fragrance of apricot. Aroma of Houjicha and faint sweetness match unusually well and produce this delicious tea.

Teabag: The teabag has aroma of dried apricots. It is a slightly sweet aroma. The leaf looks rather small and dustlike, smaller than the normal houjicha leaf used for most of the flavored houjicha from Lupicia.

1st Infusion Parameters: 3 min, 208F, 5 oz, 1 teabag

1st Infusion: This tea exhibits a beautiful brown houjicha hue. The tea has a light aroma. It still reminds me of apricots. The flavor is smooth with no bitterness or astringency. There is a little bit of an apricot flavor on the front end. The middle and back end of the flavor is filled with a light houjicha flavoring. It is a very relaxing feeling houjicha.

Rating: 6/10

Conclusion: This tea shows promise, but as a teabag it feels rather light. The teabag could stand to use more leaf in it, but because of that I feel the need to try this out in loose leaf as well. The flavor hints that it could be great in a bit bolder form, but at a 5oz to one teabag ratio this is a bit light for my tastes. Thankfully the flavor carries in from the aroma unlike some flavored teas.

PG Tips

Tea: PG Tips

About This Tea: PG Tips is a very widely available teabag. It is well known as being an enjoyed black tea blend. It can be found at a wide variety of stores including most grocery stores. Pricing for these can vary quite drastically based on volume (more than most teas).

Teabag: The teabag is a paper pyramidal style teabag. There is no string attached to this teabag interestingly enough.

Infusion Parameters: 6 oz, 208F, 3 min

Infusion: This tea has a bold black aroma to it. The tea has a copper red color. The beginning of the tea has a little bit of a bitterness to it, and finishes with a fruity aftertaste. There is a medium sense of astringency on the backside of the tea.

Rating: 7/10

Conclusion: This tea is surprisingly good. It is very inexpensive and quite available. There is nothing really to knock about this tea, but it just doesn't have any outstanding qualities to it. Fairly good tea though. Thanks to Jessica over at Authoritea for a few of these teabags.

Teabag - Kalahari Reserve

Tea: Kalahari Reserve
Vendor: Kalahari Tea
Price: $3.50 / 20 teabags
Source: South Africa
Vendor Description: Kalahari Reserve is 100% pure red tea, selected from the tender tips of the Rooibos bush. With it's sweet, smooth taste, it can be enjoyed by itself, or with milk, lemon or a sweetener. Rich in antioxidants, red tea tastes great and is naturally caffeine free. It's the healthy drink you can consume all day long.

Teabag: This is another paper satchel style teabag from Kalahari Tea. There are lots of small rooibos bits in the bag. In general it seems like a very mundane red tea bag.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5 oz, 208F, 3 min, 1 teabag

1st Infusion: This tea produces a deep rich red color. There are hints of brown in the hue, but it is still a rather pure red. The aroma of the tea is very traditional for a rooibos tea. The flavor is also very characteristic smooth rooibos. It feels a bit sweeter than most rooibos that I have had and finishes with a light sense of astringency.

Rating: 7/10

Conclusion: Aesthetically the color of this tea is quite amazing. Unfortunately the methods of packaging that they use along with the paper satchel style teabags that they use don't really help them here. It would be better to use a teabag where you could more plainly see the color and appearance of the rooibos leaf. Aside from that though the tea is very characteristic for a rooibos tea, with the benefit of being slightly sweeter than most. This would be a good rooibos to try if you've never tried one before.

Teabag - Ginger Zest Sencha

Tea: Ginger Zest Sencha
Vendor: Kalahari Tea
Price: $.99 / 16 teabags
Vendor Description: Fragrant, Fresh Sencha and Bancha green teas are paired with the tingle of spicy organic ginger to create a refreshing and invigorating cup.

Teabag: This teabag is also another paper satchel type teabag. It has a very prominent ginger aroma to it.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5 oz, 1:15, 185F

1st Infusion: There is a rather prominent aroma to this tea. It is complicated and complex. The aroma reminds me of the detox infusion from Mighty Leaf. There are many detectable components to the aroma, but I can't single out very many of them at all. The only thing that I can really pull out is the ginger like portion of the aroma. There is a light sharp flavor to this tea, it is not very gingerly. It feels much more like a bancha than a sencha when evaluating the green tea portion of the flavor. The green tea is in the back of the flavor, but it is not offputting. The tea finishes with a light bitterness.

Rating: 3/10

Conclusion: This tea feels confused and muddled. Looking at the ingredient list I'm not surprised why. There is a mix of all kinds of things in it. It lacks clarity due to the complicated nature of it's blending. I would suggest finding something purer.

Teabag - Highlands Honey

Tea: Highlands Honey
Vendor: Kalahari Tea
Price: $3.50 / 20 teabags
Source: South Africa
Vendor Description: Our premium rooibos is blended with a delicious honey vanilla flavor to create a naturally sweet brew that is fully satisfying and completely caffeine free. Highland Honey Replaces Kalahari's Honey Red Tea. This tea now boasts a natural Honey Vanilla Flavor that still has less than 1 calorie and less than 1 gram of carbohydrates. Fans of Honey Red Tea just love this new slightly sweet version.

Teabag: Kalahari uses paper satchel type teabags (think Lipton). There is not much leaf in the teabag, but rooibos tends to not need much in general. There isn't a discernable aroma to the tea.

1st Infusion Parameter: 5 oz, 208F, 3:00, 1 teabag

1st Infusion: There is a very strong rooibos aroma to this tea. It reminds me of playdoh to a degree though. It is bold and sweet with hints of honey to the aroma. The flavor has a prominent honey flavoring to it. The flavor is very smooth and sweet which I would not have expected when first seeting the light red hue to this tea. The tea was quite light. There is a very mouth watering feel to this tea. It is best defined by it's smooth honey feeling.

Rating: 8/10

Conclusion: I've never been a huge fan of rooibos, but this one is quite surprising. There are a few things that I would like to see different about it, mesh pyramidal teabags for one. The other is the odditiy of the color of the tea. It seems very light altough the flavor doesn't pair off with this. The flavor is quite enoyable and the price is quite reasonable.

Teabag - Mecha

Tea: Mecha
Vendor: Zencha

About This Tea: This was a teabag that was a sample included with my latest Zencha order. I did my best to translate the packaging, and the title of it was Mecha, so I'm assuming that this is mecha.

Teabag: This teabag consisted of a satchel style teabag that had a very loose drawstring / tag line at the top and was sewn shut at the top. Unlike pyramidals this was not designed for expansion, just knowing that it had space in the bag to puff out though. The leaf is very small bits of stem and leaf, which correlated with my previous Mecha assumption. There is a like sweet Yutakamidori aroma to it.

1st Infusion Parameters: 185F, 5oz, 45s

1st Infusion: The infusion was lightly murky with a yellow green hue. There wasn't much aroma to the leaf, the aroma that was present with the dry leaf appears to be gone. The flavor is light and sweet. There is a bitterness at the tip of the tongue. The flavor is quite bold and strong and exhibits traces of a gyokuro like grassiness.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 185F, 1:15, 5oz

2nd Infusion: This infusion was much murkier in color. It however didn't have much aroma and not much flavor. It really seems like this tea was only good for one infusion:

Rating: 6/10

Conlcusion: While it's hard to give this tea a rating because I don't know the pricing for this tea. It's not particularly interesting as a tea, but it's not bad. It's a rather good teabag, and at around $6/10 this would be a good teabag to get. Good flavor, just not much of it after the first.

Chocolate Mint Truffle - Teabag

Tea: Chocolate Mint Truffle
Vendor: Mighty Leaf
Price: $9.95 / 15 pouches
Source: South Africa
Vendor Description: Chocolate Mint Truffle made with rooibos tea, an herbal plant also known as Red Tea from South Africa, is an intoxicating blend of chocolate cacao nibs, mint and rooibos leaves. Rooibos and chocolate are both known to be good sources of antioxidants. Enjoy this guilt-free indulgence, great for kids and adults alike.

Teabag: This teabag has a very noticeable aroma to it. It hints of cocoa like aroma with a definite mintiness. There is also hints of a spicy peppery aroma to it as well.

Infusion Parameters: 1 teabag, 6 oz, 208F, 5 min

Infusion: The infusion has a rich red color. There is a very strong and prominent mint aroma coming off of the tea. There is a light rooibos flavor to the tea itself. The mint and the rooibos flavors blend well with each other. There are hints of chocolate in the aftertaste. The tea has a light astringency, but it accompanies a smooth warming flavor.

Rating: 7/10

Conclusion: This tea was enjoyable. It was warming and smooth. The color was actually quite a sight to behold, and my picture doesn't do it justice. It was a clear ruby red. The minty aroma cleared the sinuses and lungs. Unfortunately the chocolate and rooibos components were not as prominent of flavors as I felt they should be. The rooibos was very subdued and the chocolate was in mere hints. As a mint rooibos this would have faired a bit better, but this is a Chocolate Mint Truffle tea.

Organic Green Dragon

Tea: Organic Green Dragon
Vendor: Mighty Leaf
Price: $9.95 / 15 pouches
Source: China
Vendor Description: Organic Green Dragon, made from organic Dragonwell, the world's most renowned China green tea, envelops the whole palate with a slightly sweet, very refreshing liquor. A classic wok-fired green tea, it has a delicate chestnut like flavor, captivating aroma, and a lovely yellow-green color.

Teabag: This teabag has a very interesting leaf inside. The leaf has a relatively large size to it. Not quite as large as some oolongs and the like, but large for a green tea. The shape is reminiscent of a longjing, but not quite as uniform or flat as some of the longjing that I have seen.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5 oz, 185F, 3 minute infusion

1st Infusion: The leaf turned a much brighter green when infusing. The result was a yellow colored infusion with a light and sharp aroma. The tea was very nutty like a longjing although the flavor was quite light. Given the light nature of the flavor, the tea was surprisingly astringent. The flavor was very sharp and lightly bitter, but in a good sense of balance. The flavor overall was very interesting, but I wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

Rating: 8/10

Conclusion: After looking up that this tea is infact a longjing, this was the longjing that I have liked the best out of all that I have tried. I'm still not a big fan of the type of tea, but this one was rather good. I would enjoy trying this as a stronger tea though.

Organic Detox Infusion

Tea: Organic Detox Infusion
Vendor: Mighty Leaf
Price: $9.95 / 15 pouches
Vendor Description: A luscious, detoxifying herbal infusion highlighted by clean notes of mint and basil. A spa retreat in a cup.

Teabag: This is one of the normal satchel type teabags made by mighty leaf. Inside was an interesting mixture of things which I wasn't really sure about. According to the mighty leaf website it contains:

Organic peppermint, organic burdock root, organic dandelion root, organic spearmint, organic licorice root, organic red clover flowers, basil.

I could definitely smell the peppermint. The rest I wasn't really able to discern out.

1st Infusion Parameters: 1 teabag, 5 minute infusion, 185F, 5 oz.

1st Infusion: After the teabag got wet it was apparent that there were more ingredients to the blend than I had originally had thought. There was a brown powder that was settling on the bottom of the cup. There was certain almost savory smell to the tea while it was infusing. There is a very unusual taste to this tea. There is a very strong minty flavor that is very discernable on the back of my throat. There was a little bit of a peppery flavor on the front of the taste and it leaves me with a minty breath feel. There is something on the front end that I couldn't really figure out what the flavor was.

Rating: 2/10

Conclusion: This stuff was very strange. Even as I was drinking it and after I had finished the cup I didn't know what to think of it. It was very apparent that it wasn't tea, but I knew that before trying it. I don't know much about what detox entails or what you can/cannot have during it, but this tea isn't something that I would have in the place of a regular cup of tea. If I wasn't allowed to have tea though (which I have a feeling you aren't allowed to while detoxing) I could understand drinking this instead.

Himalayan Black

Tea: Himalayan Black
Vendor: Ineeka
Price: $10.49 / 14 infusers (from Amazon.com)
Vendor Description: A lively, brisk energizer reflecting the nuancs of nature and our commitement to preserve its offerings.

Striving For Perfection
Awaken with zest. The perfection in this creation is visible within the uniform gold brightness of the infused leaf. Presenting a freshness that exemplifies harmony with nature.

Teabag: This was another offering using the hanging basket open top style of infusers. Similar to the sencha offering from Bassaro.

1st Infusion: This tea was very traditionally black in color. There was nothing unusual or different about the color. The flavor was a very front loaded black tea flavor. It lacked any bitterness and had just a hint of astringency. Due to the front loading of the flavor the flavor was very short lived. It had a bit of a pepperiness to it though, it almost seemed like it had a certain spiciness on the back of the throat. The flavor was light, but full bodied.

2nd Infusion: This infusion had a very light black flavor to it. The flavor was weak and it was apparent that this teabag could only really hold up for one infusion.

Rating: 3/10

Conclusion: I wasn't very impressed by this teabag. The tea was unremarkable, and the teabag itself is probably the most interesting part about it. Considering that even with the creative teabag it didn't come up with a very strong showing it could stand to improve.

Iced Green Teabags

Tea: Iced Green Teabags
Vendor: Den's Tea
Price: $5.85 / 10 teabags
Source: Shizuoka, Japan
Vendor Description: Den’s Iced Green Tea is non-flavored tea with a natural and simple taste. It is a perfect summer companion for any type of food.

Teabag: These teabags are a bit different from the traditional teabags. They do not have the normal string attached to them, as they are intended to be inserted into a bottle of water and not removed. The bag itself is a small tetrahedral style mesh teabag. The leaf is very small in size and has a fair amount of a sencha like dust coating everything.

Brewing: To brew this tea I inserted one teabag into a cold bottle of water and left it in the refrigerator for an hour. I then poured the tea into a cup for tasting.

Infusion: This tea was very surprising. It had a thick rich flavor that reminded me of a Yutakamidori. The tea is very creamy, and yet the flavor isn't too strong. It is very bold and full bodied. The tea is rather murky and green, but not too opaque. The body of the tea does not feel like it matches the aftertaste though, the aftertaste of the tea feels empty.

Rating: 7/10

Conclusion: These are a very good option for tea on the go, or if you want some iced tea somewhere that it is not convenient to brew it one of the traditional ways. The price is not that bad. One of the unfortunate aspects of these though is that they are not individually packaged. You get one bag with 10 bags in it. The bag is resealable, but individually wrapped bags would be nicer for portability.

Teabag - Sakura Sencha

Tea: Sakura Sencha
Vendor: Den's Tea / Uwajimaya
Vendor Description: While the Sakura (cherry blossom) is appreciated for its beauty in Japan, its leaf has a unique flavor that enhances the taste of some traditional dishes. Our blend of Sakura (Cherry) Sencha is a harmony of the two flavors where one does not overpower the other.

About this tea: This tea comes around in the months before the may shincha flush. This tea was offered on Den's Tea's website earlier this year, but was rather quickly sold out. I was at a Uwajimaya a bit ago and ran across some in the packaged teabag form. Since I missed out on the release earlier this year I felt like trying some out.

Teabag: Den's tea uses tetrahedral bags using a nylon like material similar to many other teabags. These teabags felt a bit smaller though than other teabags, and rightfully so. The teabags are labeled as being 2g. each where most teabags using tetrahedral packaging are in the 4-5g range.

1st Infusion: When the teabag was fully infused it looked as though the leaf was straining on the sides of the teabag meaning that the teabag was a bit too small for the amount of tea. This restricts the flow of the tea and proper expansion. The infusion had a light yellow green color and a light floral aroma. There were hints of cherry flavoring that was not like a ripe cherry or cherry cough syrup (The more common flaovrings that I have run across for cherry flavored items). There is a sweetness to the aroma that reminds me of cherry ice cream. The cherry flavor in the tea is very light just as the sencha flavor itself is. The flavor is crisp and has a light sense of astringency. All in all this is a well balanced tea between the cherry flavoring and the sweetness of the tea.

Rating: 7/10

Conclusion: While this tea has a nice flavor the flavor was too light in my opinon. A more robust cherry flavor and tea flavor would have been more enjoyable. The teabag itself was a bit too small in my opinion and should have been larger. Come next year if it is offered again though I intend to get some to try it out as the loose variety instead of the smaller teabags.

Teabag - Darjeeling

Tea: Darjeeling
Vendor: Tea Forte
Price: $24.00 / 20 teapyramids
Source: Darjeeling, India
Vendor Description: Our Estate Darjeeling brings the fresh crisp qualities of its origins in the Himalayan mountain foothills to every cup. An undercurrent of roasted nuts and soft floral notes permeate each sip. Contains caffeine.

Teabag: This is the first true pyramid style teabag that I have had the chance to review. It is very impressive in both construction and appearance. Ever since I first found out about Tea Forte, I wanted to try them out. Their teabags have a very refined presence to them. They are not just stuffed into a foil packet like some other teabags, these hold their form and have a small paper box wrapped around the pyramid. The leaf on the end of the string is very decorative and classy. If you ever wanted a teabag that would impress someone, or some guests, this is the one to have. They are almost more of a conversation piece than just a teabag.

1st Infusion: The infusion has a very sweet smelling Darjeeling aroma to it. The flavor was very light for a Darjeeling. It was generally pleasant, with a light sense of astringency to it. The Darjeeling flavor itself could stand to be more prominent and stronger.

After Infusing: Given the rather weak flavor of the first infusion I did not try to make a second infusion. I even tried steeping this one for about 3 minutes before tasting, but the flavor didn't seem to come out of the teabag. After the teabag was used though it became somewhat apparent as to the cause. The leaves swell more than the space in the pyramid allow for, applying pressure on the sides of the teabag and hindering the infusion. Also the mesh of the bag was a bit denser than most of the other teabags of similar material. This prevented the water from passing through the tea very well.

Rating: 3/10

Conclusion: The tea itself was not very impressive, and the teabag itself had most of the fame for this test, but the teabag was the culprit for this particular rating. The teabag as impressive as it looks hindered the tea from infusing well, producing a less than stellar cup of tea. I'm curious to see if this is a result of the Darjeeling itself or of the general design of the teabags.

Teabag - Yame Sencha

Tea: Yame Sencha
Vendor: Bassaro
Source: Yame, Japan

This is probably one of the most inventive forms of a teabag that I have seen to date. It's almost dificult to call this a teabag. It arrived individually wrapped and looking rather normal, at least until I opened the bag. The teabag is rectangular with two die cut paper/cardstock rectangles attached one on each side.

The first thing you do when setting this teabag up is tear open the top, which is a perforated seal so the paper material of the teabag tears nicely. Then you pop out each of the sides which form paper hooks with which to hang on the opposite sides of the cup, as seen above. The remaining stock folds nicely to form a square brewing vessel area in the middle of the cup for the tea.

You then brew the tea by pouring your water into the middle of the suspended teabag. This acts much in the same way that using a strainer to brew tea would. The teabag is held at an appropriate level to allow for the tea to further brew after all the water is poured in. Unfortunately there is no easy way to promote water flow in the same way that dipping and pulling a traditional teabag in a cup would. I tried pulling this teabag up, but it doesn't work quite as well as a traditional teabag. Also the use of paper for the teabag material made it more difficult for water to flow. The material used by most other teabags now would provide better water flow.

The tea itself was rather good. The first infusion had a very sweet and smooth flavor to it, a bit reminiscent of a gyokuro, but still retaining sencha qualities. The aftertaste was a bit reminiscent of the Ariake Yutakamidori I had earlier. There was no bitterness or astringency and it had a light grassy taste to it. There were finishing hints of a seaweed flavor.

The second infusion had a stronger sense of seaweed to it and just enough of a sense of astringency to provide a clean feeling when finished. The flavor had hints of being vegetal as well.

Rating: 7/10

Conclusion: While the form of this new teabag was quite inventive, i'm dubious as to the effectiveness it would have in replacing current teabags. Most of the time I use a teabag i'm warming my water in a microwave or something of the sort so it is not convenient to pour water over the top of the teabag. The tea itself was quite good, surprisingly so for a teabag. I found that brewing the tea has a better result than a traditional teabag, but only if you can pour water over it.

Teabag - Chamomile Citrus

Tea: Chamomile Citrus
Vendor: Mighty Leaf Tea
Price: $8.95 /15 teabags
Source: Egypt
Vendor Description: Chamomile Citrus is a refreshing infusion perfected to curl up with and savor by the sip. Made with Soothing Egyptian Chamomile flowers and subtle slices of citrus fruit, this vibrant blend will rejuvenate the spirit. From intoxicating aroma to sweet flavor, this Mighty Leaf signature blend with Chamomile, fruits and herbs reflects our vision of the artisan tea experience.

Chamomile Citrus is available in 100 individually foil wrapped and 15 individually cello wrapped biodegradable Tea Pouches™.

This was the last of the three samples that I had received from Mighty Leaf. Chamomile Citrus is an herbal tisane made from Chamomile. Chamomile tea is one of the most prevalent tisanes out there among rooibos as the most common. This was my first time having Chamomile since I started really noticing what it was that I was drinking.

When I opened the pouch, the first thing that I noticed was a very strong orange scent coming out, which given the name was no big surprise. I was rather surprised though looking at the teabag that there were a lot of different things inside. I'm rather used to seeing rather homogeneous single ingredient teas so this was a bit of a surprise.

The tea had a very short and brisk flavor. This is of course though in comparison to true teas. The short brisk flavor consisted of a strong sweetness which reminded me of a generic citrus flavor. It had hints of orange, but had a much more general feel to it. The aroma was very floral, but not distinctly so. It was relaxing yet generic. There was no sense of bitterness or astringency, not surprising considering that it is not a true tea.

Rating: 8/10

Conclusion: This being my first time really trying chamomile, I'm not really sure what to make of it. The tea was very relaxing and enjoyable, but I don't know how this would compare to other chamomile tisanes. Compared to a true tea though this flavor is very short lived.

Teabag - Green Tea Tropical

Tea: Green Tea Tropical
Vendor: Mighty Leaf Tea
Price: $8.95 / 15 teabags
Source: China
Vendor Description: Green Tea Tropical boasts smooth green tea leaves that harmoniously blend with sweet tropical fruits to create a sensation as uplifting as a breeze off the isle of Papenoo. A healthy and refreshing blend rich in antioxidants, Green Tea Tropical makes ideal an introduction to green tea.

Green Tea Tropical is available in 100 individually foil wrapped and 15 individually cello-wrapped biodegradable Tea Pouches™.

I was excited to try out this tea, as I had seen this in stores before, but hadn't picked it up to try it out yet. I have had a few tropical teas from Lupicia before, and so fare I had enjoyed them all.

When I opened this tea the first thing I noticed was the aroma from the pouch. My initial thought was that it smelled of pineapple soda, which doesn't really smell that much like fresh pineapple, but is it's own flavor. Similar to how watermelon and strawberry candies don't always taste like watermelon and strawberries. They have their own flavor associated with them like the Jolly Rancher flavors. I had also had the thought that the tea was going to be similar to a sencha for no particularly valid reason. (I did not look up the origin until after tasting the tea)

The first infusion of the tea had a very sweet scent to it, but it was an interestingly generic sense of sweetness. It didn't have much of a sense of pineapple or guava as the pouch had indicated, but rather a general sense of sweetness to an aroma. The tea itself was not particularly strong, but had a smooth green tea flavor which suggested that the tea was from China. The front end of the tea had a distinctive sweetness too it, but not overpowering. It was a light fruity flavor, and it also tapered off to allow the green tea flavor to come through almost in a switch.

The second infusion was a little sweeter and fruitier, but lacked any really distinctive qualities to it. The tea itself was a bit weaker, and was on the resteeping borderline.

Rating: 7/10

Conclusion: The tea was good, but lacked a certain boldness of flavor that I was hoping for. Both the tropical portion and the tea portion could stand to be a bit stronger. If you're looking for a light relaxing tea this is not a bad choice.