MIDWEST TEA FEST 2017 PART 2
To view PART 1 Click HERE
For Part 3 go HERE
THE TASTING
I told you all about the tea festival in part 1 and even shared a fun video my grandson made this blog I wanted to tell you about the teas I tasted.
I did not get to try every tea and some vendors (Anna Marie) had a lot of teas to sample. I picked new teas (to me) and interesting teas.
Besides teas there was my favorite tea snacks Bimi Bakery with their amazing tea inspired cookies.
The two main pottery places this year: Happy Cat Pottery and Pi Ceramic.
Tea Time Magazine was there as well as Tea Lover Teas with her Gift Baskets.
And Henna Hands were there to brighten our day and hands with exquisite henna work.
Now here it is the 2017 Midwest Tea Fest Tea Review:
I did not make every vendor table and a couple vendors did not have samples. I did my best to get a wide sampling to share with you so you can take a good look at these incredible tea companies.
The reviews are from a simple sip of each tea; there is no pricing nor detailed review because it was only a sip!
Ready? Here we go: (in no specific order)
THE TEA SMITH https://www.theteasmith.com/product/South-of-the-Border.html
South of the Border: Chili and Chocolate, you know I had to try it right! I was surprised at the smoothness of the tea and the fact that the chili did not over take my tasting buds. I enjoyed it and as explained by the vendor you can brew it stronger to get a more spike in the chili taste.
Dark Chocolate Peppermint: This is a Pu-ehr tea which surprised me, but the smooth chocolate notes mixed with the cooling of the peppermint were just right. This tea would be great tea for the fall or the holidays.
Almond Milk: First off the guy serving the tea was a blast and such a good spirit about him. The name of this tea really threw me and no it’s not like milk at all. A very smooth tea with nutty and floral notes along with that familiar honeybush flavor.
Jardin Bleu: Unique tea in both scent and flavor, soft and subtle black ta with floral notes.
Nuit D’ete: Don’t you just love these names? A very fruity blend flavored with among other things my favorite raspberries.
White Mt: was a beautiful blend of white and green teas
Carrot Cake: Seriously a fun drink, and if my memory (I took horrible notes) serves me well this has raspberries in it. It’s really a very fun, dessert tea with a lot of flavor and uniqueness to it.
Da ye XI: last year I loved their 100 year old tea and wanted to try it again, but saw this tea and thought I’d give it a try. LOVED IT. It’s smooth and nutty with a really fun aftertaste that really has you tasting for more. One tea I think everyone should try, especially if you say you don’t like green teas.
Tangerine Blossom Red Tea: Very floral yet light tea with nutty notes to it. This tea I love because of it’s flavor and yet it’s a “red tea” from China, to know more about Chinese red teas stay tuned, I’ve got a post to tell you all about them.
Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea: I was told this was their top seller and it surprised me, so I had to take a sip. I really enjoyed this tea, it will remind you of those round red candies you ate as a kid (fireballs).
Ancient Hand Crafted Shaiqing: This tea has been aged over 10 years and it’s a beautiful sweet mellow tea with every so delicate floral notes.
Sejak: I had to try two, Rishi has some amazing teas. This tea has nutty and fruity notes with a slight vegetal note to end. I enjoyed this tea sample.
I think I am going to have to end here, I don’t want these blog posts to be so drawn out that you get bored looking through them, ummm? Who gets bored with tea?
So next will be the final post of the Midwest Tea Festival. You just can’t talk about it in one post, or two.. so now three!
Be well, see you in the next post
Lisa B.
