Tea received at a discount for review
As a Canadian, I always love supporting tea brands in Canada. So, when I realized 3 Teas offered sample sizes, I had to try some! 3 Teas advertise themselves as: “Purveyors of fine, ethically produced speciality teas from Burlington, Ontario, Canada.”
When I emailed the company asking for recommendations, the owner, Lesley, provided me with a small list. She also provided me with a discount on shipping. I ended up picking a green, oolong, and herbal tea.
3 Teas: Lemon Green
Description: “A pleasant blend of tart lemon with the sweetness of green tea.”
Review: This blend looked so pretty with all the petals, and it had a strong lime aroma. However, the flavour didn’t come through and there was a lingering salty aftertaste. The liquor was yellow and left the mouth feeling a bit dry (2/5 rating).
- Type: Green tea
- Origin: Sri Lanka
- Caffeine: Low
- Ingredients: Gunpowder green tea, lime pieces, calendula and sunflower petals, natural flavors
- Company: 3 Teas
3 Teas: Formosa Oolong
Description: “Smooth and slightly sweet with notes of lychee and bamboo, the perfect oolong tea!”
Review: Formosa is a classic oolong and the description stated that this one had bamboo and lychee notes. The packaging also noted that this tea could be re-steeped up to 5 times. Normally, when I get teas that recommend re-steeping, each re-steep (or group of re-steeps) has a different steep temperature and time. I steeped this 5 times at 2 to 3 minutes each, since that was what the label implied.
I personally thought that this would cause too much strain on the leaves, meaning that the flavour would be very thin upon resteeping. I know that there are standardized times used by professional tasters, but I feel for my blog, which focuses on trying teas from a day-to-day tea drinker’s perspective, it would seem unfair to assume people are aware of this, and this would be the fairest way to taste the tea.
The dry blend had a slight earthy aroma with a mineral after note. The liquor was a tan rose gold colour.
Steep 1 (3 mins) – Liquor had a very minimal taste but left the mouth feeling a bit dry. Please note that oolongs, puerhs, and some straight teas often recommend ‘rinsing’ the tea. This helps teas that are tightly bundled to open up, as well as to remove any impurities. So, it was not surprising that this steep did not have a lot of flavour. However, rinses normally take place over 10 seconds.
Steep 2 (2 mins) – Texture of the liquor is the same as Steep 1, there is a slight grassy note.
steep 3 (2 mins) – This steep had a strong pleasant grassy aroma, but the taste was still very thin and similar to Steep 2.
Steep 4 (2 mins) – The liquor was much paler than before, with no taste or smell.
Steep 5 (2 mins) – My assumptions were right, and by the 4th steep there was no real discernible taste or smell. However, since it did recommend 5 steeps, I re-steeped for the last time. Oddly enough, while there was no taste, the light grassy aroma came back.
This was a very light oolong. When I looked at the unfurled leaves, they were somewhat broken. I was hoping for more flavour of this tea (2/5 rating).
- Type: Oolong tea
- Origin: Taiwan
- Caffeine: Low
- Ingredients: Oolong tea
- Company: 3 Teas
3 Teas: Vanilla Citrus Herbal
Description: “This combination of vanilla and orange will make you think you are drinking a Creamsicle!”
Review: I admit, I was drawn in by this tea since the description said that it would taste like a creamsicle, and I’m a fan of those! The blend was very pretty, with a strong vanilla and citrus aroma.
Once steeped, the blend or liquor had no smell. The tisane had a very thin texture, as well as a very strong perfumed floral taste. The liquor was a rose gold colour. I was hoping for a stronger orange and vanilla taste (1/5 rating).
- Type: Herbal tea
- Origin: Canada, USA, Thailand, Spain
- Caffeine: Caffeine-free
- Ingredients: Apple, rosehip, and orange pieces, hibiscus petals, natural flavors
- Company: 3 Teas
Final Thoughts
The customer service was great and the price point wasn’t too bad. While I love the smell of the teas, I don’t think that the teas are quite for me. I wonder if some of these teas like the Vanilla Citrus Herbal might have tasted better as an iced tea because that is what one person mentioned in her review.
