99 kettles of tea on the wall ...

Cortney Wagner, who operates the tea blog 99kettles, was kind enough to review our Top Leaf Green Tea.


And speaking of kettles, ChefsChoice makes some nice ones — electric and cordless, and many with other nifty features.


For instance, the 688 SmartKettle not only heats water to within 2 degrees of the temperature you set it to, but also holds the water at that temperature and is twice as energy efficient as heating water in a conventional stovetop kettle.



Click for an extreme close-up of the mellow infusion.


—Mellow Monk

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Kelly reviews our Shaded Leaf

Kelly McGeachie has written a review [Facebook link] of our Shaded Leaf Green Tea.


For those who have trouble accessing her Facebook note, I have pasted the text below, after the photo accompanying her review.



Nice mug, Kelly! (And the tea's not bad, either.)

Mellomonk Green Tea review OCTOBER 2009.

One thing I love and cherish is the opportunity to sit in my armchair in my bedroom with a steaming cup full of tea, a magazine and my teapot sitting right next to me on the table.; ready for a quick top-up.

I've always been an avid black tea drinker, whether it be English Breakfast or some spicy chai; but a couple of years back a friend of mine overseas introduced me to the wonderful world that is 'Green Tea'. I'd tried a couple of brands of tea bags and other loose leafs in the past, as I'd heard so much about the wonderful health benefits of drinking Green Tea. To be honest I really wasn't that fond of it! Can you relate to this yourself?

This friend of mine kept telling me I should try something else when it came to my Green tea. Tea bags are NOT and never are the answer, he told me. He suggested I try this brand called Mellow Monk that he had been buying for a while. 'You gotta get in touch with the monk kel' he'd say to me.

In a surprising bout of generosity my friend sent me some of this Mellow Monk tea to try. When I received it I was instantly drawn to the pretty foil packaging and really couldn't wait to try it. (This stuff is leaf tea by the way). The taste was something out of this world. So much so that since my first packet of Mellow Monk I haven't looked back and I never even touch black tea anymore. Well, unless I'm round a friend’s house and feel the need to be polite in accepting it.

Today, I received a packet of Mellow Monk's latest Green Tea called 'Shaded Leaf’, a Sencha tea which I have yet to try,. As the name connotes the leaves are shaded about 21 days before harvest, blocking out 90% of sunlight, this then stimulates the plant to make more of the super healthy catcheins, that we know are so good for us.

As soon as I open the packet I just know I am in for a treat, instantly you can smell the youthfulness and freshness of the leaves in the packet. Plus, I don't know about you but I'm always drawn to pretty packaging! ;)

To prepare, I grab my teapot and boil some water. I 'walk away' for a while to let the water cool to as close to 75 degrees as possible (The perfect brewing temperature) I then put a level teaspoon of Shaded Leaf into my tea pot and steep it for approximately three minutes.

I strain the leaves and pour the tea into my cup (step by step instructions, very important you see) and voila! The tea is ready!

The strained leaves almost represent a paste after use, they are so moist and fresh I cannot begin to tell you. From a few past brands I had tried from my local health shop the leaves were always so dry. Apparently this is not how your leaves should be.

So for now the taste test:

The Shaded Leaf is soft and sweet, and mild in flavour. In fact if you
let it cool enough you could probably drink it down like water the
taste is so smooth. The taste is so crisp and fresh without a trace of
harshness or bitterness in my mouth. In my opinion if you are a
beginner when it comes to green tea this would be the perfect
elementary tea for you to try! Also, this tea would be suitable for
consumption at any time of the day, particularly a after a meal
(always a nice way to finish off I think)

My rating is honestly 5/5 – This is probably one of my favourite
Mellow Monk teas, probably due to the fact that it has such a smooth
and full-bodied taste.

Another thing I LOVE about this tea (and yet ANOTHER reason why I
choose this brand over anything else) is that it is sourced from
eco-friendly farms, that have minimal environmental impact!

The quality really is fantastic! and did I mention the service yet?
Well If not then rest assured that whenever I have bought my tea from
their online store, the company is very helpful. They usually ship to
me overseas within a week! I thought this would be important to
mention as I know people tend to worry about that when buying offline,
but I can assure you they've always been fast and efficient, and
always answer any questions you may have etc.

If you want to get your hands on some of this then check out the
website at http://www. mellowmonk.com and see what tickles your fancy! There is much variety to choose from.

—Mellow Monk

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Our tea reviewed on Tea Finely Brewed

Tea Finely Brewed has reviewed our Monk's Bliss green tea.





—Mellow Monk

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Chicago Potter reviews our Top Leaf green tea

Chris Chaney, a.k.a. the Chicago Potter, writes the kind of thorough review of one of our teas that only a true tea lover could.


Thanks, Chris.



Our pride and joy. One of them, that is.


—Mellow Monk

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World of Tea's review of our genmaicha

World of Tea has posted a review of our genmaicha.





—Mellow Monk

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Gongfu Girl makes Mellow Monk shinobicha

Over at Gongfu Girl, Cinnabar blogs about making shinobicha with Mellow Monk's Top Leaf Green Tea.


Shinobicha is tea brewed cold and slow: Ice cubes are placed onto the dry tea leaves, after which you can either sip the cold, brisk brew a sip at a time, as it slowly steeps, or wait a while until all of the ice has melted.


"Shinobi" means patience or endurance, which is what one obviously needs to brew tea this way.


Because if you thought waiting for water to boil was frustrating, then try waiting for ice to melt.


Then again, some things are worth waiting for, and shinobicha is a special treat that definitely is.



A cup of post-melt shinobicha.


—Mellow Monk

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Gonfugirl reviews our green tea

Gongfugirl has very thoroughly reviewed Mellow Monk's Top Leaf Green Tea.


I am truly humbled to be on the radar of dedicated folks like Gongfugirl.



Our Top Leaf Green Tea being brewed by one of Gongfugirl's tea connoisseurs. (That she is reviewing a Mellow Monk tea proves that she is a connoisseur, yes?)


—Mellow Monk

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Blissful Buds reviewed at Multiple Infusions

Lewis at the tea blog Multiple Infusions has kindly reviewed our Blissful Buds Green Tea.



Our Blissful Buds Green Tea as brewed by Lewis.


—Mellow Monk

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Blissful Buds reviewed

Wesley Crosswhite, a.k.a. Green Tea Man, has reviewed one of the newest additions to the Mellow Monk family, Blissful Buds Green Tea.



A cup of Blissful Buds that Wes brewed for his review.


—Mellow Monk

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Review of Sen Cha's Green Tea Bar and Mints

I recently had the opportunity to try Green Tea Mints and Green Tea Bars from Sen Cha Naturals.


First, the mints. I loved all three flavors. Friends and coworkers used such words as "awesome" and "unique flavor" to describe them, and I agree. In addition to making use of green tea's natural breath-freshening properties, each Sen Cha Naturals Green Tea Mint also provides the same antioxidant kick as 1/3 cup of tea, so they're convenient for when you want the benefits of green tea but aren't able to brew a potful, such as when on the road.


However, because of their subtle, restrained flavor, these mints may disappoint those accustomed to knock-your-socks-off power mints. These mints are also somewhat harder than some crumbly mints. However, their hardness allows you to either suck on the mints slowly or chew them up (as I do).


The Green Tea Bars are simply scrumptious — tasty and flavorful but light and clean, without being overly sweet or sitting heavy in the stomach. The wide variety of nuts and other natural ingredients are perfectly complementary, and tying the whole orchestra of flavors together is the down-to-earth taste of green tea. These bars make a great mid-day snack, satisfying your hunger but without slowing you down.



Green Tea Mints come in three flavors: Original, Delicate Pear, and Lively Lemongrass.


—Mellow Monk

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Review of Suntory's ZEN green tea liqueur

This past weekend I had the chance to try ZEN Green Tea Liqueur, a new product from Japan's Suntory.


By fortuitous chance, I had some friends over that day, and so we all sat around the table and put ZEN through its paces. This was a demanding and opinionated crowd, but the overall consensus was a big "thumbs up."


"This is the taste of Japan," said one person after the first sip. Another first impression was that ZEN has "an unexpected, original bouquet." Another friend said it was smooth, sweet and flavorful, like a "Japanese Drambuie."


ZEN has a hint of liquorice; the green tea earthiness is subdued but definitely present. The texture also has a subtle, almost undetectably light matcha-like graininess, which gives it a slight chewiness (if that makes any sense).


The bottle of ZEN came with a small booklet tagged to the neck. Of the recipes inside, we tried the Zentini, although we made it first with just ZEN and vodka — and it was excellent. In fact, for those who aren't partial to sweet liqueurs, the Zentini tones down the sweetness but without sacrificing the unique green tea flavor. After further experimentation, we concluded that a Zentini on the rocks but sans orange juice was the ultimate. Unfortunately, we depleted our supply of ZEN before we could do further experimentation with other recipes.


So let this be a warning: If you serve ZEN at a party, be sure to get your share quickly, because it is sure to disappear quickly.


Finally, the bottle and labeling are also top-notch super-classy, making ZEN a fine gift idea — for, say, Mother's Day or Monk's Day (hint, hint).



Remember, Grasshopper: drink responsibly.


—Mellow Monk

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More teas from auraTeas

I just tried auraTeas' Formosa Baihao Oolong Choice. It's less tannic than black teas. A complex but subtle flavor, and even a short steeping time of only a minute or so produces a surprisingly flavorful infusion. The flavor held up well for two more infusions, and the instructions suggest up to six, although being subtle, the flavor beings to fade a bit after the third.


I occasionally like to brew a super-strong cup of tea, so I tried it with this Baiho Oolong, brewing 2 teaspoons of tea leaves for 4 minutes. The result was excellent—flavorful but not bitter.


The tea leaves themselves unfurled nicely during brewing, and I saw many small whole leaves, many with stems, which may explain the tea's smooth flavor.


I also tried their Formosa Minglian Green Tea. Chinese greens in general are usually lightly oxidized before processing and so are very different from Japanese green tea, which is processed immediately after harvest to keep oxidation and fermentation to an absolute minimum.


The Formosa Minglian was very aromatic. The infusion was bright but lightly colored and very subtle in flavor. The taste is light and refreshing. Your palate feels cleansed afterwards, although there is also a light, pleasant aftertaste. This is a refined tea that is sure to please the refined of palates.



auraTeas' Formosa Baiho Oolong Choice — a very good choice!


—Mellow Monk

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Tea review: auraTeas' Formosa Wenshan Baochong Choice

I recently received a sampling of teas from auraTeas, a British Columbia-based importer of teas from Taiwan, so here is my review of the first of tea I sampled, Formosa Wenshan Baochong Choice.


Bottom line: I really liked this tea. It has a subtle but definite (if that makes sense) oolong aroma and flavor, which is to be expected as it is an oolong tea.


I was surprised by the instructions on the tin to let the tea steep for only 1 minute (for green tea, the average is 3 to 5 minutes); I was equally surprised that such a short steeping time produced such an aromatic infusion.


For the second infusion (the label suggests up to six) I let the tea steep a little longer and was again surprised—this time at how flavorful the tea was for a second steeping. The flavor still held up for a third infusion, without any of the unpleasant overtones that will come out in an inferior tea.


In short, this tea is the real deal. If you like oolong—but not overpowering oolong—then you'll love this tea. I highly recommend it.



auraTeas' Formosa Wenshan Baochong Choice


—Mellow Monk

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