I have always loved drinking tea. From green tea to oolong, to herbal, to white, and to lattes, there is always a cup of the steeped deliciousness in my hand. Over time, I have probably collected close to 100 teas and tea accessories. I’ve even had a tea-themed birthday party. During the past year, I started to learn about and drink more teas from around the world that aren’t your basic teas found in the cupboard, like chamomile and Earl Grey. And, I had more time to drink tea during the day since I wasn’t going anywhere. I discovered oolong tea, a traditional Chinese tea, and many different green teas from Japan. Many of these teas found around the world have amazing health benefits as well as a great taste. Plus, who doesn’t love curling up on the sofa with a blanket, warm cup of tea, and a good murder mystery?
While I wasn’t limited to only drinking ten different teas, these happen to be my favorite “quaranteas” I drank in 2020 and during the lockdown. The teas listed are not in any particular order.
#10: Flamingo Fresca
This white tea is full of fruity flavors that are perfect for warmer weather. With strawberry, passionfruit, pineapple, and hibiscus blossoms, Flamingo Fresca makes a wonderful summertime iced tea. Along with these lovely ingredients, there are also flamingo sprinkles added to give this tea even more of a tropical flare a burst of sweetness. I enjoy this as an iced tea because the vibrant flavors are very refreshing and suit the atmosphere of a summer evening quite well. This tea is from David’s Tea and their Tropical Collection.
#9: Mao Xie (Hairy Crab)
Mao Xie, pronounced m-OW shee, literally translates to hair of the crab. Hairy Crab is an oolong from China and gets its name from the little hair-like parts of the leaves that are used in this tea. I frequently enjoy this tea in the morning because of the caffeine (tea is much better than coffee!). This tea has more of a bitter taste than the more common herbal teas found in the U.S., but I personally really like the flavor and find it to pair well with savory dishes. A wonderful thing about oolong and green teas (which come from the same plant) is that they are able to be steeped more than once. Often, I will re-steep this tea three times. I get this tea from Diversi-Tea, a small tea, oil, and vinegar store in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.
#8: Foxtrot
I like to drink this tea at bedtime as I am settling down for the night, often while watching murder mysteries or true crime on Youtube. Despite its name, this herbal tea has calming ingredients such as chamomile, peppermint, and vanilla which are perfect for nighttime. The cooling flavors in Foxtrot make for a nice, warm, soothing cup of tea to end a hectic and stressful day. I enjoy drinking Foxtrot from Adagio Teas.
#7: Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearl
I love jasmine teas. They are a wonderful blend of green tea, floral notes, and a bit of sweetness. Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearl is from Diversi-Tea, but jasmine tea itself is from China and commonly found all over East Asia. This tea has pearl in its name because each of the tea leaves are hand rolled into little pearls. Just drop 9-10 of these pearls into an infuser, poor on water heated to 190°F, and enjoy this lovely cup of green tea. Also, like oolong tea, Jasmine Dragon can be re-steeped about 3-5 times. I like to enjoy Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearl in the mid to late afternoon.
#6: Jade Oolong Iced Tea
Oolong isn’t just great as a hot tea; it also makes a great iced tea for the summer! Jade Oolong is a Taiwanese oolong from Adagio Teas that is quite enjoyable on a summer afternoon while eating lunch outside. This refreshing oolong is a bit more floral and sweet than Hairy Crab, making it a great iced tea.
#5: Kukicha
Pronounced “koo-kee-chah,” this tea is a delicious green tea from Japan. My former neighbors, who are Japanese, told me all about different green teas from their country after they learned I enjoyed drinking matcha (appears later in this list). I later went to Adagio Teas and found Kukicha along with various other Japanese green teas they described. The flavor of this tea is warm and nutty with a bit of softness and sweetness. Kukicha, along with many other green teas, are good to drink in the morning. The combination of caffeine and the vast amount of health benefits in green teas makes for the perfect morning cup. With the low steeping time and water temperature, I can be found quickly making and re-steeping this tea during school with the help of my dad’s new tea kettle, which my mom and I conveniently got him for Christmas.
#4: Morning Thunder
Morning Thunder is a bit different from all of the other teas on this list, being that it is a black tea. I typically don’t like black teas, but when I saw the bison design on the box, I couldn’t resist. Now, I enjoy this tea in the morning with honey and almond milk as a latte. I have my love for bison to thank for that! This tea has a very earthy and smoky flavor that wakes me up in the morning. Morning Thunder contains roasted maté, a plant from South America, that is rich in caffeine and gives it its smoky flavor. Morning Thunder is from Celestial Seasonings.
#3: Rooibos Vanilla
I absolutely love this as an iced tea. The rich vanilla flavor is what makes it a fantastic iced tea: refreshing and not overly sweet. Again, I enjoy this tea in the summer, poured over a class of ice. Rooibos Vanilla is one of my favorite iced teas that I’ve had. Rooibos, which translates to red bush, is found in South Africa. The rooibos in this tea gives it a deep reddish brown color, hence its name. This Adagio tea is certainly worth trying both hot and cold.
#2: Matcha
Matcha is one of my favorite teas of all time. Matcha, which translates to powdered tea, is a green tea from East Asia that is ground up to form a very fine powder. I love to make this tea using special tools such as the matcha wisk. I enjoy matcha as a hot or cold latte with almond milk and honey. There are many different flavors of matcha; not just the traditional green tea. Some of my favorites are the chocolate and raspberry matcha from Adagio Teas, and then blueberry, candy cane, salted caramel, and vanilla matcha from David’s Tea, among many others. This green tea can be a bit expensive, depending on the quality. But, I think it is worth the money to get a high quality matcha because of its superfood-like qualities. Matcha is rich in antioxidents and contains more and better caffeine than coffee. The caffeine in matcha makes you more awake instead of jittery. All in all, matcha is the perfect tea in my eyes.
Honorable Mentions
Before I get to #1, I wanted to list a few honorable mentions.
- Orange Dreamsicle: Made with rooibos and honeybush, this tea really is a dream to have as an iced tea during the summer. Sweet, orange, and light. From Diversi-Tea.
- Lavender Chamomile: A very simple tea, but delicious when made into a latte with honey and almond milk. I like to make this at night. Soft, soothing, and perfect for bedtime. From Tiesta Tea.
#1: French Vanilla Mao Xie
This tea is essentially the Hairy Crab tea mentioned earlier, but better: it is vanilla flavored! I find this tea to be perfect with any breakfast and really good overall. The sweetness of the vanilla and the bitterness of the oolong balance each other out perfectly to create this splendid cup of tea. French Vanilla Mao Xie is certainly my favorite oolong tea to drink in the morning.
If you have made it this far and haven’t gotten too bored of reading about tea, I hope you will consider trying some of these teas, especially the teas from around the world. There are so many teas out there that I have yet to try, and I plan on expanding my tea horizons in 2021.
Cover Image by congerdesign from Pixbay. All other images were photographed by me.