I was so happy when High Noon Tea Co. contacted me to review a sample of their teas.

I LOVE that they’re from Toronto (gotta represent!)

And I also like their mission and what they stand for.

Imagine my surprise when I found out I received not one or two samples of teas …

… But a BOX!

I was so excited I even made a High Noon Tea Co. unboxing video! I think my tea nerdiness may have reached an all time high.

When I opened the box I found four samples of teas to try. Below I’ll share my thoughts on Organic Cederberg Rooibos & Peach, Chocolate Toffee Mocha Pu’erh, WuYi Forest Orchid White, and Louis XIV.

What is High Noon Tea Co.?

High Noon Tea Co. is a tea boutique based out of Toronto Canada. It sells all natural, ethically sourced, luxury grade teas.

They search for various tea estates that offer fair wages, safe working environments, and also use environmentally responsible methods. They source naturally pesticide free teas and create unique blends to deliver to their customers.

They combine luxury and ethics by delivering high end products that also gives back to the community and the world.

Organic Cederberg Rooibos & Peach Review

I’m a huge fan of rooibos and also love anything peach related. I have yet to try a rooibos and peach blend and am really curious to see how this tea will taste.

Origin

Cederberg, South Africa

Ingredients

• Organic rooibos
• Calendula petals
• Blackberry leaves
• Natural flavors

The Aroma

I was half expecting to be hit in the face with an intense artificial smell of peach but I was pleasantly surprised. There was no intense peach smell when I opened the bag. In fact, it had a very light, almost delicate smell of peach.

Leaf Details

Looking closely I could see individual pieces of rooibos and calendula petals. Not sure if I could see the blackberry leaves though, or perhaps it looked very similar to the calendula petals and I didn’t notice.

Preparation

The following are the recommended guidelines when brewing a cup of Organic Cederberg Rooibos & Peach:

• Scoop 1 ½ teaspoon of loose leaf tea into tea bag or cup
• Boil water to 86°C
• Steep for 5 to 7 minutes or to taste

Tea Tasting

While I was waiting for the tea to steep, I couldn’t help but admire the pretty golden yellow color the water was turning into. The more time that had passed, the darker the yellow it became.

I waited 6 minutes for the tea to steep, and by the time it was done it had a beautiful dark orange hue.

When it was done brewing, I could still smell a light hint of peaches.

I was really curious to find out how this tea would taste. I have never had a rooibos and peach type blend before, and am a big fan of both rooibos and peach flavors.

For brewing I decided to trust my scoop-n-slide infuser to handle the job.

The tea had a light and delicate taste. It was a little sweet and I could taste a slight peach aftertaste to it. There wasn’t one dominant flavor that took over the entire tea. I liked the rooibos and peach combination and found it very subtle and smooth.

Overall I found Organic Cederberg Rooibos & Peach to be a very smooth and comforting tea. I can picture myself enjoying this as an evening tea after a long day and needing a cup to help wind down. As a caffeine free tea this makes it perfect to have in the evenings or before bed.

Chocolate Toffee Mocha Pu’erh Review

I’ll be honest, pu’erh is a type of tea I don’t try enough of. This one caught my attention the most out of the other samples from High Noon Tea Co. because it’s a pu’erh based tea, and, there’s chocolate, toffee and mocha?!

Origin

Yunnan Province, China

Ingredients

• Pu’erh
• Toffee (contains almonds, chocolate, lactose, soy lecithin)
• Coffee
• Sunflower petals
• Natural flavors

The Aroma

The smell was … interesting.

I could smell the chocolate-y, toffee goodness, but there was also a lingering smell that I was not used to. It was slightly pungent and I could only assume that it was from the pu’erh.

Leaf Details

Looking at the pieces individually I could see pu’erh, sunflower petals and what looks like small pieces of toffee.

Preparation

Below are the recommended guidelines to brewing a cup of Chocolate Toffee Mocha Pu’erh:

• Scoop 1 teaspoon of loose leaf tea into tea bag or cup
• Boil water to 100°C
• Steep to taste

Tea Tasting

My initial reaction to seeing Chocolate Toffee Mocha Pu’erh was excitement because I get to try a pu’erh tea that is blended with chocolate, toffee, and mocha goodness. However when I started to smell the tea more I was slightly nervous.

It did have a good chocolate-y smell to it at first but there was an underlying scent I was not familiar with and to be honest it did not smell that pleasant. I don’t have a lot of experience with pu’erh, so this could just be how pu’erh smells, but nevertheless I was slightly worried. Worried because I may not like the tea as much as I thought I would. However I’m a firm believer in ‘don’t knock it til you try it!’.

The directions on the package say to steep to taste. I decided to steep it for 2 minutes at first to see how that would taste.

Once brewed, the liquor had a dark chocolate color.

I noticed it still had the same smell once brewed as it did when I first opened the bag.

Taste wise, I really had no idea what to expect. I had a premeditated feeling that I would not like the tea, but surprisingly it wasn’t bad. I thought I wouldn’t like the tea because I was worried it may taste the same as it smelled, but interesting enough it did not.

It tasted slightly sweet and was not bitter. It was a little bit musky and earthy. I found it had a mellow taste but with a smooth aftertaste. It wasn’t too intense or overly rich tasting, and wasn’t too astringent either. I also noticed I couldn’t really taste any of the chocolate/toffee flavors.

Overall in my review of Chocolate Toffee Mocha Pu’erh, I wasn’t blown away by it but I didn’t dislike it either. It’s a tea I will have to try again and play around with different steeping times, brewing methods, and number of infusions to see if it alters the taste at all.

WuYi Forest Orchid White Review

Like pu’erh tea, white tea is another type of tea that I don’t get to drink too often. There’s no particular reason as to why, but probably because I have too many other types of tea!

Origin

Fujian Province, China

Ingredients

• White tea
• Rosehip
• Flower petals
• Natural flavors

The Aroma

This tea smells delicious! It smells very sweet and floral-y.

Leaf Details

Looking at the pieces individually I can see white tea leaves, flower petals (which I presume are marigold and blue cornflower), rose petals, and small chunks of rosehip.

Preparation

Below are the following recommendations to brewing a cup of WuYi Forest Orchid White:

• Scoop 2 teaspoons of loose leaf tea into a tea bag or cup
• Boil water to 82°C
• Steep for 3 to 7 minutes or to taste

Tea Tasting

While waiting for the tea to steep I noticed it still had that delicious sweet smell but it wasn’t as strong.

The color of the liquor was a light yellow and it reminded me of the color of apple juice.

I was half expecting it to have a super sweet taste, similar to the way it smelled, but surprisingly it did not. It was not as sweet as I expected it to be but it still tasted delicious. It thankfully did not come out bitter – which can sometimes be a bit tricky when brewing white teas. If you heat the water too hot or steep for too long, you’ve probably ruined your white tea. Plus I noticed the small chunk of hibiscus – this too can sometimes give teas a bitter taste.

I found the tea to be very smooth tea and with no bitterness. I could also detect a very slight floral aftertaste as well.

In my review of WuYi Forest Orchid White I found it to be a delicate tea that was delicious and refreshing. You could taste the floral notes and it lacked any bitterness. I found it to be smooth and lacked very little astringency as well. This would make for a nice afternoon tea.

Louis XIV Review

The Louis XIV is one of High Noon Tea Co.’s monthly charity teas. Its part of their giving back initiative and all net proceeds will be donated to Hurricane Matthew relief!

Origin

A blend of teas from various regions:

• Nandi Hills, Kenya
• Fujian Province, China
• Assam, India
• Nawura Eliya, Sri Lanka

Ingredients

Since this tea came in a tin there wasn’t an ingredient list provided. However Marianne and Johnathan were kind enough to let me know when I asked:

• Earl Grey, Ceylon, Assam and Kenyan Black Teas
• Jasmine Green
• Lavender, Rose and Cyanus petals

The Aroma

When I took off the lid and took a good sniff, I could smell a lot of spice. My first impression was that the spicy smell kind of reminded me of ground black peppers.

Leaf Details

Looking at the pieces individually, I could see black tea leaves, flowers and rose petals. It reminded me very much of an earl grey type of tea.

Preparation

There were no instructions on how to brew Louis XIV, so I decided to steep it impromptu style:

• 1 teaspoon of loose leaf tea
• Heated water to about 95°C
• Steeped for 3 minutes

Tea Tasting

I was really curious to see how this tea would taste. My first impression was that it reminded me of an earl grey type of tea. However there was a really spicy kick to it, and for some reason that spice really reminded me of ground black peppers.

Once brewed it did not have that strong spice smell.

It had a dark red/maple color liquor to it.

I could taste a slight astringency and a bit of bitterness. It tasted bergamot yet was slightly sweet and floral. It had bold notes as well.

In my review of Louis XIV I found it to be a delicious and bold black tea. It very much reminded me of Earl Grey and I would enjoy this type of tea in the mornings as a nice coffee substitute.

Final Thoughts

After reviewing these four teas it’s safe to say I’m tea drunk!

I found all the teas I sampled from High Noon Tea Co. to be delicious and of great quality. They smelled great and tasted even better. Aesthetically the teas looked beautiful as well. However I was less impressed with Chocolate Toffee Mocha Pu’erh. This could be because I don’t drink pu’erh often enough and so I’m not as familiar with this type of tea.

My favorite tea I sampled so far has to be Organic Cederberg Rooibos & Peach. I’m a huge fan of rooibos tea and I really liked the way this one was blended. The peach flavor gave the rooibos a nice and smooth touch. I also liked the calendula petals mixed in with the rooibos and thought it looked beautiful.

Overall I give High Noon Tea Co. and the teas I sampled today two thumbs up! Marianne and Johnathan at High Noon Tea Co. are super sweet and they got back to me so quickly with any questions I had.

Their website is still under construction but you should check out High Noon Tea Co. for more info.