Black Tea and Lemongrass from Chiang Rai Tea House

Black+tea+lemongrassTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy: Chiang Rai Tea House

Tea Description:

The relaxing aroma and health benefits of lemongrass, combined with our also organic black tea, makes this blend a mellow drink to be enjoyed any time of the day.

 Ingredients: Organic Black Tea 60%

Organic Lemongrass 40%

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

There are times when the name of a tea perfectly describes the flavors inside. Black Tea and Lemongrass is one of those teas. Chiang Rai Tea House did a nice job balancing the two since lemongrass can be such an over powering flavor causing notes from the tea itself to get lost. While the lemon flavor of this tea is strong the slight briskness of the base tea can still be tasted. There’s also a clean finish that compliments the lemongrass flavor very  well. The whole tea comes off as bright, even cheerful. And honestly, who can’t use that during the duller days of winter?

I only drank this tea hot, but I can see it being an excellent served iced or as a cold brew. In fact, I think this tea served cold during the summer months would be incredibly refreshing. I’ve even made a note in my phone to pick up more of this tea while the idea of summer picnics and long days in my garden danced in my head. The fact that the tea is organic is a bonus point in my book because my family drinks lots of iced tea and I’m more comfortable giving organic teas to my kids.

So, from winter to summer I think Black Tea and Lemongrass from Chiang Rai Tea House can find a place in my cupboard and my cup. If you’re looking for a nice organic tea with a lemony citrus kick this is one worth checking out.

 

Lemongrass & Pandan Tea from Chiang Rai Tea House

PandanTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Herbal Tea/Tisane

Where to Buy: Chiang Rai Tea House

Tea Description:

This delicious combination is loaded with anti-oxidants and is known to release stress, lower cholesterol and ease digestion. Both of these two healthy plants are grown the most natural way, so you can benefit from all the potency and enjoy the subtle flavor of this blend all day round.

Ingredients: Organic Lemongrass 60%

Organic Pandan 40%

Lemongrass-Pandan main benefits -the power is in the combination of these two plants:

> Induces a feeling of relaxation and relieves stress

> Contains a higher level of anti-oxidants than taken separately

> Fights constipation and regulates digestion

> Helps clear away toxins built up in kidneys and bladder

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Chiang Rai Tea House and their Lemongrass and Pandan Herbal Tisane is pretty special.  You don’t see too many Pandan teas here in the US but I’m glad I was able to try this one.  Usually I’m not really into herbal tisanes but this one was lovely.  The Pandan Leaves made it somewhat savory and the lemongrass seemed to cut it and add a but of mellow lemon.  This is a comforting herbal not to mention the potential healthy benefits it offers!  I loved how it was brothy.  Almost like I was drinking a soup rather than a tea.  I could totally see myself cooking with this.  I think it would be great to boil rice in.

 

Lemongrass and Pandan Herbal Tea from Chiang Rai Tea House

Lemongrass+Pandan1Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Herbal

Where to Buy: Chiang Rai Tea House

Tea Description:

An exquisite, balanced blend of two fragrant herbs typical of South East Asia. The lemony flavor and aroma of lemongrass is a great match to the sweet, vanilla-like taste of pandan. If you haven’t tried pandan yet, this infusion is not to be missed. The lemongrass-pandan combination is known to relieve stress, ease constipation. detoxify the blood and, being caffeine-free, it’s also the perfect after-dinner beverage. As for all our teas and herbs, these two are also organic.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Pandan seems to be becoming a more popular ingredient in herbal tea – I’ve certainly seen it more recently than I ever have before. It has quite a distinctive flavour, but one that’s also hard to describe – it’s sweet in a way reminiscent of liquorice root, with an almost thick-tasting starchiness. Pretty unique.

This particular blend contains an approximately 60/40 split between lemongrass and pandan. The “leaves” are quite small (approximately 2mm shreds of lemongrass, with slightly larger twists of pandan), but this also means that they brew up relatively quickly. I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 3 minutes in boiling water. The resulting liquor is a pale golden colour, the scent generically sweet.

To taste, the pandan is definitely the most dominant flavour. It has a rather thick mouthfeel, and it’s the kind of flavour that lingers at the back of the throat. The sweetness, particularly, is rather cloying after a while. Fortunately, the lemongrass is there to freshen things up a little. It has a hay-like sweetness of its own, but also a clean, citrus edge that cuts through the pandan and helps to end the sip on a bright, refreshing note. I drank my cup hot, but I can also see this working well iced.

A pleasant, summery cup with two classically Thai components. This one is an excellent, and unusual, herbal, and definitely worth a try if you’re in the market for a caffeine-free option.

Lemongrass & Pandan Tisane from Chiang Rai Tea House

Lemongrass+Pandan1Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Herbal

Where to Buy:   Chiang Rai Tea House

Tea Description:

An exquisite, balanced blend of two fragrant herbs typical of South East Asia. The lemony flavor and aroma of lemongrass is a great match to the sweet, vanilla-like taste of pandan. If you haven’t tried pandan yet, this infusion is not to be missed. The lemongrass-pandan combination is known to relieve stress, ease constipation. detoxify the blood and, being caffeine-free, it’s also the perfect after-dinner beverage. As for all our teas and herbs, these two are also organic.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I don’t recall ever having tried Pandan before, so this moment with Lemongrass & Pandan Tisane from Chiang Rai Tea House represents a new experience for me.

Pandan is interesting!  It has a sweet flavor that is reminiscent of rice.  The description above suggests a vanilla-like taste and I get that too, but I think I taste more of a rice-like flavor than a vanilla one.  I’m quite enjoying it!

Lemongrass+PandanI have tried a lot of lemongrass in the past, but I must say that the lemongrass that I’ve sampled from Chiang Rai Tea House is truly exceptional.  I realize that there are people out there that might thing that ‘lemongrass is lemongrass’ but for those people, I’d recommend trying one of Chiang Rai Tea House’s lemongrass offerings and that might change your mind.  If nothing else, you might find the curly shavings of the lemongrass more interesting and enchanting than the typical blades of lemongrass that you might be used to.

The combination of the sweet, citrus notes of the lemongrass with its subtle hints of butter complement the pandan in a very pleasant way.  This is a really nice caffeine free drink – one I wouldn’t mind drinking on a regular basis!

Overall, I’m really happy that I had this opportunity to try this Lemongrass & Pandan Tisane – Pandan is delightful and so is the lemongrass!  A really nice tisane.