Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Rishi Tea
Tea Description:
Creamy, rich textured and inviting, this pu-erh based chai is unlike any other. Its delicate balance of silky and luscious vanilla bean, bright and soothing peppermint and sweet cinnamon transform this chai into something magical.
Tasting Notes: Decadent vanilla bean and sweet Saigon Cinnamon complement smooth, rich Pu-erh tea
Ingredients: Organic and Fair Trade Certified™ pu-erh tea, organic peppermint, organic cinnamon, organic vanilla bean, organic licorice root.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have never had Rishi teas (at least not that I could remember) before nor have I had a lot of Pu-erh. So when I saw this the other day while I was online, I thought I’d give it a whirl.
Steeped this one up per the instructions on the box. 2 tbsp with 1 cup of boiling water on my stove top. Brought the mixture to a boil and then added a cup of almond milk and brought the mixture up to a simmer. Once I was at that point I removed the pot from the heat and let the tea do its thing and steeped for 3 minutes. After I steeped it for 3 minutes, I added some honey to my mug and strained the tea into the mug. Seems like a lot of steps for a simple cup of tea but this is anything but a simple cup of tea.
This chai mixture has pu-erh instead of black tea or green. I can’t say I’ve ever had a pu-erh chai blend before. I am a newbie when it comes to pu-erh so please bare with me.
First sip and I was immediately greeted with this beautiful blend of earth tones and sweet cinnamon spices. Sweet and savory at the same time. The vanilla just added to the sweetness/creaminess factor and the almond milk brought out more of the earthiness and gave the tea a well rounded balance. The mint gave the tea a refreshing after taste. It was very light and faint. I could barely pick it up.
I think I finished the cup in about 2 minutes flat. I really enjoyed this. My first voyage into pu-erh chai was a success. I think I may have to check out some pu-erh blends now.
California Sweet Peach Herbal Tea from M&K’s Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit/Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: M&K’s Tea Company on Etsy
Tea Description:
Sweet orange peel roasted in honey, real grade-A Madagascar vanilla beans, actual peaches! California Sweet Peach is our signature herbal infusion. We are proud to roast our own orange peel in local honey and use peaches straight from California! Our natural peach flavor is supplied by Silver Cloud Estates and is a blend of different natural extracts and oils, enabling us to boost the taste of peaches. This blend is part of the Original 20 M&K’s Blends. Note: California Sweet Peach contains no tea, as it is an herbal infusion. We chose to include the term “herbal tea” in the title due to its categorical popularity.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This California Sweet Peach Herbal Tea from M&K’s Tea Company is an interesting tisane. As I sit here, sipping it, I’m trying to determine whether or not I like it. I can’t say that immediately upon taking my first few sips that I was blown away by it. At the same time, I can’t say that immediately upon taking my first few sips that I wasn’t intrigued. I felt the need to keep on sipping. It’s interesting enough to keep me sipping but there’s something about it that hasn’t yet ‘won me over’ – at least not yet.
I like that the hibiscus is not a strong presence in this cup. Normally, when I am about to taste a tea or tisane with hibiscus, my thought is “why?” Why hibiscus? But, after drinking about half a cup now, I can see why the hibiscus is in this blend. It adds a little bit of body to the cup (but I wouldn’t recommend steeping it longer than 6 minutes or so to avoid having a thick or syrupy body) and the little bit of tartness that it brings to the cup adds balance to the warm notes of the licorice and the sweetness of the peach, honey and vanilla notes.
The star of this cup is – obviously – the peach. I like the flavor of the peach here and I think that’s what’s keeping my interest. The peach is a genuine peach-y note. It doesn’t taste chemical or artificial. It tastes true to the fruit. I also like the orange in this. The orange adds a touch of bright flavor to the sweet peach notes.
Now that I’ve finished the cup I can say that I enjoyed this. It had a strong peach flavor but there was enough other stuff going on in this that it didn’t end up being all about the peach. I liked the different flavors going on. And even though this does have hibiscus in it – like so many other fruit/herbal tisanes to – this is not your ordinary tisane.
Just as an aside: it’s something when I finish the tea before I finish the review. Take that for what it’s worth, but it doesn’t happen often. I must have enjoyed what I was drinking!
Yeah. I’d drink this again. I enjoyed it. This one has earned my approval. Even if it does have hibiscus in it!
Sicilian Vanilla Black Tea from M&K’s Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: M&K’s Tea Company on Etsy
Tea Description:
Do vanilla beans grow in Italy? We like to think so. Regardless, this black tea is blended with fine English oils made from Italian citrus fruits and sweet extracts, mixed with grade-A Madagascar vanilla beans (plus fine vanilla extract for an extra boost), and the unique savory scent of helichrysum flowers. Sicilian Vanilla is a great blend for the citrus lover, the vanilla lover, or the black tea lover! This blend is part of the Original 20 M&K’s Blends.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Hmm … tasty! Not at all what I expected, but then, I think when I saw “Vanilla” in the name of the tea, I immediately think, “OK, this is a vanilla tea.” I didn’t expect the other flavors in this, although had I read the description prior to tasting, I would have!
This tastes more like something rich and dessert-y, like a fancy dessert from a European bakery than it does a straightforward vanilla black tea. And that’s not a bad thing, not at all! It’s a very yummy thing!
The description of this tea on Etsy doesn’t go into detail about what teas are used as the base. It only says a “blend of black teas.” Based on what I’m tasting, I’m going to guess that there is some Assam in this blend. I taste a good bit of malty and I also taste a hint of Assam bitterness. As for other teas, I suspect a Ceylon because I’m getting a Ceylon sort of taste in there too … but I’m less certain of the Ceylon than I am of the Assam.
To flavor this tea, M&K’s used vanilla bean as well as vanilla flavoring, Fiori di Sicilia flavoring and Pannetone flavoring. Fiori di Sicilia is an extract that is used in Italian baking that has a bit of vanilla, orange and floral essence. I can taste each of these flavors. The vanilla is the strongest note of these flavors, with the yummy baked bread taste of the pannetone, and hints of citrus that are especially noticeable at the finish and in the aftertaste.
The floral notes are probably my least favorite aspect of this tea, because it gives the cup an almost ‘artificial’ taste. However, the floral taste from the Fiori di Sicilia is barely noticeable and something that is easy to overlook given the yumminess of the rest of the tea.
Overall, I’m quite pleased with this blend and I’m glad I got to try it.
Ginger Cream Black Tea from Aromatica Fine Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Tea Information:
Rich, malty, full-bodied Assam black tea makes this a bold tea, but the delicious cream flavour really smoothes it out. If you’ve never experienced ginger and cream together, you’re in for a treat. Spicy, yet sweet, this tea is heavenly.
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yum!
As I’m sitting here, marveling over the amazing flavor of this tea, I’m trying to recall ever trying another “ginger creme” tea like this. No, I can’t say that I have … or if I have, it’s not a tea that I remember. And if it tasted anything like this, I’d like to think I would have remembered it because this is delightful!
Really delightful!
The flavors all come together in a very pleasing way. The richness of the malty Assam tea, the sweet, creamy notes of the vanilla and the hint of peppery warmth from the ginger. It’s a well-crafted combination of flavors that unite in a seamless way – tasting less like “individual” flavors and more like a delicious harmony of tastes.
The black tea base is a second flush Assam. It’s a robust, smooth, and sweet tasting tea with lots of malt. There are Assam teas that are “wine-y” and there are Assam teas that are “malty” and then there are some Assam teas that are somewhere between. This Assam is MALTY! Rich and sweet with caramel-esque notes. It has a strong, hefty quality to it – this has plenty of gusto and would make a good tea for that first cup of the day.
And what a delicious way to start the day this tea would be!
The malty notes of the Assam marry with the vanilla notes in a very luscious way. The vanilla enhances the caramel-y tones of the Assam while those smooth, rich notes of the Assam perfectly complement the vanilla.
Then there is the ginger! How the ginger was added to this blend is key to it’s success as a flavor. Too much ginger would have ruined the delightfully melodious flavor that the Assam and vanilla have created. There is just enough ginger to add a hint of spice to the cup. Just a hint. It’s a little warm but not overly zesty. There’s just enough ginger to keep the cup interesting.
I LOVE this tea. It’s warm and cozy and fluffy – like a favorite blanket on a cold winter’s day. An awesome choice for this month’s Amoda Tea box!
9 Spice Chai Black Tea from M&K’s Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: M&K’s Tea Company on Etsy
Tea Description:
Could it be? A perfectly balanced chai tea? Yes, we know chai means tea and we are saying tea tea. But we like tea tea. Anyway. 9 Spice Chai is a smooth, deep, and complex black tea with just enough spiced flavor to penetrate the Indian and Sri Lankan black teas. Finally, a cup of chai that isn’t literally a cup of cloves or a cup of cinnamon nutmeg! Rejoice! This blend is part of the Original 20 M&K’s Blends.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
If you’ve read many of my reviews, you know by now that I love a good chai! So, I looked forward to trying this 9 Spice Chai from M&K’s Tea Company. After reading the description, it would seem that M&K’s is promising me a good chai here, so I am eagerly anticipating that!
And I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the humor in M&K’s description. I know that ‘Chai’ means tea and when I say “Chai,” I am more often than not – 99 times out of 100 – referring to a spiced tea blend. But I also often find myself worrying about those purists out there that might read one of my post titles that say “chai tea” and they’re snickering about me saying “tea tea.” I like that M&K’s addresses this “confusing” subject with humor. Thank you.
Anyway … let’s move on to the chai tea that sits in front of me, tempting me with it’s lovely aroma. It smells warm and spicy, like the kitchen during the holidays when there are lots of tasty things being baked.
Especially when I was a kid in my gramma’s kitchen … not so much now because if tasty things were being baked in the kitchen, that would mean that I was baking them and doing all the work. Things smell a lot better when I’m not the one doing the work. I think that’s why the childhood memories of pies, cakes, cookies and other yummies “smelled” so much better than when I make those things.
I’m just full of tangent today, aren’t I?
As I was saying, this chai smells good. It has a lovely, warmly spiced fragrance. And, I’m happy to say that it tastes as good as it smells! The spices are nicely balanced (as promised in the above description), I taste gentle notes of cinnamon and cardamom and clove. Hints of nutmeg and vanilla. The pepper and ginger are zesty. The allspice and coriander round out the flavors. The spices have been carefully considered here to create a pleasing, round flavor that warms you from the inside out without coming across as too spicy.
It has a flavor that is reminiscent of a homemade spice cookie. It isn’t too strongly spiced – but it isn’t subtle either. It’s somewhere in between a very strong, spicy chai and a more softly spiced chai. The spices aren’t competing with one another and there isn’t one spice that overpowers the others. This isn’t all about the cinnamon or ginger or clove. I get a little bit of each spice in each sip and that’s what I mean by a nice balance of spice.
The black tea base is a blend of Ceylon and Assam, and these two teas provide a solid background of flavor. It’s robust and holds its own against the strong spices so that I’m not just tasting spices in each sip, I’m also tasting tea. The teas don’t taste bitter but there is some dryness toward the tail – a slightly astringent sensation – but it isn’t unpleasant. I like the way the dryness allows the spice notes (a contrast between spicy and sweet) to come through in the aftertaste.
I really am enjoying this chai. I think if I’m to offer any kind of criticism about it at all, it would be that I think I’d like just a tad more vanilla to this. The vanilla here is rather subdued, perhaps because it’s in the presence of so many other spices but I think I’d like to experience a little more of the sweet, creamy notes of vanilla here. A little more vanilla and you wouldn’t need to add dairy to make this a latte – it would be like a latte in a cup without the dairy!