Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit Tisane
Where to Buy: Parenteau’s Gourmet Foods
Tea Description:
Ingredients: Red and black currents, raisins, hibiscus, Saskatoon berries, blueberries, seneka root, natural flavours.
Learn more about this tea on Steepster.
Taster’s Review:
So this tisane is locally made and sold, and it features the Saskatoon Berry which isn’t as well known as it ought to be. I happen to live in Saskatoon Saskatchewan – and the berry is so popular around here that the city is named after the berry, and not the other way around. As such, any tea that features Saskatoons (of which there aren’t enough) very easily get my attention.
I decided to do a cold brew for my first try; sadly there’s a lot of hibiscus in the blend so a cold brew seemed like the best way to hold back some of the expected tartness I’ll likely be experiencing. Thankfully, there’s also a lot of berries in the blend as well but even still, not thirty seconds after I’d poured the water over the leaves the water was already the colour of McDonald’s mascot Grimace. The hibiscus in the blend was working quickly.
By the time the brew was done, it was a deep, dark almost maroon colour – but just slightly more purple. It reminded me of the colour of red wine. The smell is mostly hibiscus. That’s not very promising, but I’m still holding out that this’ll deliver the Saskatoon berry flavour I know and love anyway.
And the moment of truth; taste test!
The initial flavour here is a tart hibiscus flavour as anticipated; however, thankfully this isn’t all hibiscus. Similar to other berry/hibiscus teas I’ve had before like Rum Cream, from another local company (McQuarrie’s Tea & Coffee Merchants), this starts tart and softens into a more mellow berry drink; it’s quite juice-like. I can definitely taste Saskatoon berries myself, but I also really taste the blueberries and black currants in the blend. Thankfully, I don’t get much flavour from the raisins – I’m not a raisin person, so it’s no loss for me.
For people unfamiliar with Saskatoon Berries picture something sort of like a blueberry and cranberry cross. They’re great straight, in pies, in jam or jelly, and as syrup. Really, they’re just great in general. It’s that simple.
I am enjoying this cold brew a lot though I’m craving a richer, more full Saskatoon berry flavour. If they used more Saskatoons and cut down a little on the amount of other berries in the tea, I think this could be amazing without having a more monotone and flat flavour. As is, I’m concerned people not familiar with Saskatoons are mainly going to focus in on the other berries in the blend and the hibiscus and miss out on the great flavour.
And what a loss that’d be.
Cantaloupe & Berries Green Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Southern Boy Teas
Tea Description:
This super refreshing and delicious iced tea will definitely get you in the mood for spring. We’ve blended our sweet organic Chinese sencha fannings green tea with organic cantaloupe, strawberry, blackberry and blueberry flavors. Be warned, this will disappear out of your fridge really fast!
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
I love cantaloupe. At family gatherings, my mom and I fight over the last piece on the fruit plate. My sons will yell at me if I come home from the grocery store without one. Thank goodness my grandpa is a farmer. He supplies us with the most amazing fresh cantaloupe (and other fruits and vegetables) throughout the summer months. He is 80 years old and still goes out in the fields and hand picks everything while drinking his coffee from the thermos. Even in the crazy hot days of summer!
This tea reminds me of him and hanging out with him in the fields during summer break. Brings back so many fantastic memories of my childhood. I love it when a tea gives you what I call “Warm Fuzzies” and takes you back to happy times.
I didn’t brew this up per the packaging. Since I am the only one that drinks tea in my house, I break the larger pouch into smaller tea bags so I can enjoy them on the go or at my office. I’ve tried to brew up a pitcher all at once, but I wasn’t able to drink the tea fast enough. This way works for me and from what I can tell, it doesn’t affect the outcome of the tea at all.
This is a perfect spring/summer tea. The cantaloupe flavor is the first that hits your taste buds. The green tea gives the tea a rich buttery feel. You can taste it more after you’ve had a sip or two, adding in a slight grassy note. Very slight. Its more of an after thought. I’m not picking up any of the berries or even a hint of them. Which is fine with me. I’m good with an iced cantaloupe green tea. Overall, I really dig this one. I wish I could taste more of the berries and I’m hoping additional steeps will bring those flavors out.
Mintberry Pine Green Tea Blend from M & K’s Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: M&K’s Tea Company on Etsy
Tea Description:
Sweet roasted sloe berries doused in honey and liquid hibiscus, tossed with fresh spearmint and 3-distinct green teas, paired with real pine needles. That’s Mintberry Pine. It’s our limited-edition green tea holiday blend that offers a more complex, subtle taste (as opposed to mint exploding in your mouth with the force of a white hot sun). If you’re a green tea lover, mint lover, berry lover, or all three, this tea is perfect for you. Get it while it’s here!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I saw that M&K’s Tea Company had some really intriguing holiday blends, I decided that I needed (yes, needed) to try them! Fortunately, they understood this need and they offered a Wintertime Tea Sampler! This sampler offers five different teas: Moroccan Mint, Pine Needle Tea, Winterwolf Tea, White Vanilla Peppermint and this Mintberry Pine Green Tea. These samples were all packed into a special sampler package that’s just the right size for stocking stuffers. It’s a handsome package, something that Santa would be proud to give!
Before I received my package, I received a message from Marty (the “M” of M&K’s, I think!) explaining that the Mintberry Pine (and the Pine Needle Tea) are both very subtle teas. He recommended steeping them a little longer than the package directs and to allow plenty of steep room for the leaves (let them steep loose in the teapot instead of using an infuser tool).
To steep, I grabbed my small teapot (4 cup size) and dusted it off – it’s been a while since I’ve used this! I have gotten spoiled with my Breville! I warmed the teapot and poured the contents of the sampler into the teapot and heated 16 ounces of water to 180°F. Then I poured the water into the teapot and let it steep for 3 1/2 minutes. The package suggests 2 – 4 1/2 minutes, but I couldn’t bear to let a green tea steep longer than 3 1/2 minutes. I was willing to sacrifice a little of the mint, berry and pine flavors but I didn’t want a bitter green tea.
Yes, the flavors are a little subtle, but I like that I’m tasting all the elements of this tea and that the green tea doesn’t taste bitter.
I like the subtle flavor of the mint here. I like that I have a crisp, cool minty taste without it tasting like I added a shot of mouthwash to my cup of green tea.
The berry notes add some sweetness and not a lot of tartness (which I was a little apprehensive about because I saw liquid hibiscus up there in the description). There is a light, tingly tart tone that tickles the tongue (try saying that five times fast) in the aftertaste, but that’s to be expected with berry blends. I’m also picking up a delightful honeyed note from the honey roasting process. Nice touch.
The pine needles are the softest flavor component of the three elements in the name of this tea. I do get a very slight, resinous pine note to this that hits the palate right at the start and then it quickly disappears and reappears just after mid-sip, just to remind me that it is there. It’s very faint and it’s something that I think I’d have missed if I didn’t search for it.
However, as I continue to sip, I taste more and more of the pine, and by the time I’m halfway through my second cup of this tea, I’m getting a nice pine note. It never becomes a strong presence, but it certainly is a noticeable presence at this point.
And let us not forget that we’re drinking tea here. There’s a soft, buttery note of green tea. It’s lightly grassy (and I think that the grassy tones accentuate both the pine and the mint notes in a positive way), and it has a nice mouthfeel. It’s not bitter nor is it overly astringent, even though I steeped it longer than I typically would steep a green tea. I think that this could have even gone another 30 seconds to 1 full minute longer without bitterness!
Overall, a very unique blend. Certainly festive and definitely different from the other teas that everyone else is producing out there! Bravo M&K!
Minnesota Blend from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tea Description:
Our goal with this blend was to create something that was distinctly Minnesotan with additions like Minnesota Wild Rice and north woods juniper berries, while still feeling decadent and rich for a tea lover like Lady Gaga. Vanilla bean and generous saffron make the brew rich, full and sweet without overwhelming and heavy-handed cloying artificial sweeteners.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I saw that this was a limited-edition blend created to honor Lady Gaga’s visit to Minnesota, I knew I had to try the tea. Not because it’s a tea created for Lady Gaga, but, because it is a limited-edition tea! I am a sucker for limited-edition because … well, they’re limited. I like to know what I might possibly be missing out on, you know?
And I’m glad that I decided to buy a sampler package of this tea! It’s lovely!
Reading the ingredients list, one might think that this is a wild twist on the classic Genmaicha … and yeah … there are some similarities, but this is WAY more than just your average Genmaicha!
It’s a delightfully aromatic and sweet cup with notes of vanilla. I am also picking up on a gentle, warm ‘pine-like’ resinous flavor from the juniper berry. The rice gives it a smooth, nutty flavor. I don’t taste a heavy ‘vegetal’ flavor with this tea although I do taste notes of edamame. I’m getting that an umami sort of taste here that I attribute to the green tea.
At the start, I don’t taste a lot of saffron flavor, but I can definitely smell the saffron when I lift the cup to take a sip. It’s beautifully fragrant! As I continue to sip, I can taste the saffron notes beginning to develop, although I must admit that saffron is not a spice I have a lot of familiarity with (it’s a seriously expensive spice!) but I do taste subtle hints of it here.
I taste the rice and the vanilla most prominently and these two together give the cup an almost “rice pudding-ish” sort of flavor. By the time I reach mid-cup, I can pick up on more of the green tea flavors – it tastes sweet and savory and lush without tasting overly “leafy” or “green” or “vegetative.” The nutty notes of the rice intensify by the time I’ve reached the bottom of the cup.
I find myself in agreement with the last sentence of the above description … the vanilla and saffron make this a rich, full, and sweet without needing to add sweetener and yet the sweetness is not an overpoweringly, cloyingly sweet taste, so I would recommend adding sweetener very cautiously and only after you’ve tasted it first, you may find that you don’t need it at all!
This is also a tea that offers multiple infusions. I steeped the leaves three times and got a really pleasing flavor each time I steeped it. The second infusion was a little less “creamy” and “full” than the first cup, but it was still very satisfying and deliciously rich. These later infusions offered more nutty flavors and a little more green tea taste than the first did, and I think these flavors are worth exploring!
A really good blend. I recommend getting some of this while the getting is good because the website says that the quantities are low!
Soba Cha Deep Roast Buckwheat Tisane from Steepster
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Buckwheat Tea
Where to Buy: Steepster Select
Tisane Description:
Soba cha (roasted buckwheat berries) is a caffeine free tisane drank in noodle shops in Japan. With an intoxicating aroma and slightly sweet, nutty brew, this is sure to become a favorite. GLUTEN FREE!
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! I’m pretty sure that I’ve tried Soba Cha before, although, I’m not sure when. This Soba Cha Deep Roast Buckwheat Tisane from Steepster reminds me a lot of drinking Genmai … (the toasted rice part). It has that roasty-toasty quality of Genmai rice, but, this has more of a malty … or perhaps a barley like flavor. It reminds me a lot of a freshly baked, whole multi-grain bread.
The flavor is sweet with notes of honey and nutty tones. There is a caramel-ish sort of flavor to this as well and that melds nicely with the honey. Then there is the grain-y sort of flavor that is so reminiscent of “breakfast” to me. Whole multi-grain toast with a pat of butter on it and honey drizzled over it. Yeah … that’s what I taste with this.
On Steepster I saw a suggestion of adding some maple syrup to this, and I think that would make a stunning addition to this. It’s quite good served straight up (I prefer this hot, it seems to lose something to the flavor as it cools), but, if I were going to add something, I think I would add the maple. It would give this a real “breakfast-y” sort of appeal.
A really yummy, naturally caffeine free alternative!