Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Juniper Ridge
Product Description:
When my first herbal-medicine teacher had us try Douglas Fir tea on a class camping trip, I thought it would taste, well, like a tree. I was pleasantly surprised, however, by its refreshing, lemony flavor and sweet, forest-like aroma. This tea is made from 100% Douglas Fir spring tips from the coastal mountains of Northern California and the Pacific Northwest. Nothing else has been added to it, so you can experience the pure, wild taste and foresty aroma of this distinctly Northwestern wild herb delicacy.
Taster’s Review:
This is definitely one of the more unusual teas that I’ve encountered in a long time. It is so unusual – at least to me! – that I was quite unsure if I really wanted to try it. I am glad that my hesitancy finally gave way though, because, I am really enjoying this tisane.
This tea smells like outside. I mean… seriously, it smells like my back yard! I live in the Pacific Northwest and the Douglas Fir Tips that were harvested to make this tea were harvested in this area (as well as Northern California). I’m surrounded by Douglas Fir trees!
But it doesn’t taste the way I expected it to taste. Not that I really knew what I expected it to taste like. I guess I expected it to taste like wood. Like smoke, maybe? Or perhaps even a little damp (it sometimes gets a little damp up here) But it doesn’t taste woody, or smoky or even damp.
The overall taste is light. It has a sweet lemony taste to it as well as a background of a mint-like flavor. But… it isn’t quite mint, if that makes sense. It is as though someone attempted to duplicate the taste of peppermint and wintergreen and didn’t quite make it, but got real close. It tastes winter-y and fresh.
What this really tastes like to me is the way the air feels when my husband and I visit the Columbia Gorge. We get out, walk among the trees and enjoy the crisp, clean air. And that is what this tastes like. Crisp, clean and fresh. Slightly sweet and invigorating – like a walk through the woods!
I like this tisane, and it is one I am very glad I had the opportunity to taste. I like it so much, in fact, that it is one that I could see myself keeping in stock – it has such a refreshingly different flavor!
