Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Tea Forté
Product Description:
A calming Egyptian chamomile blended with a melody of fruits and herbs. Chamomile flowers, rose hips impart an enticing balance of tart and sweet. Aromatic Thai Lemongrass adds depth to this soothing, citrusy infusion.
Taster’s Review:
I received one of these “single steeps” along with my KATI cup, but I have held off on trying it until now. That’s just the way I am when it comes to chamomile blends – I have a mental “preset” that tells me that if it has chamomile in it, I probably won’t like it. But, truth be told, I actually have liked more chamomile blends than I’ve disliked over the last couple of years, and I am really enjoying this one, too.
I must admit that I find the name of the tea to be somewhat misleading, because I thought that there would be citron fruit in this blend, but according to the ingredient list, there is not. That being said, I am still finding this to be a tasty, soothing blend.
The chamomile actually starts out as almost an afterthought in terms of flavor for this blend. By about mid-cup, I can taste the apple-like notes of the chamomile. It doesn’t taste too floral or pollen-y, but it does have a hint of honey-esque flavor and that distinct apple tone.
The peppermint is a strong note in this blend but I am not finding it to be overwhelmingly minty. It is more like a cool crispness with subtle mint tones. I suspect the reason for the lack of minty flavor has something to do with the licorice root – because these two meld together quite seamlessly, creating a flavor that is not quite as sharp as licorice and not quite as minty as peppermint, and yet capturing the cool, crisp sweetness of these two ingredients quite nicely.
The lemongrass and lemon verbena bring the citrus-y tones to the cup without creating a flavor that is too sour. It is more like a sweet lemon-y flavor with just a hint of tartness. Even the hibiscus – one of my least favorite herbs that is found in far too many tisanes – is not too strong here and doesn’t affect the flavor too much.
I am surprised at how much I actually like this tisane, and even more surprised at how well it steeped in my KATI cup, as I expected some of the smaller particles in the blend to fall through the fine mesh of the strainer, but there was relatively little sediment settled at the bottom of the cup. Overall, I’m quite pleased!
