My coworker brewed up a bunch of this upon arrival this morning and gave me a cup. (AN ANGEL UPON EARTH.)
Brewed hot: It’s a very deep, rich, sassy berry blend, with a lot of blackberry and raspberry notes. You can taste each note individually. I think of those as the semi-sweet berries instead of the super-sweet berries (strawberry, cherry) — like the difference between dark chocolate and milk chocolate. The mint/mojito part of it is more of a mouthfeel* sensation than a flavor. It’s a tingling sensation, like when you brush your teeth.
* Is there a worse word than “mouthfeel”? It’s a great descriptive tool, but as a word, it’s horrid. Gross.
Iced: I drank about half of my cup hot, and then iced the rest, just to see. The mint is a little more pronounced cold, so if you’re a mint fanatic, ice it. The berries turn into a less distinct sensation-of-berry as opposed to an individually-nuanced every-berry-for-itself melee.
In neither case can I taste the green tea much. So if you want just a pinch of caffeine or green tea benefits — but don’t like the flavor of green tea — this might be a workable solution for you!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Teavana
Description
This refreshing flavored green tea perfectly captures the Latin-inspired minty mojito cocktail by combining succulent blackberries and raspberries with a spearmint kick.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Tea Candy, Classic Iced Tea flavor from Bali’s Best. . . .
One of my officemates knows I love tea, so she hunted me down to get me to try this today. Ahhhh. Tea.
This tastes like “sweet tea” — that black tea with a lot of sugar/honey dumped into it. If you’ve ever been to the South (or a McDonald’s), you may have had this. It’s definitely not “tea” so much as it is “sugar with a tea flavor.” My coworker (who purchased these) said the candy tasted like “an obnoxious amount of honey.”
I rather like this candy, actually, but not at its calorie/point range. Each candy has 48 calories in it to back this up. It’s 2 Weight Watchers SmartPoints… each. Those are calories/points I could be spending on, for example, Greek yogurt, which would be more filling. This one, for example tastes like tiramisu, which is a faux-coffee instead of a faux-tea, but you get 12 grams of protein instead of just sugar-calories.
However, the nuances of calories in candy are a bit silly, considering it’s candy. No nutritional value should be expected of it. It’s pretty tasty. Tea purists should most likely back away from this, but if you’re a fan of Southern sweet tea, give it a whirl!
Here’s the scoop!
Where to Buy: Bali’s Best
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Superfruit Goji Berry from Storehouse Teas. . . .
I ordered myself a few samples from Storehouse Tea, and when they arrived, I gleefully told my office tea-mate, “IT’S TEA-TRYING TUESDAY.” She excitedly nodded and took herself a sample.
Guys, it’s Wednesday.
I don’t know if she didn’t notice either, or if she was just being nice.
Anyway, today’s blend, Superfruit Goji Berry, is a green tea with berries (obviously) and lemongrass. I made myself some iced tea with it because it’s summer, even though I had to wear a hoodie to the gym this morning. (What is this? Iceland?) (You don’t know where I’m from, I just realized. It’s Pennsylvania.)
The berries are a little bit tart, which is offset by the lemongrass, which is so sweet it is almost minty. (Usually you’d think it’d be the other way around with those flavors). You can taste the green in there, which gives the affair a wry sass. The green here is like a cool substitute teacher, overseeing everything but not sending you to the principal when you curse.
What is a goji berry, you may be wondering. WELL. According to the Holy Grail of Information (uh, the Internet), it contains “all 8 essential amino acids” and “a surprising amount of protein.”
Goji berries also, horrifyingly, “can cause miscarriage.” The site I went to mentioned the “don’t eat these while pregnant” with a really casual air before going on to say that Goji berries make you stronger, thinner, more resistant to disease, and longer-lived. I was like “so… you’re just going to drop that heavy bomb and walk away, site? SERIOUSLY?”
There are only a few berries in here, and they’re dried and mostly for flavor, but this is a thing that I think my review should mention. I’m not using my body to create other, smaller bodies at this time, so this is irrelevant to me. If, however, you’re pregnant, you might want to look into this detail before purchasing this tea. Talk to a professional. Not me. My degree is in fonts, basically.
Anyway, I’m enjoying this tea. I look forward to this superfruit giving me the power to live forever, save orphans from burning buildings, thwart tyrants, stand for social justice, etc. I hope to be the superfruit superhero you have always wanted.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Storehouse Teas
Description
Bright red Goji berries blended with rich green sencha, lemongrass, and a fruity pomegranate flavor.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Chocolate Chip Pancakes from Bumble Tea. . . .
My doctor told me to drastically decrease my caffeine intake, which means less tea. I got until 3:30 pm (right now) before making myself my one daily cup. I’d been hoping to cold turkey it and try talking about decaf teas for a while, but I crashed.
Today’s feature: Chocolate Chip Pancakes! YUM!
When you open this up, the chocolate powder puffs out. The majority of the mix is solid (tea parts, etc), but the powder is exciting. It smells REALLY amazing.
This is a malty, dark chocolate flavor. Like the pancakes have been a little bit crisped. The shimmering perky chocolate is a great contrast to the deep assam. Neither overpowers the other. It’s yin. It’s yang. It’s… CHOCOLATE CHIP PANCAKES, GUYS. And oh god, thank goodness, it has caffeine.
I think if you put a splash of milk in this, it’d be GOLD, but we ran out of milk in the office, and it’s my turn to buy it. It’s not a finance issue; it’s a “can’t be bothered to go to a STORE” issue.
I probably can’t be bothered because I have literally no energy in my veins. Caffeine, I miss you.
All of my reviews from here on out will have a certain joy in them because they’re the only times in my day when I am allowed to have my previous zip-juice.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Bumble Tea
Description
Wake up with a decadent blend of black assam tea leaves, with carob & real dark chocolate. Best enjoyed with cream & sugar!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Happy Zombie from Design A Tea. . .
This tea accompanied me to this season’s Game of Thrones premiere. I figured that the show is on at night (it’s a rooibos!) and has an army of the undead (the title has zombies!). SPOT-ON. THE NORTH REMEMBERS.
This tea’s spicy oranges taste a bit like mulled wine. It’s a little savory, a little sweet, and puts a dash of twinkle in your eye.
I don’t know if this is the influence of the show, but I could imagine this being served at a sturdy, rough-hewn wooden table. Maybe a tavern. Plotting to kill your enemies. Amassing a group of ragtag soldiers, arguing about where to ride the dragons to next, et cetera.
So next time you need something to sip while you’re cuddling your dire wolf, give this a whirl!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Design A Tea
Description
A crisp tropical Orange will jump out (no pun intended) with hints of cinnamon. Don’t know if it will make you want to embrace the next zombie while at the beach… but who knows. But PLEASE take warning-If he does want to snuggle against your neck… just run away really fast!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!