Confession: I’ve written two reviews for this tea. The first review was written longhand in my journal after a party where I made a few non-tea-beverage tactical errors. It said:
“This tea tastes like what’d it be like to receive a Care Bear Stare.”
The rest of it is, basically, incomprehensible, mostly in terms of handwriting. So I’m writing it again.
“Tropical Fruit” ‘s ingredients include organic orange peel, organic apple, organic rose petals, organic calendula, and natural fruit flavors. Apples, oranges, and flowers aren’t really all that tropical, but the result is still sweet and fun anyway. It tastes like very vivid pastels might taste. I’d probably qualify this taste as more of a “spring” than a “summer” (as the tropics might be), but the accuracy of title-to-flavor isn’t one of my major sticking points.
I’ve drank both of these samples iced. It seems fitting to enjoy the tropics with a cool beverage at your hand.
Cold temperatures also seem to bring out the sweetness in a tea, which I especially enjoy doing with rooibos. It brings out a velvety, vanilla-like quality that makes everything taste like a wash of ice cream.
Or, you know, the Care Bear Stare.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Storehouse Tea
Description
Combines natural exotic tropical fruit flavors with caffeine free, Fair Trade red and green rooibos makes this infusion deliciously refreshing and rich in anti-oxidants. Excellent iced.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Elderberry Blend from Storehouse Teas. . . .
I literally purchased this tea because it was purple.
I also like berries, and I have to cut back on caffeine, so this tea seemed to check off a lot of my boxes. But mostly I will buy anything in purple. I once drove a purple car. She looked precisely like this.
Like the ingredients, Elderberry Blend’s steeped final result is a plum/magenta color. It’s super-appealing in my clear travel container.
But enough about the appearance! WHAT OF THE FLAVOR? YOU ASK.
Elderberry Blend tastes great iced on-the-go. Granted, in today’s case, “on-the-go” means “at my desk,” but I traveled with it to a county fair yesterday. The berries are sweet, but the hibiscus/currants/raisins give it a tart edge that keep the sweetness from being overwhelming.
It tastes like a low-key superhero woman. Like, maybe a lawyer who defends people who have been harmed by evil companies. Kind but NO NONSENSE. She doesn’t flip cars over with her muscles; she flips THE PATRIARCHY over with her MIND. Like, maybe Scully from X-Files would be the fictional equivalent of this tea.
Not JUST because the tea brews up sort of red.
But maybe PARTIALLY because the tea brews up sort of red.
I’m hoping to work my way into other parts of the rainbow in later posts. Stay tuned. 😉
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Storehouse Teas
Description
This succulent blend of Caffeine Free herbs and fruits imparts a refreshing deep berry flavor, tart with a subtle sweetness creating a satisfying deep dark red infusion. Contains powerful anti-oxidants which may help expel toxins, relieve sore throat, and shorten the flu cycle. Excellent iced.
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!
Elderberry Blend from Storehouse Tea. . . .
Lately I’ve had a few medical issues pop up where I’ve been a bit more careful about the tea I drink. I’ve found myself more and more drawn to herbals. Herbals and I have always had this weird love hate relationship. I’m not a fan of extremely “herbally”flavored teas that are just too spiced ie have lots of ginger. So when I was going through my tea stash and came across Elderberry Blend from our friends at Storehouse Tea I was delighted.
Elderberry Blend is a fun mix of hibiscus, elderberries, dried currants, raisins, rosehips and other natural flavors. As you can imagine this tea is tart but tart in a good way.
Brewed hot, this tea gives so much tart loving that just hits the spot. Tart fans rejoice! This tea delivers a wonderfully tart berry flavor that doesn’t get to the point where you are puckering your lips, even after the tea started to cool. I destroyed my first cuppa and went greedily for a second.
Cold brewed overnight, this brilliant pinkish hue tea gives that same tart feel but in a more refreshing way. You again have that same familiar tart flavor but the tartness just has this crisper feel that I felt was way more satisfying than when this tea was brewed hot. I also found that the berry flavors had a larger role and weren’t hidden behind the hibiscus as much. I added a touch of spearmint into the cold brew mix and I couldn’t have been happier with the results.
Storehouse Tea is another one of those hidden gems on the internet when it comes to tea shops. I’ve been impressed with the majority of the teas I’ve tried from them and after trying this one, I’m waiting to try more of their offerings.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Storehouse Tea
Description
This succulent blend of Caffeine Free herbs and fruits imparts a refreshing deep berry flavor, tart with a subtle sweetness creating a satisfying deep dark red infusion. Contains powerful anti-oxidants which may help expel toxins, relieve sore throat, and shorten the flu cycle. Excellent iced.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Zesty Ginger Lime from Storehouse Teas. . .
Summer is pretty much exclusively iced tea season for me– and frankly, if it can’t be cold-brewed, it probably isn’t going to get much love in my tea cabinet during the warmer months.
So when this little unassuming gem showed up in my most recent sample stash, it wasn’t even a question that I’d be brewing it cold. The ginger and the lime immediately pop in the cold brew, with hints of lemongrass lingering behind.
This one lived up to its name (“zesty” indeed!) and was fantastic with a splash of lemonade stirred in right before sipping. It’s the perfect addition to my summer iced tea stash– and definitely one I’ll be sipping again soon!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Rooibos
Where to Buy: Storehouse Teas
Description
Organic Green Rooibos from South Africa combined with zesty lime citrus and soothing ginger is refreshing and delicious, excellent for digestion and relaxation. Zesty Ginger Lime is stimulating yet caffeine-free, with anti-oxidant rich, hydrating and skin care enhancing properties. Great iced!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
