When I think of chicory, I think of my favorite western TV shows and movies. Why? Well there wasn’t always a good supply of coffee out on the dusty trail, so chicory would be brewed as a substitute. Chicory and coffee have a long history together, with chicory stretching or replacing coffee when the latter is hard to come by, from Napoleonic France to the American Civil War. After these coffee-sparse times, some cultures developed a taste for chicory and still brew it alongside or with their coffee today.
I got a chance to try a cup of Wild Chicory Joe from the Tea Spot. I’m both a coffee fan and a tea lover, so I can appreciate both sides of this story.
Wild Chicory Joe brewed up super fast, as quick and dark as coffee. The brew was immediately full and fragrant, smelling like savory toasted grains or roasted nuts, over an undertone of more bitter, dirt-road earthiness. The first sip was a bit daunting: it’s not coffee, it’s not tea, and my taste buds were not sure what to expect. As I moved onto a second and third and fourth sip, the flavor grew on me. Beyond the roasted notes, there were flavors like caramel and malt, and a touch of true coffee on the aftertaste.
I could understand how chicory got its start as a coffee replacement. This brew is dark and bitter, but with a touch of the bright, citrus notes you find in a blond coffee roast. Unlike coffee, the chicory isn’t oily, instead it brews up with a smooth mouthfeel and a more herbal flavor.
Maybe I’m channeling my favorite westerns, but this cup is distinctly masculine, with nothing floral or astringent, just deep, bold, bitter – pow! All that said, the chicory does mellow out with some milk and sweetener so you can mix it like your favorite coffee or tea. And since the chicory is decaf, you can make a latte at any time of day or night.
If you’re looking to switch from coffee to chicory, this won’t be an easy transition, the chicory isn’t a perfect coffee replacement (not to mention, you’ll be craving the caffeine). But if you’re bored with your tea or need a break from your coffee, Wild Chicory Joe will be a fascinating cup to try. A cup of chicory might just be the perfect accessory to have on hand when watching your favorite western or reading your favorite wild west novel. Happy trails!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: The Tea Spot
Description:
Hold onto your hats, coffee lovers! This natural coffee replacement is so darn delicious, you won’t believe your taste buds. Our Wild Chicory Joe brews into a boldly deep herbal tea that masquerades as a strong-brewed cowboy coffee, without any acidity. The roasted chicory root creates a dark espresso base while the chocolate barley malt adds cocoa notes and the fennel adds a little sweetness. Drink it straight or as the bold caffeine-free base for a latte. You might even trick some coffee fanatics into enjoying this cup of herbal tea. Giddy-up and grab some Joe!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pacific Coast Lavender from Winterwoods Tea Company Courtesy of Amoda Tea
Herbal tea can be a great before-bed comfort, especially as the weather gets cooler. Composed of sweet and savory herbs and naturally caffeine-free, it’s hard to go wrong. Usually, my one complaint with herbal tea is that the flavor is mild or too delicate, but wow! Was I proven wrong on this blend! The lavender is so fresh, fragrant, and plentiful– it all but knocked me over when I first got a whiff of the dry leaf. This is a tea with simple but powerful ingredients, each one vibrant and visible in the blend.
The health benefits of these herbs are all the positive usual suspects: lavender and chamomile for relaxation, rose hips for health-boosting vitamin c, and cool, stomach-calming peppermint. When brewed, the lavender definitely takes the spotlight, lighting up my whole room with its warm, floral scent, and filling my senses when I bring my mug up to my face. Beneath all the lavender fragrance, the chamomile and peppermint play well together, producing a mellow, grassy, lemon-mint brew. The rose hips are harder to pick out. Traditionally, rose hips tend to be strong and sour, more like orange or hibiscus, but in this blend they appear only as a little fruity note at the back of each sip.
While I might not be in the mood for this tea every night, it definitely comforted me, reminding me of herbal teas I would drink when I was home sick or staying warm on a snowy day. Not to mention the lavender was out of this world: I have yet to find another lavender tea that can even come close to competing with this one.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Description:
Making this tea your evening ritual through Fall and Winter can be a great way to help naturally boost your mood if you’re experiencing wet grey days. Lavender can calm emotional stress, peppermint can invigorate your mind and chamomile will help soothe.
This tea is no longer on the site but others from Winterwoods Tea Company are here!
Pink Rose Lemonade from The Tea Spot
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal/Tisane
Where to Buy: The Tea Spot
Tea Description:
Pink Rose Lemonade is a swirling collage of flowers with a hint of lemon and wintergreen. Like a fancy floral confection, this delicately handcrafted tea will refresh and soothe your palate. Pink Rose Lemonade is totally guilt-free, as it has no caffeine and is naturally sweet. Lemon, rose, mint, chamomile, and lavender spring to life in this absolutely fabulous herbal tea. Pink Rose Lemonade tastes distinctively wonderful brewed hot or cold.
Features:
- Premium Loose Leaf Herbal Tea
- Sample = 5 8-oz Servings
- 1/2 LB Bulk = $0.31 / Serving
- Naturally Caffeine Free!
- Gluten-free & Sugar-free
- No added flavorings
Ingredients: lemongrass, lemon myrtle, orange peel, rose petals, lemon balm, spearmint, chamomile, lavender
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Pink Rose Lemonade from The Tea Spot…that just sounds lovely, doesn’t it? Well…it IS! I’m usually not BIG on herbal tisanes but this Pink Rose Lemonade from The Tea Spot is something that sparks my interest that is for sure!
The product description and profile said the ingredients of this herbal tisane were lemon, rose, mint, chamomile, and lavender and that it is good hot or cold. I agree! First I want to point out how well these 5 ingredients meshed together so nicely! The ratio seemed to be 1/5 – 1/5 across the board…at least that is what my taste buds seemed to pick up! I’m glad because I don’t generally like or side with chamomile flavors but if you pair chamomile with mint I’m more apt to try it. Lemon is always a plus. Rose and Lavender I can be hot and cold on but here it worked!
Pink Rose Lemonade from The Tea Spot is refreshing this or any time of year! This is probably on my short list of favorite herbal tisane offerings to date!
Ceylon Mango from Beacon Hill Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Beacon Hill Teas
Tea Description:
This delightful decaffeinated ceylon boasts a rich ceylon flavor, and is playfully highlighted by bits of creamy mango.
Learn more about Beacon Hill’s Monthly Subscription here.
Taster’s Review:
I love my Beacon Hill Tea Company’s monthly subscription box. Each month you get 4 1 oz packages of a variety of teas for you to enjoy. Some of them I love, some of them I don’t. What I love the most is the variety of teas I can now try that I never would have thought of trying before. This tea is a perfect example.
A decaffeinated version of a ceylon tea with mango. A perfect tea for the spring/summer time. I brewed up this tea with the package instructions and then put to sphere ice “cubes” into a mason jar and finished the jar off with an orange slice. Can you save heavenly?
The tea is a lovely light fresh black tea with a creamy mango undertone. All ingredients are allowed to shine. The tea is amazingly refreshing yet simple. I love that. How simple the tea is. There isn’t a mix of complex flavors just fresh wonderful tea that make an amazing iced tea. I have tried this tea hot and it is pretty tasty but where this tea really shines is as an iced tea.
If you are looking for a great monthly tea box that provides you with a nice array of teas, then look no further. I love the variety the box provides and trying out teas that I never would have thought about trying before. Sure it is a bit more expensive than others but you do get quite a bit of tea that you can re steep for several sessions and infusions. So far I have been very happy with my subscription and don’t see myself cancelling anytime soon!
Cola déthéiné Black from Dammann Freres
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Decaffeinated Black
Where to Buy: Dammann Freres
Tea Description:
Coming from the ‘Little Cristal’ collection, Cola is a decaffeinated black tea with a cola flavor that children have so dear.
At tea time, a flavored tea to enjoy the “Five O’clock” like grown people.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Prior to trying this blend, I’ve had exactly three cola flavoured teas: Cola Matcha from Red Leaf Tea, Cherry Cola & Cake from Della Terra Teas, and DAVIDsTEA’s Cherry Cola black tea. I remember that so specifically because all of them were super memorable experiences, and not for a good reason. In fact, DT’s Cherry Cola blend may actually be the worst black tea I’ve ever had. Cola just seems to be something that doesn’t apply well to tea, so I’m going into this tasting with extreme reservation and fairly low expectations.
I probably wouldn’t have purchased this one at all if it weren’t for the fact I got some in a group order, and therefore got to pick up a small size of it. It also helps it’s from Dammann Freres – I’ve yet to really find a “flop” from them, though there have been a few blends that just didn’t click because of personal taste. I have faith that if any company can pull off a cola tea they’re likely to be the ones to do it.
I’m cold brewing this – I just personally think that cola flavor kind of only works cold. I’ve had hot coke before (it was a dare) and it didn’t go over well. I have to say, the dry leaf of this smells pretty wonderful. It definitely conveys the smell of coke without any of the chemical/artificial qualities that I’ve experienced with every other coke tea. I don’t know how they do it! There’s even a whiff of vanilla to the smell as well!
I’ll come right out and say it; this is easily the best cola tea I’ve had. Simply put, it tastes like those shimmery silver cola ball candies that are basically pure sugar – though not as cloying as you’d imagine. There’s a really nice freshness to the tea and more natural notes as well like very mild citrus and possibly also pear. It’s ‘fancy’ cola ball candy! Definitely no sweetened needed with this one though; it’s just barely treading the line between natural sweet and ‘cavity’ sweet. I like that the base is also pretty strong, but not overly brisk. The fact it’s decaffeinated is a huge plus – as a generalization black tea is my favourite type and being limited with how much I can drink at night without the jitters is definitely a concern of mine; this will fit seamlessly into my evening routine.
I can totally see why this is marketed towards children as well; it’s something familiar flavor-wise, definitely sweet enough on its own, obviously healthier than actually giving a child a bottle of Coke, and what parent is going to complain about the lack of caffeine!?
My opinion on cola teas has been completely changed; and I’m already imagining interesting ways to try this one: tea soda, as a latte (because ‘floats’), and possibly even hot…
