The tea blend I bought last year to use to make iced tea while the weather was still hot has turned out to be one of our favorite evening hot teas this winter. Technically it is not tea, as it contains no camellia sinensis, but you know what I mean!
Quite often we want a tea to wind down with, and we reach for Draught of Peace or Parker’s Evening Blend. Spiced Fall Evenings and Baked Apple Pie (With A Dash of Rum) are other wind-down favorites to carry to the rocking chairs before heading off to bed.
But sometimes we want a caffeine free cup to go with a snack and a tv show or game. We want something that tastes good with food, is a little bit lively, doesn’t scream BEDTIME!!! but still has no caffeine. Lately Summer In A Cup has been our go-to.
It took me by surprise that we like it so much hot. The ingredients are all about sweet summer fruit – green rooibos with mini marshmallows, freeze dried peaches, freeze dried strawberries, orange, marigold flowers, and natural peach, strawberry and orange flavoring.
Summer, right?
But something about the green rooibos base makes it so darn drinkable. I have an intense dislike for red rooibos. But green rooibos is delightful, and it carries these flavors so well. I have had it by itself and paired with cheese and crackers or chips and dip or toast and jam. When we drink it hot, we add nothing at all – no sugar and no milk. Delish!
I have made it as iced sweet tea, too, as I originally intended. My pitcher holds 48 ounces. Here is what I do – I use four teaspoons of the blend, steep it three times in a small teapot and pour it into the pitcher. Add 1/3 cup sugar and stir. Adjust to your taste. Depending on the size of your steeping vessel and your teapot you may need to add additional water. Chill and enjoy!
I first started with just three teaspoons of dry blend and resteeped three times and it was fine for me, but my husband said he would like for it to be just a little stronger. Naturally, adjust the leaf and sugar or your choice of sweetener to your taste.
Get some now to treat yourself to a peek at summer to come, and to have on hand for those first spring picnics! This would also be a lovely caffeine-free option for a children’s or adults’ tea party that should appeal to most anyone’s taste!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Fruit Tisane/Herbal
Where to Buy: CuppaGeek Teas
Description
Summer In A Cup- A delightful way to honor summer all year round! Delicious green rooibos mixed with summer flavors like strawberries and peaches and a few mini marshmallows thrown in for fun!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Feenduft/Floragold – VariaTea-
One of my tea friends was super kind and gave me a bunch of tea pyramids by Floragold. There was so much variety and while I typically prefer loose leaf, I’ve been enjoying the convenience of being able to grab a tea bag and brew up a cup with such quick clean-up.
If I am being honest, I had low expectations of the quality of the teas. I think there is an underlying tea snob in me that always expects less from a tea bag/satchet/pyramid than I do from loose leaf teas. However, these Floragold teas have been pretty good so far.
This tea, Feenduft aka Fairy Fragrance, is a green rooibos that is meant to taste like strawberry kiwi. Personally, I think that flavor is quite spot-on. The green rooibos base compliments those flavors nicely as well. All elements are present and floral and light, which makes for a nice cuppa.
Of the Floragold teas I have tried, this one is one of my favorites. It’s convenient and the flavors are lovely. It could be a bit stronger on the strawberry kiwi and a bit less base, but that is more a personal preference for my tastes. Besides that, I am a fan.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Vanilla Sugar Cookie Herbal Tea/Plum Deluxe
This tea couldn’t have come at a better time. All this stormy weather makes you just want to stay at home with a cup of tea. And I don’t think I could have picked a better “comfort” tea for today.
I usually reserve spiced teas for the holidays. They can be overwhelming year round and aren’t my favorite during warmer weather. But this tea is very lightly spiced and smells amazing—like someone just pulled a tray of snickerdoodles out of the oven. (And it has me really wanting some of my mother-in-law’s snickerdoodle cookies right now!)
This is the perfect tea to brighten up a cold or rainy day. While it smells pretty spicy, the taste is very mild. Just a tiny bit of cinnamon with a vanilla flavor that takes the edge of the spice. It’s made with green rooibos and nothing containing caffeine, so it’s also a nice evening tea if you’re sensitive to caffeine.
The tea itself is lightly sweet on its own, but I added a tiny bit of orange blossom honey to my second cup. I steeped my first cup for 6 minutes and the second cup for 8 minutes. The second cup was spicier, but beyond that, there wasn’t a noticeable decline in flavor, which was nice. I was afraid the light flavors might quickly go bland, but it held up just as well!
This one should definitely go on your list of teas for a rainy day (literally and figuratively!). It’s comforting, even heartwarming, and is just the thing to brighten up an otherwise unpleasant day.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green Rooibos
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description
We’ve heard some of our teas described like a cookie-in-a-cup, but this tea is exactly that! Everybody loves a classic sugar cookie tea. This one is inspired by our staff favorite – snickerdoodles! – we created a calming herbal tea perfect for an evening night cap or just a smooth afternoon pick me up. We use our favorite herbal tea – green rooibos – paired with a variety of vanilla extras and a unique spice blend that comes together perfectly. It’s just lightly sweet and lightly spiced, making for a great cookie flavored tea.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Let’s Go Bananas Again! Recent Tastings of Banana Teas
Check out my first Let’s Go Bananas tea posting.
It’s no secret I love the flavor of bananas. I like the taste in pastries, candy, breakfast, the fruit itself, and of course, the taste of bananas in tea! Here is another round of tasty banana inspired teas I’ve tried lately
Banana Split from The Necessiteas
Leaf type: red rooibos
This red rooibos blend has all three essential components of a banana split, with pieces of strawberries, bananas, and carob bean (“chocolate”). The strong red rooibos compliments the sweet and tart fruit pieces in the blend. The chocolate is an undertone, taking a backseat to the driving banana and strawberry flavor combination. The blend benefits from sweetener and milk to make it feel more like a dessert and bring out more of the bananas.
Perles de Antilles Rooibos Blend from Camellia Sinensis distributed by Amoda Tea
Leaf type: green rooibos
This tropical green rooibos blend has pieces of dried banana, pineapple, and coconut. All three fruits are prominent, and no one ingredient takes the lead. Banana and coconut are the sweet components, bringing creaminess and body to the blend. The pineapple adds a much-needed pop of tartness to balance the blend. This tea is the most refreshing as an iced tea, and drinking it iced helps support its summertime tropical vibe.
Banana Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha from 52Teas
Leaf type: green
52Teas has a whole host of delicious flavored genmaicha teas. Being the sucker for banana that I am, this was one of my favorites. The sweet cream of the marshmallow pairs well with the banana, almost like a banana cream pie. The toasty flavors of the puffed rice help this blend from being too sweet, and if keeping with the pie analogy, the rice makes up the crust-like component of the blend. All the warm, roasted flavors of puffed rice and gentle green taste of genmaicha with creamy marshmallow fluff and banana.
I know there are still banana teas out there that I haven’t tried, so I’ll need to fill up my mug and go bananas for banana tea all over again!
On the 7th Day of Christmas, 52 Teas gave to me….Crisp Cranberry Soda Green Rooibos Tea!
On the 7th Day of Christmas, 52 Teas gave to me….Crisp Cranberry Soda Green Rooibos Tea! So for this one, the smell of the dry leaf brought back memories! When I was younger my mom was really into sparkling water mixed with a splash of cranberry juice and a lime. As a little girl, I of course always wanted to copy her. This blend smells exactly like that “soda” drink tasted…down to the carbonation. Although, I’m not sure how you can “smell carbonation”, but I swear I can!
This blend is a total thirst quencher. I’m drinking it hot because I’m not very into icing my teas, but I can imagine this would be so amazing iced. I love the green rooibos base. It is lighter and not as “woody” as red rooibos. The cranberry is not super tart, but it’s still present and I feel like I can taste a little bit of lime or citrus. Then, of course, there is the “soda” aspect. If you did not tell me that this blend was meant to taste like a “soda” drink, I would still have thought it did- that is how accurate this tea portrays crisp cranberry soda. It is so crisp and it tastes so hydrating I am literally gulping it down. I really did enjoy this one and I feel like it totally represented its name 100%. It would be amazing in the summertime as an iced beverage or even as a tea-popsicle! This one is a winner for sure!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Rooibos
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is not available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
