As much as I love pumped-up black teas and spicy chai teas, I do need an herbal comfort now and again. Enter: Blueberry Blossoms Rooibos Tea from the Kettlery. Unsurprisingly, the overall the focus of this blend is blueberry. You can smell the berries in the dry leaf, and their flavor is very forward in the brew. This tea is not too juicy, or fruit-heavy, like other blueberry blends with hibiscus or apple pieces. This is more subdued and toasty, like a blueberry scone.
I can understand why rooibos teas might be a hit-or-miss for some people. Red rooibos can taste like medicine if oversteeped and green rooibos can be bland if you are not in the mood for it. This tea feels like a happy medium, an easy-going rooibos, strong enough to add some nuttiness underneath the blueberry flavors, but far from overpowering. I didn’t experience any sour or bitter tones when brewing this tea, only warm and gentle blueberry.
There are marshmallow blossoms listed in the ingredients list, which I found intriguing. We all know what marshmallows taste like, little clouds of pure sweetness in cocoa or Lucky Charms, but they’re not quite the same as marshmallow blossoms. My internet research tells me that mallow blossoms should taste a bit sweet, like their sugary counterparts. Any additional sweetness in this tea gets wrapped up in the blueberry flavor, and I didn’t notice any unusual herbal tastes in this tea. Perhaps the mallow blossoms are in this blend for their visual appeal. The little lavender blossoms certainly are a nice pair with the deep purple blueberries.
If you’re looking for a gentle, nutty, blueberry tea without too much sour fruit or in-your-face hibiscus, I recommend brewing up a pot of Blueberry Blossoms Roobios from the Kettlery.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: The Kettlery
Description:
This tea is better than dessert. Indulge into a healthy guilty pleasure with this rooibos tea blended with blueberry and smooth marshmallow blossoms.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Strawberry Coconut Honeybush-Rooibos Blends from 52Teas
When I first discovered 52Teas I got a sampler pack and among it was a Strawberry Pie Honeybush blend. I instantly fell in love. Something about the way 52Teas does strawberry honeybush is just so right. So, when I saw this blend in the teas CuppaGeek sent my way, I was really intrigued.
As per 52Teas recommendations, I brewed this low and slow and let it cool before giving it a taste. With the very first sip, I was taking a trip down memory lane. The familiar strawberry honeybush deliciousness was back. Sweet but sharp and true to the delightful berry. But what’s that? A creaminess? Must be the coconut. All of this floating on the rooibos-honeybush base that provides a solid foundation for the flavors to stand on.
This tea is sweet, but not too sweet and the perfect to end off the evening. Though if you are in the mood for something a little sweeter, this also makes for an awesome tea smoothie. I blended this up with some frozen strawberries and bananas, a little chocolate pudding, some milk, and two teaspoons of a banana, bourbon & vanilla bean jam from a local jam shop, Kitten and the Bear. It’s a mason jar full of liquid dessert. The coconut helps elevate the overall creaminess of the blend and mixes perfectly with the vanilla bean of the jam. The strawberry, just as it was in the hot cup of tea, is the true star here though. Juicy and ripe and dipped in milk chocolate is the berry flavor the smoothie is highlighting. Amazing!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
I had originally planned for this to be just a honeybush blend – but when I got to my tea studio, I realized that I didn’t have enough honeybush in stock so it became a honeybush-rooibos blend. I actually think I like it better as a blend because I really like how honeybush and rooibos complement each other. They seem to bring out the best in each other!
So here is a naturally caffeine free blend of organic honeybush and rooibos – together they create a sweet, nutty, slightly honeyed tasting base to support the flavors of a sweet-tart strawberry and creamy, delectable coconut. The brewed tea is sweet, smooth and delicious with a finish that’s offers a tingly berry tartness – evoking thoughts of fresh berries!
Taster size is approximately 1/2 ounce
organic ingredients: honeybush, rooibos, coconut, freeze-dried strawberries and natural flavors
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Golden Turmeric Loose Leaf Chai from Chico Chai #VeganMoFo2016
We are starting to wind down our Vegan MoFo prompts, only have a few days left but it sure has been fun to match up tea with our vegan friends at Vegan MoFo. Today’s prompt was a bit harder to match up but I think we did it in a way. Today’s prompt was to recreate your favorite food memory. While there are lots of teas out there that can conjure about memories from our past, today I thought I’d chat about a tea that I’m absolutely going nuts over and have for some time! Let my love for all things #tumeric begin!
I’m going to come right out and say it…I LOVE TURMERIC! So when I heard that Chico Chai had a new product highlighting this incredible ingredient I couldn’t wait to try it! Introducing…Golden Turmeric Loose Leaf Chai from Chico Chai!
Golden Turmeric Loose Leaf Chai from Chico Chai contains rooibos, dried coconut, nutmeg, ginger, orange peel, and cardamom. I was excited to see how this blend of flavors would work with a Rooibos base. As for the aroma upon opening the tin – Golden Turmeric Loose Leaf Chai from Chico Chai smelled like wondrous chai! Sure it was SPICY but there was a hint of sweet from both the rooibos and the coconut AND it was even a bit savory! Perhaps that was because of the turmeric ‘making friends with’ the ginger. But you know what…the orange in this was surprisingly lovely, too, but more of an afterthought.
Golden Turmeric Loose Leaf Chai from Chico Chai was full of surprises! Eventho you could still see that there was turmeric loose and buy itself flowing freely among the dry ingredients you could also tell that it stuck to the coconut really well, too! I can’t say enough about this Golden Turmeric Loose Leaf Chai from Chico Chai!!! I absolutely LOVE it! You have to REALLY like chai and really like turmeric and lucky for me – I do! This is blended so well! I don’t think I would change anything about it! This one will be hard for me to share with others but I want to pass it along to my Sororitea Sisters to see what they think about it, too! Ahhhh…I’m so conflicted! But for good reason…Golden Turmeric Loose Leaf Chai from Chico Chai ROCKS!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos Blend
Where to Buy: Chico Chai
Description
Turmeric blended with rooibos, dried coconut, nutmeg, ginger, orange peel and cardamom. A rich, warming tea, blended specifically for the cool autumn weather. Blended in small batches, by hand in Chico, California. Only Organic Ingredients and Fair Trade Organic teas are used to make Chico Chai.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Blackberry Cobbler from Pinch of Geek
A couple weeks ago, my husband and I went out and had a mixed berry cobbler for dessert. We weren’t even that hungry, but we ate nearly to the point of tummy-explosion because it was just that good.
This tea tastes just like that ‘zert. The rooibos and spices make up the crumbles, and the rich berries fill in the rest. There are no artificial flavors in this, and you can really tell.
It’s like wandering around on a hiking trail and stuffing them into your mouth.
And wondering about whether that’s okay. Trails are always like “take only photos; leave only footprints.”
But what about a belly full of blackberries? Because I am basically foraging like a cavewoman every time I spot berries in the wild. My mouth and hands are covered in blood-like stains. Like I committed a heinous crime out there.
What I’m saying is basically that I love blackberries, past the point of acceptability, and this tea channels that. The people in charge of this blog definitely chose the right recipient for this tea. Except they only sent me ONE BAG, which was a little cruel. I’ve had my cup, and now I’m sniffing the mug in sadness. Next time I’m running low on tea, I’m definitely snapping this up.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos/Black Tea Blend
Where to Buy: Pinch of Geek
Description
Blackberry Cobbler is a secret blend of black, chestnut, Thai, and rooibos teas with dried blackberries and spices including cinnamon. It smells of holidays and home. Lovely blend especially when served with a touch of sugar and cream!
The tea has caffeine but no added sugar. The tea will appear brown from the very real spices added! This is not an artificially flavored tea because it is an actual blend of spices, fruit, and tea that taste and smell of the real thing.
Due to the complex blend or fruit, tea, and spices, this tea is only available in bags.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Teana Colada from Tea Geek’ery
Teana Colada from Tea Geek’ery was one of the featured teas in the Amoda Curated Selection we were sent recently. After taking a look at The Tea Geek’ery’s website I noticed MANY of the teas are currently sold out and after tasting this tea I can see why!
The only 3 ingredients this Rooibos Tisane contains is Red Rooibos, Vanilla, and Coconut. I have to give credit were credit is due…the amount and quality of the large shaved and dried coconut is AMAZING! They are certainly the focal point of this dry mix to the eye. With the sweet and creamy notes of the coconut playing a HUGE part of this flavor it seems to tone down the stereotypical taste of red rooibos and I have to say I am overly fond of this outcome! If you are a person who tends to shy away from Red Rooibos based tisanes you might want to give this one a shot…it’s pretty incredible!
Teana Colada from Tea Geek’ery is a very easy cup to drink. It’s sweet, nutty, smooth, creamy, and just terrific! Based on this flavored red rooibos I cannot wait to try other teas and tisanes from Tea Geek’ery!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Tea Geek’ery
Description
This herbal tea is naturally sweet with hints of cream & nuts. Phenomenal blended with ice & your favorite coconuttie adult beverage
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!