Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Shanti Tea
Tisane Description:
A lingering spice softened by sweet maple, this is one of our favourite maple blends. The color, aroma, and flavor profile match incredibly well and create a full multi-sensory experience. A must try tea for maple & spice lovers.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh wow! This Red Maple Spice Tisane from Shanti Tea is seriously YUM! I didn’t think it would be this good – I tend to be apprehensive when it comes to rooibos blends – but I’m happy to report that this is a very tasty rooibos blend!
That might have a little something to do with the fact that the spice and maple notes dominate and I don’t really taste a strong presence from the rooibos. But I’m just fine with that. I do taste very subtle hints of a nutty taste from the rooibos and the flavor unites seamlessly with the maple and spice.
The cardamom and fennel offer a flavor that is warm and comforting. I taste hints of licorice from the fennel and hints of citrus from the cardamom, a flavor profile that is further accentuated with the addition of orange peels to the mix. The citrus-y notes are delicate and most noticeable toward the end of the sip.
The maple is sweet and tastes amazing with these other flavors. Everything is very harmonious. It is a sweet yet spicy treat that I find very cozy to sip on when it’s cold outside. I think I prefer this as a hot drink, although it tastes good when it cools too.
A really thoughtfully crafted rooibos tisane. This is one I’d highly recommend.
Spicy Orange Rooibos Blend from Tea of Life
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
I received this Spicy Orange Rooibos Blend from Tea of Life as part of the African Rooibos Tea Collection Gift Set. It includes 12 tea sachets with four different varieties (3 of each variety): the Spicy Orange that I’m trying today, as well as Original Spice, Passion Fruit Mango and unflavored Rooibos. I’ll review the other flavors at another time. But for this evening, I was in the mood for an orange spiced tisane … and this seemed to fit the bill.
This has a really lovely orange and spice flavor. The orange tastes sweet and a little tangy, and the spices are warm. This isn’t a spicy tisane, it’s gentle and warm.
The sweetness of the rooibos comes through too, it’s almost a honey-esque note that reminds me more of honeybush than rooibos, and since I tend to prefer honeybush over rooibos, I’m not complaining one bit about that. The sometimes sour wood taste of rooibos isn’t there, and I’m not complaining about that either. I taste a light nutty tone in the background, and that, along with the aforementioned honey note, is all that I taste from the rooibos.
Mostly what I taste here is the orange and spice. It’s a treat to sip on a chilly evening like tonight!
On The Tenth Day of Christmas, Della Terra Teas Sent Me This Tea …
Two days to go. Time to go shopping! Ha!
Winter Nog
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Della Terra Teas
Tisane Description:
Why were the Lords a leaping on the tenth day of Christmas? Well, obviously they all had a cup of Winter Nog!
Enjoy your festive day with a cup of this amazing egg nog rooibos. With all the spices you love about a perfect cup of Nog! Dont get too excited but … only 2 days ’til Christmas!
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
Well, I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed to find this in my bag marked Day 10 from Della Terra Teas. As I mentioned previously when I contacted Della Terra Teas before I ordered this box, I was told that there would be one repeat (which was the Eight Candles tea) but we also had this tisane last year on the eleventh day. I don’t think I would have been quite as disappointed if it had been a different tea, but, since rooibos blends aren’t my favorite to begin with, I feel just a little let down that this is a duplicate tea.
Not that this is a bad tisane, I liked it alright last year, and I’m sipping on it now and I’m enjoying it alright now. But, I think that I would have been more delighted to try a tea that I haven’t yet tried from Della Terra Teas.
But this is still a tasty tisane. I think I might be tasting a tad more cinnamon this time around than last year … and I’m definitely tasting rum again this year. Perhaps it wasn’t my imagination back then! It is creamy with an egg-y, vanilla-y, custard-y kind of taste as it’s prominent flavor, and just underneath that, I taste the cinnamon and spices, and then notes of rum.
A tasty treat for winter.
Rooibos Spice Tisane from Mint Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Tea Purchased from Mint Tea
Product Available Online at Strand Tea
Tisane Description:
Rooibos Spice Caffeine Free Herbal Tea. Organic Red Rooibos blended with Natural Cacao Bits, Ginger Pieces, Cinnamon Bark, Chicory Root, Barley Malt, Cardamom Pods, and Black Peppercorns. What a great winter tea! Rich & flavorful, sure to be a favorite treat any time of year.
Taster’s Review:
I bought this tisane when I visited the Mint Tea Shop in Vancouver, Washington some time ago. I knew that they obtained some of their teas from Strand Tea, including this one.
While some of the ingredients in this Rooibos Spice Tisane from Mint Tea appear to be chai-like, and the flavor of the tisane is somewhat chai-esque, there’s some other flavors going on here that I don’t usually find in a chai.
Like chicory and barley malt, for example. The chicory gives the drink a coffee-ish background note, a deep, roasted sort of flavor that accentuates the spices in a really interesting way. I also enjoy the way the chicory and the cacao work together. I also taste the malty tones from the barley malt, giving the cup a “grainy” flavor that adds an intriguing depth.
The spices are well-defined here. I taste the cinnamon throughout the sip, and there is a backdrop of pepper and ginger. The cardamom adds some exotic warmth to this beverage.
This is really tasty, winter-y kind of tisane, something that I can see myself drinking whenever I want something warm and soothing, but something that won’t stimulate me the way a caffeinated tea would.
On The Fourth Day of Christmas, Della Terra Teas Sent Me This Tea…
Day 4 of the Christmas Countdown. Today’s “gift” would be four calling birds … or colly birds. Which are supposed to be black birds.
I found this picture online doing a simple image search – if it belongs to you, please don’t get upset with me. If you want me to take it down, I will. I just thought it was kind of funny, and I have always wondered what the heck a calling bird looked like.
Anyway, I am glad that Della Terra Teas didn’t send me 4 calling birds and instead sent me this tea …
Cinnamon Diletto
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Della Terra Teas
Tisane Description:
On this, the fourth fantastic day of Christmas, why not spice it up a bit? Both you and the calling birds will be calling for more!
Enjoy this amazing Cinnamon Diletto. With all the spice that makes everything nice, not just the calling birds will be happy, you will be as well!
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
As I’ve mentioned on previous occasions, I’m never too thrilled to try a rooibos blend, as it tends to be one of my least favorite tisane bases. But after taking a whiff of this Cinnamon Diletto from Della Terra Teas – the tea for the 4th day of Christmas – I looked forward to trying it.
Very cinnamon-y! So cinnamon-y, in fact, that you miss the rooibos flavor, which works out just fine for me. There is some body to this tisane which comes from the rooibos, and there is also some nutty, earthy tones that complement the cinnamon notes so seamlessly that you don’t really realize that what you’re sipping is a rooibos tisane.
The cinnamon has a sweet flavor, but there is a zingy spice to it too. It’s a very warming tea – a delightful choice for winter evenings while relaxing. It’s one of those tisanes that has me sort of astonished, really, because the blend is so simple! It’s just rooibos and cinnamon and safflower petals. There isn’t anything fancy about this rooibos blend. But the cinnamon and rooibos were blended in just the right amount to create a deliciously warm, spicy-sweet drink that I can’t believe I’m sitting here enjoying as much as I am.
So far, Della Terra Teas’ Christmas box is 4 wins out of 4 teas!