Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Vintage Teaworks
Tisane Description:
Inspired by Pinot Noir, we blended natural ingredients to create a rooibos herbal tea blend that is light, fruity and fun, with hints of mango, blueberry, raspberry and hibiscus.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not very knowledgeable when it comes to wine. I wouldn’t be able to tell you the difference between a Pinot Noir and a Chardonnay … or any other kind of wine for that matter. But I do like to think I know a thing or two about teas and tisanes! So with this wine-inspired line of teas from Vintage TeaWorks, I get to taste something that I’m familiar with, and still explore something that’s outside my realm of expertise. I like that … it challenges me a little bit!
The dry leaf smells like wine. It has a strong, fermented grape kind of aroma. And I can see big pieces of fruit and flower petals tossed in with the needle-thin leaves of the red rooibos, creating a very stunning visual presentation.
The brewed tisane still has a bit of the wine-like scent, but, it is significantly softer as a brewed tisane. It still smells pleasantly grape-like: sweet and fruity.
And this translates to the flavor. It is deliciously sweet and fruity, with well-defined notes of wine grapes, with notes of berry and a hint of mango. I love the sweetness that the mango adds without detracting from the overall concept. It still tastes like a wine-inspired tisane, even though when I think of wine, I don’t think of mango. This makes me think that the minds at Vintage TeaWorks must be geniuses! The way they find just the right flavors to meld together to create such a unique tisane that is delicious served hot or iced.
I personally find this more refreshing as an iced tea – but, it has a very soothing, relaxing quality as a hot tisane. Something that is fun to curl up with and watch TV later in the evening.
Surprisingly, I don’t taste much hibsicus from this at all. I even steeped this for a full 10 minutes, and I don’t taste or feel the syrupy quality of the hibiscus, nor do I taste the pungent tartness of it. I do taste hints of tartness, sure, and these can be attributed to the hibiscus… but they accentuate the flavors of the berry, grape, and mango so well that it becomes not a disruptive flavor but instead something that works toward offering the best flavor possible.
Also surprisingly, I don’t taste much from the rooibos here. I do taste hints of nut and wood from the rooibos, but, it isn’t that funky, sour woody taste. And there isn’t that weird sweet aftertaste from the rooibos.
This tisane makes me very happy, indeed! I’m so impressed with what I’ve tasted from Vintage TeaWorks so far! I highly recommend their teas and tisanes!
Carmelized Pear from The Art of Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos & Honeybush
Where to Buy: The Art of Tea
Tea Description:
One of Art of Tea’s most popular offerings, this delectable dessert infusion is sweet and flavorful with notes of honey, caramel, and fresh baked pear.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is one of the teas that was included with the Steepster Select box for August … which also happens to be the last box in this Steepster Select Program. I’m a little sad about this program coming to an end … it seems like two of my favorite subscriptions – Foodzie and Steepster Select – are ending at just about the same time.
For the final box, Steepster decided to go with the theme “Founder Favorites” and feature three teas/tisanes that the men who brought us Steepster consider favorites. The theme card says
Steepster is filled with amazing opinions from thousands of avid tea drinkers, but wanted to share a few of our own. This month we bring you three favorites of the guys behind Steepster. Teas that inspired us, evolved our tastes, and made us fall in love with tea all over again.
These past 12 boxes have been a great ride for us. Thanks for all our support and see you soon. – Jason, Jack, Mike and Ricky
I’ve tried two out of the three teas/tisanes featured in this month’s box, including this one. But, I don’t mind, because these teas are such excellent selections that I don’t mind having them in my stash once again!
As I said, I’ve tried and reviewed this tisane previously, and to be honest, my opinion of it has not changed. It still tastes just like pear … I would swear that I can even feel the texture of the pear in every sip. It is so true to the fruit. And I love that it tastes like baked pear. So YUM!
Even if you don’t really care for rooibos, this is a blend that I’d recommend trying. It has such a sweet, delicious taste, that you will forget that you’re drinking rooibos (you don’t really taste much of the rooibos anyway!) A stunning dessert tea – you’d swear it was loaded with calories! But it’s not! Yummy!
Lemon Chiffon from Della Terra Teas
Tea Type:
Rooibos & Honeybush Blend
Where To Buy:
Della Terra Teas
Product Description:
If you love lemon cake, lemon frosting, lemon pie, lemon cookies… shall I go on? You get the point! This tea is for you! This tea is a blended rooibos and honeybush. With the rich and delicious flavor of real, homemade cake and the tartness and fruity freshness of real lemon,, this tea will certainly be your morning cup, or your dessert treat.
Ingredients: Lemon flavor, cream flavor, lemon pieces and bits.
Rooibos/Honeybush Blend
Suggested brewing tips
Serving Size: 1 level tsp./6oz serving
Water Temp: 210°F
Steep Time: 2- 5 minutes
Tasters Review:
Sure…it says if you LOVE Lemon Cake, Lemon Frosting, Lemon Pie, Lemon Cookies, etc…this tea is for you – BUT – I must say – as a general rule of thumb I’m a fan of almost everything Lemon. So I was delighted to try this tisane.
The post-infused liquid smelled like sweet lemony cream. It’s a very lovely aroma. The color is a reddish-brown that is medium in color.
I’m pretty excited Della Terra decided to use a blend of both Honeybush AND Rooibos and not just one of the two. The Lemon-Cream flavor combo is perfect for this! I also appreciate the REAL Lemon pieces within the mix! The ingredient ratio they used for this flavor is just where my palate wants it to be. It’s sweet and smooth! It’s creamy and has a mouth-watering (without being puckery) lemon flavor.
I think this is just GRAND!
Honeybee from Shanti Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Shanti Tea
Tea Description:
This Green Rooibos blend infused with honey essence makes a particularly fragrant iced tea and works very well as a concentrate. Mix in some organic honey when boiling the tea for even more honey flavor.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s late. Actually, technically, it’s “early” … as in 4:30 in the morning early. I am not able to relax and get to sleep, so I headed for the kitchen and grabbed a tisane … hoping it would calm me and help me sleep. This is the tisane that I grabbed … let’s hope it does the trick!
I’ve probably said this more than once about a rooibos blend … but I’m going to say it again: This is one of the nicest rooibos blends I’ve had. And it’s also one of the more unique rooibos blends I’ve come across.
First of all, we have the green rooibos base, which is not a typical rooibos base. The un-oxidized leaves of the rooibos plant give a lightness and a pleasantly sweet, fruity taste to the cup.
Then, there is the hops. I don’t find hops in many blends … and I’m really surprised that more tea blenders don’t utilize this herb. I suspect it is because of the bitterness that’s often associated with the hops flower. However, I love hops for it’s unique flavor. I do taste a bit of the bitterness but because of the natural sweetness of the rooibos, the bitterness is offset just enough to keep it from tasting off-putting. Instead, what I notice is not the bitterness of the hops, but malty flavor and a rich taste and texture that is rather unusual for a rooibos blend. Rooibos blends tend to be a bit thin … but not this blend!
But what I taste more than anything with this cup is the delicious honey notes. This tastes like a thinned honey, and with the malty notes from the hops, it gives it an almost honey-ale kind of taste. Very different, and very enjoyable.
I really like this, and I also like the fact that the hops is having a soothing, relaxing effect on me. I might just be able to get to sleep tonight, after all!
Mayan Mist from Della Terra Teas
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Della Terra Teas
Tea Description:
This unique blend will take you to the rainforest with the taste of sweet chili and orange. This tea is blended from an ancient South American recipe and has orange peels, chili pepper bits, red peppercorns, coconut and pure cinnamon. Perfect for a night time treat.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m enjoying this much more than I expected I would. I don’t know that I had any real “expectations” … but, as I’ve mentioned before, I have this sort of automatic repellant response toward rooibos. And it really isn’t very fair. Most of the rooibos blends that I’ve tried in the last two or three years have been enjoyable enough, and some were actually really good. It all goes back to my first few times trying rooibos – plain, conventionally-grown rooibos at that – that causes that response. Like I said, it’s not fair. There are a lot of really tasty rooibos blends out there.
And I’m really enjoying this rooibos blend from Della Terra Teas. The first couple of sips, I noticed the woody and nutty tones of the rooibos coming through strongly, but they seemed to meld quite nicely with the flavor of orange and cinnamon. The orange is bright and juicy tasting, and the cinnamon shows us the sweeter side of cinnamon, allowing the chili pepper to handle the spicy notes.
At first, I didn’t really taste much from the chili pepper, but now that I’m about halfway finished with the cup, the spicy notes from the chili are coming through. But they never become super-spicy hot … they are more like a warm spiciness that stays with you throughout the sip, and then imparts an enjoyable burn on the palate in the aftertaste, reminding you of the delicious warmth of the tisane.
The coconut is also something that I didn’t notice at the start. But after the first couple of sips, I began to notice a slight creaminess that arrived toward the tail end of the sip. It isn’t a strong flavor, and never really becomes a strong flavor, but it does develop slowly as I continue to sip. It doesn’t offer that distinct “coconut” flavor, but, it does add a sweet, creamy note that contrasts nicely with the sunny orange and sweet and hot flavors of the spices.
Overall, I found this to be an extremely enjoyable cuppa. Something I’d enjoy keeping on hand to enjoy once or twice a week, when I want something spicy yet sweet for those late-night cravings!