Tea Type: Green Tea
Where To Buy: American Tea Room
Product Description:
A heavenly blend of Japanese Sencha, rose petals, berries. figs and kiwi. This green tea is light in caffeine. Nirvana is the perfect tea for inner reflection
Tasters Review:
With a name Nirvana…how can I resist trying this tea!?
First, I HAVE to tell you that the added fruit bits are HUGE and this aroma is awesome! There was a LARGE berry in my strainer…while I was infusing this and I was VERY attempted to eat it after I was done infusing the tea. So-much-so that I twittered about the temptation and American Tea Room quickly responded that they were dried fruits within the mix and absolutely ok to snack on! I’ll admit I was even more tempted to gnaw on it but refrained.
This is a nice Sencha but the fruit really adds to everything and I’m so thankful for NO Hibiscus in this loose leaf mix! Thank YOU American Tea Room for NOT adding Hibiscus to this fruity tea!
YUM! This is a nice fruity green! YUM!
Cinna*Plum Tea from American Tea Room
Tea Type: Herbal Tisane
Where To Buy: American Tea Room
Product Description:
A delightfully warming organic caffeine free blend of cinnamon, plum, currants and licorice root. The herbal infusion is organic naturally caffeine free. Cinn*Plum is American Tea Room’s Holiday Tea for 2010.
Tasters Review:
Dry Cinna*Plum Tea from American Tea Room smells like Plum and Cinnamon and MAYBE a little licorice – but not too much licorice to the nose.
When I finished infusing this – I saw the color and freaked because I assumed it had Hibiscus in it…BUT…it doesn’t! I give this Extra Points for that on my personal preference meter, indeed!
This was quite smoother than I thought it would be. Don’t get me wrong – I am thankful for that – as I am not overly fond of intense tarty or fruity teas and tisanes, usually!
I could taste Plum and maybe the currants, too…they’re very wine-like. The cinnamon isn’t an intense cinnamon type taste – I can smell it more than taste it…and the licorice is pretty much the same way…together they knock down the tartiness of the fruit and it works out VERY nice!!! This is very warming and comforting and fruity and fun but not overly tart and I like that.
Eventho American Tea Room markets this as their Holiday Tea for 2010 – I think it would be lovely iced, as well!
Kabuki Tea from American Tea Room
Tea Type: Green Tea
Where To Buy: American Tea Room
Product Description:
Our Kabuki green tea is as dramatic and colorful as its namesake. Small bright kabuse leaves, blossomy cherry tree flowers and vibrant violet blooms come together for a bold, flowery bouquet with a scent of cherry simple syrup. The brew is bright, clear, electric lime. It has a flowery aroma with a light, vegetal undertone. The flavor is smooth and sweet – the taste of cherry blossoms is heightened with flavors of violet and fresh-cut flower stems.
Harvested in Kyoto April 2 – 4 and air shipped to insure optimal freshness.
Tasters Review:
I really like the selection that American Tea Room offers! This is the first time I have tried Kabuki tho. I must admit that I have been intrigued by Cherry Blossom-Type Flavored Teas Lately. So I am very happy to try this one! Here is what I found…
The dry blend smells like Cherry Candy and post infusion it smells like cherry blossoms and green tea. This is a very fun and fruity yet pleasant aroma!
It’s highly flavored – on the tongue – and pretty good hot. Once it turns cold I find it a bit bitter….not in a bad way – just noticed a flavor change when it cools, that’s all. I don’t mind it cold but prefer this hot, actually.
All-in-All this is a fairly good flavored green and I’m happy to add it to my personal stash!
Choco*Late from American Tea Room
Tea Type: Rooibos
Where To Buy: American Tea Room
Product Description:
This sumptuous, caffeine-free, fat-free blend of organic cacao husks, organic vanilla beans and organic rooibos is sure to be an instant American Tea Room classic.
If the color and aroma of our Choco-Laté blend doesn’t evoke chocolate, then nothing does. Rich brown cacao husks, dark flecks of vanilla bean and umber-colored rooibos present a beguilingly sweet dark chocolate aroma that’s backed with the naturally sweet, woody scent of antioxidant-rich rooibos. The deep garnet brew has a seductive aroma akin to European sipping chocolate. Its smooth flavor is a perfect balance of chocolate, vanilla and rooibos that appeals to chocolate lovers and rooibos lovers alike. The lingering, cacao-rich aftertaste is enough to satiate even the most ardent chocoholic.
Drink Choco-Laté on its own as a naturally sweet, fat-free snack or dessert, or dress it up with agave nectar and rice milk for a healthy tea latte. It’s a natural pairing for chocolate, but if you’re trying to be good, sip it alongside fresh fruit instead. Delicious!
Tasters Review:
There has been quite the amount of chatter about this one on Steepster – an online tea community that both Anne and I belong to.
83 is the LOWEST rating for this one here so far on Steepster and there are at least 14 ratings so far. It’s also the #1 Rated Tea on that website! Needless to say – I have been wanting to try this since it was brought to my attention. And recently I was lucky enough to receive a sample of it from American Tea Room!
The aroma is that of a semi-sweet chocolate but certainly not over the top intensely scented. By that I mean it doesn’t smack you in the face when you open the package. You can see the many ‘husks’ within the ‘mix’. The aroma post-infusion seems to be 33.3%-33.3%-33.3% across the board – Semi-Sweet Chocolate and Cocoa combined with Rooibos and with Vanilla.
The taste is VERY smooth and chocolaty with a little woodsy aftertaste. It certainly is one of the better tasting chocolate-type attempts I have had and it works very well with the rooibos.
I think I am in the middle of everyone else’s ratings. Where I wouldn’t give it a perfect 100 I certainly wouldn’t go below the lowest score of 83, either. My fear was, after reading the other reviews on Steepster, that this one was pumped up too much and I would be disappointed but that is far from the truth! This is very good! It does deserve the ratings as I have found it hard to find a sweet, smooth, chocolaty flavored Rooibos that the Rooibos isn’t still overpowering the rest of the mix. The ingredients live in harmony with each other on this one and it’s lovely.
A fellow Steepster recommended tripling the amount of the dry and then infusing. I am going to try this very soon! I also want to point out that this is vegan according to a online friend of mine! A perfect chocolate treat without the dairy!