Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green & White Teas
Where to Buy: Hale Tea Company
Tea Description:
Creamy white cacao pretty much sums it up! Lingering white chocolate flavour and notes of vanilla bean meld naturally with subtle hints of the green and white tea at its base. This is a velvety soft tea that’s surprisingly light.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
Amoda Tea has made some changes with their monthly Tea Tasting Box, and it sounds to me like these changes may be for the better! First of all, the amount of tea will be less per tea – which is fine by me because I am more of a taster than one who likes to keep large amounts of tea on hand. Second … the cost of the monthly box is less! I can live with that! Ha! Finally, Amoda will no longer be selling the tea to the public … oh, they’ll still assemble the boxes, but if you want more of any particular tea after sampling it, you’ll be forwarded to the tea company that sells the tea to order directly from them.
So far, I’m really happy with these changes!
For the month of September, the featured tea company is Hale Tea Company. The first tea that I chose to sample from this company is Creamy Cacao Delight, because … well, did you happen to see the word Cacao in the name? Yeah, I like that word. That word says to me that this tea will be a yummy, chocolate-y tea. And that brings a big smile to this chocoholic’s face!
The aroma of the dry leaf is deliciously creamy with vanilla top notes and notes of chocolate. My mouth started watering the moment I opened the pouch! Once brewed, I notice less of the vanilla tones and more of the chocolate-y notes.
The flavor … oh my goodness! This is yum. As I’ve mentioned before (even in this article!) I’m a chocoholic. But, white chocolate … doesn’t always do it for me. I’d much rather have dark chocolate. I generally find white chocolate to be too sweet, and I enjoy the contrast of bitter and sweet in a darker chocolate. But … I’m liking the sweet creamy notes here just fine!
There is a lovely balance between vanilla and chocolate notes to provide a very rich, creamy, decadent taste. The white tea and green tea provide a nice base for the chocolate flavors, because it doesn’t overwhelm the chocolate, but it’s also not allowing itself to be overpowered. I taste both teas – the green tea is fresh and vegetative and the white tea has a crispness to it, as well as a hay-like note that tastes really quite nice with the white chocolate tones.
And as the description above suggests, the overall tone to this cup is light. It isn’t a heavy feel on the palate, and this I like because even though it’s white chocolate … it’s a flavor that I often find “too much” because it is a very sweet form of chocolate-y taste. The lightness allows the goodness of white chocolate to come through without all that heavy sweetness.
This is a light, sweet, delicious way to experience a balance between vanilla and chocolate. YUMMY! And … this one must be resteeped! The chocolate-y flavors really intensify with the second steeping.
Samurai Rush Green Tea Blend from Tea Xotics
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tea Description:
A perfectly mellow ginger mint tea (yes, it is possible!). There’s enough ginger and mint to get the tongue tingling – in delightfully opposite ways. But we wait patiently and can taste the softly sweet, vegetal notes of the Sencha green tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
The aroma of this Samurai Rush Green Tea Blend from Tea Xotics reminds me of the smell of a freshly opened package of DoubleMint gum! It has a lively, minty scent, but also that sweetness that I smell with the gum. I don’t smell a lot of ginger in the dry leaf, but, once it’s brewed, the ginger emerges slightly, while the mint becomes more subdued than it was in the dry leaf fragrance.
The flavor is surprising! I guess it shouldn’t be, based upon the above description provided by Amoda Tea, but I guess in the many years that I’ve been tasting teas and writing about it, I haven’t ever found a mint and ginger tea quite like this one. The mint … is subtle! The ginger … is also subtle! It’s quite a unique thing to find a tea with mint and ginger where these two components were both gentle tastes within the cup.
Oh, I taste the mint, certainly … and the ginger. And because of the nature of these two components, the flavors of them is front and center. But Tea Xotics blended these two flavor profiles together in such a precise way that neither the mint nor the ginger overpower the cup.
The mint is crisp and invigorating … but at the same time, I’m finding the softer flavor of the mint to be quite soothing and relaxing. The usually warm and peppery ginger is still warm and peppery, but, it’s more like a calm, gentle ginger-y warmth that I’m experiencing from this tea.
And I can taste the tea! I taste the fresh, sweet taste of the Sencha, and I like the way the three ingredients come together. The sweetness of the Sencha brings out the sweet, enchanting side of the mint, while the vegetative tones of the Sencha enhances the savory qualities of the ginger. It’s a beautiful medley of sweet and savory that is minty, crisp, light and zesty all in one sip.
I have really enjoyed the Amoda Tea Tasting Box for August … I really enjoyed the three teas from Tea Xotics immensely! I think I’ve found a tea company that I’ll need to check out a little bit more!
Bengal Peach Tea Blend from Tea Xotics
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black & Green Teas
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tea Description:
The peachy aroma of this tea will make our mouthes water. Orchard fruit meets the Hawaiian tropics. There’s a subtle ginger spice that works really well with the succulent fruits and the unique tea base – Assam and sencha!
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
I love the dry leaf of this Bengal Peach Tea Blend from Tea Xotics. Big slivers of dried fruit, pieces of ginger, black and green tea leaves, petals and blossoms all tossed together in a deliciously fragrant blend.
The brewed tea smells of warm peaches with hints of ginger, evoking thoughts of a warm, gently spiced peach dessert. Mmm! The flavor tastes of peach and mango. The ginger flavor is delicate, adding just a touch of warmth rather than a heavy amount of spice. This doesn’t taste overly peppered with ginger … there’s just enough ginger to keep the flavors interesting so that it doesn’t taste too fruity.
The combination of black and green teas adds an appealing background of flavor as well. When brewed at a lower temperature, I find that I can taste both the black and green teas. I brewed this tea at 180°F in my Breville One-Touch – the package parameters suggest a temperature of 185°F but whenever I brew a blend like this in my Breville, I make it a practice to lower the suggested temperature by 5 degrees since the tea maker keeps the water warmer than a teapot would. I steeped the tea for 3 minutes, and I’m very happy with the results.
The black tea tastes lighter than a typical cup of Assam would. I taste a wine-like quality to the tea, and this complements the fruit notes quite nicely. As the tea cools slightly (hot, but not piping hot), I notice some of the malty tones of the black tea emerge. The green tea doesn’t add a lot of notable flavor to the cup, but it lightens the overall flavor and texture. I notice hints of vegetation in the distance, as well as a slight buttery note that works well with the sweet, caramel-y malt notes.
A very tasty blend. It’s delicious hot and also quite nice iced!
Jungle Monkey Chai Rooibos Blend from Tea Xotics
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tisane Description:
What happens when you add a banana to your chai? You get this! Kind of. A spicy cup with a cocoa, banana, and cinnamon edge and a creamy coconut feel. Sweeten it up to take the edge off the spice.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
Yes, August has come and gone, and I’m now reviewing my first of the August teas from my Amoda Box. That’s because Amoda updated their website (and it looks fabulous, might I add!) and I wanted to wait until the new website was up and running before I started reviewing the teas from August.
It’s a rare thing when the first tea that I try from my monthly Amoda Tea Tasting Box is a tisane! But, this Jungle Monkey Chai Rooibos blend from Tea Xotics just sounded too yummy to not try immediately: a rooibos based masala spice blend, combined with chocolate, banana and coconut? Oh YUM!
And it is indeed yum!
The aroma of the blend is spicy … the cinnamon really pops out and grabs me. The chai is definitely a cinnamon-y chai, with the cinnamon serving as the strongest flavor in the masala blend. I also taste peppery notes, and hints of clove.
The coconut is the next flavor I notice … it adds a creamy texture and taste to the cup. The banana comes through next, and it’s a subtle banana note. The chocolate is there too, and I taste it … I just wish … I was tasting MORE chocolate. (Remember this chocoholic’s chocolate rule of thumb: some chocolate = good, more chocolate = better.)
The flavor of the rooibos comes through here too, which I found kind of surprising given all that’s going on in this chai blend. I expected the flavor of the rooibos to be buried beneath all the other flavor components. But, I taste the woody notes of the rooibos, and even that funky note of rooibos that I usually don’t really care for … but somehow … it works in this blend. I guess with the tropical notes of banana and coconut … that funkiness just sort of works.
Overall: this is a really tasty blend. I like the chocolate but I wish there was more of it. I like the banana and the coconut … and the spices. It just really … works together really very well.
This is the first tea that I’ve tried from Tea Xotics … and I’m really glad that Amoda Tea decided to make them their feature blender for the month of August, because I am really looking forward to what the other blends have in store for me!
Poppy Fields Tisane from Indie Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Tulsi & Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tisane Description:
Tastes like jujubes
Sweet aroma of berries, apple and chamomile. Slightly sweet on the tongue, lightly minty with a tart finish. This tea is full-bodied and rich. Sip this tea and it will calm your body and relax your mind. ahhhhh.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
So, I’m a bit behind on my Amoda Tea reviews! This Poppy Fields Tisane from Indie Tea came in my July Tea Tasting Box, but, I’m just now getting around to reviewing it. What can I say, when it comes to tisanes … I always seem to be reluctant to try it!
But this is one of the prettiest teas I’ve seen in a long time! Big flower buds of chamomile, poppy and rose. And BONUS: No Hibiscus! Yay!
I was excited to see Tulsi as one of the ingredients in this tea (here, it was called “holy basil”) because I have enjoyed the tisanes with Tulsi that I’ve tried. I like the herbaceous, slightly minty, slightly spicy taste that Tulsi brings to a tisane.
In this tisane, the Tulsi offers subtle hints of the minty basil tones which are especially noticeable in the finish. I’m noticing more of a peppery warmth during the sip from the Tulsi than the cooling mint taste. But I like the way the Tulsi comes through in this blend, because there is a strong fruity character to this cup, and the spice gives it some added interest and depth.
The description from Amoda Tea suggests that this tastes like Jujubes … and I don’t know that what I’m tasting is Jujubes. I’ll be honest and mention though, that I’ve not had Jujubes since I was young. They were never really a favorite candy of mine (I didn’t like the way they stuck to my teeth). But I did like their bright, fruity taste, and while this tisane does have a fruity taste to it, I can’t say that this reminds me of that candy.
But it is sweet with lots of fruit notes: apple, orange, and hints of lemon. I don’t really taste a lot of ‘berry’ as mentioned in the description by Amoda, but, I do notice the tartness that lingers in the aftertaste. Given the sheer number of flowers in this blend, I did expect it to taste more floral than it does. It does certainly present a floral note to the palate, but, it’s a smooth, subdued floral taste rather than the sharpness that I often associate with floral tones.
Then again, everything about this particular blend is very calm and relaxed. The flavor is gentle and mild. It is a really tasty tisane … certainly better than I expected it to be given my hesitancy to actually try it. I like the fruity overtones, I like that it doesn’t taste overly herbaceous or medicinal, and I like that there is a pleasant warm yet sweet taste to it … without adding sugar.
As I mentioned in my review of The Road To Hana (also from Indie Tea) – a tea that also came from my Amoda Tea Box for July – I have already tasted and reviewed the third tea that came in my box: Lover’s Lane. I was really happy to see that Amoda Tea focused in on Indie Tea, because they are a company that I really like. They are a fun company with a youthful vibe … I like the jovial attitude they give their teas!
So this tea review gets me all caught up with my July reviews for Amoda Tea … and a good thing too, because I have August’s box waiting for me! I can’t wait to try the teas in that box from their featured blender: Tea Xotics … a company I’ve not yet tried! Yay!