Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Lupicia Tea
Tea Description:
Vibrant autumn leaves are blended into black tea. A sophisticated flavor of apple and apricot is limited to the autumn. Limited Quantity & Period Only
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As I sit here, smelling the wonderful aroma that wafts from my teacup, I am reminded of autumn. This Momijigari Black Tea Blend from Lupicia Tea smells … like autumn! Like the smell of the air and the leaves and the apples. There is a distinct wine-like character to the fragrance as well, with the faintest hints of smoke.
This is one of the more unique flavored teas that I’ve tasted … and it truly tastes like autumn to me. It has notes of apple and apricot in the flavor – two fruits I think of when I think of harvest. I like that while these are distinct flavor profiles here, they do not overpower the cup.
I’m also tasting a wine-like flavor – it is rustic and warm – like mulled wine without the spices. I taste the faintest hints of smoke … reminiscent of the air that I would experience in the autumn as the air begins to cool and smoke is wafting from the chimneys.
And the black tea is not absent here either. There is a warm, earthy tone to the background … not an aggressive or strong black tea flavor … but just enough to support the other flavors.
This is a very enjoyable cuppa from Lupicia Tea!
Apple Tea from Kusmi Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Kusmi Tea
Tea Description:
Chinese black tea flavored with apple.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s been a while since I’ve tried a tea from Kusmi, so I happy to receive a sampling of this Apple Tea from Kusmi Tea to review. I’ve always been pretty impressed with the quality of Kusmi, so I was pretty confident that I would enjoy this tea as well.
This cuppa has a really nice apple flavor. What I’m enjoying is that the flavor is strong, but it isn’t interfering with the smooth, rich flavor of the black tea. There is a good balance between the flavors. The black tea is a strong tea, but, it isn’t an aggressive tea. It’s very smooth, with underlying notes of caramel and cocoa. It’s got a slight “bake-y, cake-y” kind of taste to it. It’s a very nicely round, rich tasting black tea. Once it cools, I notice a hint of smokiness to this tea as well.
The apple notes are tart and sweet … similar to a green Granny Smith apple. Because of the richness of the black tea and the touches of apple notes, it is vaguely reminiscent of freshly baked apple pie filling – but not that canned stuff. Think homemade apple pie but without the crust … and not a heavy glaze of sugar either. Sweet … but not too sweet. Tart … but not too tart. All that’s missing is a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg!
One of the nicer apple teas I’ve encountered … I like that I taste the apple, but it isn’t smacking me upside the head. Because of the gentle apple-y notes, it has a more natural taste … I don’t taste an artificial note … I taste a true-to-the-fruit kind of taste. Very enjoyable, and tasty served hot, straight up, and I’m also thinking that this would be nice as a latte, because I love baked apples with a touch of cream! It also makes a nice iced tea and since it’s that season – this one would be a good one to add to your pantry for your iced tea enjoyment.
If you’re an apple fan – try this tea!
Nutty Enough Tisane from Naked Teas Galore
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit/Herbal/Spice Melange (And a lot of nuts!)
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tisane Description:
We taste the brazil nuts upfront and the almond/marzipan near the end. It finishes with apple that is mouthwatering and nicely tart. Similar to opening a can of mixed nuts and snacking, this cup of tea is hard to put down.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Learn how to subscribe to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
This is the third tea/tisane from my April Amoda Tea Tasting Box. And as you can see from the above information, Nutty Enough is a tisane from Naked Teas Galore. The dry leaf looks a lot like (and smells a lot like!) what you might experience if you were to open a jar of mixed nuts. Sure, there are some other components to this as well, like dried apple bits and cinnamon and cacao nibs … but it still looks like a bunch of nuts … and it smells like it too.
I taste the brazil nut right off the bat. Then the cinnamon starts to come through as well as notes of apple. I taste a hint of honey. The cacao flavor is a little less distinct and I find that this is better experienced if you slurp the tea, which allows for maximum aeration of the tea and the palate can pick up those subtle notes of cocoa.
Now that I’m about halfway through my cup, this tastes a lot like what I’d imagine a cup of apple cider that’s been simmered with a handful of nuts instead of a bunch of spices. The cinnamon is mild, and just enough to really accentuate the apple in a very pleasant way. It’s really quite tasty – different, certainly! – but I like it.
As I am finishing this cup, I look forward to what teas Amoda Tea will be putting in my mailbox this month! Have you subscribed yet? Why not? Click here to learn more.
Pomegranate Blueberry Fruit Tisane from Mahamosa
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit Tisane
Where to Buy: Mahamosa
Tisane Description:
The popular pomegranate demonstrates its best attributes in this combination, side by side with the fruity blueberry. This creates a very fruity taste experience and is also great to look at in its robe of royal blue cornflowers and mallow blossoms. Ingredients: apple pieces, hibiscus blossoms, elderberries, freeze-dried apple pieces, pomegranate arils, flavoring, blueberries, cornflower and mallow blossoms.
Learn more about this fruit tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I love pomegranate, but, I have to admit that I generally prefer pomegranate flavored teas (Camellia Sinensis) rather than pomegranate fruit tisanes such as this Pomegranate Blueberry Fruit Tisane from Mahamosa. That said … I am having a hard time finding anything to complain about with this fruit tisane … it’s actually rather tasty!
I steeped this using just under boiling water (about 195°F) for six minutes. I find that a steep time between five and seven minutes is just about right for tisanes that are crafted with hibiscus … it’s enough time to extract a little bit of tartness from the herb (but not too much!) as well as a little bit of texture (again … not enough to make it unpleasantly thick, but enough to give it an agreeable body). Here, the tartness of the hibiscus plays well with the pomegranate and blueberry, both of which tend to have just a little bit of tartness of their own. The hibiscus seemed to complement these fruits. The apple, on the other hand, smoothed out the tartness just enough, giving the cup a lovely sweetness while keeping the tartness under control (no puckering!)
But, of course, a tisane that is called “Pomegranate Blueberry” had better be about the pomegranate and blueberry, right? And this tisane highlights these two fruits very nicely. I think that they are both evenly matched, too, the pomegranate comes in right at the start of the sip, and then returns right at the end of the sip, while the blueberry comes through mid-sip. The aftertaste is sweet-tart.
A very pleasant tisane … I think I like it better iced than as a hot drink. The iced beverage seems a little sweeter to me. A really nice alternative to sugary soda for kids … this is something I think they’d really LOVE!
Caramel Apple Oolong from 52 Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Here’s a premium oolong tea from the Fujian province in China blended with large pieces of freeze-dried Fuji apples and natural and organic flavors. And no, I didn’t mistype: Fujian Oolong and Fuji apples. Serendipitous. I didn’t even realize I had done that until I typed it.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Caramel Apple Oolong from 52 Teas is one of those teas that I begged and prayed for a re-blend of, and it was indeed re-blended! I love how on 52 Teas website you can sign up to be notified of a re-blend, and it is also 52 Tea’s method to determine which teas are most requested for a re-blend!
So this tea has an excellent oolong base, and the perfect flavors to make you feel like your sipping on sweet succulent caramel apple juices! The caramel flavor is well balanced so that you also get a wonderful fresh fujian apple taste as well, and I do know my apples, I love Fuji apples, and this tea tastes exactly like them! The apple tastes so fresh I swear I can taste the skin!
Some sips provide a slight bit more caramel flavor and some a slight bit more apple flavor but overall most sips are well balanced. I find I enjoy that sip now and then with one flavor more than the other because I do love both apple and caramel so now and again I get a boost of one flavor or another to give me my fix.
Oh and let’s not forget the oolong, its a nice quality oolong that does provide a very good base for this flavor combination, as Frank says, serendipitous, but it works perfectly!
I will savor each sip of this tea, then put in my bid for a re-blend and once again, cross my fingers. A stash must have!
