Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: iHeartTeas
Tea Description:
A light and fruity handcrafted green tea blend with pieces of sweet raspberries and delicate bits of apricot. Wonderful both hot and cold.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Recently, iHeartTeas rescued from retirement one of my favorite Chai blends from 52Teas – Gingerbread Chai! – and as this is a blend that I’ve missed since finishing off the last a few months ago, I decided to order some. With my order, Rachel (proprietor of iHearTeas) sent along some of her tea creations for me to try. And, I’ll never say no to the opportunity to try a new tea.
Well, allow me to retract that and rephrase it – I will seldom say no to the opportunity to try a new tea, as there are some teas that I really have no interest in trying. For example, I won’t be trying this tea, at least, not willingly, any time soon. But this review isn’t about that tea… it’s about Raspberry & Apricot Green Tea Delight from iHeartTeas!
The dry leaf looks and smells very appealing. Tiny bits of raspberry and apricot, as well as rose petals and marigolds tossed with green spears of tea leaves, offering a deliciously sweet, fruity aroma. Once brewed, the pale green colored infusion has a much softer fragrance, more vegetal, although I can still smell hints of the fruit in the background.
The flavor took a little while to develop for me. The first few sips, I tasted the slightly grassy tones of the green tea and little else. I then allowed it to cool slightly, and I’m not sure if it was the lower temperature or the fact that the flavors just needed a few sips to come to life, but now I REALLY taste the raspberry. It is sweet and just a little tart – tasting very much like a fresh, ripe berry. The apricot comes through nicely too, although I find the apricot to be much more distinguished in the aftertaste. The rose comes through too, but only very subtly, offering a delicate floral note to contrast with the fruit flavors.
Overall, a very tasty cup of tea. One that is delicious hot, but even better when it is allowed to cool – which means it would make a fabulous glass of iced tea!
Rainbow Rooibos from Culinary Teas
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tisane Description:
Rooibos is also known as Red Bush or Red Tea. Sean O’Malley! I know you only drink black tea with shamrock cookies – but this herbal tea is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! Fruity with sweet notes, a secret flavoring gives this Rooibos a sweet amaretto like taste.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I brewed this tisane knowing only that it was called “Rainbow Rooibos” so I brewed it the way I would normally brew rooibos – with boiling water for 10 minutes. I didn’t know what the flavor had in store for me.
With my first sip, I could taste a almond-y kind of flavor, with a hint of fruit in the background. Then when I read the description and saw that it had a “sweet amaretto” taste … I like it when my taste buds are on target like that!
The almond notes mingle with the natural nutty tones of the rooibos quite well, and the two flavors together offer a very rich – almost creamy! – taste. My palate discerned the nut flavors first, and then discovered the fruit tones.
The fruit notes are slightly more delicate, but they linger through to the aftertaste, and even become a little more distinct in the aftertaste. Through the sip, it tastes more like a “neutral” fruit, but, in the aftertaste, there is a luscious apricot note. Delicious!
This is really good served either hot or cold, but with the warm months ahead I think right now is the time to be brewing up a big batch of this and putting it on ice! It’s very refreshing and deliciously sweet; something that I think the kids as well as adults would enjoy.
Doke Premium Silver Needles from Rare Tea Republic
Tea Type: White Tea
Where To Buy: Rare Tea Republic
Product Description:
Large, downy needles produce a sweet and creamy, full-bodied golden liquor with notes of peach blossom and dried apricot. This is a unique selection from a little-known origin. Plucking date: August 10, 2011.
Tasters Review:
This tea – Doke Premium SIlver Needles from Rare Tea Republic – is pretty awesome…I must say! It’s silver needle – but – milkier! It’s quite creamy and a bit sweet! I could pick out the apricot notes they speak of in the description and I LOVE that! It’s very delicate and pretty. The peach notes are picked up on the end sip and on to the aftertaste.
I really think this is one of my fave silver needles to date! It’s TRULY Spectacular!
Nuttier Than a Fruitcake (Custom Blend) from Ovation Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: You can create your own custom blend at Ovation Teas
About My Custom Blend:
Nuttier than a Fruitcake – White tea blended with nutmeg, sunflower petals, almonds & pecans with apricot and vanilla flavoring.
Taster’s Review:
Not long ago, Ovation Teas made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. Well, not just me, but to the first 100 customers who placed an order for a custom blend. The offer: 4 ounces of their very own, custom blend – FREE – just pay shipping and handling. Well, like I said, it was an offer I couldn’t refuse, so I placed my order immediately.
But the hard part for me was coming up with something unique. Something I couldn’t find elsewhere. Then, I recall tasting a fantastic “Wedding Cake” lollipop that I wanted to try to duplicate in tea form. I started with a white tea base (this appears to be a Bai Mu Dan, based upon the look of the leaves), then chose to add apricot and vanilla flavoring, almonds and pecans and finally some nutmeg. Then I added some sunflower petals to make it pretty as well as add some defining sharpness to the tea.
I decided to call this blend of mine “Nuttier Than a Fruitcake” because I was often told in my younger years that I was, indeed, nuttier than a fruitcake. And given the inspiration and the ingredients I chose, I felt it was a suitable name.
The outcome: A tea that … while doesn’t taste exactly like the fruitcake lollipop that I remember, still tastes pretty amazing. The white tea base tastes light but doesn’t allow itself to become overpowered by the other flavors. The nuts (pecans & almonds) are not a particularly strong flavor, but then, I didn’t really expect them to be. As is generally the rule with flavored/blended teas, it is the flavoring oil that is used to flavor a tea that really gives the tea it’s POP flavor … fruit and nut additions don’t generally contribute a lot of flavor.
The apricot and vanilla flavors are pretty evenly matched … sometimes I’ll taste a little more apricot, while others I taste a little more vanilla. It is smooth and creamy and sweet. As I had hoped, the sunflower does add some sharp tones to the cup … just enough to keep it lively.
But the real star of this blend is the NUTMEG! Every time I brew this tea, the scent of the nutmeg is delightfully strong. As it brews in the kitchen, I can smell it in the next room! The flavor of the nutmeg is equally as strong, and it lends a rustic, nutty, and deliciously warm flavor to the cup.
I am really thrilled with my custom blend from Ovation Teas, and even though they aren’t currently offering the free custom blend that inspired me to place this order, I am happy enough with this custom blend that I will order another custom blend sometime in the future (whenever the inspiration hits!) It is well worth the price, in my opinion, if for no other reason, than to enjoy something truly unique.
Summer Fruit Symphony from Praise Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green & White Blend
Where to Buy: Praise Tea
Product Description:
Our special blend of white and green teas are fused together to make the delicate flavor the perfect summer drink. This amazing blend of summer fruits of mango, pineapple, papaya, strawberry, sour cherry, and apricot bits produces a refreshing, naturally sweet tea.
Tea Information:
Summer is over, but this tea offers the very best of summer in one teacup. (And truth be told, we are still experiencing some very summer-like weather lately!)
There are a lot of different fruit flavors in this tea, but I like that even though the fruit flavors are strong, they do not completely overwhelm the delicate base of green and white teas. The tea base tastes lightly grassy, sweet, and fresh. It is a very smooth tasting tea.
The fruit flavors are sweet, but they don’t taste cloying or sugary-sweet. There are notes from each of the fruits present: I can taste the tropical notes of the mango, pineapple and papaya, I can taste an almost nectar-like note that is very apricot-ish, and the aftertaste has a berry taste that is very strawberry. There is an ever so slight tart note, which I attribute to the sour cherry. This tart note is not present in the first couple of sips, but as I continue to sip, I notice it hit just before the tail.
The finish is sweet and there is next to no astringency to this blend. The aftertaste is sweet with a berry tingle that lingers a while. This is a really delicious fruit flavored tea. Enjoyable hot or iced, but I think I find it most refreshing as an iced tea.
While browsing through Praise Tea’s incredible selection of teas, I had some trouble finding this particular tea on the website. I contacted the sales department of Praise Tea and learned that this tea is a seasonal blend that is currently sold out. (Their sales staff is very courteous!) Watch for this tea to return when the weather turns warm – you’ll want to keep it on hand for an iced tea that your whole family will LOVE!