Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
For the ultimate experience with Mother Nature’s bountiful offerings, Berry Matcha makes the obvious choice. Filled with the unique goodness and sweet taste of selected berries combined with the unforgettable Matcha essence, Berry Matcha lends its wonderful taste into the palate. It can be the most natural choice to enliven favorite snacks or deserts like ice creams, smoothies, or syrups. The added flavor of choice berries gives these everyday treats a new exciting flavor and enhanced tanginess.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m taking an iced Matcha Latte break with this Berry Flavored Matcha from Red Leaf Tea! It’s a great way to beat the heat!
This Berry Matcha has a really refreshing flavor that works well as a latte (either hot or iced!). To make a latte using cold milk, I’d recommend using your handy kitchen blender – just add milk, maybe an ice cube or two, and a couple of scoops of the Berry Matcha and blend until smooth. If you’re wanting a hot Matcha latte, just heat up the milk and whisk it (I’d recommend using a metal whisk or a hand-held frother for this job, because I’d fear bacteria build up on my bamboo whisk!) until smooth and frothy.
It also tastes great non-latte. (Hint: For a cold Matcha drink, just add some Matcha to your water bottle and give it a good, vigorous shake until incorporated, and enjoy.) I like it latte better, I think, because the creamy milk really lends a “berries and cream” kind of taste to the beverage. But when prepared traditionally, the berry flavor really pops! So, I guess it’s really all about what sounds best to you.
This particular Matcha was crafted by Red Leaf Tea using my “go to” specifications: the classic grade of green tea Matcha with the distinctive level of flavoring. And this works perfectly for this Matcha – the berry flavor here is very bright and vibrant. There is just the right amount of sweetness to the berry tartness. A really nice balance.
I don’t know that I can necessarily pick out a distinct type of berry with this blend. I definitely notice a blueberry-ish tartness and the sweet notes of a strawberry, but, it’s not really well-defined. It tastes like a medley of berries, sort of like a berry juice … but with Matcha instead of all that syrupy sweetness that you’d get from a juice drink.
The Matcha here is sweet and creamy and adds just a hint of vegetative flavor. Mostly what I notice, though, is a buttery note. It’s a very enjoyable Matcha – and it would make a perfect addition to a smoothie too! Another winner from Red Leaf Tea.
Berry Flavored Oolong Tea from Tea Licious
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Tea Licious
Tea Description:
China green oolong, safflower, blue flower and acai berry.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
Hmm … this Berry Flavored Oolong Tea from Tea Licious is pretty tasty. But, it took me a while to get to the point for me to determine that I liked it. After a quick rinse of the leaves, I really wasn’t all that crazy about the first infusion. I mean, it was OK. But, I don’t know that I’d actually say that I liked that first cup. I didn’t dislike it, but I didn’t like it. I was just kind ‘meh’ about it … kind of neutral.
Then I decided to give it another shot, and I re-steeped the leaves. The second infusion is quite tasty! And now that I’m tasting the second infusion, I think I’ve figured out what it was about that first cuppa … the acai flavor was just too bitter … that it threw off the natural sweetness of the Oolong tea. With this second infusion, the flavors have melded somewhat, and the bitterness of the acai has softened. Now I taste just a hint of that bitterness, but, now, because it’s a softer bitter tone, it actually contrasts the cup in a nice way … I like the way the sweet, creamy Oolong with its floral tones tastes with the tart berry.
This tea is best enjoyed when it’s hot, I think … and it’s one that you definitely want to infuse more than once. The second infusion was delightful, so I took it for a third infusion, and this cup was also quite pleasant. The flavors are softer, but it’s still a very flavorful cup. The third cup is the smoothest of the three, while I would say that the second cup had the roundest flavor … very palate pleasing. As for that first cup, I’d suggest trying it with just a little sugar (or perhaps a teeny pinch of salt!) to offset the bitterness of the acai.
Overall, an enjoyable Oolong … and one that proves to me once again that sometimes it’s a good idea to give a tea a second chance!
Berry Chocolate Tisane from Kally Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos & Honeybush
Where to Buy: Kally Tea
Tea Description:
Satisfaction! That’s the feeling that comes to mind while sipping on this berry delight. We start off with a mix of phenomenal honeybush and Rooibos, and then delicately mix in safflowers and marigolds, and just as you would think that’s enough, we take the taste buds to a whole new level by adding strawberry and raspberries with a kick of chocolate to finish! Satisfaction!
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I have to be honest, I wasn’t too sure about this Berry Chocolate Tisane from Kally Tea after the first couple of sips. Mostly, I was tasting the rooibos and honeybush, and I found myself wondering, where is the berry? Where is the chocolate?
But after the third sip, the berry flavor really emerged! Now, I taste more berry than honeybush or rooibos. It is a lovely berry note too, authentic, it doesn’t taste like artificial berries. It tastes sweet, it tastes tart … it tastes like raspberries and strawberries!
I’ve often said that I like it when tea companies combine rooibos and honeybush together, because I find that these two herbs really complement each other nicely. The honey-esque tones of the honeybush help round out that sometimes funky sweetness from the rooibos, creating a very enjoyable sweet note that requires no additional sweetener. Delightfully nutty, the combination of honeybush and rooibos melds nicely with the berry flavors.
This is definitely more berry than chocolate, and while the chocoholic in me would rather it be the other way around, I am still finding the berry notes in this tisane to be very rewarding. The chocolate takes a little while to sort of develop, it doesn’t really hit the palate until about the third sip, and then it is rather delicate. By mid-cup, there is more chocolate-y flavor, but, it is still not as strong as the berry flavor.
The berry notes are sweet and tart. The tartness lingers in the aftertaste, but it isn’t a pucker-y kind of tart … more like that tingly sensation on the tip of the tongue – as if I had just eaten a fresh berry. The chocolate notes lend a sort of creaminess to the cup, and together with the bright berry flavor… it’s really quite yummy!
This tisane tastes good hot or iced, I am actually liking this better as an iced drink, but that could also be because we’re experiencing some rather warm weather lately and the cold beverage is just so refreshing to sip. It’s nice and comforting when served hot late at night … like a decadent late-night treat, but one that won’t keep you up because it’s naturally caffeine free.
The Fifth of November from The London Tea Room
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black, Green
Where to Buy: The London Tea Room
Tea Description:
We invented this blend in honour of our childhood memories of Bonfire Night in England. Smoky gunpowder, wild winter berries, vanilla bean and a touch of lapsang souchong. Remember, remember…
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The fifth of November from The London Tea Room is not a tea I would drink all day every day, but there is something so special about it that every now and then I get an intense craving for it.
This tea just makes me happy. Reminds me of the Renaissance – woodsy smoky flavors with a light berry undertone which is perfect. Add a little sugar in the raw or not – its great both ways. It has a wonderful Lapsang Souchong base that is not over the top. I have sampled many Lapsang Souchong, some far smokier than others, this one lays politely in the middle range of smokiness. The berry notes are balanced perfectly so that you get a good taste of berry without it becoming a directly berry flavored tea. The vanilla really helps to meld the two opposing worlds and brings all of the flavor notes together in harmony.
I have had this specific tea in my stash for over a year now and it has not lost any flavor so it is hardy and one of those teas you can in fact buy for the every now and then cup without fear that it will go stale on you. I have found gunpowder green to be that way, lasting much longer than other teas, especially green teas, so maybe that is one of the reasons.
WIth today being a rather gloomy day, in spring, even though I do not mind the weather being this way, this tea was exactly what came to mind. It is warming, toasty, roasty, and friendly. Yes friendly, tea can be friendly right? It just makes you smile, kick back, and enjoy the moment you spend with it. This is the tea to have when you may otherwise have hot cocoa, you know, a cuddly tea for a cuddly moment. It does make you think of bonfires, or campfires, melting marshmallows, good friends, and good times. Or romantic moments in front of a fireplace. Yeah, I really love this tea, even if I have to be in the “mood” for it, I am so happy that I have it in my tea stash when those moments come along.
Strawberries and Cream Green Tea from Della Terra Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Della Terra Teas
Tea Description:
Strawberries and cream. So creamy, so fruity, filled with berry deliciousness! Just like the classic dessert, this green tea will cover your tastebuds in all the classic flavor you know… Delicious!
Ingredients: Green tea, Lung Ching, Pai Mu Tan, strawberry flavor and bits, cream flavor
Suggested brewing tips:
Serving Size: 1 level tsp./6oz serving
Water Temp: 158-167°F
Steep Time: 1-3 minutes
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The aroma of this Strawberries and Cream Green Tea from Della Terra Teas is best described as Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. Both in the steeped and dry form the smell is nothing short of perfection. Not only the strawberry and the cream scents, but the tea leaves themselves smell amazing!
Now I already knew going in that Della Terra has some of the best flavored teas on the market. For me they are right up top with Butiki Teas, and a handful of other places. This tea, is just indulgent, lovely, delightful, and about another twenty or so adjectives all adding up to bliss!
To be honest, I really am not even focusing on this review right now, this cup is that good! I keep getting sidetracked by the cup, sitting back inhaling in the sweet creamy aromas, enjoying the aroma of the tea leaves caressing my senses with their delicate, but attention grabbing nature. If they made a perfume that smelled like this I wold wear it. People may say I am too old to wear a scent that smells like a carnival, but put me in a pink tutu and parade me around the ring, I am all in with this tea! It reminds me of the fair, or a circus, and all of the sticky sweet smells that go along with it from spun sugar cotton candy, to kids blowing giant bubble gum bubbles, or the smell of funnel cake filling the air. Yet, it is not really all that sweet at all! The flavor of this tea is nothing close to sticky sweet! Its so natural, so pleasing with the grassy buttery tones of the tea, that while I may be taken into this sweet intoxicating world in my imagination, I am not putting that junk into my body! What could be better!?
Sorry I must end my review here and really sit back and lavish in the rest of my cup.
