Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: The Jasmine Pearl Tea Company
Tea Description:
A great coffee alternative! Smooth dark and rich this blend of chicory, cacao, cinnamon and many other delicious herbs create a satisfying brew for morning or afternoon. Due to the presence of cacao nibs, which contain caffeine, don’t drink Dark Forest near bedtime.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have loved every tea that I have tried from The Jasmine Pearl Tea Company. Their teas are delicious and just knock your socks off sort of fantastic. This particular blend I am trying is their Dark Forest Herbal Tea. Now the description from what the tea consists of online and what I have in hand is different so I think they may have changed up the formula. The blend I have consists of chamomile, ginger, eucalyptus, lemon myrtle, and peppermint.
To begin with, I am not a huge ginger fan. I do like it on occasion but it isn’t my favorite. I know ginger is great for the body so I will drink ginger teas and even enjoy it in food every once in a while, but I do not go searching for it.
So let’s talk about the journey it was to actually drink this tea. First off, I dropped the bag and half of the contents fell out. Ugh. I boiled the water and forgot about it. Boo. And I measured way too water for my new Doctor Who mug and I had tea all over my desk (I used a gravitea steeper). Yep. It seemed like this tea was doomed from the start. By the time I was able to take a drink of this tea I was ready!
The dry leaf reminded me of a sweet pumpkin spice bar. The mixture just smelled heavenly. I prepped my water and allowed the tea to steep for about 5 minutes. And I would recommend that being the time you allow the tea to steep if aren’t a fan of ginger like me. I have a feeling any long than that and the ginger would overtake the tea.
My first sip of this tea and I was surprised and how lovely it was. I was afraid the ginger would overpower and leave the rest of the flavors behind but that wasn’t the case at all. Each flavor was noticeable at different times and mingled together so nicely. The ginger was light but there to spice the tea up, the lemon myrtle provided a bit of that citrus undertone, the chamomile was giving the tea a familiar herbal feel to it and the peppermint gave the tea a fresh flavor. Really well done. Who would have thought those ingredients would make such a lovely herbal?
As delicious as this was, the new upgraded blend sounds just as good! I’m going to have to try that one soon!
Another impressive tea from The Jasmine Pearl!
Mint Chamomile Rooibus from Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Roiboos
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
Our Mint Chamomile tea will put a smile on your face regardless of the day you are having. Brew a cup of this floral, sweet and soothing tea and enjoy a wonderfully fresh finish of this beautiful cup of tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Mint and Chamomile seems to be an unusual combination – I think I’ve only ever tried one other similar blend. Based on that experience, I’d say that this surprises me. It sounds a little odd to begin with, for sure, but they’re ingredients that do actually work well together. I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it approximately 5 minutes in boiling water. I made no additions. The dry leaf itself is very herbal-looking – there are whole yellow chamomile flowers, green shreds of peppermint, red rooibos leaves, and a smattering of creamy white chamomile petals. The scent is predominantly minty, with an underlying sweetness from the vanilla flavouring.
The main flavour to taste is, interestingly, the chamomile. It’s sweet and almost thick-tasting, with the characteristic flavour of honey and hay. It’s a flavour I find instantly calming, whatever I’m doing and wherever I am when I taste it. Underlying the chamomile is the sweet creaminess of vanilla. This pushes it almost to the point of too-sweet, and the mid-sip is slightly cloying. Thankfully, though, the mint emerges at the last moment and completely saves the day. It cuts through the sweetness instantly, adding a cooling, refreshing edge that sets this tea back to rights. The combination lingers in the aftertaste, where it unmistakably resembles the flavour of a buttermint. Delicious!
I was expecting to taste more of the rooibos base, given that the liquor is a tell-tale bright red-orange, but I actually can’t pick it out at all amongst the other flavours. I do find rooibos a little woody sometimes, so its absence is no bad thing in my book. I think it’s testament to how well blended this tea is, also, in that the flavours are allowed to shine without interference. I was also expecting the mint to be the main flavour, but I’m pleased that it didn’t take over – the three together are a good pairing, and are balanced enough that they complement rather than compete.
I thoroughly enjoyed this tea, and it’s definitely one I’d consider adding to my cupboard for late evening drinking or just times of stress. It’s a sweet, calming cup with hints of candy – a real winner in my book.
Chamomile Rose Petal Organic Herbal Tea from BeauTea Studio
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: BeauTea Studio
Tea Description:
Chamomile Rose Tea ~ Always Organic ~ Herbal Goodness…Organic Whole Chamomile Flowers hand blended with Organic French Rose Petals to create a fragrant and ultra calming tea. Delicious with just a bit of honey.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Today was one of those days where I needed a bit of a relaxing tea. Catching up from being off on vacation for a week and some change wasn’t too bad, but I still had a few stressful moments here and there.
I was looking thru my tea stash and stumbled upon this delightful little tea. A simple Chamomile Rose Tea. Sometimes I feel like some teas have too many inclusions and sometimes you want something simple. This fit the bill perfectly. Chamomile and Rose Petals. The dry leaf had that old familiar loving smell of relaxing chamomile and the rose petals added a hint of floral aroma.
I decided I wanted to cold brew this beauty instead of enjoying it as a hot brew. I threw the sample into my cold brew bottle that was filled with cold water and let it steep on my desk while I continued to plug along.
A few hours later, I took my first sip. On yeah. . .that was exactly what I needed. The sweetness of the rose and the mix of the chamomile baked flavor just hit my taste buds right. I’m sure this tea is nice when brewed hot, but brewed cold I feel like the flavors come out even more. The rose petals really sang and the chamomile was fresh and bright. You couldn’t ask more for this herbal.
Simple and done right.
Simmer Down from The Random Tea Room
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: The Random Tea Room
Tea Description:
A blend of chamomile, lemon balm, motherwort, peppermint, lavender, and passionflower. Designed to assist the body in alleviating stress and worn nerves. Very relaxing. This is calm in a cup!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
First off, I am not a fan of lavender in teas. I feel that the lavender adds a bite to the tea and creates a overwhelming fragrance to the tea. When I received this tea and noticed that there was lavender in it, I was a bit worried. Lately I have been really trying to get myself to not drink the teas that I know I will like. Like how you encourage a child to try different foods, I’m taking that same plane of thought in my tea drinking. I have been trying some pretty unusual teas and having a fantastic time. I have discovered that I enjoy rose petals in tea. After having this tea, I am ok with lavender now being in tea.
This tea is presented in a marvelous tin. The label on this package is awesome. I love the way The Random Tea Room packages their teas.
I added two scoops of tea into my Breville One Touch and hit the herbal button (212F-5 min). Once the tea was ready, I poured the liquid into two mugs, admiring the coloring of the tea. There was an almost purple color to it.
Jason and I took our first sips and we both looked at each other and smiled. First sip and I’ve fallen in love with another tea. This tea is a perfect herbal tea. Relaxing, soothing, comforting, and cooling. Everything you would want in an herbal tea and more. The chamomile provides a baked dessert background while the peppermint (which is subtle) adds in just a touch of a cooling aesthetic. There is also a touch of a fruity flavor through the sip and the lavender delivers an ever so slight floral note. A lot of flavors in this blend, but they all work together and play nicely in my cuppa. I’m impressed with yet another of The Random Tea Room’s blends.
I was able to get about 4 infusions out of this one session with this tea. Even tried it iced and thought this herbal tea delivered a solid flavor. You can’t ask for a better herbal!
Pocketful of Posies Herbal Tea by Adagio Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Tea Description:
A relaxing, naturally caffeine-free herbal tea blended from blackberry leaves, chamomile, peppermint, hibiscus, lavender flowers, and rose petals.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is an herbal tea from Adagio’s Sunlit Blooms collection. It’s a floral blend, containing whole chamomile flowers, lavender and rose petals. It also contains peppermint, hibiscus, and blackberry leaves. Judging by the dry leaf, the main constituent is blackberry leaves, which are green and fluffy, rather like raspberry leaves. The other ingredients seem rather sparse.
I used 1.5tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 4 minutes in boiling water. The resulting liquor is yellow-green, which is doubtless testament to how little hibiscus is actually in this blend. The scent is deeply herbal – predominantly chamomile and lavender as far as I can discern.
To taste, this is a mild, lightly floral blend. Rose is clearly there, and lavender, although both are less pungent than might be expected, and don’t make the cup taste “perfumey” in the way they sometimes can. Half of me appreciates this, as teas with heavy perfume-like flavours can be rather cloying. The other half is wishing for a bit more flavour, as the overall effect is rather thin-tasting. The chamomile emerges a little towards the end of the sip, adding a honey-like sweetness that works well with the floral flavours. It’s a pleasant enough cup, if a little bland and weak. It’s like this tea is lacking in personality.
I’m really not sure what the blackberry leaves are adding to this blend, other than bulk. I appreciate that they have reputed health benefits, but I would have liked to have seen the other ingredients in greater quantity, as they impart the flavour this blend is sadly lacking. This one would make a pleasant pre-bedtime cup, if you’re after a caffeine-free blend with mild, relaxing flavours, but it’s not really one I’d purposefully seek out at other times of the day.