Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black & Rooibos
Where to Buy: Whispering Pines Tea Company
Tea Description:
It was late autumn in the upper peninsula of Northern Michigan. I had the campfire going steady with pinewood and maple leaves. A slight breeze off of the lake brought me closer to the embers while the call of a Barred Owl and crickets echoed through the empty lakeshore. The wind pushed the smoke towards the full moon. The smoky haze in the air played like the moonlight across the water, giving life to an empty sky. Then, as if rehearsed a hundred times, the entire landscape went silent. All I could hear was the crackling of the fire and my own steady breath. The wind had stopped, the owl and crickets wouldn’t dare make a sound. Even the haunting call of a loon was cut short, echoing across the silvery glasslike waters for what felt like forever. There was only the popping of a fire and the lonely breath of a woodsman. At that moment, sending chills down my spine not even the hottest fire could have warmed, the cry of a lone wolf sang out from the pine forest behind me. The silence was broken and, moments later, the orchestra of nature began singing once again.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Campfire Blend from Whispering Pines Tea Company represents a first for me, because I don’t think I’ve ever tried a tea with roasted cedar leaves before. If I have, I certainly don’t recall it, and I have a feeling that I would have remembered trying a tea with roasted cedar leaves!
That’s one of the things that I really appreciate about Whispering Pines – their blends are crafted without artificial flavors and they utilize locally sourced ingredients like the roasted cedar leaves to create something completely unique, something that you’re not likely to find anywhere else.
And this blend is really quite tasty! I like the cedar! It lends a very rustic, woodsy sort of flavor – as does the chicory and cloves. These three ingredients work very harmoniously together. This tastes like a walk through the woods. Leaves crackling beneath your feet as you walk, the air is crisp and fresh. There is a log cabin not too far away and a fire is burning in the fireplace, scenting the air with notes of wood that is roasting in the fire. But mostly what fragrances the air is the smell of the trees that surround you.
This tea has a very autumnal sort of taste with it’s resinous cedar leaves, and the warmth of the cloves and chicory. The black tea adds a rich, flavorful backdrop. I don’t taste a lot from the rooibos … maybe just a hint of woodsy flavor from the rooibos, but it seems to lighten up the black tea flavor just a little bit so that the flavors of the cedar, chicory and cloves can be experienced.
A really nice cuppa to curl up to – any time of year! Any time you want to evoke the thoughts of an autumnal walk through the woods, that’s the time to break out this tea and let it take you on that journey.
Mayan Cocoa Spice Tisane from Yogi
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Spice Melange
Where to Buy: Yogi
Tisane Description:
Embark on a journey to the ancient Mayan temples, where prized cocoa beans were ground and mixed with spices to create a sacred beverage that symbolized fertility and prosperity. We’ve taken this combination into the modern era by combining Organic Cocoa Shells, which supply antioxidants, with the traditional Ayurvedic warming and invigorating spices of organic Cardamom, Clove and Cinnamon Bark. Enjoy this rich tasting and enlivening blend any time of day for a delicious treat.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
Even though this Mayan Cocoa Spice Tisane from Yogi isn’t marketed as a “chai” … because it has many of the “usual” spices of a masala chai blend, I decided to categorize it as a chai. And even though this is a tea that can be purchased at my local Chuck’s Produce and it’s a bagged tea, it’s not too bad.
It’s actually pretty good.
Perhaps it’s the cacao that won me over here. I love the spiced chocolate taste of this, it reminds me a bit of a mild Mexican hot chocolate. The chocolate is good and strong (which makes the chocoholic in me very happy) and the spices don’t overwhelm the chocolate, instead, they enhance the chocolate-y flavor. Especially nice is the chicory, which lends a “coffee-esque” sort of flavor to the cup without coffee’s bitterness, and coffee and chocolate seem to go together very well. And so it would seem that chocolate and chicory work equally as well together.
The other spices are well portrayed in this melange too. The cinnamon is the strongest of the spices, but it isn’t an overpowering taste. The cardamom and clove add a nice background of warmth, and the ginger and black pepper add just enough “kick” to this to spice it up without becoming too spicy (although, I can’t help but think what an interesting taste it would be if there was just a hint of cayenne or something stronger in this!)
My biggest issue with this blend is the stevia in the blend. I don’t like it when any tea or tisane includes stevia or other sweetener in it, because I like to decide how sweet or not sweet I want my beverage to be. I don’t like that predetermined for me. And the stevia does impart a slightly “funky” taste to the cup, fortunately, the spices are strong enough to curb this funkiness a little bit, so I’m just getting a wee bit of funky, and its not enough funky to stop me from sipping on this spicy chocolate drink.
Not a bad beverage. It’s not something I’d buy again, but, if it were offered me, it’s not something I’d turn down. I liked it.
Candy Cane Green Tea from English Tea Shop
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: English Tea Shop
Tea Description:
Candy Cane: Green tea, peppermint leaves, orange peels, cinnamon pieces, chicory, strawberry leaves and vanilla pods with mint, vanilla and coconut flavours.
Taster’s Review:
This Candy Cane Green Tea from English Tea Shop is another tea from the holiday package that I received from a friend this past Christmas. The dry aroma smells like a candy cane … but there is also an artificial sort of smell to the dry leaf too. It’s a little off-putting, but I’m hoping that it won’t affect the flavor of the brewed tea.
Yeah, I can still taste a bit of that artificial-ness, but, while it did smell a bit off, it doesn’t taste horrible. On the contrary, this is actually tasty. The flavors of candy cane are there: mint and vanilla.
I taste hints of orange and cinnamon too, and they lend a holiday kind of warmth to the cup. I like that while I can taste these flavors, they don’t interrupt the candy cane notes that I’m tasting, rather, they seem to accentuate the candy cane flavors.
And then there is the chicory and coconut which I think is what I was smelling and tasting that is so odd. Maybe not so much an artificial scent but it’s just weird that I was smelling (and now tasting) coconut and chicory in there, you know? It’s just … strange. It doesn’t taste bad, just a bit unusual and a little out there, you know?
The green tea seems a little lost in this blend, and I think I’m finding myself wishing I was tasting a little less of these other flavors and more of the green tea with mint and vanilla to give it a more candy cane-ish sort of taste.
Overall, it’s not a bad candy cane tribute, and I’d drink it again if it were offered to me. It’s sweet, minty and creamy, just like I’d expect from a candy cane and I like that. But there are some other flavors in there that make this tea sort of stray from what it would seem should be its original intent, which is to be a candy cane tea. The result of which makes this an average tasting candy cane tea. Not great, but not bad either.
Rooibos Spice Tisane from Mint Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Tea Purchased from Mint Tea
Product Available Online at Strand Tea
Tisane Description:
Rooibos Spice Caffeine Free Herbal Tea. Organic Red Rooibos blended with Natural Cacao Bits, Ginger Pieces, Cinnamon Bark, Chicory Root, Barley Malt, Cardamom Pods, and Black Peppercorns. What a great winter tea! Rich & flavorful, sure to be a favorite treat any time of year.
Taster’s Review:
I bought this tisane when I visited the Mint Tea Shop in Vancouver, Washington some time ago. I knew that they obtained some of their teas from Strand Tea, including this one.
While some of the ingredients in this Rooibos Spice Tisane from Mint Tea appear to be chai-like, and the flavor of the tisane is somewhat chai-esque, there’s some other flavors going on here that I don’t usually find in a chai.
Like chicory and barley malt, for example. The chicory gives the drink a coffee-ish background note, a deep, roasted sort of flavor that accentuates the spices in a really interesting way. I also enjoy the way the chicory and the cacao work together. I also taste the malty tones from the barley malt, giving the cup a “grainy” flavor that adds an intriguing depth.
The spices are well-defined here. I taste the cinnamon throughout the sip, and there is a backdrop of pepper and ginger. The cardamom adds some exotic warmth to this beverage.
This is really tasty, winter-y kind of tisane, something that I can see myself drinking whenever I want something warm and soothing, but something that won’t stimulate me the way a caffeinated tea would.
Smokey Mountain from sTEAp Shoppe
Leaf Type: Black Tea, Oolong Tea,
Where to Buy: sTEAp Shoppe
Tea Description:
This is a smoky robust Tea is a blend of Organic Lapsang Souchong, Organic Se Chung Special Oolong, Organic Assam flowery Orange Pekoe. Each tea brings it’s own flavor profile and combined they create a smoky floral tea. With the addition of Chicory you will experience a coffee like tannins, Organic Cocoa Nibs & Organic Vanilla Bean introduce a smooth rich flavor and aroma and the Fenugreek seed helps bring all these unique flavors together as one with it’s milky sweet flavor.
This tea has a muted smokey flavor yet rich and creamy with coffee undertones.Learn more about this tea here
Taster’s Review:
WOW!! Okay for reference, I am not a huge Lapsang Souchong fan, at the same time I do not dislike it, I quite enjoy it every now and then but only every now and then. I am quite picky about my Lapsang Souchong teas, and I have to be “in the mood” for them. With that said … I absolutely feel I have been converted to being able to drink Lapsang Souchong daily!
Why? Because this tea, with the addition of oolong, and chicory, the cocoa nibs, the vanilla, ALL OF IT, just makes this such a delicious blend! I am not too familiar with sTEAp Shoppe or their teas, as a matter of fact I knew nothing of them until last week when they were offering some samples and of course I jumped on that bandwagon. This so far is my favorite from them and I have to admit I was hesitant to give this a try because I really am NOT that big into Lapsang Souchong, oh sorry I already said that. Seriously though, I reluctantly opened the package and the smells that came up into my wanting nostrils were AMAZING! I instantly knew this was no ordinary lapsang souchong! I can safely say that THIS tea should be their flagship tea! I feel they will be converting a lot of LS non believers into LS lovers very soon! Now all I want to do is go meander over to their site and see what else they have to offer because they clearly are working hard to get their blends perfect!
The smokiness in this tea is going to be a wonderful compliment to the vegetarian chili I am in the process of making, its smokiness is not over powering whatsoever, and the vanilla gives it just the right amount of creamy sweetness without being a sweet tea. It would hold up well to cream and sugar if you enjoy that in your tea. There is a quality chocolate undertone from the cocoa nibs but also I am very picky about chocolate flavored teas and absolutely hate any fakey artificial chocolate flavors, this has none of that nonsense! Did I mention that sTEAp Shoppe uses all natural and organic flavors? They do!
The chicory is pleasant and would also be something coffee drinkers could appreciate without making your tea taste like coffee! This has such a perfection of balance and all things wonderful I just can’t go on enough about it. You would think I had blended it myself I am so proud of this creation! Good work sTEAp Shoppe!
Thanks for allowing me to try this one!
