Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal/Rooibos
Where to Buy: Stash
Tea Description:
This herbal tea combines the sweetness of maple with the tartness of apple for a lively, delicious cup. Fruity hibiscus and rooibos have been blended with sweet cinnamon, maple, apple and caramel flavors for this tasty tea cider. A touch of sugar brings out the flavor.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This had a fancier box than other Stash teas I’ve seen so I’m wondering if, based on the flavour, this was a seasonal/Christmas blend? Upon opening up the box, the wrapper itself has a different design too. There’s definitely something different about this blend!
There’s really no smell to the dry teabag; if I concentrate maybe a little apple. It’s very weak though; I hoped the tea itself has more flavour. Steeped up, I could smell the cider part of the tea quite strongly, but no maple. I really hope I pick the maple up in the taste; it’s what intrigued me about this tea in the first place! It made this something a little bit different. And as a Canadian, I can never really resist anything maple anyway.
Sipping on it now though; and there definitely is more flavour than what the dry leaf led me to believe. It really does taste like apple cider; good apple cider too! Just the right balance of sweet, tart, and spice. And speaking of that spice, there’s obviously cinnamon but the nutmeg in here is a really nice touch too. Nutmeg has really grown on me, I never used to be a fan but now when a tea includes it I get so excited! That’s the first wave of flavour but then it eases a little into the maple; it’s a little raw and unrefined tasting with a sappy quality. I like it! It makes the cup sweet and layered, and I like that this one doesn’t feel completely put together, with the ’T’s crossed and ’I’s dotted. Sometimes a little reliable inconsistency makes a tea good. If that makes any sense at all.
There are also a few other interesting notes here; I’m picking woody-cedar like notes too! Maybe it’s a trick of the mind because of the raw, sappy maple or maybe part of it is from the rooibos – but it’s very enjoyable regardless. Actually, now that I think of it the more I’m sure it’s from the rooibos. I love how natural and earthy this tea tastes though; for once the wood like quality is contributing something that enhances the tea flavourings!
There’s surprisingly a lot going on with this tea bag. Colour me quite impressed!
Sweet Apple Cider Iced Black Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Our premium organic Iyerpadi black tea blended with organic apple, green apple and cinnamon flavors. This is a super refreshing iced tea. I may have created a few apple flavored teas lately, but the apple and cinnamon notes with this Iyerpadi black tea are just astounding.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! I admit that my first thought was “another apple tea” but now that I’m tasting this, I don’t mind at all. This Sweet Apple Cider Iced Black Tea from Southern Boy Teas is really good.
I hot brewed this iced tea, bringing 1 quart of water to a boil and then letting the tea bag steep for 2 minutes. Then I strained the tea into my favorite iced tea pitcher and brought another quart of water to a boil and resteeped the bag for 2 1/2 minutes. No, this doesn’t make the tea too strong for me, it’s strong, yes, but not too strong. Then again, I like my tea strong.
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I really like the Iyerpadi estate tea that Southern Boy Teas has been using for their black tea base. It’s got a pleasant flavor, it doesn’t have a bitter taste nor is it astringent. It’s smooth and even without tasting too weak. It’s really a delightful tea.
The apple flavor is coming through nicely. I found that with my first few sips, the apple flavor was less obvious than the cinnamon, which seemed to overpower. But, after the first few sips, the apple notes developed and the cinnamon waned just enough. Now, the cinnamon is still a strong presence, but the apple comes through and adds a pleasant sweet-tart note to contrast with the warm, zesty taste of the cinnamon.
Really tasty!
Apple Cider Flavored Iced Green Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Premium Organic green tea with organic flavors.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about how to subscribe to Southern Boy Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
This Apple Cider Iced Green Tea from SBT is really tasty! The flavor is distinctly apple cider. Lovely notes of apple and cinnamon!
The green tea is light, sweet and buttery. It has a very fresh taste without tasting grassy or overly vegetative. I really love the light taste of it … it’s very refreshing on these hot summer days!
I also like that the apple cider flavors do not overpower the lighter green tea base. I can taste the apple, the warm spice and the green tea, and my palate isn’t overwhelmed with any one flavor. All the flavors are present but my taste buds aren’t burdened with heavy flavors.
With these “new” green teas from Southern Boy Teas, I’m discovering that the best way to get the most out of the teas is to hot brew the sachet in 1 quart of 170°F water for 1 1/2 minutes, and then resteep the sachet in another quart of water (same temperature) for 2 minutes to fill my half gallon iced tea pitcher.
And here’s the best part, with the green teas, you can resteep the sachet for another half gallon of iced tea! Simply stash the sachet in a airtight container and store in the refrigerator, and then when you’re ready to start steeping again, using the same temperature water, steep for 2 1/2 minutes for the first quart and 3 minutes for the second quart. The second pitcher of iced is almost nearly as flavorful as the first.
When I received my order with this tea in it, I hadn’t realized that I actually ordered 2 pouches of this tea (I had meant to only order 1 pouch), but now I’m glad that I have two of this one, because I really like it!
With the second pouch, I decided to experiment a little bit and try it as a cold-brew! I tossed the pouch into my iced tea pitcher and then filled it with freshly drawn and filtered water and put the lid on it. Then I stashed it in my refrigerator overnight. In the morning, I removed the pouch and put it in an airtight container and put it in the fridge (to resteep again later) and I enjoyed the cold-brewed Apple Cider iced tea!
The verdict: this is even better cold-brewed! The apple notes are crisper and better defined with the cold-steep process.
Oh yeah, I’ll be getting more of this!
Champagne Cider Honeybush Blend from Butiki Teas
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Tisane Description:
A champagne cider cocktail for the day after the holiday party. Apple is the undercurrent of this fantastic flavour combination that really does taste like champagne. Add in spiced apples, hints of orange and a touch of natural sweetness and you get this incredibly unique tea.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
This Champagne Cider Honeybush Blend from Butiki Teas is really delicious. Of course, I certainly didn’t doubt that it would be, given the success that I’ve had with Butiki Teas’ blends. Stacy at Butiki Teas knows what she’s doing – she’s brilliant!
I don’t know that I’m tasting a lot of champagne here, but I can definitely smell the champagne in both the dry leaf and the brewed tisane. The flavor of the champagne is a little more difficult to discern, but I do pick up on the champagne-like taste when I slurp to aerate the liquid as I take a sip.
But I do taste the fruit! The orange, which can sometimes be an overly-prominent flavor in a tea or tisane, is instead a subtle note here. The apple is sweet and equally matched with the level of orange flavor. These fruit notes are softer flavors to mimic a “mulled” champagne cider.
And then we have the spices. The spices are also on the subtle side. I taste the notes of cinnamon and clove, but neither is overpowering the cup. Everything stays nicely balanced, even the cinnamon which can often be a selfish spice and take over. It doesn’t do that here, it stays gently warm … softly spiced.
I’m not typically all that excited about tisanes. That is to say, I’d rather drink a camellia sinensis tea than an herbal tisane like this honeybush blend. But, I do like this quite a bit. Butiki Teas really knocked this one out of the park!
Apple Cider Honeybush Tea from Zhi Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: Zhi Tea
Tisane Description:
Apple cider tea. A new twist on an old favorite. Created by one of our ambitious and talented employees here at Zhi, this honeybush based herbal tea has a nice, soothing mellow flavor profile. Chock full of organic apple bits and cinnamon, the aroma is at once familiar and comforting. A zero caffeine beverage for any time of day or year, but especially great during the fall and winter as the days a darker, the air is cooler, and you just want to sit with a calming, flavorful cup of a gorgeous herbal tea.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
Yum! I’ve tried several teas that have attempted to capture the essence of apple cider, but I think that this Apple Cider Honeybush Tea from Zhi Tea has nailed it. I had my doubts as I was brewing it, of course, because there’s coconut in the blend (really, coconut!) and I couldn’t help but wonder what the shreds of coconut were doing in this tea.
But, it all melds together in a really delicious way. I noticed the coconut prominently in the first two sips, but after that, the coconut seemed to move off into the background and married with the other flavors, becoming more of a unified creamy and sweet note than a distinct coconut flavor.
Now I taste apple cider. The apple notes are sweet, and there are notes of spice from the cinnamon and cloves. The honeybush is not a strong, distinguished flavor, but it adds an interesting accent to the earthiness of the spices. The vanilla tones balance everything out, offering a flavor that is not so much vanilla, but more like the aforementioned coconut, it becomes seamless with the other flavors in the cup, bringing out the sweetness of the drink.
This is a delicious, autumnal honeybush blend. It’s something that I can see myself drinking on a regular basis!