Tea Type: Black Tea
Where To Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Product Description:
Create your own heaven with rose earl grey tea. The full body of flavor of oil of bergamot that is traditional early grey is captured wonderfully with the addition of rose petals. This tasty blend of rose petals and earl grey offers a smooth and pleasant taste full of satisfying citrus and complementing floral tones. Rose petals not only provide earl grey with additional amazing flavor but with the immune system defense of Vitamin C. Protect yourself and enjoy yourself with rose earl grey. Add a sprig of mint to increase its aromatic qualities and powerful taste or add a dash of lemon to bring out the natural citrus flavor. Put it on ice for cool treat for yourself and guests or serve it warm as a perfect ending to a wonderful meal.
Tasters Review:
I don’t know why I am hesitant to drink Rose flavored teas. Maybe it’s because I assume they are going to be bitter from all the rose petals…but that is rarely the case.
This Rose Earl Grey from Red Leaf Tea is very nice!
It’s everything you would expect from a Rose EG! It’s intensely scented and the flavor is ‘just right’ once it hits the tongue.
It’s juicy and floral – and it meets in the middle wonderfully!
Organic Lavender Earl Grey from Two Leaves and a Bud
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Two Leaves and a Bud
Product Description:
We added organic French lavender flowers to an Organic Assam base to create this smooth, refreshing and relaxing Lavender Earl Grey. Layers of wild honey and a light bergamot citrus finish make this the perfect variation on a theme for Earl Grey fanatics.
Taster’s Review:
I am, indeed, one of those “Earl Grey fanatics” as mentioned in the above description. I love Earl Grey!
And the more Earl Grey teas that I drink, the more I am starting to discover just how much I like the Earl Grey with Lavender varieties. I like how the flowery notes of the bergamot meld with the flavor of the lavender. It creates a unified floral tone for the cup.
The base of this tea is a strong Assam tea. It has a malty note to it and a bold character that holds up well to the sometimes aggressive flavor of bergamot. By doing so, the bergamot remains strong but doesn’t overpower the cup and come off tasting pefume-ish.
One might think that the addition of the lavender would increase the odds of it tasting perfume-ish, but it really doesn’t. This addition allows the floral tones to flourish, however, the Assam is sturdy enough to keep the flowery notes from going crazy.
This is a very pleasantly smooth, rich tasting Earl Grey with a lovely twist. It has a light astringency and a sweet finish. If you like Earl Grey, you’ll love this one!
Lime Green Tea from Hampstead Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Hampstead Tea
Product Description:
The tropical floral zest of lime is a sophisticated complement to our green tea. The classic citrus overtones are reminiscent of beachside evenings.
Ingredients: Fairtrade green tea, lime zest
Taster’s Review:
I am always just a little surprised when I come across a bagged tea that tastes great. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve tasted quite a few great tasting bagged teas, but, there is always some part of me with very low expectations when it comes to bagged tea.
This is definitely a great tasting bagged tea! The lime flavor is abundant but does not overwhelm the taste of the green tea. The green tea base is a light-bodied, fresh-tasting green tea with very little vegetative taste to it. It has a natural sweetness to it that offers a nice contrast to the tart and tangy flavor of lime.
The lime flavor is vibrant and refreshing. Very clean and bright in citrus flavor with a hint of floral note in the background. The flavor of this tea evokes images of walking through a citrus grove when its in bloom.
This is a delicious bagged tea that is just as convenient as it is tasty. And its organic and fair trade. Just one more thing to feel good about with Hampstead Tea!
Product Review: Elixo from Domo
Product Information:
Where to Buy: Domo
Product Description:
Domo Elixo is a tea-based drink that dissolves instantly in hot or cold water.
Got a cold?
Sorry, there’s no cure, but if you drink Elixo you’ll get rid of the stuffy cold feeling in your throat and the hint of cayenne will clear your sinuses right up.Big night last night?
Rejuvinate your senses, shake off that groggy feeling and start your day with a burst of honey, vitamin C and organic tea to bring you back from zombie land.It’s all good
Elixo is made with organic tea, organic honey crystals and cayenne pepper (great for the sinuses). Elixo also contains Camu Camu, an Amazonian fruit with extraordinarily high levels of all-natural Vitamin C, much more effective and better for you than the synthetic kind found in many similar drinks.
Taster’s Review:
I am just getting over a cold, so I am tasting this at the right time! It really does help clear the throat and the sinuses, and I do feel rejuvenated and less groggy! It works!
Before I opened it, I did as the instructions suggested and I shook it first to equally distribute the ingredients. But beware when you open the package – the shaking leads to some of the dustier particles to hit you – right up the nose!
Dry, it smells very much like vitamins – like a children’s chewable vitamins! I prepared this like a Matcha, using my Chawan (Matcha bowl) and my Chasen (bamboo Matcha whisk), and I used just under boiling water to dissolve the granular powdery mix. It behaves very much like Matcha – it even has a bit of froth after whisking! And, I noticed as I made my way to the bottom of the bowl that it tends to separate, so keep your whisk handy.
This is actually quite a tasty drink. Very citrus-y, with a bit of tartness, but an ample amount of sweetness (don’t add any additional sweetener – it’s pre-sweetened with honey crystals). It is one that is sweet enough to appeal to children so it would be a good remedy for them when they’re feeling out of sorts too.
The cayenne pepper does not lend a lot of flavor to the cup, but there is a peppery bite at the finish which is further enhanced by the ginger. It is not an overwhelmingly spicy taste though, and I find it quite a refreshing taste especially when feeling sick – it seems to really rev up the palate and energize the senses.
The rooibos also does not lend a lot of flavor to the cup, in fact, I have a hard time detecting much flavor from the rooibos at all, the citrus and spice seems to mask those flavors and I’m fine with that.
This is a very pleasant tasting rooibos drink, one I’d like to keep on hand for when someone in the family is feeling down-and-out, because this will perk them right up again!
Ginger Fresh from Herbal Republic
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Herbal Republic
Product Description:
A great ginger tea that’s an original ayurveda blend.
Contains lemongrass, ginger, citrus peels, liquorice, peppermint and pepper.
Taster’s Review:
This is a tea that scared me a little at first. I love all the ingredients individually, and I love many of them in blends, but having tried at least one licorice and peppermint blend that I didn’t like (and, in fairness, I should mention that there is at least one that I can recall that I did enjoy), seeing that these two ingredients were on the list worried me a little. I mean, I love licorice. I love peppermint. But together in one tisane? I was skeptical.
The flavors here are all so very assertive, and yet the cup itself is not off-putting or overwhelming. It is a strong yet tasty tisane. I think that it is the assertiveness of the ingredients that really makes this flavor combination work! I think that if there was an ingredient here that was a little less than assertive, it would be overwhelmed. As it is, the flavors here are bright, strong and vibrant.
The ginger is the first flavor I taste, and I don’t know if that is because it’s the first flavor that I expect. The ginger is nicely accented with the black pepper, and these two warm ingredients really spice things up nicely here. The lemongrass seems to soften the edge of the ginger, giving the cup a sweet and somewhat creamy taste. The citrus peels seem to enhance the lemon-y taste of the lemongrass just enough to make this a very pleasing, citrus-y tasting tisane.
Because of the strength of the ginger, citrus and black pepper, the licorice and peppermint don’t really have much of a chance to come off as repellent (and that is a VERY good thing!) Instead, they act as highlight flavors, offering just enough of their distinctively zesty flavor to the cup when needed without overwhelming the balance of the cup.
This is a tisane I enjoyed much more than I thought I would. It is smooth but with a lively, zippy flavor that really grabs my attention. It is delicious and sweet and quite soothing after a spicy meal (I had some rather spicy tacos tonight!) I am finding that this cup is just what I needed after that!