Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Green Rooibos
Where to Buy: The Persimmon Tree
Tisane Description:
Peach Picnic is a colorful, summer fruit-inspired blend of green rooibos tea, strawberries, peaches, and citrus flavors. This incredibly refreshing, nectar-like peach rooibos blend tastes great with a touch of honey, hot or iced.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
Tasty! I generally prefer green rooibos over the oxidized, red variety of rooibos, so when I saw that this Peach Picnic Green Rooibos Blend from The Persimmon Tree was a blend of green rooibos, as well as peach, strawberry and citrus flavors, I was happy to try it.
The cup has a light, refreshing taste. The strawberry and peach notes are sweet and juicy, with just a hint of tartness from the berry. The citrus notes give the cup a tangy, vibrant flavor that brightens the cup. The green rooibos adds a light, sweet taste that is a little nutty and a little woody.
All these flavors come together in a very interesting way. It’s sweet, fruity, and enjoyable. It makes a tasty enough hot drink, but I found that I preferred it iced. It’s very juicy and thirst-quenching!
This is one of those tisanes that you’ll want for the upcoming iced tea season … especially if you’ve got kids! This is a great alternative to over-sweetened sodas! It’s a definite crowd pleaser from The Persimmon Tree. Be sure to “like” them out on Facebook!
Tea & Cookies Flavored Black Tea from Caraway Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Caraway Tea Company
Tea Description:
You’ll love how the sweet apple, scent of juicy oranges, and delicate cream sooth the spicy bits of cinnamon, coriander, cardamom, cloves and hot fruity pepper. Add a little milk and sugar and youll enjoy a special treat.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! I don’t know if what I’m tasting is “Tea & Cookies” so much as tea and cozy warm spices with hints of fruit … but, I’m enjoying this tea enough to overlook the fact that Tea & Cookies Flavored Black Tea from Caraway Tea Company might be suffering from a bit of a misnomer.
So what if it doesn’t taste exactly like “Tea & Cookies” to me … I can still kind of get where their coming from, calling it this. It has a warm taste to it that reminds me of the smells that come from the kitchen around the holiday season, when the aroma of freshly baked cookies and warm spices fill the air! This tea not only captures that fragrance, but the scent also translates into the flavor. This tea tastes the way the kitchen smells during the holiday season!
The black tea base is a strong enough tea to hold its own in the presence of the spices, but, doesn’t attempt to overthrow the flavors of this cup. The Caraway Tea Company website doesn’t mention what type of black tea is used in this blend, only that it’s “black tea.” Based on what I’m tasting, I’d guess it’s a high-quality Ceylon … it has a strong flavor, but it’s pretty even-tempered, and doesn’t get too brassy or assertive.
There is a nice “bake-y/cake-y” kind of flavor going on with the cup too. So, the cookie thing is not too far-fetched … and together with the cinnamon notes, it evokes thoughts of a snickerdoodle cookie. The apple notes are very delicate but they do provide a nice sweetness to the cup. It doesn’t taste distinctly “apple” with the first few sips, but, give it time … by the time I reached mid-cup, the apple notes seemed to emerge, as did the delicious, juicy orange notes.
The other spices provide more of a soothing, gentle warmth to the cup rather than a strong spicy overtone. This isn’t a heavily SPICED tea even though there are quite a few spices in the tea. The spices accentuate nicely, though, which give the overall cup a sweet yet warm, cozy kind of effect.
A very delicious cuppa … this is one that I’d want to have on hand whenever I’m in need of a comforting cup of coziness!
Ancient Forest Rooibos Blend from Whispering Pines Tea Co.
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Whispering Pines Tea Co.
Tisane Description:
Sweet notes of mint and tart hibiscus with just the perfect elderberry twist flow smooth as water through the rooibos base – It’s like a cup of serenity pulled straight out of the deep northern forests!
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
This Ancient Forest Rooibos Blend from Whispering Pines is really quite nice! I was surprised to find that this has hibiscus in it, because, while I do taste the hibiscus, it isn’t a strong, prominent flavor … and hibiscus is one of those herbs that tends to get strong and prominent in no time at all. And I steeped this tisane for 10 minutes! But … it did not get thick, syrupy or overwhelmingly tart! Hooray for Whispering Pines Tea Company … they know how to blend with hibiscus!
The hibiscus here seems to accentuate the elderberry flavor … and I like that just fine. I’m not a fan of hibiscus (as I’ve said many times before) but, I don’t mind it if it’s done right, and Whispering Pines did hibiscus right with this blend.
The spearmint is done right too – it’s not a powerful minty taste … it is crisp, cool and refreshing … but it doesn’t taste like toothpaste! There is a really enjoyable balance of flavors here. Even the rooibos – which is another herb that I’m not particularly fond of – works well with this blend. The natural nutty tones of the rooibos melds nicely with the berry notes and the minty notes, while the sweetness of the rooibos offsets some of the tartness of the cup.
A really enjoyable blend, this Ancient Forest Rooibos Blend!
Tim Finnegan’s Wake-Up Black Tea Blend from Cuppa Crew Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where To Buy: Cuppa Crew Tea Company
Tea Description:
Top’o’the’mornin’ our pasty Irish butts. If you need a kick with a kick to start your day (or wake you up after lunch), here’s your tea, good ma’am or sir.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Tim Finnegan’s Wake-Up Black Tea Blend from Cuppa Crew Tea Company is JUST what I needed today to get myself motivated! It’s just one of those days, you know, when I’d rather stay curled up in bed … but I have stuff I need to get done. I knew I needed something that would energize me and that’s just what this tea has done for me.
The black tea base is a BOLD black tea base – I suspect that there is some Assam in this because I can taste malty tones and that rich flavor that I normally associate with Assam. It has a good, strong, invigorating flavor and provides a solid taste for the background to support the flavors of Irish cream.
The creaminess melds nicely with the malt notes, and I can taste notes that taste very whiskey-like. I like that while these flavors are strong and distinguished, they do not mask the flavor of the tea – this tea is about the tea first, and the flavors second!
The tea has a fair amount of astringency to it, it is a drying astringency that I notice right at the tail. The palate feels clean after the sip, and there are hints of sweetness in the aftertaste.
This is definitely a great tea to help start the day off right. I tried it straight first, and it was good – but there was a certain EDGE to it that I wanted to soften just a bit so I added about half a teaspoon of turbinado sugar and this brought out the sweet, creamy notes as well as softened that aforementioned edge. A splash of milk or cream accentuates the creaminess, but, I found this to have a pleasant creaminess without the addition of dairy.
This is the first tea I’ve tried from this company, and it’s a good one! I’m glad I had the opportunity to try it.
Gold Rush Black Tea Blend from Monterey Bay Spice Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Monterey Bay Spice Company
Tea Description:
Abundant with tropical treats, Gold Rush Tea is as appetizing as it is visually appealing! Chunks of delicious mango improve your mood while bits of passion fruit inject vitality into your body! Amongst the high floral notes of the colorful and aromatic blossoms are cornflowers, blue mallow flowers, safflowers, and marigolds. Completing this blend is robust black tea that provides body and warmth to this savory selection!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I first tried this Gold Rush Black Tea Blend from Monterey Bay Spice Company hot, and while it was enjoyable served hot, it is really best served as an iced tea! It’s so refreshing and thirst-quenching!
The black tea base is strong and somewhat astringent. I would classify the astringency as a “fair” amount of astringency, not overly astringent and this should not be confused with bitterness, but, there is that tangy sensation toward the tail of the sip. This tea is not bitter when brewed properly, although I did notice hints of bitterness in the sip that suggest to me that if you were to over-brew this tea, you might end up with a bitter cup. I brewed it for 2 1/2 minutes, and this was long enough to produce a fairly robust tasting tea without the bitterness that a longer brew time might have created.
The flowers in this blend provide a very colorful, appealing dry leaf appearance, but, I don’t think they add a whole lot of flavor to the cup. I do notice the faintest whisper of a floral presence to the sip, but, it is very slight.
The flavors are very pleasantly tropical with lovely notes of mango and passion fruit. Sweet and just a hint of tangy fruit taste. The sip is primarily sweet and fruity … with the tangy notes coming through more in the aftertaste than during the actual sip. The fruit flavors are delicious and sweet, but I like that they are not overwhelming the cup. The tea comes first … the fruit is an accent flavor. Just a little fruity note to complement the natural fruit tones of the black tea!
Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable cup – and as I mentioned at the start, this is much better iced than hot. It’s still good hot, too – but it’s spectacular iced!