Heads up for you lemon-lovers out there, this tea is definitely for you!
The namesake of this tea, Limoncello, is an Italian liqueur made from the zest of lemons. It’s known to be a sweet drink, despite the yellow citrus fruit’s sour reputation. This tea definitely tastes like distilled lemons and keeps the perfect sweet-tart flavor balance of citrus and cream, very much like tart lemon dessert bars with powdered sugar.
In the dry leaf, this tea smells strongly of citrus, but the lemon myrtle in the blend keeps the flavors natural and herbal, rather than smelling too much like lemon cleaning products. Along with all the zesty fruit flavors, there is something creamy and dessert-like in blend as well. Sweetness comes in the form of almost-caramel, brown sugar notes. This tea reminds me of the classic lemon drop candies or even luscious lemon meringue pie.
Despite being a green rooibos tea, this blend still brews up potent and flavorful. This would be a great iced tea lemonade companion, or a great surprise sweetness in an unconventional cocktail. I had to pucker up and kiss this tea goodbye after I blew through my sample size. Order a good size package of this sweet tea, you won’t regret it!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Rooibos
Where to Buy: The NecessiTeas
Description:
The Italian dessert drink has made its way into a tea. Imagine lemon meringue teasing your taste buds, while sweetly melting in your mouth with a blend of vanilla and brown sugars. The lemony brightness shines through with lemongrass and a sprinkling of golden marigold petals, all topping a green rooibos tea.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Tree House of Tea from Adagio Teas. . . . #TeaRex #MonsterBrew #RocketFuel
Beyond the wonderful madness of custom fandom blends on Adagio Teas’ website, they do have a few blends and custom sets of their own. I tried one of their more whimsical sets, the Tree House series. The vibrant, attractive designs of dinosaurs and monsters on the tins was enough to sway me into giving these teas a try. The Tree House series are all herbal decaf teas, and meant to be kid-friendly in style, contents, and taste. Fair warning: these teas brew up strong, fast, so feel free to keep the steep times shorter than you expect. It’s easy to stop the steep time as these teas are all already in silk, pyramid teabags.
This tea smells like Adagio’s Valentine’s blend, though this is a decaf version. The smell and taste are full of rich cocoa and dark berries. Even though cherries are a strong element of this blend, it does not taste like medicine. This tea is dark and full-bodied, almost makes you think it’s a black tea or a mate, but it’s all herbal. If you’re not into chocolate dessert teas, this might not be your favorite. But if you’re looking for a decaf version of the Valentine’s blend, this will be a winner.
Monster Brew
In the tin, this tea smells the most distinct from the three teas in Adagio’s Tree House series. This green rooibos blend focuses on orange and berry. It’s sweet with raspberry and blueberry flavors, but it never gets too syrupy, thanks to the bright citrus notes. Smooth, playful, and easy to drink. This blend has the perfect balance between sweet and sour fruits, and the right balance of a nutty rooibos base with more saturated berry flavors.
The strongest flavors in Rocket Fuel are apple and hibiscus. The hibiscus is subtle, but present, so don’t worry about it overwhelming the blend, but be cautious if you hate the flavor. The hibiscus adds pink to the brewed color, and gives a little pucker to this decaf berry blend. Luckily, there’s enough apple to keep the tea sweet and fresh without getting too tart. Apple is so often paired with cinnamon and spice, it was nice to just taste the crisp fruit and its natural sweetness.
This set is a great gift for a young tea-drinker, or a lover of fruity-decaf teas. Or just a nice gift to yourself– the colorful, illustrated tins will brighten anyone’s tea shelf!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal and Rooibos/Green Rooibos
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Description:
Every cup of tea represents an imaginative journey. Our Tree House gift set helps build creative minds one cup at a time. Become an astronaut, scare away monsters hiding in your closet, and roam dinosaur inhabited lands without leaving your home.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Tropical Storm Warning: Coconut Blizzard – Teana Colada from Tea Geek’ery
Wow look at those curls of fresh coconut! There’s more flaky, white goodness in this tea blend than all the snow we have had in this New England winter. Teana Colada is a simple blend with a cute name and quality ingredients: red rooibos tea and coconut chips. Brewed hot, there is so much coconut, the buttery blend is almost savory, like butter on toast. As it cools, the tropical notes of the coconut shine through and mingle with the nutty red rooibos. This isn’t a true pina colada blend, as there isn’t any pineapple or fruity flavors, but it is a coconut dream tea.
As a cold brew, the rooibos comes through more strongly, making the blend taste like a creamy, vanilla rooibos tea. On its own, the cold brew is a little one-note, but it might be a winning secret ingredient in a tropical iced tea summer blend. The upside of a rooibos blend is that it is naturally caffeine-free, so you can steep a cup of this blend at any time in your schedule.
This is a tea for nutty coconut fans, or someone who is looking for an exceptionally creamy, buttery rooibos blend. If you really want to take this tropical theme to its height, drink Teana Colada out of a tiki mug with a big wedge of pineapple on the side!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Tea Geek’ery
Description:
This herbal tea is naturally sweet with hints of cream & nuts. Phenomenal blended with ice & your favorite coconuttie adult beverage.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Top of the (Blueberry Lemon) Muffin to You! A Curiositea Blend
Blueberry Lemon Rooibos from Curiositea makes me think of muffins– top of the muffin to you!
The nutty rooibos paired with these fruit flavors remind me of blueberry muffins with lemon peel, or a delectable lemon poppyseed cake. The lemon of this blend is more creamy than tart, and comes through slightly stronger than the blueberry.
There is a darker sweetness in the undertones of this brew that keeps the lemon from getting too sharp, and I must credit this flavor to the blueberries.
When iced, the flavor combination in this blend could pass for blueberry lemonade rooibos. There is a perfect balance between deep, sweet blueberries and bright, citrus lemon.
The flavors help keep this blend super smooth and drinkable, even for a rooibos base. This is a versatile herbal tea and has quickly become a staple in my decaf selections.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Curiositea
Description:
This tea doesn’t appear to be in season on Curiositea at the moment, but they have several other intriguing rooibos flavors.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Perfect for Valentine’s Eve: An Evening with Eros from Banff Tea Co.
Just like a good Valentine’s date, An Evening with Eros tea blend comes bearing roses and chocolate.
There’s enough of both ingredients that you can see chocolate chips and petals scattered throughout the dry leaf. The namesake of this blend is Eros, the Greek god of love, and since this is a decaf rooibos blend, it’s the perfect brew for a late night out or a cozy evening in.
The vanilla rooibos is the star player in this blend, coupled with gentle swirls of chocolate and flowers. Raisins and elderberries bring additional sweetness and play well with the natural woody and caramel notes of the rooibos.
This blend is easy and drinkable, though not the most unusual blend I’ve tried. I think this tea is best for its novelty for a romantic occasion.
With Valentine’s Day on my mind, I find myself reaching for An Evening with Eros to help treat myself to something festive and to keep me warm on a February night.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type:Roobios
Where to Buy: Banff Tea Co.
Description:
Blended exclusively for Valentine’s Day as a romantic treat, this rooibos based concoction will add a little love at any time of the year (or day…or night!)
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!