Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Della Terra Teas
Tea Description:
Our Cafe Vanilla will take you right to a French Bistro along the streets of Paris. With real vanilla bits and flavoring it will be one of your favorites.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Vanilla is one of my favorite flavors for teas, there is just something about the sweet, sumptuous flavor of vanilla that goes together so well with tea. The creaminess of the vanilla notes eliminate the need to add milk to the tea – and I don’t like to add dairy to my teas if I can keep from it – but I do like that creamy, rich flavor and texture of a latte and the vanilla flavoring in a tea does that without the addition of dairy!
However, I have learned through my many tea experiences as a tea reviewer that not all vanilla teas are created equal. Some are more rich and creamy than others, and lets face it, when someone goes for a vanilla tea, isn’t that what they’re really hoping for? That creamy, decadent, rich vanilla flavor?
This tea definitely serves up that creamy, rich flavor I want from a vanilla tea … and then some! Absolutely one of the best vanilla black teas I’ve tasted in a while. I think that if I were to change anything at all about this, I think I’d like a bit more dimension in the black tea base, it is a good black tea, but, I’m finding the backdrop it provides for this tea to be just a little one-dimensional. It is tasty enough, sure, but, it seems to be content to let the vanilla do all the work here.
That said, I am still really loving this tea for its strong vanilla flavor, and it is one I’d recommend to others who are looking for a strong tasting vanilla tea.
Mother of Pearl from Della Terra Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Puerh
Where to Buy: Della Terra
Tea Description:
Pu-erh is a type of tea that has been fermented after the black tea leaves are dried and rolled, giving it a very unique, sweet and woodsy taste. Our Mother of Pearl Pu-erh is blended with strawberry and mango flavoring and pieces, along with rose hips and faux pearl pieces. The flavor you will have in your cup after brewing is a perfectly fruity and sweet tea with a slight smoky undertone.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Mother of Pearl from Della Terra Teas is lovely yet intense. I love this tea. Purists may cringe but this is a wonderful puerh blend!
Now I truly do love a good puerh so I am not one that needs a blend or starter puerh to get through the cup but this tea here, I feel will appeal to just about anyone for various reasons. For beginners it is a great way to get introduced to puerh. For your kids, if you want them to have the health benefits of puerh but know they won’t go for a pure puerh, this has all the fruity goodness and sweet vanilla notes they will love. For the purists, okay maybe you won’t enjoy this as much as I do, but trust me, the base is lovely even if not from an aged cake that has been stored correctly for the last 10 years. Hey even purists need a little sinful delight now and then!
To make the purists cringe even a little more, if you add just a touch of rock sugar, the flavors in this tea really pop, not that they need the boost, they are so excellent on their own.
I had eaten some mexican food earlier today and it was sitting heavily on my tummy. I was getting to that food coma stage and knew I was about to drift off. So I made a cup of this. It had been a while since I had reached for it. I am so glad I did. Not only is it so delicious but the aroma wafting from my cup was igniting all of my senses. I had taken a few sips and my cup was sitting about two feet away from me on my tea table (okay coffee table but whatever), I was almost asleep on the sofa but the aromas beckoned me to take another sip, and another, this tea will fill your home with such succulent smells.
Vanilla, Strawberry, Mango, Roses, Sugar, and Aromatic Woodsy scents. It smelled like a cake made out in the woods in a log cabin. Something very reminiscent of the holidays in a way. I drifted of to sleep with a relaxed tummy, happy taste buds, and visions of an old log cabin in the wintery woods, with smoke coming out of the chimney drifting over the tops of hundred year old tress.
A lovely tea that evokes lovely imagery!
When I woke, I immediately reached for my cup to make a second steep. Yes this does re-steep wonderfully.
You really must try some!
On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, Della Terra Teas Sent to Me …
Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope your day is happy and filled with all the things you love most: family, friends and of course TEA! (Actually, I don’t know if you love tea most, but, it’s one of the things I love most in the world, and since you’re sitting here, reading this with me, I have to think that maybe you at least ENJOY tea a little bit!)
Anyway, today’s shiny, bright green envie/box brought me this EXCLUSIVE tea from Della Terra Teas:
Sugar Plum Perfection
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where To Buy: Della Terra Teas
Note: this tea is one of three exclusive teas to this 12 Days of Christmas collection
Tea Description:
Merry Christmas!!! Today is the big day! Now, open up this amazing sugar plum tea and sip away. You’ve earned it!
This black tea will bring more magic to this already magical day with the taste of sweet sugar plums and spice. Enjoy and relax!
A Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
Taster’s Review:
I was so excited when I opened today’s little package from Della Terra Teas! I love Sugar Plums! Well, actually, I’ve never tried the traditional type of Sugar Plum. But, when I lived in Ridgefield (Washington), the little antique store in town sold some old time candy and during this time of year, they’d sell the Jelly Belly version of the Sugar Plum, and I loved those. Well, to be honest, I love just about anything Jelly Belly … but I digress.
After tasting this, I suspect that this Sugar Plum Perfection is a bit more like the traditional Sugar Plum rather than the Jelly Belly version … but, that’s alright, because I’m enjoying this! It’s a bit more spiced than it is a fruity tasting tea, but I do taste the notes of plum in there too … and I especially smell the plum when I lift my cup up to my lips to take a sip. That smell is quite plum-y (and of course, spice)! YUM!
The black tea is a fairly mellow tea here as it is not particularly prominent in the cup. I mean, it’s obviously there, and I can taste it, but, it’s not a strong, distinct flavor. I find that the tea notes develop on the palate a little as I continue to sip … but the spice and the fruit notes are the strongest flavors of this cup. Normally, this would give me cause to take issue with the tea, but, this tastes so yummy that I find it difficult to complain about anything. I like this a lot.
The spices (the most noteable of which is cinnamon) are pleasant and warming. The plum flavor is sweet, and there is additional sweetness in this from little sparkly sugar crystals that have been added to the blend. I also taste a floral note to this, and I find this to be quite appealing if for no other reason than it adds an interesting dimension to the overall cup.
What a perfect way to end this wonderful countdown to Christmas – the Della Terra Teas way!
On The Eleventh Day of Christmas, Della Terra Teas Sent to Me …
By the time you’ll be reading this, my family will have already celebrated their holiday, because we chose to celebrate on the 23rd. My oldest daughter, who is now married, will be spending the 24th and the 25th with her in-laws, and we decided that we’d rather push up our holiday celebration and have her enjoy the day with us than to have it on the “official” day and not have her here.
And really, that’s what holidays should be about. Not about presents, not about decorations … but about family. And of course, TEA! (with me, everything is about tea!)
And here is the tea that Della Terra Teas sent for this Eleventh Day of Christmas …
Winter Nog
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Della Terra Teas
Tisane Description:
Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except for you … and you are awake to steep this delightful, creamy rooibos nog tea!
So, sit back, relax, and enjoy this sip by sip as you wait by the chimney for Ole St. Nick.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
The first thing I noticed about this tisane is the cute little snowflake candies … very festive! The aroma was noticeably vanilla-y, and I also detect a note of spice to the scent.
If I recall correctly, this 12 Days of Christmas tea box from Della Terra Teas has had 2 rooibos tisanes in it (well, thus far … there’s still tomorrow!) and of the two, I have to say that this one delivers much more of the flavor that the name of it promises. This tastes much more like egg nog than the Gingerbread Man tasted of gingerbread. Oh, that one still tasted good, it just didn’t taste like any gingerbread that I had ever tasted. This one, though … this tastes like egg nog. The only thing that is missing for me is the texture … it’s not quite creamy enough – texture wise – for me to declare this as a perfect “Winter Nog.”
It’s still good though, and flavor wise, it is plenty creamy. Unfortunately, with rooibos tisanes, the texture is a difficult thing to capture, because rooibos tends to feel rather thin on the palate. I will say that this feels a little creamier on the palate than say … unflavored rooibos. And it tastes a whole lot better than unflavored rooibos too! ha!
And actually, I kind of like the combination of egg nog flavors together with the nutty flavor of the rooibos. It just kind of … works together. I taste a heavy note of cinnamon, a hint of nutmeg, and creamy vanilla. I find myself wanting just a tad more of that egg-y custard-y taste that is present in a glass of egg nog, but, overall, this is pretty tasty. And every once in a while, I think I’m tasting a hint of rum … but, maybe that’s just my imagination.
A nice way to spend Christmas eve … curled up with this tisane!
On the Tenth Day of Christmas, Della Terra Teas Sent to Me …
Day 10!
And what a delightfully festive holiday tea Della Terra Teas chose for Day 10 in their 12 Days of Christmas Tea countdown!
Rather than gabbing on about something irrelevant, I think I’m going to jump right in and start talking about this tea …
So, on the 10th Day of Christmas, Della Terra Teas sent me this tea …
Candy Cane
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Della Terra Teas
Tea Description:
On the tenth day of Christmas they say the lords were a’leaping. Perhaps they were using canes made of peppermint candy to help them jump along?
You certainly will have a candy cane of your own in your cup! On this tenth day as we draw nearer to Christmas day, refresh yourself with this amazing black tea!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
A few weeks ago, when I started noticing others on Steepster talking about this tea, I had a pretty good idea that it would be part of Della Terra Teas’ 12 Days of Christmas box … which at that point I was EAGERLY awaiting its arrival! But after opening nine envelope-y boxes containing teas that were not Candy Cane, I thought that maybe … just maybe … this tea wasn’t going to be in there. I guess it just goes to show that good things come to those who wait.
Well, I didn’t waste any time brewing this tea … I could wait no longer!
Mmm! It really does taste like a liquified candy cane that has been stirred into a cup of black tea. The black tea is a little on the mellow side, or at least it seems so as the minty flavors and even the hints of creamy, vanilla-y notes tend to overshadow it. That’s not really meant to sound like a complaint, because it isn’t one … the black tea is fine for what it is. It’s just not overly robust or strongly flavored. Here, the flavoring is doing most of the work … and what they’re producing is a delightful peppermint candy cane flavor!
But there’s more to this … there is more here than vanilla and peppermint … I taste … CHOCOLATE! Yes indeed! And I love this addition! It adds to the creaminess and richness to this tea. YUM!
This picture shows a dry leaf with crushed candy cane and black leaves … and apparently Della Terra Teas has since changed that to the cutest little candy cane candies. They look like miniature candy canes made for Squinkies toys. Yes, of course I know what Squinkies are … I kept trying to get my young daughter into these (they’re so cute!) but she was more into Littlest Pet Shop … but I digress.
Anyway, it would seem that Della Terra Teas has changed this Candy Cane tea slightly – it used to be called “Candy Cane Lane” and it used to have crushed candy canes instead of these cute little tiny candy cane candies (these would look adorable on cupcakes … just sayin’).
But whatever changes they made, I have to think that they were made for the better, because what I’m tasting is pure candy cane bliss in my tea cup. Sweet, creamy, minty … but not too much, and just a hint of chocolate too … This tea is a holiday delight!