Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black (Darjeeling)
Where to Buy: Happy Earth Tea
Tea Description:
A delicate floral first flush with layers of complex and exquisite notes. This tea proclaims the arrival of spring!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The more I think about it, the more I’m loving spring! My favorite season of the year is autumn, but, I’m adoring all these amazing first flush teas that I’ve had the opportunity to try this spring! And this Organic Puttabong Darjeeling First Flush from Happy Earth Tea is absolutely dee-lightful!
The dry leaf aroma is earthy with notes of flower and hints of fruit-like sweetness. The brewed tea has a delicate fragrance: very light floral and fruit notes. The earthiness is also subdued once the leaves are brewed.
The flavor is sweet and tastes much the way the scent suggests. Hints of earthy tones with a warm, woodsy note. Sweet, crisp floral notes. And just beneath the earthy/woodsy notes, I start to pick up on the fruit-like flavors. There are grape-y notes that are especially noticeable at the finish and in the aftertaste. I can feel that “tingly” sensation on the tongue from the grape notes.
This has some dry, tangy astringency develops slightly as I continue to sip. My first few sips I didn’t notice much astringency at all, and now that I’m halfway through the cup, the astringency is more obvious. The astringency and the grape-like notes give this a delicate wine-like finish.
As the tea cools, I pick up on more of those lovely grape-like notes. I find that the earth notes seem to soften, and the fruit and flower intermingle, offering a sweet, stunning flavor. I think my favorite temperature to drink this is after it’s cooled about ten minutes – it’s still on the warmer side, but not hot. Not cold. The astringency is softer at this point, and I’m enjoying a really beautiful tea with intriguing fruit notes and delicate whispers of flower that dance on the palate.
Another lovely tea from Happy Earth Tea! Really, you can’t go wrong with their selection of first flush teas – no matter which one you choose. I’d have a difficult time trying to choose a favorite!
Organic Chocolate Chai Tea Blend from Rishi Tea
Chai Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh Tea & Yerba Mate
Where to Buy: Rishi Tea
Tea Description:
Velvety, mellow and deep, this chai is an enticing blend of energizing pu-erh tea, shade-grown yerba maté, and cacao. Made even more inviting by creamy vanilla, nutty coconut and fruity, pungent and uplifting Ayurvedic long pepper, Chocolate Chai is a most sophisticated take on hot cocoa.
Learn more about this chai here.
Taster’s Review:
On this cold and wet evening in the Pacific Northwest, I wanted something warm and invigorating. This Organic Chocolate Chai Tea Blend from Rishi Tea is just what I needed!
And it is tasty! I did a quick rinse of the leaves (there’s pu-erh in there, and I didn’t want the cup to taste too earthy) and then I steeped this for four minutes in just under boiling water.
I find that when I use boiling water for Yerba Mate, the resulting brew comes out just a wee bit bitter. My solution to this was to use just under boiling water for Yerba Mate and Mate blends like this one. That way, I can steep a while to get full flavor out of the blend without having a bitter cup.
I’m really liking this chai, although, I find myself in disagreement with calling this “chai.” While I do understand that the word “chai” means “tea,” here in the United States, we’ve come to recognize the word “chai” to mean a tea blended with spices, and these spices usually consist of (but are not limited to) a combination of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and ginger. There are sometimes omissions of one or more of these, and sometimes other spices like peppercorns or anise are added.
However, this blend includes these ingredients:
Ingredients: Organic and Fair Trade Certified™ pu-erh tea, organic roasted cocoa nibs, organic roasted dandelion root, organic yerba maté, organic coconut flakes, organic long pepper, organic cardamom, organic vanilla bean.
With only one of the “usual” ingredients, I find it difficult to call this a “chai.” That … and the fact that this isn’t as spicy as you’d normally experience with a chai. There is some warmth from the pepper and cardamom, but, it’s not a strongly spiced tea.
That said, this is still really enjoyable. I love the deep, mellow notes of the pu-erh and how well they marry with the earthy, vegetative notes of the yerba mate. The cacao and coconut and vanilla play incredibly well together to give this a sweet, rich, chocolate-y and creamy coconut-y flavor. YUM! It’s almost dessert-like!
I love the warmth, I love the complexity of flavors, and you KNOW I’m loving the chocolate! A really yummy tea!
Velvet Tea Rooibos Blend from Art of Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Art of Tea
Tisane Description:
Sweet enticing chocolate swimming in a deep velvety base of organic rooibos and refreshing mint leaves. The perfect answer to a dessert tea. The finish is smooth, complimented by a touch of vanilla.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
Hmmm … not bad. Not my favorite rooibos blend, and not my favorite tea from Art of Tea, but this Velvet Tea Rooibos Blend makes an enjoyable cuppa. My biggest complaint with it at this point is the name, because while I can see the “Velvet” part of the tisane, at the top of the page on the Art of Tea website, on the index tab thingy, this tea is called “Red Velvet Tea.” I can even *understand* why it would be called that since it’s a rooibos blend (which is also known as “red tea”) and the chocolate-y notes are kind of velvet-y, however, the name “Red Velvet” conjures up too many thoughts of red velvet cupcakes, and this does not taste like red velvet cupcakes.
But that doesn’t mean that it’s not tasty.
It is chocolate-y (although the chocoholic in me does want more chocolate), and there is a nice minty note to this. The mint is cool and crisp and it gives the overall cup a delicious taste that is reminiscent to an after dinner mint. A nice dessert tisane.
I can also taste the apple in this, and it adds a little bit of sweetness to the cup without messing up the balance between chocolate and mint. The rooibos flavor is not very distinct, but that’s just fine with me. I taste vague “nutty” tones to the cup but I find that these seem to enhance the chocolate nicely, giving the cup some depth.
It’s a nice cup, tasty for later in the evening when you want something sweet to curb those cravings, and this won’t ruin your diet. (Yeah, I hate that word too.) It’s good, and I’d drink it again.
Chocolate Chai Blend from Chico Chai
Chai Information:
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Chico Chai
Chai Description:
Raw cacao is blended with black tea and exotic spices to create a spicy chai with a touch of chocolate. Blended in small batches, by hand in Chico, California. Only Organic Ingredients and Fair Trade Organic teas are used to make Chico Chai.
Learn more about this chai here.
Taster’s Review:
I started getting excited to try this Chocolate Chai Blend from Chico Chai as it brewed because I could smell the anise and the cacao. The aroma of the tea as it brews is so delightfully yummy!
And it tastes even yummier than it smells. The brewed liquid is kind of … well, I want to call it cloudy, but, in the tea world calling a tea “cloudy” is not a compliment, and I don’t want to insult the tea. The reason it is cloudy is because of the finely ground cacao. This looks a little like someone combined tea with hot cocoa. So with this chai, cloudy is a GOOD thing because that’s chocolate in there! (Mmm! Chocolate!)
I brewed this the way I typically brew a chai: with water instead of milk (I prefer to taste the tea brewed without milk first, and then decide if I need or want the dairy addition) and it’s brewed a little strong to make sure that I get a good representation of both spices and tea in the cup. Also, if the tea is brewed strong (with extra leaf), if I do choose to add milk, the addition won’t dilute the tea.
And after my first sip … this really doesn’t need milk. I believe that there is some vanilla in this chai, because there is a creamy element to the cup without the milk. Perhaps it is the cacao, although I suspect it is a combination of both of these ingredients that is giving this cup it’s creamy notes. Of course, if you wish to add milk to it, there’s be no harm in that – I’m sure it would be delicious! But, I like it just the way it is!
This is chocolate-y rich, but, I like that the spices are still the star of this show. OH … the anise! I love the combination of anise and chocolate together. So delicious. The anise is warm and zesty, and the chocolate tastes rich and dark and decadent. Mmm! Smooth, but, the snappy licorice sort of cuts through it at just the right point.
I also taste the pepper and the ginger, and the cinnamon is also strong, but, it doesn’t overpower the cup. This is a pleasantly spicy cup and it’s probably not for those who usually shy away from spicy-hot flavors. It’s not exactly hot, really, but there’s enough heat to it to slowly warm the palate and as I continue to drink, this builds a little in a very agreeable way.
I’ve had the opportunity to try all of the flavors from Chico Chai, and I think of all of the four loose leaf chai blends that they offer (you can try them all in their Chico Chai Sampler Box – it’s such a cute box – and it would make a really great gift for the chai lover on your holiday list!) as well as their strong brew concentrate, this Chocolate Chai blend is my favorite! I love the way the chocolate and anise meld together … I love the way the spices and the black tea work together harmoniously. I just … LOVE it!
Passion Fruit Flavored Rooibos Blend from Octavia Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Octavia Tea
Tisane Description:
Lemon myrtle is more lemony than a lemon itself. If you didn’t know that already, this tea will show you! The citrus hits you, mingles with the tropical fruit and continues to linger. The hibiscus plays its part in adding beautiful colour and a tartness that tones down the sweetness of the tropical fruit, creating a more true fruit flavour.
Learn more about this blend here.
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Taster’s Review:
The aroma of this Passion Fruit Flavored Rooibos Blend from Octavia Tea really blew me away! It smells AMAZING! The combination of the passion fruit, peach and mango essences, together with the notes of citrus from the lemon myrtle … create a really ambrosial fragrance that … knocked my socks off!
OK … so my socks are still on, but you get what I’m saying, right?
And … I’m loving what I’m tasting here too. This is really yummy. But … for the purists out there who think that tea should taste like tea and not like a sweet, fruity drink … this tisane is NOT for you! This is a sweet, fruity drink!
In fact, one of the things I like best about it is that I’m not tasting much of the rooibos base. As I’ve said on numerous occasions, I’m not a big fan of the woodsy tasting herb. Here, just hints of the nutty, honeyed taste of rooibos comes through.
And I’m also happy to say that even though I steeped this for seven minutes, I didn’t get a heavy hibiscus note … nor did I get that heavy syrupy thickness that comes with steeping hibiscus a long time. The hibiscus here has been thoughtfully blended … adding just enough to give the cup just a touch of tart flavor without overpowering the blend.
The lemon-y notes from the lemon myrtle is bright and flavorful, and it really perks up the other fruit notes. The passion fruit, the peach and the mango … make delightful partners in this blend … so sweet and juicy!
This is a tisane that kids would love because it has a lot of sweet, fruity flavor. And it would certainly be better for them than that sugar-y soda … not only would it be less sugar, but rooibos have some great health benefits, as does hibiscus. And I love that the ingredients in this tisane are organic, too!
A really tasty tisane! This one gets an enthusiastic thumbs up from me.