Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The East Indies Tea Company
Tea Description:
Fig taste with dried figs and pink pig sprinkles.
Learn more about this on Steepster.
Taster’s Review:
Despite being pretty much over my ‘sprinkles in tea’ phase, this tea drew me in with the combination of pig sprinkles in the blend and the fun, whimsical name and the promise of fig flavour. In my humble opinion, there aren’t nearly enough fig blends and any chance I have to try a new one is one I’m going to take!
However, when I cracked open my sealed 2 oz. package of this blend I was hit with something I hadn’t been prepared for; the strong, piercing aroma of lavender! The lack of comprehensive ingredients lists on East Indie’s website it definitely a valid criticism; while a super generic blurb has worked out in my favor in the past in this case I feel like I was failed – I cannot stand lavender, and had I known this blend had so much of it I’m sure I would’ve been persuaded against this tea despite wanting to try ‘all the fig’.
Regardless, I cold brewed myself up a mason jar worth of tea because you never really know how a tea is going to taste for sure until you try it, so despite major reservations there was still a chance this could be alright. Sadly, I just couldn’t get over that concentrated lavender flavour. It was floral in a soapy, artificial way that made me feel like I’d licked all of the counters and shelves in a Bath & Body Works store. Any fig that was in this blend, and I know there was because I could see the dried out pieces in the leaf along with the adorable pig sprinkles, was completely masked. I was not impressed.
My overall opinion is that personally I found this blend as irksome as the puppet it’s playfully named for – and if you’re looking for fig look elsewhere. However, if you’re a fan of lavender and want to try a strong lavender blend over a black base you’re in luck.
Acerola Cherry Fig Black Tea Blend from Tea & All It’s Splendor
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea & All It’s Splendor
Tea Description:
THIS. TEA. IS. RICH! It’s full of flavour, body and mouth feel. It’s like drinking a great red wine. We were blown away by just the smell of this well made blend. It was so amazing we had to check to make sure that it was all natural. Raelene assures us it is (along with all their other teas).
The rich sour cherry flavour, is sweet and fruity. The fig, adds a sweet and mellow brown sugar finish. This paired with a high quality black tea means you’re left with a warm cuppa that is perfect for novice and advanced tea drinkers.
Learn more about subscribing to Postal Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
My eleventh edition box from Postal Teas has finally arrived! Happy day! This eleventh edition focuses on a new-to-me tea purveyor: Tea & All It’s Splendor and this Acerola Cherry Fig Black Tea Blend is the first that I’ve tried from this collection of teas.
I mean, how could I resist? They had me at the word fig! And as I’ve confessed previously, I’ve noticed a trend in my tea drinking. When I’m given a selection of different teas, the type of tea that I’ll reach for more often than the others is black tea. Don’t get me wrong, I love other tea types. I’m crazy about Oolong teas and Yellow tea is my favorite, but there is just something so comforting about black tea. It appeals to an almost instinctual need for me. That need for tea and it’s caffeine.
And this tea is quite lovely! There is a tasty balance here between tart and sweet. The fig is sweet – almost sugary sweet and it’s a pleasing contrast to the jarring tartness of the acerola cherries. Beneath the cherry top note I taste the smooth black tea that’s not bitter nor overly astringent. I’m really glad about the lack of astringency here, I think that astringency would kill this blend for me because the cherry flavor is quite tart and a tangy, dry sensation would be a bit much for my taste, I think.
But even though the tart is very strong here, I’m not finding it off putting the way I tend to find tart flavors. I think this has more to do with the fact that the cherry flavor tastes so authentic. This is not your average cherry flavoring that ends up tasting like cough syrup. NO! This is a really tasty, true-to-the-fruit cherry flavor that tastes as though I’ve just bitten into a tart cherry. Except that thanks to the fig notes, I’m not puckering.
This. This is good tea. And as fantastic as it is served hot, it’s even better iced. Wow! What a great way to get back into the swing of things with Postal Teas!
Fig Peach Oolong from Modern Tea Girl
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Tea Information:
Trust us, this tea tastes SO much better than it looks 🙂 Peaches may not scream Christmas, but figs are certainly quite festive! Mission and golden figs taste amazing in this blend with a beautiful, sophisticated and fragrant dark oolong. A very uncommon blend that has a stunning flavour that subtly builds with each sip.
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
It’s also part of Amoda Tea’s Holiday Box!
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I just received my January box from Amoda and I haven’t yet finished reviewing the teas that I got from the Holiday Box – I better get busy!
I was pretty excited about this one (really, I was excited about all the teas in the Holiday Box! It’s a scrumptious collection of teas! I love the flavor combination of fig and dark Oolong – these two flavors really work well together. And because darker Oolongs tend to have a peach-like flavor and figs have a similar profile to a peach, it would seem to be the natural choice for an additional flavor for this blend.
And what can I say? YUM! This is really tasty. As Amoda says in the description above – it definitely does taste better than it looks. It’s not the most attractive tea I’ve ever seen, but it is very tasty.
The Oolong is the star of this tea – it’s a mellow tasting, lightly smoky, earthy Oolong with a smooth, silky texture.
The flavors start out really delicate. My first few sips, I was tasting mostly just Oolong and I found myself wondering: “where’s the fig? where’s the peach?” But after about three or four sips, I started to pick up on subtle notes of fig. The peach developed even more slowly, but after a few more sips, I could pick up on the peach.
I like that the Oolong is really front and center with this tea. It’s a really delicious Oolong!
The fig notes arrive slowly but when they do, they’re sweet and really lovely. I love figs and there is something so comforting to me about a fig tea – especially when served warm. It evokes memories of a happy time in my childhood when I would pick figs from a fig orchard and eat them right after picking them. They were still warm from the afternoon sunshine and really, there’s no better way to eat a fig!
And I’d argue that there’s no better way to eat a peach! Freshly picked from the tree and still warm from the sun. Mmm! This tea manages to capture both of those flavorful memories very well.
This is a really happy tea – it makes me happy to drink it and it brings back so many warm and happy memories. If you are looking for a really good fig tea – you should try this one. And because it’s an Oolong, you can get a few flavorful infusions out of it!
Fig & Lavender Black Tea Blend from Tea Grotto
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea Grotto
Tea Description:
This flavored black is rich, earthy, fruity, and floral. Great alone, or with milk, it makes a stellar tea-latte. Chinese sourced black tea.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
This Fig & Lavender Black Tea Blend from Tea Grotto smells amazing. I smell the fig prominently, and I’ve never made it a secret of how much I adore figs. And the lavender comes through just beneath the fruity fig notes, with notes of earthy black tea filling in the background. It smells yummy!
And it tastes AMAZING! I’ve enjoyed several delicious fig teas during my time as a tea reviewer, but, this may just be the best fig tea that I’ve tasted … ever! I would not have thought it if I wasn’t tasting it for myself, but fig and lavender work together so delightfully well! I’m surprised at how good these two components taste together.
The black tea is a rich, flavorful Chinese black tea. It has a full body and a smooth texture. It’s nicely round, and it supports the flavors of fig and lavender but isn’t overwhelmed by these flavors. I am getting notes of black tea as well as lavender and fig – everything is represented.
The lavender and fig are well-paired here, and I mean that not just to say that it is a unique and flavorful pairing, but also that they are well balanced. I taste close to equal parts of both the lavender and fig. The two notes hit the palate at just about the same time. The lavender is a delicate note, but, that is not to say it is a weak note. It is portrayed here as a subtle flavor rather than something that becomes obtrusive and tasting of soap. It complements the fig notes in a really stunning way.
The fig is flavorful and when the tea is hot, the fig tastes of the warm figs I used to pick off the trees in that orchard as a child. I would eat them right off the tree, and there are few childhood memories as delicious as those involving warm figs right off the tree! That is one of the most delicious things I remember tasting as a child. It is, at the very least, in the top five. (Chocolate would be up there too!)
This tea is amazing, and I’m so happy that I got to try it. This is going to go on my repurchase list, because it is one that I will want to have again … and again!
Darjeeling Second Flush Rohini Black from sTEAp Shoppe
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Darjeeling. Black
Where to Buy: sTEAp Shoppe
Tea Description:
Rohini Second Flush Black Tea delightfully smooth full bodied mouth feel. Cocoa notes with highlights of almond and spice delivered in a baked bread. Warm and inviting gliding over the palate pleasing your every whim. As with all of the high quality Darjeeling teas this tea remain inviting for several steeps.
Rohini is a well established Tea estate, though the estate did remain closed for a period of 30 years the Saria family revived it in 1994. The garden is divided into four; the lower Jaberhat, mid elevation of Kotidhara and Pailodhora, and Tukuriya which is the highest in elevation. Tukuriya division which is located at an average elevation of 4400 FT and stretches right up to Kurseong town. The teas from Tukuriya are made from tea bushes that have remained there for more than 100 years.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Darjeeling Second Flush Rohini Black from sTEAp Shoppe offers a lighter darjeeling with a deep lurking presence.
Upon first sip you will get a sweet raisin note, a light grape essence, not nearly as muscatel as some Darjeeling, and you may even think that it is a rather light, bright, tea with a clean finish. But wait… sneaking upon your unsuspecting taste buds is a rich, full mouthfeel, almost creamy, velvety, with a nutty, woodsy, backdrop of flavor.
There is a honeyed sweetness to this Darjeeling, and while my palate does not detect cocoa notes as in the description it does offer a wonderful hint at almond, and fig.
The more the tea cools the fuller and more robust it becomes, almost as if it thickens.
I could see this tea being quite excellent iced, but it requires no additives and I feel adding any thing, even sweetener, would ruin this perfect cup.
Janet at sTEAp Shoppe offers up another winner in this Darjeeling Second Flush Rohini Black.
