Keep reading to learn how you can win TWO bags of Greek Mountain Tea and a mug from Klío™!
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Klío™
Tea Description:
Greek Mountain tea (pronounced “Tsy-Too-VooNoo” in Greek, accent on the “voo”) is made from the dried flowers, leaves and stems of the native Sideritis plant which grows throughout the mountainous regions of Greece at very high elevations – typically over 3,000 feet. It is known for its high levels of antioxidants and contains large amounts of essential oils and more than 60 other compounds, including saponines, flavonoids and polyphenols.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was a bit apprehensive (and yet, excited!) to try this tea/tisane. To my recollection, I haven’t yet tried Tsai Tou VouNou – or Greek Mountain Tea – so I didn’t know what to expect from the flavor.
The dry leaf aroma is interesting. It’s herbaceous, earthy and somewhat floral. I am picking up on hints of something that makes me think “eucalyptus.” The appearance of the dry leaf reminds me (as a tea drinker) of a White Yabao type tea. Or perhaps a Yabao with lots of LARGE white silver needle tea leaves. The leaves feel like a silver needle too, they’re soft and covered with a fluffy down-like fuzz.
Because this tea is totally new to me, I decided to check out the brewing parameters recommended by Klio. I figured, hey, if I want to adjust it after that, I can always brew another pot. But for now, I thought it was a reasonable and maybe even a good idea to go with the people who know this tea just a bit better than I. From what I could gather from the brewing instructions on the back of the pouch, it looks like I should boil the tea leaves in a pot on the stove for 3 – 5 minutes and then allow to steep for an additional 3 – 5 minutes. OK.
So, I grabbed a small pan and brought 12 ounces of water to a near boil and then tossed in a “small handful of flowers and stems” (as stated in the instructions) into the pan and then I allowed this to come to a boil and boiled for 3 minutes. Then I covered the pan and took it off the heat. I allowed it to steep an additional 3 minutes.
I let the tea cool for a few minutes before taking my first sip. This was mostly out of fear of what I was about to taste more than it was out of fear of scalding my taste buds. Finally, I plucked up the courage and took that first sip. Then I took another. And another. Hmm … this isn’t so bad.
It’s actually pretty tasty!
It has a distinct herbaceous quality to the flavor. It’s sweet and a little grassy, with notes of earthiness. Notes of a lemon-y flavor. It has a little bit of a honey-esque note to it. It’s a warm taste, not abundantly “spicy” but it has a warmth to it that reminds me a little bit of sage.
It’s quite unique from anything I’ve tasted before, but at the same time, the herb-y flavors taste somewhat familiar. It’s a comforting and cozy drink, I feel it warming me inside and there’s more to it:
It has a very soothing quality to it too, as I sip it, I feel it relax me from the inside out. I have anxiety disorder and I feel the anxiety starting to slip away as I sip this, WOW! I really like that. I feel the anxiety leaving my body. I like that I can accomplish that while drinking something that is pleasant to taste.
I highly recommend trying this – it’s something that is well-regarded in Greece for it’s health benefits. Here’s something that I found on the Greek Medicine website:
Shepherd’s Tea is a very warming, stimulating beverage most known for its beneficial effects on the upper respiratory tract in relieving coughs and lung congestion. It also benefits the stomach and digestion, as well as the immune system. Scientific studies have shown that Shepherd’s Tea has considerable immunomodulatory activity in reducing excessive inflammation and edema, as well as antimicrobial activity. Shepherd’s Tea also relieves mild anxiety and contains many antioxidants.
Overall, I’ve had a very enjoyable experience with this tea from Klio! And check this out … you can WIN some of this amazing tea!
GIVEAWAY
This week’s giveaway comes to us courtesy of Klío™! They are offering a very generous prize package: TWO bags of Greek Mountain Tea plus a mug!
How to enter: It’s simple, just comment on this blog post! Include in the comment a way for me to get in touch with you if you’re the lucky winner!
Bonus entries: And of course, we’ll offer you a way to get bonus entries in this giveaway!
- Follow us on twitter!
- Follow Klio on Twitter!
- Tweet about this contest. Be sure to include #SororiTeaSister and #KlioGiveaway in the tweet so I can see it.
You’ll get a bonus entry for each of these.
This contest will run through December 4th. I will contact the winner on December 5th to obtain shipping information that will be forwarded on to Klio.
Good luck!
Golden Chamomile Tisane from Revolution Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Revolution Tea
Tea Description:
It’s time to relax with Revolution Tea’s Golden Flowers, a delicious blend of whole Egyptian chamomile flowers, marigold flowers and peppermint leaf. Naturally caffeine-free, Golden Flowers is Revolution Tea’s most popular herbal blend. Caffeine Free.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea confused me a bit! I opened the pouch and brewed it without reading the above description, so, I thought that this would be a “pure chamomile” tisane. But it isn’t. This is a blend of chamomile, peppermint and marigold petals. So, imagine my surprise when I took a sniff of the dry leaf and could smell peppermint.
I thought maybe my olfactory nerves were playing tricks on me, so I went ahead and brewed the sachet in my favorite sunflower teacup. I poured freshly filtered water that had been heated to 195°F and allowed the sachet to steep for 6 minutes.
Usually, I’ll let a tisane like this steep for up to 10 minutes, but, since I was a little taken aback by the aroma of the dry leaf, I wasn’t too sure if there might be hibiscus hiding somewhere in this tisane and I didn’t want to take a chance at infusing that too long!
Once I finished brewing the tea, I took a sniff of the brewed, golden amber liquid. Yep, either my olfactory nerves are going bonkers or I’m smelling mint.
I took a quick sip., and I could taste the mint that I was smelling. Peppermint. Yep, that definitely tastes like peppermint. So either this was a blend that also had peppermint in it, or it was the best tasting pure chamomile I had ever tasted. I kind of thought it was the former because if Revolution Tea had in fact discovered this special chamomile that tastes like peppermint, then I kind of think that someone else in the tea business would have caught on and “discovered” it too. You know?
Anyway, once I was able to pull up the description of the tisane, the fact that I could smell and taste peppermint made a whole lot more sense. This is a blend – not a pure chamomile tisane.
And it’s a really tasty blend! The peppermint is strong but it’s flavor has been tempered just enough by the presence of the chamomile so that it doesn’t taste too herbaceous nor does it taste like I’m drinking mouthwash. As someone who isn’t always crazy about the flavor of chamomile, I’m happy that the peppermint is there because I find peppermint to be a whole lot tastier than chamomile.
The marigold petals, well, they really don’t do much. Marigold petals are usually utilized by tea blenders to add some visual appeal to the dry blend. I can appreciate this practice, because I like it when a tea is not just flavorful and fragrant but also beautiful. Although I will say that since this is a sacheted tisane, it’s not really necessary to focus too much on the visual appeal of the dry leaf because it’s not so easy to see.
But since I don’t really taste much from the marigold, I have nothing to really complain about with this addition. It doesn’t really alter the flavor in a noticeable way – this is something I learned in my days as a tea blender, because I tested it back then. When I would flavor and blend teas, I tested every aspect to make sure that I was crafting the tea exactly the way I wanted it.
But maybe … this is the way Revolution wants it and as I said, I don’t really taste the marigold so it’s not a problem one way or another. I do like what I do taste: I like the combination of peppermint and chamomile. I like that I’m getting the relaxing and soothing properties of the chamomile along with the delightfully cool, crisp flavor of the peppermint. It’s a winning combination.
Chamomile Lemongrass Tisane from Tea of Life
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Tisane Description:
Chamomile flowers which are rich in aromatics and flavonoids blended with Lemongrass grown in the tropics to offer a drink as a carminative and to enhance appetite and help digestion.
Enjoy this wonderful tea to a healthier life overall.
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
As I’ve said before: when it comes to chamomile teas and chamomile blends like this Chamomile Lemongrass Tisane from Tea of Life, I’m less than excited. I’d just really rather drink REAL tea, you know? Camellia Sinensis, please. And chamomile has always held that position as one of my least favorite herbs, and every time I drink chamomile, I realize how unfair I’ve been to the herb known as chamomile.
I actually don’t hate chamomile, but, there’s just this automatic response that I seem to have that makes me think I do. It’s kind of like that kid that thinks they don’t like broccoli, but when they actually try broccoli, it turns out that they like it. But the next time you put broccoli on that kid’s dinner plate, chances are the kid is going to claim they don’t like it.
I guess you could say that chamomile is my broccoli. I really do like it, but the kid in me thinks I don’t.
And this is actually really a tasty tisane. The chamomile is the prominent flavor and it has a light, apple-like flavor that melds really nicely with the light, lemon-lime notes of the lemongrass. I also taste a pollen-y/honey-esque note that I really am enjoying.
The lemongrass is not as discernible in this blend as I thought it would be, or as I think it should be. I like lemongrass – I love that soft, citrus-y note. With this tisane, though, the citrus notes seem to emerge primarily in the aftertaste. They’re really quite soft during the sip, sitting off in the background, allowing the chamomile to come out strong.
I steeped this teabag for 10 minutes in 195°F water. I find that with herbals, a slightly lower than boiling point is better. The lower temperature and long steep time allows the flavors of the herbs to come forward without tasting really medicinal or coming off as bitter. And while chamomile is often thought of as a functional herb for it’s calming properties, I still don’t want my chamomile to come off harsh tasting and medicinal.
And as I sip this, I feel myself beginning to relax, which is exactly what I want when I sip on a chamomile tisane.
Organic Herbal Blue Tea from Blue Chai
Tea Type:
Herbal Tisane/Blue Tea
Where to Purchase:
Blue Chai
Product Description:
Discover the amazingly deep blue color and experience the smooth, floral flavour of our best butterfly pea flowers.
The luscious aroma will remind you of green tea, yet Bluechai’s blue tea is a herbal tisane that is refreshing, cleansing, without any caffeine and unique in color and taste. It’s wonderful hot or iced.
Tasters Review:
Here at Sororitea Sisters we LOVE finding a new kind of tea or tisane base and when we were contacted by the folks over at Blue Chai we really didn’t know what we were in store for. At first I thought it was just a ‘pretty name’ for a tea company and I was thinking ‘Chai”. BUT…this was more than a tisane or a ‘blue tea’ it was an experience! This is the first time I have had “Blue Tea” and I will say I’m impressed. Not just because it’s a good tasting tisane – it’s fresh and like flowers and peas – and lucky for me I LOVE the taste of fresh peas…it’s also because this is a full experience that goes beyond any tisane I’ve ever had thus far!
What might seem ‘simple’ turned out to be amazingly beautiful and somewhat ‘trippy’. But I wouldn’t want it any other way! THE ingredient in this tisane is 100% Dried Butterfly Pea Flowers also known as Clitoria Ternatea.
If you do ONE thing today make sure it’s THIS…check out these AMAZING photos from their site! They load a little slower but it’s totally worth the wait!
Of course I’m drinking some more of this as I type this and I’m really enjoying it. It’s putting a smile on my face and changing the way I look at the day ahead. Pretty powerful words for a tisane, eh!? The aroma of this is soft and subtle floral and sweet pea combination. The color post infusion is an insanely dark blue color which I LOVE. The taste is much like the aroma…softer, sweet, and subtly floral. It doesn’t leave much of an aftertaste which I appreciate and NO it’s doesn’t turn your tongue BLUE!
The website is a plethora of information, folks, so be sure to check it out! One thing I’m interested in – is the following bit of info I found on their site…
But don’t just drink this tea, use it in cooking, baking – perhaps add it to oatmeal … really! The blue color of the tea can be used as natural, organic food coloring to make blue rice for example. Enjoy Bluechai hot to create comfort, calmness and warmth or add ice and lemon juice to get a mouthwatering drink that refreshes and revitalizes.
How AWESOME is that? And if you check out the photos you will see a lot of those examples! Natural and organic food coloring? I’m TOTALLY there! I just might have to purchase a larger bag of this for non-sipping and to try and tinker with – anything from crafts to creative cooking! I can safely say – I’ve never been this EXCITED about a Tisane before! WOW! What an experience!
Lilac Blend Black Tea from Strand Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Strand Tea
Tea Description:
Premium Black Teas from highland China blended with lilac flowers. This tea looks, smells, and tastes great.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
I must agree with that last line in the description above: this Lilac Blend Black Tea from Strand Tea DOES look, smell, and taste great! I love the beautiful purple blossoms, the tea is lightly fragrant with the flower, and the flavor is a rich, full-flavored black tea with a delicate floral tone.
I really like the texture of this tea. It has a delightfully round taste, and the texture is almost creamy when it glides over the palate. The flavor is lightly floral and sweet with notes of caramel and honey.
I can’t say that the flower that I taste is distinctly “lilac” because I can’t say for certain that I’ve actually tried a tea with lilac flower in it before. But I will say that the delicate flower notes are very pleasant. The flowery notes don’t taste sharp, they are soft and sweet tasting. It doesn’t taste off-putting or perfume-ish. It’s just really … nice!
I have been a fan of Strand Tea for a while. I love that they’re a local company, and I love that they embrace that with their Portland Blend. I also like that they include cookies with every order. I love it when a company adds special little touches like that … it makes me feel special as a customer, and it makes me want to order from that company again, and the next time I order from them, I’m going to be getting more of this Lilac Blend because it’s really good!