Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tisane Description:
Here’s a blend of caffeine-free honeybush with freeze-dried peaches and apricots and cinnamon chips. This is one of those blends that is bound to make you happy inside whether you prepare it hot or iced.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I usually approach the tisanes from 52Teas with a certain amount of tired disinterest. Not because I haven’t enjoyed the tisanes from 52Teas, but because that’s my general attitude when it comes to tisanes (and not just those from this company!) I – quite simply – prefer blends with camellia sinensis in them. That’s just me.
And even though I tend to find myself sort of bored with tisanes, I usually enjoy them once I get around to actually brewing them.
And that’s true of this Cinnamon Peach & Apricot Honeybush from 52Teas. This is actually quite good, much better than I expected it to be. The peach and apricot are a naturally delicious combination. For example, I love peach cobbler, and I love apricot cobbler … but even better is a peach-apricot cobbler! The two fruits just taste better together.
And this tisane – when served warm – tastes a little bit like a peach and apricot cobbler. The naturally nutty, sweet notes of the honeybush offer a “crust” sort of flavor to the cup, while the cinnamon offers just the right touch of spice.
But where this tisane really shines is as an iced drink. It is fruity and sweet, with just enough zesty cinnamon to offset that sweetness and give the cup some balance. The nutty flavors of the honeybush seem to subdue as the tisane cools, and I taste mostly fruit and spice. It’s a refreshing, tasty beverage that both my daughter and I enjoy.
This tisane doesn’t really need any sweetener to enhance it, but if you do decide you want a little extra sweetness to it, try adding a little brown sugar to it. This really amplifies that peach-apricot cobbler taste I mentioned earlier. And a splash of milk or cream will give it a really decadent, creamy flavor that is absolutely YUM!
So even though I started out kind of feeling lackadaisical about this tisane, it proved to be a really tasty treat.
Just A Taste of Spring Tisane from Just.Organic.Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Just.Organic.Tea
Tisane Description:
Our blend of spring fruits and flowers combine the first pink roses, vibrant magenta hibiscus, blue and white cornflowers, and a sprinkling of blueberries, in a base of pure organic green rooibos. Tastes great hot or iced. Naturally caffeine free.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Just.Organic.Tea’s Kickstarter Fundraising Campaign here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve never really made any big secret of the fact that I’m not a big fan of hibiscus in tisane blends. If it’s steeped too long, hibiscus can brew to a thick, syrupy liquid. If there’s too much hibiscus in a blend, the result can be a very tart beverage and I don’t care for drinks that make me pucker. So, I wasn’t all that excited to see hibiscus in this blend.
But, I brewed it with care and hoped that there wouldn’t be too much hibiscus in it. Having really enjoyed Just.Organic.Tea.’s Orange Spice Black Tea and appreciating their skillful blending of that tea, I hoped that just as much skill was put into the blending of this Just a Taste of Spring blend.
This is alright.
There are things that I like about it, and there are things that I’d change about it if I could. For example, I like the green rooibos in this. It adds a fresh, light flavor to the cup and the natural sweetness of the rooibos softens the tarty notes of the hibiscus.
There is a bit more hibiscus in this than I’d like there to be (but let’s face it, I’d rather there be no hibiscus in it). But on the plus side, it doesn’t have a thick, syrupy texture (I only steeped it for 6 minutes, which is probably one factor to the lighter texture).
I love the juicy blueberry taste to this. Sweet and a little tart – and the hibiscus does emphasize this tartness a bit – I like the blueberry flavor. I find myself wishing I could taste more of the rose. As it is, the hibiscus seems to mask the sweet floral notes and I am missing those.
Overall, it’s not a bad blend. It’s not my favorite, and as I said, there are things that I’d change about it if I could. I liked it alright … didn’t love it. On the other hand, my youngest daughter loved it! She’s a blueberry lover, and she loved the tart, tingly flavor of this tisane.
If you’re able to, please consider contributing to Just.Organic.Tea’s Fundraising Campaign on Kickstarter. With your help, this new tea company can get up and running!
Bali Bamboo Leaf Tisane from Wise Owl Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit/Herbal Tea
Where to Buy: Wise Owl Tea
Tea Description:
Our delicious Bamboo Leaf and nettle tea will leave you feeling refreshed, and conjure up images of the tropical island of Bali in the Indonesian archipelago. Long sugary beaches leading into hillsides terraced with Bamboo. The tall supple plants gently swaying in the coastal breeze. One sip and the Island of Bali is just around the corner This fabulous blend is a mild, sweet, green tea flavour.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
I haven’t had a lot of bamboo teas/tisanes during my time as a tea reviewer, and I’m finding myself a little surprised at just how much this Bali Bamboo Leaf Tisane from Wise Owl Tea tastes like green tea! It has that sweet, light, clean flavor of a pure green tea, although I’m finding this to be a wee bit sweeter. There is no bitterness here and no astringency.
The brewed liquid even LOOKS like a green tea, which had me zapping myself over to the website to check out the ingredients of this tisane again to make sure it wasn’t actually a green tea. Nope, this tisane contains only bamboo leaf and nettle. Of course, the addition of the nettle in this blend probably contributes to the “green tea” taste of it. Nettle tends to have a sweet, grassy taste – just like green tea.
This has a slight buttery tone to it, and that vegetative taste that falls somewhere in between freshly steamed veggies and sweet grass. It has a flavor that is reminding me of a Chinese Sencha, but it’s free of caffeine. It’s a pleasant cuppa and would make a great substitution for a green tea for someone who needs to refrain from consuming caffeine but still want to drink green tea. I don’t need to restrict my caffeine consumption and I’m still finding this lovely to drink. It is a tasty, refreshing beverage!
So far, I’ve been very impressed with the tisanes that I’ve tried from Wise Owl Tea. I’m hoping to try more from them in the future!
Organic Ginger Calendula Rooibos Tea from Spicely Organics
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Spicely Organics
Tisane Description:
Free of caffeine, but full of energizing ingredients! This tea is perfect for fine-tuning and focusing the senses, while also supporting healthy circulation. This tea is tangy, sweet, and a little spicy — the synergistic effect of this blend is perfect any time of day. INGREDIENTS: Organic Rooibos, Organic Ginger, Organic Calendula Petals
Learn more about this tisane here.
Learn more about the Spicely Organics Monthly Tea Membership here.
Taster’s Review:
I didn’t have big expectations from this Organic Ginger Calendula Rooibos Tea from Spicely Organics, to tell you the truth. It didn’t seem like all that exciting of a blend. It’s rooibos, ginger and calendula.
But, I’m finding myself enchanted by the ginger in this blend. It’s got a really zesty flavor. It’s spicy but not fiery hot, and I like the way it contrasts with the honey-sweet, woodsy/nutty flavors of the rooibos. It’s a very comforting taste: warm and cozy and something I’d like to curl up to on a chilly evening. It’s also quite soothing to the throat, so I brewed some of this for my youngest daughter who is getting over a cold, and it helped her feel better.
Calendula is essentially marigold petals, and they really add very little to the taste and texture of a tea or tisane. I’m of the opinion that the main reason that tea companies use calendula in their blends is to add some color, and I think that some companies use too much calendula in their blends, and if I were to offer any real complaint about this tisane, that would be it: there is a lot of calendula in this blend, maybe too much calendula.
That said, because calendula doesn’t add a lot of flavor or taste to the cup, I really didn’t mind the calendula in this blend. And I am really enjoying the combination of ginger and rooibos together … a lot more than I thought I would!
A simple blend, but it’s very enjoyable, and one I’d be happy to drink again.
Rooibos Chocolate Vanilla from Tea for Life
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Tisane Description:
South African Red Bush or Rooibos Tea is a pure and natural herbal blend. Freshly harvested and finely chopped rooibos goes through a process of oxidation with the aid of the oxygen from the atmosphere and subsequently dried int he sun to produce a deep mahogany red cup of which is one of the most popular and healthy herbal drinks today.
“Tea of Life” is proud to introduce five New Naturally Caffeine Free Rooibos Teas combined with Dark Chocolate with delicious natural fruit and mint flavors for your enjoyment – all day and into the evening.
Taster’s Review:
These dark chocolate rooibos blends from Tea of Life are really good. The chocolate is rich and dark and there’s a good amount of chocolate flavor to the blend. I’m really enjoying this Rooibos Chocolate Vanilla blend – LOTS of chocolate flavor with a sweet, creamy vanilla undertone.
I taste hints of honeyed, nutty sweetness from the rooibos, but, I like that the flavor of the rooibos isn’t as pronounced as the dark chocolate notes and the notes of vanilla. Normally, I want the flavor of the “tea” to be the star of the cup, but, since this is rooibos and I’m not particularly a big rooibos fan, I like that I am only getting a little bit of the flavor of the rooibos.
Plus, we’re talking chocolate here, and when it comes to chocolate, more chocolate is always better. I really can’t think of any instance when that isn’t true. And this has a strong chocolate presence. The sweet notes of vanilla give this cup an almost “milk chocolate-y” sort of taste, and I like the way the two – chocolate and vanilla – meld together in this cup.
A really tasty cup.