Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
Tea Description:
This tea is incredibly warming and comforting. A herbal blend that’s both sweet and spicy. Lemongrass gives a dominant , but smooth, citrus flavour. Hints of mint and tropical fruit blend seamlessly, making individual ingredients subtle to detect. The sweet comforts of the liquorice root coat the throat and help the flavours of the tea linger.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I admit that I entered into my experience with this Ginger Twist Herbal Tisane from Sloane Tea with a little bit of intrepidation because I had heard from a friend of mine who is also an Amoda Tea subscriber that she was a little less than thrilled with this tea. And after reading the ingredient list, yeah, I was a little nervous about this one.
What’s In It: Lemongrass, mint, ginger, ginseng, licorice root, apple, papaya, citrus peel, cornflower petals, natural flavour.
Lemongrass, mint, ginger? OK. Ginseng … ugh. Licorice root – in most cases, I’d be enthusiastic about it, but it’s been my experience when ginseng and licorice root are blended together the result is a flavor that … evokes thoughts of dirty socks. The rest of the flavors seemed OK to me. It’s the ginseng with the licorice root that was causing my anxiety about this blend.
But, despite my intrepidation, the tea beckoned to me to try it and since my friend was asking for suggestions on how best to brew and serve this tea, I figured I needed to try it.
What’s the worst that could happen? Since I’m not allergic to any of the ingredients, an allergic reaction isn’t the worst thing that could happen and I trusted Amoda Tea not to send me poison so I didn’t fear for my life if I were to drink this tea. I surmised that the worst thing that could happen is that I hate this and after I take a sip or two, I unceremoniously dump the rest of it down the drain.
So I brewed it. I decided to go with a ‘light’ brew and only steeped it for 6 minutes rather than my usual 8 – 10 minutes for a non-hibiscus tisane. Then I let it cool for a few minutes and took my first sip.
Here goes…
This isn’t horrible. As suggested by Amoda in the above description, it is a warming drink. The ginger is the strongest component to the cup and the peppery warmth of the ginger is accentuated by the snappy flavor of the licorice root.
Fortunately, it doesn’t taste of dirty socks. Or what I think dirty socks might taste like if I were to brew them. This is not something that really appeals to me so I’ve never actually attempted to brew my socks. Plus, I usually wear wool socks and if I were to put them in boiling water, the wool might fuse.
The lemongrass and mint are very subtle to the point where it’s really difficult to identify them in the sip. If I had been given this brewed tisane blindly – not knowing what was in it – and then asked what I ingredients I thought were in it based on what I was tasting, I don’t know that I would immediately pick up on the lemongrass and the mint. I would definitely pick up on the ginger and the licorice. I wouldn’t notice the apple or papaya, nor would I immediately notice the citrus peel.
Now that I’m about halfway through the cup, I do notice some light citrus-y tones to this. I can also taste the faint earthiness of the ginseng, which I find myself wishing wasn’t there. If I inhale sharply so that a breath of air floats over my palate after I take a sip, I can taste some minty notes, but I don’t actually get much of anything that resembles mint in the sip unless I slurp the sip, and even then, it’s more like a faint hint of mint that could just as easily be mistaken for a faint hint of basil in this tisane.
Overall, I have to say that this isn’t my favorite cuppa from Amoda Tea. Rarely am I disappointed by a tea from Amoda (they’re my favorite subscription) and I don’t know if I’d say that I find this tea disappointing but rather, I’d say it’s perplexing and not necessarily in a good way. I think that there are about a hundred other tisanes out there in this great big world of tea that Amoda could have chosen for the box that I would have appreciated more than I have this.
But I guess they can’t all have me jumping for joy, can they?
Lavender Daze Herbal Tea from M&K’s Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: M&K’s Tea Company on Etsy
Tea Description:
Soothing lavender, sweet cinnamon, adjective ingredient! You get the idea. But this herbal infusion is a special one, with a taste that is all its own. You’ll have to try it to describe it! But, as far as we can tell, it tastes something like lavender, chamomile, licorice, and a hint of cinnamon. This blend is part of the Original 20 M&K’s Blends. Additionally, this is the first M&K’s blend officially invented.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Usually when I find a lavender tisane like this Lavender Daze Herbal Tea from M&K’s Tea Company, I expect it to be a combination of lavender and chamomile – and this is such a blend. But what makes it different from other blends is that M&K’s didn’t stop at just lavender and chamomile. They added honey roasted licorice root, star anise, ginger, lemon verbena and cinnamon! Most of these ingredients are not ones you’d find in the average “nighttime” lavender and chamomile blend.
So I didn’t know what to expect with this tea. I brewed it in my Kati Tumbler, using 1 1/2 bamboo scoops of tisane and 12 ounces of near boiling (195°F) water and steeping for 8 minutes.
As I surmised based on the list of ingredients, this isn’t the typical nighttime lavender/chamomile blend, and it certainly doesn’t taste like it either.
The licorice is really strong with this blend. Maybe too strong. I love licorice, but the licorice notes here overpower the other flavors a bit too much because I’m tasting mostly just licorice. The sip starts out with a soft cinnamon-y note, and then the licorice hits and it lingers throughout the rest of the sip and into the aftertaste.
Just after I notice the cinnamon, I pick up on the subtlest of hints of lavender, ginger and citrus. But again, they are so faint because bam! The licorice hits and overpowers the rest of the blend. I do taste whispers of honey, but mostly, I taste licorice.
And as I’ve said, I LOVE licorice, but I think that with this combination of ingredients and what seemed to promise a really interesting fusion of flavors, I find myself just a wee bit disappointed because I would have liked to experience a more balanced cup.
It’s good, don’t get me wrong. If you like licorice, you’re bound to enjoy this and I am enjoying the licorice notes here. I just think it would have been more interesting to taste more of the other components to this blend.
India’s Original Masala Chai from Golden Tips
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Golden Tips
Tea Description:
Originating from India, Masala Chai or ‘Spiced Tea’ is one of the most popular black tea blends in the world. This ancient traditional recipe is prepared by blending a strong & robust black tea with an array of fresh & aromatic spices. Our signature ‘Masala Chai Spiced Tea’ is symbolic of the original house blend which has been cherished in India for decades now. A combination of Assam CTC & orthodox leaves blended in a varying ratio is taken as the base. The base tea is then blended with exotic and fresh indian spices including crushed cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper, long pepper, dry ginger and clove.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m always so excited to try a new chai – one that I’ve not yet tried. So, I was happy to find this India’s Original Masala Chai from Golden Tips in my stash of teas waiting for review!
The dry leaf is a very fine CTC. Even the spices are pretty finely chopped or ground, so it would benefit your teacup to give the pouch a good shake before you open it and measure it out.
To brew it, I measured out one bamboo scoop of the tea and then I shook off just a little bit from the scoop. Since the chop is so fine, you don’t need a whole scoop of tea! Then I put the tea into the basket of my Kati tumbler and added 12 ounces of boiling water and let it steep for 2 1/2 minutes. Again, since this is a finely chopped tea, you don’t want to steep it too long. 2 1/2 minutes produced a very flavorful cuppa for me – I wouldn’t recommend steeping it much longer than that otherwise you may wind up with a bitter tasting tea.
This is really good! The spices are ‘moderately spiced’ – that is to say that it’s not super spicy, but not what I’d call mild either. I think that if you typically shy away from a chai because it’s too spicy for you, you might find that this chai is to your liking. It’s warmly spiced without going overboard.
And I like that the spices are really nicely balanced. I taste cinnamon, clove, cardamom, ginger and pepper, but I don’t notice that any one or two of these trying to overpower the rest. It’s warm and zesty, like a delicious spice cake. All the spices are present and accounted for but they don’t overwhelm the cup or the flavor of the black tea.
And the black tea is the star of this cup. That doesn’t happen too often in a chai. Now, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE a good, spicy chai! But I also like other ‘chai’ blends that offer a balance of flavors like this one has achieved.
This tea offers a robust, full-flavored taste of black tea. The tea is an Assam tea so I get a strong malty character that I like. It’s rich and smooth. Not too astringent and not bitter (although I suspect it could be bitter if I had oversteeped it!)
And this tea offers a pleasant flavor of spices that tingle on the palate. The flavor of the spices builds, but it builds in a really pleasant way. I haven’t felt like “oh, that’s spicy!” Instead, it’s more like … nice! Warm! Zesty! Yum!
A really nice chai!
Avonlea Honeybush Tisane from Lemon Lily
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: Lemon Lily
Tea Description:
Organic ingredients: Honeybush, cinnamon, ginger, hibiscus, Canadian Maple Flakes.
Learn more about subscribing to Postal Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
I had high hopes for this Avonlea Honeybush Tisane from Lemon Lily. I mean, cinnamon, ginger and maple together with the honeyed, nutty flavor of honeybush actually sounds pretty tasty. Even with hibiscus in there. But as I taste it, I’m finding myself disappointed by this.
I don’t like the combination of honeybush and hibiscus. This just isn’t working for me. You might think that the sweetness of the honeybush would help even out the tartness of the hibiscus, but the honeybush sweetness isn’t enough to soften the tartness of the hibiscus and the result is just a weird, funky taste.
And it’s a weird taste that even the warm spice of the cinnamon and ginger can’t offset. Even the maple – which is a favorite flavor of mine – even the maple does very little to improve the flavor here. In fact, I’m tasting relatively little maple flavor here. Very disappointing.
As it cools, this does taste better. The honeybush and hibiscus don’t seem to be battling it out to create that weird taste anymore, but the hibiscus is still too tart for my liking. It’s drinkable now and I don’t think I would have described it as such while it was hot.
Served hot, it’s a very weird cup of tea. As it cools, it becomes drinkable but it’s still quite tart and I find myself wishing the hibiscus wasn’t there.
I have enjoyed many of the teas that I’ve tried from Lemon Lily (thanks to not just one but two boxes from Postal Teas that has featured them), but this one just isn’t bringing a smile to my face.
Kolkata Street Chai Tea from Teabox
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teabox
Tea Description:
This particular blend has been created using rich Assam tea and exotic Indian spices, including saffron, cardamom, nutmeg and ginger to make an extraordinary cup of chai. The flavor is virile and aroma heady. Savor a cup of this tea inspired by the city of joy – Kolkata.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The photo shows a few saffron threads in the Kolkata Street Chai Tea from Teabox, but I didn’t see that many when I measured out the tea into the basket of my Kati tumbler. In fact, I only saw one tiny piece of what might have been a saffron thread when I measured out my heaping bamboo scoop. There could have been more in there, I could have missed a small piece or two, but the picture shows numerous long threads of saffron. In reality, what I have is a fraction of a fraction of one thread.
I do realize that saffron is one of the most expensive spices out there (if not the most expensive) and to add it so liberally to a tea blend would be very costly. Given that they’re selling this blend for just under $10 for 100 grams of the tea, I can see why they need to be thrifty with the saffron threads, but don’t mislead the customers by showing a photograph with many saffron threads when the blend contains less than a fraction of that.
All that aside, this is a very tasty chai. The CTC Assam is very rich and malty. It’s somewhat astringent, but not overly so. It’s not bitter although I do get some bitterness from the saffron. I steeped the tea in near boiling water as per the suggested parameters on the website, and steeped it for only 3 minutes rather than the suggested 4 minutes. The black tea is full flavored and satisfying. It’s a good base for the spices.
I like the combination of spices here. Yes, I can taste the saffron (even a small amount IS effective). As I mentioned before, I get a slight bitter note from the saffron as well as a hint of honey like flavor from it. The honey-esque notes are a wonderful complement to the warm notes of cardamom and ginger, and I love the nutty flavor of the nutmeg in this.
I’m usually quite happy when I find a chai with nutmeg in the blend and of the many different chai blends that I’ve tasted over the years, I must say that this one has the most obvious nutmeg flavor to it! Quite a delight to taste!
I really enjoyed this tea despite my misgivings about the misleading photograph. The chai blend is very flavorful and I do recommend it. But I also would recommend to Teabox that they represent their tea more truthfully in the photograph. If someone buys this based on what they’re seeing in the photograph, they’re going to be disappointed when they open the package to find significantly less saffron than the photo suggests.