Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Tea Description:
This green rooibos blend is caffeine free and is sure to be enjoyed by young and old alike. The reddish amber cup imparts a fruity, heady aroma. It has an interesting complex flavor that is a perfectly balanced blend of fruity, sweet and exotic.
Like the Sugar Plum Fairy herself, this herbal blend has an elegant taste that is sure to become a classic.
Ingredients: Organic green rooibos, organic whole cloves, rosehips, hibiscus, sweet blackberry leaf, flavorings, vanilla beans, mallow blossoms and raspberry pieces.
Brew tea at 212º – steep for 5 minutes.
Caffeine Free. Certified Kosher
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When you think of Sugar Plum Fairies, you instantly think of Christmas time, but I have to say, this tea is marvelous for any time of the year!
This gorgeous herbal tea is a mixture of green rooibos, cloves, rosehips, hibiscus, blackberry leaf, mallow blossoms, vanilla, raspberry pieces, and natural flavorings. A unique blend of ingredients for sure. I took one whiff of the dry mix and I wasn’t sure this would be a tea I would enjoy. The clove was a bit on the overpowering side but this is Simpson & Vail, I have to try all of their teas!
Brewed this up like a herbal with fresh boiled water and allowed to steep for about 5 minutes. The tea had a lovely gorgeous red color that made me just smile. I allowed the tea to cool for a few moments and took a sip. After taking my first sip, I promptly put my feet up and grabbed the book I was reading. This tea is one of those soothing teas that just make you feel warm and loved. The green rooibos provides a lovely honey base that the other flavors can bounce off of while the clove provides a warming sensation and a kick of spice, the hibiscus delivers a slight tart flavor while the vanilla bean leads itself to the sweetness that the ingredient is known for. All of that from the first sip. Really well done tea and one that does not disappoint.
I loved this tea so much that I thought the tea needed to be an iced tea. So I brewed the tea up stronger than I normally would and then poured the hot tea over iced and added in a few orange wedges and limes into my mason jar glass. Thru a straw in it and I was set with a gorgeous looking brew. The taste was still as good if not better than when I had it hot. The flavors seemed to be deeper giving a lovely almost punch like flavor.
If you are looking for a lovely herbal tea to share during the upcoming summer months, I encourage you to check this one out. I’ll be serving it for sure! Perfect for any tea parities as well!
Pomegranate Melon from Fusion Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Rooibos/Yerba Mate
Where to Buy: Fusion Teas
Tea Description:
This unique combination merges tangy pomegranate and sweet melon into a surprisingly complex tea. Every sip takes you on a journey of flavors that is sure to intrigue and delight.
Tasting Notes:
candied apple, rainforest, campfire
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Let’s start this review off with talking about how gorgeous this blend is. I love the pops of bright colors. Just makes the tea blend so warm and inviting. The aroma I get from the dry leaf is the same. Sweet and alluring. From the beginning, I’ve got high hopes for this tea.
Brewed this tea up like an herbal- 5 minutes at 212F and just let the aroma take me away. This tea reminds me of summer. Summer pool parties and the beach. The melon fragrance is very prominent, giving you that summer feel. After the five minutes was up, I took my first sip.
This tea has such a lovely melon flavor. Melon in tea is hard to accomplish but they’ve done it with this blend. This reminds me more of a cross between watermelon and honey dew. Almost like the fruit you would see at a pool party. That is exactly what this tea tastes like. A huge bowl of fresh cantaloupe, watermelon, and honey dew. The pomegranate flavor is there but it is more in the background giving a slight tart contrast. The green rooibos is giving the tea an extra tang of sweetness while the yerba mate is bringing it back down with a grassy finish. This tea would be a phenomenal iced tea in the summer months or if you need to brighten up your day, this tea would definitely do it.
This may not be a tea I could see drinking everyday but I think this would be a great tea to serve at a party or over ice with some fresh berries in it while relaxing outside. Such a tasty treat!
Happiness Rooibos/Green Blend from Lupicia
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green/Green Rooibos
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Tea Description:
Rose petals, marigold and small mallow decorate this green tea and green rooibos blend scented with energizing grapefruit and luscious white peach. One sip and you will find happiness.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
In Canada Lupicia teas are fairly hard to get a hold of without swapping with someone else, which is what I did in order to try this sample. I’ve only tried a handful of their teas, but generally speaking I’ve enjoyed most if not all of them. That said, I’ve read almost entirely negative, or at least relatively critical reviews about this particular blend so know I have some expectation bias prior to trying this blend. With the sample I have, I decided I’d cold brew this tea because I thought it would work well for the fruity aspects but also the dual bases used.
My first thought upon trying this was that it tastes very familiar. I realize I drink a lot of tea, and so it’s no uncommon for new teas to bear a resemblance to ones I’ve tried before but I’m talking serious Deja Vu with this tea; I was convinced I’d had the experience of drinking this one before even though I know I haven’t.
As for the actual flavour of the blend I do have to say the peach element comes through the clearest to me: I made a recent discovery regarding peach, actually. I’ve always thought of peach as a flavor that I could go either way with but someone at work recently pointed out to me that I’m actually very consistent with some peachy things and that’s either “Peaches & Cream” or “White Peach”, both of which I regularly like. So I did a little bit of research (I asked one of our produce clerks the difference between white and yellow peaches; that counts, right?) and it turns out the main difference is the acidity – yellow peaches have a much more noticeable acidity that only levels out as they ripen while white peaches are more delicate and naturally sweet, ripe or not. They’re also a little more floral. Makes sense to me.
So in addition to the clear and enjoyable flavour of white peaches, I tasted a few other fruits – however one fruit I didn’t observe was grapefruit which is actually the flavour that’s supposed to be present. Instead I tasted a more mellow strawberry flavour which was a great compliment to the peach notes. Chef Darcy, at work, tried a little of the cold brew and said he tastes peach and green melons and while I didn’t taste that melon flavour myself I can see where he was coming from: there was a sort of “bubblegum” sweetness, and as I’ve observed from honeydew teas sometimes the flavor of of those two things can be similar. As for the bases, visually I know there was more green tea in my sample but the taste of the green rooibos was a lot stronger in my opinion. I really like the green rooibos that Lupicia uses though – it’s one of my favourite of any company’s.
Overall, this was a really great experience – not just for the flavour, but for the little journey of self discovery that it took me on.
Ginger Apple Swirl Tea from Pooki’s Mahi
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Rooibos.
Where to Buy: Pooki’s Mahi
Tea Description:
The latest craze in cocktails inspired the infusion of real fruit, herbs, and flowers with tea. Pooki’s Mahi Ginger Apple Swirl martini is a light and delicious tea cocktail. The novo martea’ni is fresh on the palate blending green rooibos, cinnamon, ginger, and Yunwu into a sweet “bomb.” Apple bits contribute a zesty tart green apple flavor while cornflowers eases sweetness without losing the crisp finish. Pooki’s Mahi Ginger Apple Swirl is one libation no one should miss after a hard day at the office.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Since starting with the SororiTea Sisters, I have been trying to make myself try teas that I normally wouldn’t. Ginger and I have not always been friends and it is in so many teas. It limits what I have tried in the past. I think my tastes are starting to change though. I have been finding teas with ginger that I’m finding myself starting to crave. This is one of them.
I stumbled upon this company on Amazon the other day. I had never even heard of them. From what I’m learning, this company is mainly into coffee or that is the first reaction you get when you check out their home page. They have quite a nice line up of single serve coffee blends that I will probably pick up for my boyfriend (who is addicted to our Keurig).
After gandering the coffee selection a bit, I hopped over to the tea selection. Wow, they have quite a selection. It looks like they even have some award winning teas. Unfortunately a lot of these teas have red rooibos in them. So I was happy when I found the Ginger Apple Swirl that had green rooibos in it. (We seriously need a green rooibos revolution!) This instantly went into my cart.
Upon opening the package, the tea smells just like apple cider. Like the kind you get at our local orchard. I steeped up the tea per the instructions on the package but I did put in an 2 extra tsps. I knew I wanted this iced. After the tea finished steeping for 3 minutes, I dumped the tea into a big cup of ice. The smell of this tea steeping just screamed Apple Cider.
Took my first sip, yep. Apple Cider tasting as well! Very good. All of the flavors play together nicely and create the taste you would want after smelling the tea. The apple flavoring is the main flavor with the ginger following suit. A tea that tastes exactly like it smells and the name. I was very pleased. I know this is more of a fall flavor, but the flavors are so bright and crisp, I’ll be drinking this one all the time. The only down side is that it is pricey if you go through the website. Amazon seemed to have cheaper prices so I’ll have to stock up here and there when I see a sale.
After looking at the site some more, I noticed that this is a tea you are supposed to use to make a cocktail. This would be amazing made up like a martini or add in some flavored vodka.
I know what I’ll be drinking later tonight.
Green Rooibos from M&K’s Tea Co
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal.
Where to Buy: M&K’s Tea Co
Tea Description:
The non-oxidized, green counterpart to the redbush rooibos you may have heard everyone talking about! Less red, more green, less autumn, more spring! Green rooibos tastes much more vegetal and refreshing and less robust than regular rooibos.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The weather is getting warmer and the spring bug is starting to set in. I’ve noticed that my iced tea intake has gone way up. My kids have the bug too. Everyday they ask me if they HAVE to go to school. My five year old who goes to a pre-K program has already declared himself as being done with learning and school. I had to inform him that he has many years ahead of him and that next year he will be going all day next year versus the half day he currently goes now.
This tea reminds me of springtime. The dry leaves smell very vegetal and have a hay/grass like smell to them. Brewed up (212F-3tbsp-5 minutes in my Breville-then poured into a tumbler of ice) this is honey goodness.
Beautifully done. Smooth and honey like. A well done yet simple tea. I’m not picking up any kind of vegetal flavor like the description had said. That is fine with me. This hit the spot. Just wish I would have brought more along with me. I could drink this all day. Yum!