Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: The Veda Company
Tea Description:
Find your bliss and indulge with the herbal mix of mint, licorice and Indian pennywort (said to enhance longevity) in our “Harmony” tea. Each blend is mildly caffeinated with green tea, one of nature’s antioxidant wonders.
Learn more about the teas from TeaVeda here.
Taster’s Review:
I can really smell the licorice here. It has a warm, sweet smell. The pennywort might add to some of the sweetness in the aroma, although I’m not really sure because pennywort is one of those herbs that I’m just not all that familiar with. I’m surprised that I’m not picking up more of the minty fragrance since mint can be a very dominant herb.
I wish I could taste the licorice as distinctly as I can smell it. I am not really familiar with the flavor of pennywort, so I suspect that is what I’m tasting because I taste a sweet, vaguely earthy taste that doesn’t taste like mint or licorice or green tea. So I’m guessing this flavor I’m experiencing is pennywort, or more accurately, what pennywort tastes like when it’s blended with licorice, mint and green tea.
It is kind of an odd taste but not unpleasant. It just tastes really different from anything I’ve tasted before, so I’m having a difficult time describing what I’m experiencing. What comes to mind as I sip it is the liquid that might result after having steamed spinach. The greenish liquor that would be in the water vessel of my steamer – I haven’t ever drank that liquid, but I’ve often guessed that it tastes earthy and vegetal. Now imagine combining that liquid with the steamer liquid after cooking asparagus and broccoli. Again, I’ve never consumed either of these liquids, but I have imagined them to taste earthy, vegetal and possibly a bit bittersweet. That’s kind of what I’m tasting now.
Now that I’m past the mid-cup mark, I’m starting to pick up on an aftertaste that is both minty and licorice-like. These flavors are starting to develop in the sip too, although the aforementioned steamer liquid taste remains the strongest flavor of the cup.
I can’t say I’m loving this tea, but I don’t hate it either. It’s just … odd. Different from what I’ve tasted in the past. Not a familiar flavor. But at the same time, it’s not unpleasant. It’s sort of like trying a new vegetable for the first time. Veggies aren’t always everyone’s favorite side dish on the plate, but we eat them and while we’re more likely to enjoy something more familiar, the new veggie isn’t so bad once you get used to it. That’s how I’d describe this tea experience.
Harmony from Praise Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Praise Tea
Tea Description:
Organic and Fair Trade China Green tea infused with the taste of ripe pears. A smooth, full-bodied yet highly aromatic and healthy blend that’s delicious.
Origin: China
Ingredients: Chun Mee Green Tea, Pear
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I tend to find myself a bit skeptical when it comes to pear flavored teas, especially pear flavored green teas. That’s because back in my tea flavoring/blending days, I created what I felt was the very best pear flavored green tea, and I still have yet to find one that is as good.
But that doesn’t mean that I’m not enjoying this pear flavored green tea. Quite the opposite, actually. It’s really tasty!
The Chun Mee base is an interesting choice but it works surprisingly well with the delicate flavor of the pear. I say surprising because its been my experience that Chun Mee (also known as “Precious Eyebrow”) tends to have a strong “green tea” flavor – that is to say it tends to be a bit on the grassy side. With this stronger flavor, could the delicate sweetness of the pear shine through?
The answer is yes. I can taste the sweet, delicious flavor of pear, as well as the full-flavored Chun Mee. The Chun Mee is sweet, grassy with hints of seaweed. There are lovely hints of plum in there too, and these are very complementary to the notes of pear. The Chun Mee is more assertive than the pear flavor here, but, it doesn’t overwhelm it entirely.
A delicious pear flavored green with a very enticing composition of flavors.
Tulsi Harmony from TeaFrog
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal & Rooibos
Where to Buy: TeaFrog
Company Description:
Tulsi Herb, Rooibos, Ginger Bits, Cinnamon, Lemon Verbena, Chamomile Blossoms, Lavender, Rose Petals
Taster’s Review:
Wow! This is good! Surprisingly good!
Why surprising? Well, here’s the thing – I ordered this because it sounded different. I liked the name. Tulsi Harmony. But the truth of the matter is, I have only tried a couple of tulsi teas/tisanes, and while I enjoyed them quite a bit, tulsi still scares me just a little bit.
I don’t know why it scares me, it just does.
Well, hopefully this tisane will put my fears to rest and let me celebrate tulsi! Because this is so good.
The tulsi is the strongest flavor here – and it lends a somewhat spicy character to the cup that is similar to cloves. The ginger is very soft here, offering mere hints of its characteristic peppery nature. The cinnamon is a little stronger, and it is a sweet yet spicy cinnamon. These spicy notes are not over-the-top or in-your-face spicy, rather, they are quite … harmonious!
The rooibos is one flavor that is lacking in the cup. I am not getting a lot of rooibos rather distinctive woodsy/nutty flavor. But, as I’m not a huge fan of the woodsy flavor of rooibos, I am not missing it.
I can, however, distinguish the other flavors here – the chamomile, the lavender, the rose and the lemon verbena. These aren’t strong contributions to the overall cup, but, I can taste subtle hints of each ingredient. And I think that is what I like best about this tisane. It has a complexity that is rather uncommon in tisanes. It offers an interesting and delicious taste. I’m very glad I decided to try this today!