Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit/Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Pluck Tea
Tea Description:
A blend of dried grape skins from Niagara’s Organic and Biodynamic Southbrook Vinyards, layered with hibiscus and berries for a delicious fruit tea. Enjoy hot or iced. Caffeine – free
Learn more about August’s Postal Teas shipment here.
Learn more about subscribing to Postal Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
Of the three teas that I received in this month’s box from Postal Teas, this is the tea that I was putting off trying. I was not looking forward to it. I can see the hibiscus! UGH! And because it’s dried grape skins, berries and hibiscus (all dark red) … it just looks like pure hibiscus!
So, needless to say, I didn’t have high hopes for this blend. To steep this, I got out my Kati tumbler and added 1 bamboo scoop of the dark, burgundy red leaves into the basket of the tumbler and poured water heated to 195°F into the tumbler and let it infuse for 4 1/2 minutes. Normally, I’d steep a fruit/berry/herbal tisane like this for 5 – 6 minutes, but because this looked like pure hibiscus to me, I went with slightly less time.
The thing about hibiscus is that the longer you let it steep, the tarter the flavor. Tarter? Tartier? More tart? In addition to a more tartness, the hibiscus turns the liquid into a thick, almost viscous syrup that is quite tart and not very enjoyable to sip. At least, not for me. I guess there are some people that dig that sort of thing.
Anyway, this tastes much better than I anticipated it would. Because of the short steep time, I don’t have a tisane with an unpleasantly thick texture. And because of the short steep time, I’m not tasting an overwhelmingly tart, hibiscus-y drink.
I can taste the berries! I can taste the grape! In fact, the grape is what I taste most. This tastes a whole lot like warm grape juice. I suspect that this tisane would taste really good iced and would go over well with children, and it’s a caffeine free alternative to all those sugary sodas.
The “berries” in this blend, because they meld in such a seamless way with the grape and the hibiscus, it’s difficult to discern what type of berry I’m tasting. It tastes like a berry/grape medley. The hibiscus is still there, of course, but it melds with the flavors of grape and berry in such a way that it doesn’t taste “hibiscus-y”. It tastes like a grape and berry juice that’s both sweet and tart. I am not one who particularly enjoys tart flavors so I added about half a teaspoon of raw sugar to the cup and this toned down the tartness to a tolerable level for my palate.
This is alright. It’s not my favorite tisane, but given how much I thought I’d dislike it, it turned out to be much better than I thought it would.
Overall, I enjoyed this month’s box from Postal Teas. And after perusing Pluck’s selection of teas, I’m finding a whole lot more that I’d love to try. Hey, Postal Teas, if you’re reading … you should feature Pluck again, soon!
Elderflower Champagne Oolong Blend from Bluebird Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Bluebird Tea Co.
Tea Description:
Oolong is considered to be the very best, the champers, of the tea world. Oolong is the prettiest tea to watch unfurl in your cup too! Our combination of fresh zingy citrus + delicate floral elderflower won’t get you tipsy but it is tip top indeed. You can also rebrew this one up to 7 times!
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a really tasty and refreshing blend! I usually prefer pure Oolong teas as opposed to flavored Oolong blends but this one really is quite delightful!
The scent of the dry leaf is beautifully floral with bright citrus notes. It’s beautifully aromatic, smelling a bit like something I’d want to fragrance my home with! This would make a great potpourri!
I brewed this tea in my Breville One-Touch tea maker. I don’t usually brew Oolong teas in my Breville but I do sometimes make an exception when it comes to blended and/or flavored Oolongs like this Elderflower Champagne blend. I measured out 2 bamboo scoops of tea into the basket of the tea maker and then poured 500ml of freshly filtered water into the jug and set the settings for 180°F with 3 minutes steep time. For subsequent infusions, I simply added an extra 30 seconds onto the steep time, keeping the amount of water and temperature the same.
The result is a very tasty tea indeed! The aroma of the brewed tea is a little different from the dry leaf – this smells much more citrus-y and less floral than the dry leaf did.
The flavor is a stunning balance of citrus fruits and floral notes. I taste orange and lemon and I like the way the sweeter orange softens the tartness of the lemon so I’m not puckering as I sip. I taste soft, sweet flowery flavors too.
The ingredient list shows that there is hibiscus in this blend too, but I am happy to say that I don’t taste it … nor do I really see any evidence of hibiscus in this blend. The tea does not brew up “pink” in color (it’s more of a light, clear champagne color) nor does it have a thick or syrupy texture, and I’m not tasting hibiscus tart. So hooray for that!
In the first infusion, I didn’t taste a lot of obvious Oolong contribution to this. I did get a nice, buttery texture which is very Oolong-ish to me. I think that this buttery quality is perhaps the only attribute of the first infusion that speaks to me and says, “This is an Oolong tea.” I get hints of vegetation and notes of floral – and it could be that these are from the Oolong or at least these characteristics are highlighted because of the Oolong’s presence in this blend. But neither the vegetal notes nor the floral qualities are saying to me that they are here because of the Oolong.
That said, this is a very enjoyable drink, and I was very happy with the first infusion. I found that the subsequent infusions started tasting more like a Chinese Oolong tea and I noticed that some of the stronger citrus-y notes began to wane. I’m still getting plenty of citrus-y flavors – especially in the aftertaste! – but the citrus notes are softened now and allowing more of the Oolong notes to shine through. The elderflower notes are also softer in later infusions, and again, no real distinct hibiscus-y attributes. Yay!
I really like this tea a lot and I’d recommend it to those that appreciate a fun and interesting tea blend.
Mountain Of Mango Tisane from Inca Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit/Herbal Blend
Where to Buy: Inca Tea
Tea Description:
Mango has always been a favorite fruit of the founder so he decided to add a little twist to the original blend. Its a refreshing blend of mango, sweet herbs, and citrus.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As I’ve said (many times!) before, I’m not always thrilled when it comes to trying fruit and/or herbal tisanes. But because I’ve come to realize that I need to lighten up on the caffeine intake later in the evening, I’ve begun to embrace the tisane even though I’d much rather partake of Camellia Sinensis. So, when I opened the pouch for this Mountain of Mango tisane, I wasn’t exactly excited about it.
But … wow! I can definitely smell the mango in the dry leaf. No other tea/tisane immediately comes to mind where I smelled such a strong, distinct mango aroma. All of the sudden, my dismay over trying yet another tisane disappeared and I got excited about trying this!
I steeped the silky pyramid sachet in 8 ounces of 195°F water for 6 minutes. The brewed tisane is a light ruby color (a good sign, it doesn’t look like there’s too much hibiscus in this!) and it offers a light fruity fragrance. The mango notes are less distinct than in the dry leaf, but they’re still there.
This is pretty good. The mango isn’t as strong as I hoped for, but, it’s a clear and focused flavor. It is an obvious mango flavor. The apple offers subtle hints of sweetness but not a strong apple-y flavor. I think it’s probably present in this cup mostly to provide some sweet, juicy flavor to the cup without it adding too much to the flavor profile, and that’s what it seems to do here.
The ingredient list does not show any citrus-y ingredients that would provide the citrus that’s suggested in the above description, but I can taste a hint of tangy citrus toward the tail and this flavor lingers into the aftertaste. I’m not sure where this flavor is coming from unless it’s one of the “natural flavors.”
In the Peruvian Spiced Berry Tisane, I could taste the notes of purple corn, but I’m finding that flavor to be a little less distinct here. If I slurp the cup, I can pick up on a slight corn-like taste, but it’s much softer than in the Spiced Berry blend. I kind of liked that purple corn taste, it made that tisane significantly different from any other that I’ve tried, so I was kind of hoping for a little more purple corn flavor in this tisane as well.
That said, I really enjoyed this. The mango flavor is delicious and authentic and strong, and the hibiscus is not strong. Two big bonus points for these attributes. It’s a very tasty served hot, and it’s awesome iced!
Pick Me Up Peach White Tea Blend from Inca Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Inca Tea
Tea Description:
Being our first caffeinated blend we wanted it to embody a refreshing yet clean taste. Its a rejuvenating combination of white tea, lush peaches and sweet herbs.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Ah! Peaches! As soon as I tore into the pouch holding the pyramid sachet of this Pick Me Up Peach White Tea, the aroma of peach filled the room! The fragrance is very abundantly PEACH!
And the taste is also very abundantly peach. Sweet, luscious peach – which is perfect for this time of year when the peaches are in season. YUM! The peach flavor is sweet and true to the fruit. It doesn’t taste like an artificial or even a candied peach flavor.
But this blend also has hibiscus and rose hips in it, and it should come as no surprise to those of you who read this blog regularly that hibiscus is not my favorite herbal. I’m wishing that the hibiscus just wasn’t there. Yeah, it adds a hint of tartness which is a nice contrast to the sweet peach notes, and because of the hibiscus the brewed tea is a beautiful ruby color. And as long as it’s not steeped too long, it doesn’t have a syrupy consistency. (I steeped this for 4 minutes at 170°F.)
However, I do feel like the hibiscus and rose hips do interfere a bit with the delivery of the white tea flavor. It seems a little masked by everything else that’s going on in this blend. White tea is delicate, and these strong herbal flavors really shouldn’t be in a white tea blend.
I don’t taste much of the white tea. I taste a slight airy, earthy quality that is distinctly white tea, but because of the hibiscus, I’m missing some of the softer textures that I enjoy with a white tea. I’m also missing some of those sweet fruit notes that I believe would meld beautifully with the peach flavors.
The purple corn adds a slight “warm grain” sort of flavor that is quite appealing, and I am enjoying. The apple is not a strong note here, and I suspect it is part of this blend for it’s sweetness rather than to provide a strong apple-y flavor. And that’s what I’m getting from it.
Overall, this IS tasty, but I think it could be so much better without the hibiscus. I feel like the hibiscus overpowers the white tea. But I love the peach notes, and I like the purple corn. It’s a different kind of flavor that I’m not used to tasting in tea and I like it. It’s not an invasive flavor and I like how it complements the other flavors of this cup.
Watermelon Splash Tea Blend from Bluebird Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green & White Teas
Where to Buy: Bluebird Tea Co.
Tisane Description:
A refreshing blend of green and white tea bursting with juicy melon and fruit flavours. A truly spring time tea, fresh and fruity and totally mouth-watering over ice. Watermelon Splash is the perfect tea blend for sipping in the sunshine.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
This Watermelon Splash Tea from Bluebird Tea Co. isn’t just a “spring time” tea but it’s a wonderful summer time tea too!
I admit that I was a little dismayed to see that hibiscus is one of the ingredients, and even more dismayed to see the hibiscus in the blend as I measured it into my tea maker, but, really, the hibiscus adds very little to this blend except for a slight pinkish hue that embraces the whole ‘watermelon-y’ sort of theme of the tea. The texture is light – not at all syrupy the way hibiscus can be in a blend – and the flavor is not overly tart.
There is some tartness to this though, and not just from the hibiscus, but also from the lemon peel. But I think I like these tart notes, because they contrast in a pleasant way with the sweetness and add an uplifting brightness to the cup.
To brew this blend, I used a lower temperature (it’s a blend of both white and green teas, and in blends like this, I generally yield to the lowest temperature, in this case, I’m yielding to the white tea brewing requirements) of 170°F. I know that a lot of people will tell you that 160°F is the way to go with white teas, but, I have found that adjusting that temperature by 10 degrees will provide a much more flavorful cup of white tea without any bitterness or sign of scorched tea leaves.
I steeped this for 3 minutes and the result is a flavorful cup that is lightly pink in color, looking a bit like the liquid at the bottom of a bowl of cut-up watermelon. In other words, it looks like watermelon juice.
The tea smells like a medley of fruits. I can smell watermelon, coconut, pineapple and citrus. The first few sips were more lemon-y than they were watermelon-ish. After about two sips, I could start to pick up on the coconut and pineapple flavors. It wasn’t until I reached mid-cup that I started to note the watermelon flavor.
The base of white and green teas is light and crisp and buttery smooth. I don’t get a strong “grassy” note, but I do taste the fresh “leafy” taste that is distinctly green tea.
The tea notes are best described as background notes. They aren’t very prominent flavors amid the fruit flavors. I can barely taste the white tea, but it lightens the cup in a way that benefits the overall beverage. It adds this refreshing, cool taste that is just as distinctly white as the aforementioned fresh leafy taste is distinctly green, even though the cup does not scream out “white tea” or even “green tea.” While these flavors are not abundantly ~clear~ in the cup, this blend would not be the same without either of these two teas in it. They add something flavorful to the cup, it is just not as distinguished as the fruit notes.
I found myself enjoying this cup. I do wish there was a stronger, more obvious watermelon note to it, but I really do like the combination of flavors. It’s a great way to quench the thirst. Good hot but much better iced!