Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Rishi Tea
Tea Description:
Smooth, steamed green tea blended with tart hibiscus and succulent raspberries. This blend is sweet, jammy and rich with a character that lends itself to tasty hot or iced tea. Goes well with a squeeze of lemon or pomegranate juice.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Before taking a sip of this Organic Raspberry Green Tea from Rishi Tea, I found myself wishing there wasn’t so much hibiscus in it. The hue of the brewed tea is pink … a strong indicator of hibiscus in the blend!
But after taking a sip, I’m not minding the hibiscus so much. Because it was steeped for just 2 1/2 minutes, the hibiscus didn’t have a lot of time to become too tart. This doesn’t taste sour nor does it feel thick and syrupy (other indicators of hibiscus!)
This blend is tasty. The green tea is sweet and slightly vegetative. There are hints of a buttery note in the background. Because of the hibiscus in the blend, the raspberry notes are very prominent (hibiscus tends to take on a berry-like flavor). The raspberry tastes tart and sweet, and has a light berry tingle at the finish. The aftertaste is delicately tart with hints of sweetness.
A nice cuppa … I still would rather there be no hibiscus in it (what can I say, hibiscus isn’t my favorite thing), but, I have to admit that the pink color of the tea is kind of pretty. This would make a nice tea for a garden party, and it tastes good iced – and would make a nice alternative to those over-sugared sodas!
The Road To Hana White Tea Blend from Indie Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
TeaDescription:
The subtlety of the added flavours is what we love about this tea! The white peony is the star with its delicate hay, fruit and floral aromas. You have the leaf’s natural round mouthfeel coupled with the coconut flakes that makes for a creamy cup of tea. Hints of the dried mango and tart hibiscus = a seriously delicious tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
I was very happy when I received this month’s Tea Tasting Box from Amoda Tea and discovered that Indie Tea was the featured tea purveyor for July. Indie Tea is one of my favorite tea purveyors because I love their fun, fresh and funky attitude toward tea! Their packaging is fun and their blends are deliciously different – with cool names to match their unique flavors.
One of the teas that was included in this month’s box – Lover’s Lane – is one that I’ve previously tried and reviewed. So, I won’t be writing another review for that tea, but, I am certainly happy to be tasting it again! In the meantime, I am going to tell you a little bit about this blend that I’m sipping right now – The Road to Hana White Tea Blend from Indie Tea.
And it is YUM! It’s got a great tropical flavor to it with the coconut and the mango notes, as well as the hibiscus. (Which is also quite tropical!) The hibiscus, gratefully, is not overdone here. It didn’t even really color the brewed tea very much … there was a slight pinkish hue but really, this looked more like a white tea than a hibiscus-y tea.
And it TASTES more like a white tea than a hibiscus-y tea too. And I’m very happy about that.
The white tea has a soft, delicate flavor (no surprise there, right?) and lends an earthy, sweet base for the additional sweetness of the fruity mango and creamy coconut notes. The hibiscus adds just a hint of tartness and it’s just enough of a contrasting note to offset the sweeter tropical fruits. Indie Tea has managed to achieve a nice balance of tart and sweet that leans more toward the sweet than the tart.
This has a nice mango flavor. The coconut is more “creamy” than coconut-y tasting … and I like the creaminess as it complements the white tea nicely. The result is a sweet and creamy cup of tropical lusciousness that has just a subtle tart note. Tasty!
A really nice choice by Amoda Tea. I like this one, and I’m glad I got to try it.
In The Mood Herbal Tisane from Hari Tea (Shoti Maa)
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit/Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Hari Tea
Tisane Description:
We appreciate the magic of the moment and celebrate that what is gives us and the world.
This tea stimulates your senses from the first sip and awakens your awareness of how nice it is to be alive: Orange treats with sweet, Hibiscus promises romance, pepper makes you awake for the adventure of the moment.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
So, hibiscus is supposed to be an aphrodisiac? That’s what I’m getting from the above description (taken from the Hari Tea website). If so, this is something I did not know about the herb.
It doesn’t make me like hibiscus any better.
This In the Mood Herbal Tisane from Hari Tea (Shoti Maa) has a bit too much hibiscus for my liking. What saves it for me is the notes of orange and the spice. The spicy notes, especially, help keep the cup interesting and detracts the palate from feeling inundated by the thickness of the hibiscus infusion. The spice also keeps the cup from being too tart. As it is, it’s drinkable for me, but, I can’t say that this is my favorite beverage.
It’s alright though. The orange gives it a little bit of sweetness, and a juicy taste – it tastes almost like there’s a couple of drops of freshly squeezed orange in this. I like that. I am wishing I could taste more of the other spices that are in this blend, particularly, I’d love to taste more of the licorice (or liquorice) and the cardamom. Every once in a while, I’ll notice a note pass my palate that I’ll think … “oh there it is!” but, then it disappears as quickly as it appears.
Overall, this wasn’t horrible. But, I don’t think it put me in the mood for anything other than a desire for some black licorice.
Organic Goddess Tisane from Shuswap Infusions
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tisane Description:
Strong hibiscus and cassis on the nose transforms to a delicious sweet blueberry and sour currant on the tongue. Sweet to start, tart to finish and herbaceous all around.
All organic ingredients: raspberry leaf, hibiscus, rosehip chips, dried currants, blueberries, natural flavour.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! Where did June go?
This is the last of the three teas/tisanes that I received in Amoda’s June Tea Tasting Box: Organic Goddess Tisane from Shushwap Infusions. After reading about this tisane on the Amoda website, I decided to follow their suggestion and ice the tea … so I hot-brewed it and stashed it in the fridge until it got nice and cold.
This tea was included in the Amoda box to celebrate the coming of Summer. I’m not exactly sure I see the connection yet – I mean, berries, yes those are summertime … maybe that’s it. I’ll reserve my final judgement until the tea cools and I’m sipping on some iced tea.
The dry leaf smells a bit like wine to me. Like a sweet, fruity wine. That gave me some hope for this one, unfortunately, no amount of hope could really … save this tisane.
Meh … I gotta be real, this one isn’t doing a whole lot to inspire flowery prose from me. I taste the berry notes, but mostly what I taste is hibiscus. It isn’t overly hibiscus-y, fortunately, because I didn’t steep it too long. It has a tart-sweet flavor and reminds me a bit of Kool Aid.
Not all that exciting really. It’s not horrible, and I’ll be finishing the pitcher of it that I brewed. It is light and thirst-quenching. But I do think that this could really benefit from … something. Perhaps the addition of some peppermint or spearmint … or even some cinnamon, ginger, or … something. It lacks “umph!” You know what I’m saying? It lacks that excitement factor. It lacks that something that makes me want to keep sipping it.
This is the first tisane that I find myself truly disappointed by from the Amoda Tea Boxes, and since I’ve been subscribed since November, I guess that’s pretty good.
Herbal Immune Booster from Teas & Botanicals
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Functional Tea/Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Teas and Botanicals
Tisane Description:
A great herbal tea blend boosting the body’s immune system. Its natural antibiotic and virucidal properties eases symptoms and discomforts associated with colds and mild fever. A good detox for the entire body, a great herbal drink for people with diabetes, ulcers, bronchitis, and various sickness and disease. Rich in vitamin C and has the ability to reduce high blood pressure and lower cholesterol levels.
Learn more about this functional tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
OK, I’m not a huge fan of functional teas … I mean, flavor wise, they leave a little to be desired, you know what I’m saying? But as far as the function they serve, I’m all for turning to herbal remedies in the form of tea if it helps promote health. So it is with this Herbal Immune Booster from Teas & Botanicals – it isn’t the tastiest thing I’ve had recently, but, it isn’t horrible either. And if it boosts the immune system, well, I’m all for that.
The ingredient list is short: just three ingredients:
Ingredients: Pau D’Arco, Astralagus, Hibiscus.
Pau D’Arco is a bark, and it looks like bark. It actually looks a bit like lapacho and so I did a quick check and found out that Pau D’Arco actually IS lapacho. You learn something new everyday. Although I doubt that my intake of lapacho will ever be such that I would ever need to know this again, but, hey … who am I to knock knowledge? Lapacho is supposed to help infections, fever, and stomach issues. Astragalus is supposed to help the immune system, and hibiscus is a diuretic and is rich in vitamin C as well and some minerals.
As far as taste … what I taste primarily is the hibiscus. I’m glad that the hibiscus does not have a syrupy or thick consistency, and it doesn’t taste too tart here. Perhaps the other ingredients thin the hibiscus enough to allow it to just give off an agreeable berry-tarty kind of taste without coming off as TOO hibiscus-y.
This tastes medicinal … as many functional teas do. I’m not about to sit here and try to convince you that this is the best tasting herbal tea I’ve ever tried because it isn’t. However, as far as functional teas that help promote health and boost the immune system … this ain’t bad. I think this does taste better as it cools, so if you’re going to drink it … I’d recommend trying it iced.