Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tisane Description:
On to the tea: it’s one of our awesome caffeine-free honeybush blends, a sweet refreshing blend of organic watermelon and mango flavors with real freeze-dried mango. This is pure, sweet nectar. I’m sure it’s good hot too, but as an iced tea it is a thing of true beauty, just pure refreshment.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
Yummy! This Mango Watermelon Honeybush Tisane from 52Teas is so yummy! I was pretty sure I’d like it, I mean, I love mango, I love watermelon … and I like honeybush … so I had every confidence that I’d enjoy this tisane.
The mango and the watermelon are really quite nicely suited for one another. I can taste both of these fruits, and they are sweet. The watermelon flavor here reminds me of the taste of watermelon candy, and the mango reminds me of the mango nectar that you can buy in the cans in the fruit juice aisle. It is juicy and refreshing!
And even though honeybush tends to be sweet (hence the name) it does seem to cut through some of the sweeter “candy-like” notes here, adding some earthiness and a nutty flavor to the cup, and creating a nice, round taste.
Overall, this is a winner – one that will be great iced and one that kids as well as adults can enjoy (and it’s naturally caffeine-free so you don’t have to worry about overstimulating the kids!)
Lemon Meringue Tisane from Trail Lodge Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos & Honeybush
Where to Buy: Trail Lodge Tea
Tisane Description:
This is truly a classic tea! It makes a great hot or iced tea. We have finally found the perfect lemon tea. This one has a mild and smooth lemon flavor with a hint of creaminess, reminiscent of lemon meringue pie. It is naturally caffeine free. Ingredients: Rooibos, Green Rooibos, Honeybush, Lemon Bits, Calendula and Cornflower Petals, and Flavoring.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
This Lemon Meringue Tisane from Trail Lodge Teas is easily one of the better Lemon Meringue Pie teas/tisanes that I’ve tasted. It’s totally YUM!
The base is a combination of red (or oxidized) rooibos, green (or non-oxidized) rooibos, and honeybush. I think that this is a winning combination. I’m not big on rooibos, but, when they’re combined with the honeybush, this seems to soften that sometimes “funky” taste that goes along with rooibos. And since green rooibos is much better tasting than red rooibos … this brings out the fruity character to the rooibos rather than that woodsy/nutty flavor. Nice! The honeybush still offers some of that sweet honey-esque tone and just a hint of nutty taste that accentuates the “pie-like” quality of this tisane.
The lemon is a softer, sweeter lemon, much like the creamy curd filling of a lemon meringue pie. I taste notes of vanilla too, and this brings a meringue-like quality to the cup. And every once in a while, I could swear I taste just a hint of butter that seems to imitate a pie crust like flavor together with the nutty tones of the honeybush.
This blend works together so well. Sweet, lemon-y goodness! A nice dessert-y treat that you can enjoy any time of the day … you can even make it a late night snack since it’s naturally caffeine free!
Pineberry Honeybush from 52Teas
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tisane Description:
There really IS such a thing as a pineberry. Supposedly it’s a strawberry that tastes like a pineapple and looks like the image on our label, which to me looks kind of like what marshmallows would look like if marshmallows were a fruit.
So, of course OUR take on the Pineberry is probably nothing like what a real Pineberry tastes like, which I imagine not very many people would know anyway, but rather what I imagine a Pineberry SHOULD taste like.
I think it should taste like sweet, golden honeybush with accents of pineapple, strawberry and marshmallow–so I created this blend with real freeze-dried pineapple and strawberry bits and marshmallow root. It’s a little different, but then, so is 52teas.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
Note: As I was writing this review, it seemed to come out more as a note to Frank (Chief Zoomdweebie at 52Teas) than it did a review … but it is still a review … so, since it does seem a bit like a note to Frank, I decided to craft it that way … I hope you enjoy my slightly different approach to a review today.
Dear Frank:
I’ve never tasted a pineberry. In fact, until I read the description of this tisane during the week of it’s release (April 8), I had never even heard of a pineberry. And since this Pineberry Honeybush from 52Teas is based upon what you think a Pineberry should taste like – I guess I will have to wait until a time when and if I should ever come across a pineberry in a market somewhere before I actually taste one.
However, I do like what your imaginary pineberry tastes like. Sweet with notes of strawberry, pineapple, and a lovely hint of marshmallow. YUM! And … I swear that I can taste an ever-so-subtle hint of pepper in this too, and I find that note to be so intriguing.
The honeybush is sweet and honey-esque, as I would expect it to be, with hints of a nutty background. I like that the honeybush is not a prominent flavor but that I can taste it, and it contributes to the overall cup in a very pleasant way. Perhaps the aforementioned hints of spice come from the honeybush, although I must admit that I don’t recall ever tasting spice notes from honeybush before (unless it was a spiced honeybush blend!)
I really like the way the sweet, nutty tones of the honeybush meld with the pineapple, and I think that you should explore the combination of pineapple and honeybush further. How about Pineapple Fondue Tisane: pineapple, chocolate, and honeybush, and put some marshmallow in there just for fun too … and while we’re exploring imaginary blends, I also really like the way the pineapple and the marshmallow work here, so a pineapple marshmallow green tea (or perhaps a white tea?) would be quite tasty too, I think.
And then there is the strawberry. The strawberry is sweet with just a whisper of tart. The strawberry notes taste authentic … no artificial strawberry flavors here! The strawberry with the marshmallow work nicely too. And since you’ve done Boo-Berry a few times, I think it’s time to work on FrankenBerry for Halloween this year: A strawberry marshmallow green tea.
Overall, I really enjoyed this Pineberry Honeybush a lot more than I thought I would. And I was pretty sure I’d like it, because your honeybush blends are usually tasty, and really, how do you go wrong with pineapple and strawberry and marshmallow? Answer: YOU don’t, and you didn’t.
Thank you for another delightful tisane.
Your Favorite Customer,
LiberTEAS
Berry Chocolate Tisane from Kally Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos & Honeybush
Where to Buy: Kally Tea
Tea Description:
Satisfaction! That’s the feeling that comes to mind while sipping on this berry delight. We start off with a mix of phenomenal honeybush and Rooibos, and then delicately mix in safflowers and marigolds, and just as you would think that’s enough, we take the taste buds to a whole new level by adding strawberry and raspberries with a kick of chocolate to finish! Satisfaction!
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I have to be honest, I wasn’t too sure about this Berry Chocolate Tisane from Kally Tea after the first couple of sips. Mostly, I was tasting the rooibos and honeybush, and I found myself wondering, where is the berry? Where is the chocolate?
But after the third sip, the berry flavor really emerged! Now, I taste more berry than honeybush or rooibos. It is a lovely berry note too, authentic, it doesn’t taste like artificial berries. It tastes sweet, it tastes tart … it tastes like raspberries and strawberries!
I’ve often said that I like it when tea companies combine rooibos and honeybush together, because I find that these two herbs really complement each other nicely. The honey-esque tones of the honeybush help round out that sometimes funky sweetness from the rooibos, creating a very enjoyable sweet note that requires no additional sweetener. Delightfully nutty, the combination of honeybush and rooibos melds nicely with the berry flavors.
This is definitely more berry than chocolate, and while the chocoholic in me would rather it be the other way around, I am still finding the berry notes in this tisane to be very rewarding. The chocolate takes a little while to sort of develop, it doesn’t really hit the palate until about the third sip, and then it is rather delicate. By mid-cup, there is more chocolate-y flavor, but, it is still not as strong as the berry flavor.
The berry notes are sweet and tart. The tartness lingers in the aftertaste, but it isn’t a pucker-y kind of tart … more like that tingly sensation on the tip of the tongue – as if I had just eaten a fresh berry. The chocolate notes lend a sort of creaminess to the cup, and together with the bright berry flavor… it’s really quite yummy!
This tisane tastes good hot or iced, I am actually liking this better as an iced drink, but that could also be because we’re experiencing some rather warm weather lately and the cold beverage is just so refreshing to sip. It’s nice and comforting when served hot late at night … like a decadent late-night treat, but one that won’t keep you up because it’s naturally caffeine free.
Mexican Cocoa Rooibos Blend from Trail Lodge Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos & Honeybush
Where to Buy: Trail Lodge Tea
Tisane Description:
Mexican Cocoa Rooibos is a Trail Lodge exclusive herbal tisane. You’ll feel like you’re having a Mexican Fiesta when you sip this tea. It’s a rooibos and honeybush blend with the perfect amount of cocoa and chilli. There’s just enough chilli to give it a little kick, and it will help warm you up an a cool day. Add milk for an extra special treat. Ingredients: Organic Rooibos, Organic Cinnamon, Organic Honeybush, Organic Cacao Bits, Chocolate Seeds, Organic Safflower, Organic Chili Flakes and Natural Flavor.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
This Mexican Cocoa Rooibos Blend from Trail Lodge Tea is seriously YUMMY! I’m not always big on rooibos, but, I find this blend to be very good, and I attribute this to a couple of factors: first, the rooibos used in this blend is organic rooibos, and I’ve found that there is a notable difference in taste between organic rooibos and conventionally grown rooibos. Second, the base of this tisane is crafted not just of organic rooibos but organic honeybush as well, and I find that tisanes created using both of these South African herbs are very tasty.
And … let us NOT forget about the CHOCOLATE! This blend has lots of chocolate-y flavor, enough to bring a big smile to this chocoholic’s face. I also love the fact that there is a touch of spice from the chili pepper flakes in this blend. There is just enough of the pepper flakes to add a gentle warmth that gradually increases, offering a very soft “burning” sensation in the throat without becoming too spicy or hot. I like that gentle warmth that radiates in the throat, and I LOVE the contrast of the spicy notes with the sweet, rich chocolate flavor.
The spice is further accentuated with the addition of cinnamon … adding a touch more warm spice but also a nice hint of sweetness to the cup. I like the way the cinnamon is represented in this tisane … there is a pleasing cinnamon note that gives the overall cup a very satisfying “Mexican Cocoa” kind of flavor … but they didn’t go overboard with the cinnamon. Cinnamon can often be a selfish spice in blends – but it’s not like that with this blend, and I applaud Trail Lodge Tea for managing to keep this tisane so nicely balanced.
I also applaud Trail Lodge Tea for going the extra mile with this tisane, and turning it into a “charitea” – for every 2 ounces of this tisane that is purchased, a dollar is donated to the “Ninos of Mexico.” Here’s what Trail Lodge Tea says about this charitea:
Trail Lodge Tea now has a new “charitea” that is also are own exclusive blend. It’s called Mexican Cocoa Rooibos. You will feel like you are having a Mexican Fiesta when you sip this tea. It is made of a blend of rooibos and honeybush with just the right combination of chocolate, chili, and flavoring as well as other high quality ingredients. Trail Lodge tea is donating a portion of every sale of this tea to Ninos de Mexico. That’s why we call it a “charitea”. Ninos de Mexico is a wonderful Christian Mission that’s main purpose is to help orphaned and at-risk children living in the Mexico City area. They do this by raising children in loving Christian homes and providing the children with medical care and education. The mission currently runs four homes for children, a medical clinic, and a private school. So you can enjoy some delicious tea and help disadvantaged children at the same time. Click the link below to learn more about Ninos de Mexico or go to the herbal tea page to order some Mexican Cocoa Rooibos.
I like this tisane … not only for its amazing chocolate flavor and warm spice notes … and not only because its all ORGANIC … but also because when I sip it, I know that there are children who are benefiting from this charitable organization.