Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos & Honeybush
Where to Buy: Tea Forté
Product Description:
A tropical oasis of lush citrus with refreshing notes of spearmint and the natural sweetness of high-mountain grown South African rooibos. Your purchase helps protect fragile ecosystems.
Ingredients: organic honeybush, organic spearmint leaves, organic orange peel, organic rooibos, organic sunflower petals, natural flavors
Taster’s Review:
This tisane from Tea Forté is part of the “Herbal Retreat” collection – a beautifully boxed set of elegant pyramid sachets or “single steeps.” What’s a single steep, you ask? Well, not long ago, I reviewed one of my favorite tea products of all time, the KATI tumbler. The single steeps were made to go along with the KATI tumbler, and they are loose leaf teas and tisanes that are packaged with just the right amount of tea in each package for a single steep in the KATI tumbler. I love these single steeps because they offer the ultimate convenience with no measuring and no fuss, but I still get to enjoy the quality of loose leaf tea. And you can be sure the next time I’m planning a trip, I am going to get myself some of these single steeps so that I can bring loose leaf with me and not have to settle for those horrible tea bags provided by the hotel.
But I digress… I’m supposed to be telling you more about this Mojito Marmalade. This is a rooibos/honeybush blend. The aroma of the dry leaf has a pleasant minty note and a citrus-y tone. I can smell nutty hints from the rooibos and honeybush as well, but these aren’t as strong as the orange and spearmint.
The brewed liquor is sweet with a tangy orange flavor. What’s really interesting to me is that this really does taste like marmalade. It has that candied orange peel taste to it. The taste is so spot-on that I can almost feel the texture of the marmalade as I sip this.
While spearmint can be a very dominating flavor, I like that here it is more of an accent flavor rather than the main focus. That is not to say that the flavor of the mint is muted – not at all! But, it isn’t so aggressive that it overpowers the sweet marmalade-y taste that I’m enjoying.
The rooibos and honeybush are tastes that are less apparent, and I sometimes catch myself trying to taste it. There are faint notes of sweet, nutty tones, and there is a slight woody tone toward the finish. The aftertaste is sweet with a tart citrus note. It even tingles a little bit on the tongue!
This just may be my favorite tisane from Tea Forté to date. It’s really delicious!
Kiwi Lime Ginger from Tea Forté
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos & Honeybush
Where to Buy: Tea Forté
Product Description:
The sunny scent of fresh picked citrus complemented by the comfort and taste of ginger with a lingering finish of the topics.
Taster’s Review:
I was a little worried about steeping this single steep in my KATI tumbler for fear that the thin, needle-like leaves of the rooibos would filter through the mesh infuser basket. But I am happy to report that no rooibos leaves (or any other particles) managed to fall through the basket! Yay!
Prior to infusing this tisane, I could smell the lime and kiwi very prominently, with mere hints of ginger lingering in the background. It was a little surprising, actually, as ginger tends to be a very aggressive spice that often overthrows the other ingredients in a tisane blend. And while I do enjoy ginger, I am glad that I could smell the lime and especially the kiwi here.
The aroma that I’m experiencing after brewing is slightly medicinal. I can still smell the citrus notes, and a softer note of kiwi. While it does smell slightly medicinal (sort of like eucalyptus), it isn’t exactly off-putting – but it does give me cause to approach it somewhat apprehensively.
This is tasty! The lime and kiwi are prominent in the flavor, as is the ginger. It is only mildly peppery, and it is a very pleasing contrast to the sweet kiwi flavor and the tangy lime. The combination of the honeybush and the rooibos provides a nice background – one that is nutty and slightly sweet. It melds well with the other flavors of the cup.
Another winner from the Herbal Retreat Collection from Tea Forté!
Apricot Amaretto Tea from Tea Forte
Tea Type: Rooibos/Honeybush Blend
Where To Buy: Tea Forte
Product Description:
Description: A double delight of sweet apricot and juicy peach with nuanced notes of almond, artfully evoking Saronno, Italy, the birthplace of amaretto.
Ingredients: organic honeybush, organic rooibos, organic marigold flowers, natural flavors
Tasters Review:
I really enjoyed Apricot Amaretto from Tea Forte…both hot and cold…I think the new Herbal Retreat offerings are more my speed! At least the offerings without Hibiscus that is…and even some with Hibiscus, I suppose! More on that in future reviews! The Hibiscus/other ingredient ratio is more pleasing to my palate (as many of you know I’m not usually into overly tarty teas or tisanes).
This is WYSIWYG…Apricot and Amaretto sums it up nicely! I’m appreciating the Honeybush/Rooibos blends very much – thanks Tea Forte! Two thumbs up on this one!
Frankie Says RELAX from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush, Tulsi & Herbal Blend
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Product Description:
It’s 102° in Wichita today, I’ve been stressing out like crazy lately over a bunch of personal stuff, but fortunately, I have the perfect remedy: a tall tumbler full of iced tea, specifically, our tea of the week for this week.
Frankie Says Relax (I just couldn’t resist), is a blend of caffeine-free organic African honeybush, organic Tulsi Rama, lemon myrtle (come to think of it, I think it’s organic too), and natural lemon and lime flavors.
The resulting blend is a bit spicy, a lot citrus-y, with a touch of natural sweetness from the honeybush, and ALL relaxing. It is an “Ahhhhh”-moment in a cup. And I can tell you firsthand, it is amazing hot or iced.
I fully expect this one is going to go fast, and I don’t have an unlimited supply of tulsi (or honeybush right now for that matter), so don’t drag your feet, get some now and enjoy this one-of-a-kind refreshment.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! This tastes much better than I thought it would. Not that I doubted Frank’s artistry; however, I just thought that this blend seemed a little more “ordinary” … or is “tame” a better word? It’s not a “far out” blend like some of Frank’s other fantastically famous blends like Pancake Breakfast or Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha. In comparison, this lemon-lime Tulsi & Honeybush blend would seem a bit boring.
But it isn’t.
The flavor is very refreshing. The lemon and lime flavors meld wonderfully with the herbal-minty flavor of the Tulsi and the honey-nutty flavor of the honeybush. The Tulsi does give the cup a slightly medicine-y kind of taste … no… more like an herbal-health-food kind of taste in the background, but, it doesn’t offset the delicious sweetness of it.
The citrus notes hit the palate first. The citrus tastes tangy, juicy and just a little bit sweet. The citrus is crisp but not sharp, as I think that the sweetness from the Honeybush tempers the sharper tones well. Beneath these stronger flavors, the honeybush offers its sweet, nutty taste, while the mint-basil-y taste of the Tulsi sits back in the background.
I think that Frank describes it best when he says it’s “a bit spicy, a lot citrus-y, with a touch of natural sweetness from the honeybush, and ALL relaxing.” This is all that!
Chad’s Red Chai from Chad’s Chai & Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos & Honeybush
Where to Buy: Chad’s Chai & Tea Co.
Product Description:
Made with leaves from the South African Rooibos bush, this caffeine-free chai is bursting with exotic spices and notes of cherry. Try it straight up or with milk. Great for all ages and times of the day.
Ingredients: (all organic chai) Organic Rooibos leaf, Organic Honeybush, Organic Cinnamon, Organic Black pepper, Organic Chili pepper, Organic Ginger, Organic Coriander, Organic Cardamom, Organic Calendula.
Taster’s Review:
I like this! And there is so much to like…
I like that the base is a combination of rooibos and honeybush. I like the flavor of these two South African herbs combined: nutty with a pleasing honey-esque undertone. I especially like that the two herbs (and the rest of the ingredients) are organic; as I’ve said on previous occasions, there is a difference that is noticeable in the flavor between the organically grown and conventionally grown rooibos.
I also like the spice level here. It is spicy, but, I don’t find the spices to be too overwhelming. It has just enough zest to it to give it a lively taste without setting the palate afire. The chili pepper not only gives this a nice amount of heat, but also an interesting fruity note in the background.
This is a little different from a typical “red chai” in that it focuses more on the lively zip from peppery spices. Because this chai doesn’t contain cloves, it doesn’t have that solid background of gentle warmth, instead, this has more of a peppery punch, and I like it!
Overall, this is a very flavorful cup. It is warming and soothing – the kind of tisane I like to curl up to later in the evening, when I want something comforting. I also like that no sweetening is required with this chai to bring out the spice flavors – there is a natural honey-like sweetness to the base already. I enjoyed this without any milk or cream, but if you want a creamier cup of chai, this would take that addition well.
YUM!