Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Tisane
Where to Buy: Mountain Rose Herbs
Tea Description:
Raspberry leaves are among the most pleasant-tasting of all the herbal remedies, with a taste much like black tea, without the caffeine. Raspberries were said to have been discovered by the Olympian gods themselves while searching for berries on Mount Ida. Raspberries are indigenous to Asia Minor and North America, with the first real records of domestication coming from the writings of Palladius, a Roman agriculturist. By Medieval times it had a great many uses, including the juices which were used in paintings and illuminated manuscripts. King Edward the 1st (1272-1307) was said to be the first to call for mass cultivation of raspberries, whose popularity spread quickly throughout Europe. Teas of raspberry leaves were given to women of the Cherokee, Iroquois, and Mohawk nations in North America, and have earned approval of the authoritative British Herbal Compendium.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Raspberry leaves are pretty cool things; they’re great during pregnancy and a girl’s best friend during ‘that time of the month’. Plus, it’s just so fluffy and aesthetically pleasing to look at – like marshmallow leaf! I’ve enjoyed them mixed into a few different tisanes, but this is my first time trying them straight.
he description from this company likens raspberry leaf to black tea, but I found the taste quite a bit similar to green tea; very herbaceous and grassy with an almost chlorophyll-like note and the taste of fresh cut lawn trimmings. It was smooth and pleasant while it was hot, but as it cooled it almost took on an unpleasant bitter flavour. Such a drag.
Also, a big downside, for whatever reason this left a ghastly oily green film all along the entire inside of my mug. It was actually quite thick, and really unattractive to look at. Not sure what caused the film; I’ve honestly never had that issue with any other blend that used raspberry leaf but it really detracted from my overall experience.
Wu Yi Oolong from Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
Wu Yi Oolong is from China’s Fujian province and is known for its light sweet cup with a fragrant orchid finish. When steeped, the mature semi-fermented leaves expand to a full lively cup with more body than a green tea but less body than a black tea
Learn more about their month subscription box here.
Taster’s Review:
I am a newbie when it comes to some oolongs. I’ve had a few here and there but I have mainly spent my time with either flavored oolongs or really any other tea. Straight oolongs I’ve had on occasion but I seem to not pick them up as often as I would a green or black tea. No real reason. I have been wanting to educate myself on oolongs for some time. So when my last box from Simple Loose Leaf arrived, I was happy to see this in the box. I was so excited I grabbed my new bottle from Simply Good Tea and promptly poured the contents of the package into the bottle. Put the bottle in the fridge and twenty minutes later I took my first sip.
Oh mama. That is the good stuff. I can’t believe that I haven’t dug more into oolongs. This tea was heaven to my taste buds. I literally have been drinking this tea for 24 hours and I think I have finally exhausted the leaves. I loved watching them dance around in the water while they produced a beautiful cold brewed oolong tea for me to enjoy.
This tea was bright and crisp. I could pick up different aspects that reminded me of black teas and green teas both. The first infusion, I really picked up more of a dark roasted black tea quality. Towards the end, I was greeted with a nice bright silky like almost green tea flavor. There was a sweetness and well rounded note throughout the entire time I spent with this beauty. The dry leaves themselves had a nice roasted like fragrance.
Love it. Love it. Love it. For more first experience with this type of oolong, I’m very pleased. This was fantastic. I’m excited now to dive into more oolongs and really take some time with them. Great job Simple Loose Leaf.
Morning Organic Matcha by Grace & Green
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Grace & Green
Tea Description:
A matcha tea with only a slight hint of bitterness. Organically produced, its flavour is smooth and rich. This tea is perfect for everyday consumption, boosting health, energy and concentration.
Produced by Marukyu-Koyamaen (Uji, Kyoto, JAPAN), one of the top tea production companies in Japan. Well respected amongst tea connoisseurs, Marukyu-Koyamaen pride themselves on the excellent quality of their products.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I started this morning in my favourite way – with a matcha latte! Grace & Green kindly sent me a sample of their Morning Organic Matcha to try, and as a matcha fan, I was very keen to give it a try! The matcha comes packaged in a resealable tin, initially with an internal ring-pull style seal. The matcha powder itself is a beautiful kelly green shade, and the scent is delightfully vegetal. You can tell this is quality stuff – the brightness of the powder in itself is a good indicator. I used 1/2 tsp of matcha for my cup, and whisked it up with a little boiling water to make a paste while waiting for my milk to heat. I added the milk once it was near boiling, whisking all the while to ensure the powder was well incorporated. The resulting cup is a startling creamy mint green, almost like mint choc chip ice cream!
To taste, this cup is all the things I love about a matcha latte. The initial flavour is the sweet creaminess of the milk, but the matcha emerges clearly in the mid-sip. It’s very vegetal, as you might expect, almost in the way of freshly cooked asparagus, or wilted spinach. It also has an edge of sweetness, however, that helps it to build an accord with the milk. You’d think they might fight against each other in terms of flavour, but they’re actually very complementary. What I’m most struck by is how smooth this matcha is compared to some others I’ve tried. It’s blended very well with the milk, with only a little clumping evident at the bottom of the cup. That could be my whisking skills, though! There’s also a distinct lack of astringency or bitterness, which is at least partly why it works so well as a latte. It makes for a delightful start to the day.
In the interests of research, I also tried this matcha in a couple of other ways, both of which worked equally well. 1/4 tsp stirred into a small glass of cold water made for a refreshing mid-afternoon pick-me-up. Again, I found it to be smooth, with a minimum of clumping, and no bitterness or astringency at all. The vegetal flavour of the matcha is very apparent taken this way, but as it’s so fresh-tasting and reminiscent of sweet spring vegetables, that’s more of a bonus than anything! My third way of trying this matcha was similar to the above, but stirred into a small glass of apple juice rather than just water. I made a thin paste first with 1/4 tsp of matcha and approximately 1 tbsp of cold water, and then topped off the glass with fridge-cold apple juice. I was actually surprised by how well this worked, but the sweetness and lightly tangy acidity of the fruit juice paired beautifully with the vegetal flavour of the matcha. I’m reminded of fresh garden peas more than asparagus or spinach when tasting the matcha this way, and this would be an ideal preparation for those who aren’t so keen on the intense flavour of matcha when taken alone.
While I enjoy matcha for its versatility, I have to admit to being impressed by this offering from Grace & Green. It lacks the bitterness of some other matchas I’ve tried, which was what used to put me off most. The sweet, fresh taste of this particular matcha is second to none – it’s comparable to the flavour of a spring Bi Luo Chun to my mind, albeit stronger and more concentrated. I also appreciate the ease with which I managed to blend it each time. Although I did experience a little clumping with my latte, it was at a minimum. This would make an excellent matcha for those who like green teas with strongly vegetal notes, or those who are looking for a fresh, high quality, affordable matcha powder. The shipping speed was also excellent, arriving in the UK from Japan in just 6 days. Highly recommended.
Chamomile Rose Petal Organic Herbal Tea from BeauTea Studio
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: BeauTea Studio
Tea Description:
Chamomile Rose Tea ~ Always Organic ~ Herbal Goodness…Organic Whole Chamomile Flowers hand blended with Organic French Rose Petals to create a fragrant and ultra calming tea. Delicious with just a bit of honey.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Today was one of those days where I needed a bit of a relaxing tea. Catching up from being off on vacation for a week and some change wasn’t too bad, but I still had a few stressful moments here and there.
I was looking thru my tea stash and stumbled upon this delightful little tea. A simple Chamomile Rose Tea. Sometimes I feel like some teas have too many inclusions and sometimes you want something simple. This fit the bill perfectly. Chamomile and Rose Petals. The dry leaf had that old familiar loving smell of relaxing chamomile and the rose petals added a hint of floral aroma.
I decided I wanted to cold brew this beauty instead of enjoying it as a hot brew. I threw the sample into my cold brew bottle that was filled with cold water and let it steep on my desk while I continued to plug along.
A few hours later, I took my first sip. On yeah. . .that was exactly what I needed. The sweetness of the rose and the mix of the chamomile baked flavor just hit my taste buds right. I’m sure this tea is nice when brewed hot, but brewed cold I feel like the flavors come out even more. The rose petals really sang and the chamomile was fresh and bright. You couldn’t ask more for this herbal.
Simple and done right.
Yerba Mate from Chi Whole Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Yerba Mate
Where to Buy: Chi Whole Leaf
Tea Description:
A perfect addition to your morning routine, Yerba Mate is beginning to catch on as a extremely healthy substitute to coffee. This tea has a sweet, earthy taste that will keep you coming back for more!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The last of five samples from Chi Whole Leaf!
I’ve been on a bit of a Yerba Mate kick these last few weeks, so I’m both very excited to try this blend but also kind of feeling like I’ve overdosed on yerba mate and need to take a break from it for a few weeks. What’s better than a powdered caffeine buzz though? Hell that’s half of why I love matcha so much – so I’m ignoring those feelings of being all yerba-d out, and excitedly trying this!
The dry leaf doesn’t smell anywhere near as fragrant as the other four samples have been; just subtly grassy. My observation thus far is that the blends from Chi Whole Leaf fall on one side of a spectrum, either “very intense” or “surprisingly muted”. I’ve yet to really find a blend offered by them that rides the middle, and if I had to guess I’d wager this is going to be a bit more muted.
Like anticipated, this is pretty mild as far as Yerba Mate tastes; it’s grassy and earthy with a touch of natural sweetness. However, the licorice root and ginseng are definitely stronger – actually, they do a great job of finding a happy medium between tasting mild or robust. The combined sweetness of both begin to creep in at the end of the sip in a typical licorice root fashion. It almost has a honeycomb taste to it. However, if someone dislikes licorice root, ginseng or both they’re really going to be turned off by that taste.
Interestingly, I found that of all five samples I had the biggest issue with the dry powder for this one. It was really, really clumping together but it wasn’t as sludgy at the bottom of the cup as I was drinking it.
Again, I have to really thank Will from Chi Whole Leaf for the samples! I had a really fun time exploring them, and while I definitely didn’t love them all I was surprised by a few which I thought I’d dislike but where really, really good. Namely Floral Herb!
Oh, and just an FYI; right now you can check out the Chi Whole Leaf website and click the “free samples” button there, fill in your address and you can receive a free sampler to try out as well! Since you’re not even paying for shipping it’s definitely worth checking out!