I know I’m not the BEST person to blog about a tea called Hibiscus Twist. That’s because I’m not the biggest fan of the flower. But when I read the other ingredients of this herbal offering from The Cozy Leaf – I thought I would give it a whirl.
Officially described on The Cozy Leaf website as an Artisan Loose Leaf Herbal Tea (Caffeine Free) – Organic – offering – the flavor of this is tangy-tart and fruity with a delicate touch of spearmint. I will not tell a lie…the spearmint is what drew me in.
As the loose contents steeps a beautiful crimson color fills the cup!
I do prefer this offering ICED over the hot cuppa option but each person is different and this is one of those herbals that can easily please the masses!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Cozy Leaf
Description
A tangy tart herbal blend that is sure to add a smile to your tea time and has been bringing a healthy smile to my face since May of 2010! This brews a beautiful crimson cup that is excellent hot or cold! One of my favorite summertime treats is to add some lemonade or fresh berries to a delicious brew of Iced Hibiscus Twist (excellent paired with blackberries and fresh spearmint)! Another easy treat is to make an extra strong brew and freeze the concentrate in ice cube trays. Then pop the frozen crimson ice cubes into fresh made lemonade! The crowd goes wild!! This is also a fabulous tea to have premade in the refrigerator for the unexpected guests. Nothing like having a premium and healthy beverage right at your fingertips to leave an impression!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Just A Little Tart from A Pin Tea Shop. . . .
This tisane came in a colorful, artsy package – a pin up style beauty lounging in a giant tea cup, in adorable strappy black pumps with a flower in her hair. The daring half blouse with the plunging neckline is fitting for the name of the tea…Just A Little Tart.
The blend contains apple, rosehips, hibiscus, citrus peel, flavors, and orange. Ingredient number three brought a shiver. Not the dreaded hibby! But honestly, I don’t hate it like some folks do, and while I am not a fan of strong hibby hot, I do enjoy it iced and sweetened.
Just to be thorough testing this tisane, I did taste it hot and unsweetened. It was, indeed, just a little tart but not terribly so. The apple really does stand out.
I poured the rest of that pot into a carafe with a little sugar and then resteeped. The second steep was quite pale in comparison to the first and the flavor was greatly subdued when I tasted it hot and sweetened, but it was really intended to flesh out the big iced and sweetened pitcher, which it did nicely. The edge is off of it and I wouldn’t mind drinking the resteep as it was.
Now that it has chilled thoroughly, I can honestly say that this is a very enjoyable iced drink and most welcome in the 90+ Fahrenheit weather we have been enduring. I really don’t taste JUST the hibiscus, and that’s a feat since hibiscus can be overpowering. It is a lovely, fruity summer tisane and very refreshing iced.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Fruit Tisane
Where to Buy: Pin Tea Shop
Description
This tea company may no longer be in business but can be reached below.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Bella Luna Blue from Adagio Teas. . . .
One of the things I love about Adagio Teas is their creativity. If you are familiar with their tea site, you know they have certain teas that the offer only during certain times of the year. Bella Luna Blue, sadly, is one of those. Let me explain.
Bella Luna Blue is a gorgeous blend of butterfly pea flowers, lemongrass, and blueberry flavors. If you haven’t experienced butterfly pea flower tea, you are in for a treat. This lovely blue flower creates stunning blue colored tea. When you add in lemon juice, your dark blue tea turns into purple. A sight for the eyes for sure but also a treat for your taste buds as well.
Brewed hot, this herbal blend hits all the right notes. Sweet with a berry citrus twist and a slight herbaceous feels. Add in a touch of lemon, and the citrus notes are enhanced and you are treated with an herbal tea lemonade. There is a solid but not overwhelming floral feel that really elevates the sip.
Pour this brew over ice, and you have an amazingly delicious herbal iced tea that will appeal to any taste bud. The floral notes are not as strong but are still there. You are still greeted with this wonderful combination of citrus and berry.
This tea blend is absolutely fantastic and one that I wish could be a staple in my stash all year long. Wish is where the sad part of this review comes to play, this tea is only available during a blue moon which happily is coming soon- March 31st.
So set your reminders my tea drinking friends, because on March 31st, you’ll want to be grabbing some of this tea to enjoy while we experience those spring months because if there was ever a tea that screamed spring, it would be this blend.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Description
Experience the elusive mystery that is the phenomenon known as our Bella Luna Blue. Available only when there is a second full moon in a calendar month, our rare Bella Luna Blue blends the zesty freshness of lemongrass and the flavor of blueberries with the exotic Butterfly Pea Flower, which when brewed, turns this mystifying herbal tea indigo! For an even more exciting treat, add a few drops of lemon juice to the mix and watch as the real magic unfolds right before your eyes!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
CTRL+ALT+DEL from Pluck Teas. . . .
I had this once before, hot and hated it. Let’s see how it is iced…
Well, first thing I noticed is this iced cup has less sediment than the original hot cup had. It brewed up a cloudy but light golden yellow but less cloudy than the hot brew. Hopefully both these things will result in a cleaner taste than what I recall.
The smell is strongly of ginger but with lemon in the background as well as a touch of musk that I am thinking is probably from a mix of this tea and some scent remaining from the mint tea that was in the press previously. Luckily, it is not transferring over to the flavor.
Instead, this has a strong ginger flavor with a bright lemon aftertaste. I wish I got more from the cranberries since they were the reason I was drawn to this blend in the first place alas they are hiding underneath all the other components. Nonetheless, the iced tea flavor is really quite natural and rich. To me, it is as if someone took fresh ginger and lemon and steeped that…and then maybe muddled it with some other ingredients. The lemongrass is maybe a bit more herbal tasting than I would like but this could be a nice caffeine free option for those who like this sort of tea.
Personally I am more of a dessert tea kind of girl so I don’t see myself reaching for this in the future but I am happy to report the the iced cup is much improved from the hot tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal Tea
Where to Buy: Pluck Teas
Description
Hit the reset button – with this refreshing lemon and ginger infusion featuring Muskoka cranberries. Caffeine-free and delicious hot or iced, this tisane packs a lot of flavour.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Dark Forest from The Jasmine Pearl Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: The Jasmine Pearl Tea Company
Tea Description:
A great coffee alternative! Smooth dark and rich this blend of chicory, cacao, cinnamon and many other delicious herbs create a satisfying brew for morning or afternoon. Due to the presence of cacao nibs, which contain caffeine, don’t drink Dark Forest near bedtime.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have loved every tea that I have tried from The Jasmine Pearl Tea Company. Their teas are delicious and just knock your socks off sort of fantastic. This particular blend I am trying is their Dark Forest Herbal Tea. Now the description from what the tea consists of online and what I have in hand is different so I think they may have changed up the formula. The blend I have consists of chamomile, ginger, eucalyptus, lemon myrtle, and peppermint.
To begin with, I am not a huge ginger fan. I do like it on occasion but it isn’t my favorite. I know ginger is great for the body so I will drink ginger teas and even enjoy it in food every once in a while, but I do not go searching for it.
So let’s talk about the journey it was to actually drink this tea. First off, I dropped the bag and half of the contents fell out. Ugh. I boiled the water and forgot about it. Boo. And I measured way too water for my new Doctor Who mug and I had tea all over my desk (I used a gravitea steeper). Yep. It seemed like this tea was doomed from the start. By the time I was able to take a drink of this tea I was ready!
The dry leaf reminded me of a sweet pumpkin spice bar. The mixture just smelled heavenly. I prepped my water and allowed the tea to steep for about 5 minutes. And I would recommend that being the time you allow the tea to steep if aren’t a fan of ginger like me. I have a feeling any long than that and the ginger would overtake the tea.
My first sip of this tea and I was surprised and how lovely it was. I was afraid the ginger would overpower and leave the rest of the flavors behind but that wasn’t the case at all. Each flavor was noticeable at different times and mingled together so nicely. The ginger was light but there to spice the tea up, the lemon myrtle provided a bit of that citrus undertone, the chamomile was giving the tea a familiar herbal feel to it and the peppermint gave the tea a fresh flavor. Really well done. Who would have thought those ingredients would make such a lovely herbal?
As delicious as this was, the new upgraded blend sounds just as good! I’m going to have to try that one soon!
Another impressive tea from The Jasmine Pearl!