There’s something magical that happens whenever I get a new tea from Plum Deluxe. It’s like Andy and his fantastic tea blenders just have a wire straight to my brain and know JUST what kind of tea I’m craving at any given moment. (Seriously, you guys. How do you do it. HOW.)
When this fruity, fragrant tea of the month showed up at my doorstep, I was a tiny bit cranky from this random week dreary getting close to spring time kind of days — and little did I know, a fresh cup of fruity iced tea was just what the doctor ordered to cure me of my let’s get winter over -crankyness.
This delicious oolong & black blend brews up with mild, fruity sweetness in the brewed cup, and is a perfect combination with a splash of lemonade (my favorite way to serve it) or paired with a hint of sparkling water. But you guys, if we’re being honest? I’ve been hoarding the dry leaf to sniff instead of brewing it because it smells OH SO VERY GOOD. Do you remember the sweet and delicious tang of strawberry fruit snacks as a kiddo? This tea is a DEAD RINGER for that delightful flavor-memory, but sans any of the chemical-ick.
Frankly, it’s the only cure I’ve found to remedy the crankiness that is born of cold dreary days. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go pour a cup and stick my nose in the dry leaf and enjoy.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong & Black
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Watermelon Lemonade Organic Green Tea from Fraser Tea. . .
I am a green tea kinda gal. Always have been. I enjoy black teas but sometimes they just hit me as being heavy. I love the fresh crisp flavors that only green teas an sometimes white teas can provide.
Speaking of crisp flavors, the other day I tried a unique blend that I haven’t seen anywhere else yet. Watermelon Lemonade Organic Green Tea from Fraser Tea. This blend is a lovely combination of green tea, peppermint, organic flavors, pineapples, and a few other ingredients.
Never would I have ever thought that I would dig watermelon in tea blends but recently 52Teas brought out a few watermelon teas that I greedily gobbled up tea pot after tea pot. This tea blend had my name all over it. I was happy to see it in my green tea sampler that I picked up from Fraser Tea a week ago. My tea kettle couldn’t prep the water fast enough for me.
For brewing parameters for this tea sachet, I prepped the water at 190F, steeped the tea sachet for a little over 3 minutes, and then allowed the tea to cool for another couple minutes-letting the flavors settle. This tea blend brews up to this lovely green limeade like flavor. I took my first sip and I knew I was done for.
Bright pops of a green vegetal background swirled happily and danced lovingly alongside notes of lemon and a subtle melon like flavor. There is a tartness through out each sip that is really lovely and the peppermint adds in a needed contrasting freshness to end each sip. I wouldn’t exactly call this a lemonade but in the same token, I wouldn’t simply call this a Watermelon Lemon tea. Like I said there is that noticeable tartness and I think that is where the lemonade comes into play.
Regardless, this tea is refreshing and marvelous. I can only imagine how dynamite this tea would be iced. This tea may not be a solid everyday drinking tea for me, but this tea is one that I would gladly drink every now and again. A lovely little ditty to keep in my tea stash when I need a change of pace.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Fraser Tea
Description
Delicate watermelon and mint flavor with a gentle finish.
Green Tea*, Peppermint*, Eleuthero Root*, Organic Flavors, Pineapples*, Lemongrass*, Hibiscus*, Safflower*, Cornflower*, Calendula* (*) = Organic Certified.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Dragonfruit Fusion Teabags from Simpson and Vail.. . . .
June was National Iced Tea Month so I thought a few Iced Tea attempts were surely in order! To kick things off I brewed some Dragonfuit Fusion Tea Bags from Simpson & Vail.
As many of you know Hibiscus scares me and Rosehips are creeping on that list as well. When I saw how intensely pinkish-red this was after brewing I ASSUMED it was going to be that dreaded tarty-sour Hibiscus I was so frightened of. BUT…I don’t know how S&V did it but it worked well here! It wasn’t overly tart or overly sweet. Perhaps it was the Green Rooibos base that helped even it out?
Ingredients include Organic green rooibos, organic rosehips, organic hibiscus, organic orange peel, organic lemon peel and natural flavors. I will say that I could taste the citrusy peels mentioned in the list of ingredients and that seemed to really contribute to the overall flavor of this tea!
The rebel that I am – I sipped a half of a cup of this tea hot before icing and it was pretty good hot, too!
I have a very large thermo container that I will be traveling with a lot this summer and I can see myself keeping iced teas in there very soon! I’m looking forward to Iced Tea Season. Are you?
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal/Tisane
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Description
Perfect for lazy summer days, this organic herbal blend brews to a ruby red color with a tropical fruit taste. Caffeine free and bursting with flavor, this “tea” will be enjoyed by young and old alike. Add a little sweetener or seltzer to brighten up the taste!
Ingredients: Organic green rooibos, organic rosehips, organic hibiscus, organic orange peel, organic lemon peel and natural flavors.
To brew:
Put teabag in a gallon container. Pour boiling water over the teabag to cover, steep for 5 minutes then remove the bag. Add cold water to fill the container and stir. Refrigerate. Serve over ice as is or with your choice of sweetener.
Iced tea in the refrigerator may turn cloudy. If this should occur, pour a little boiling water into the tea after removal from the refrigerator.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Tropical Sunrise from A Quarter To Tea. . . .
Of course since it is summertime anything that sounds summery I am willing to try! Tropical Sunrise is about as summery as it gets. It’s a green tea with goji berries, coconut, and mango! The dry leaf smells very citrusy and I think this would taste best iced, but instead of truly icing it I just let it cool at room temperature for a little while. Once it cooled I gave it a try and it is very refreshing!
Whenever I see mango or goji berries or citrus in a tea’s description I wonder if it is going to be too tart or citrusy. This tea may have smelled citrusy, but it actually was well balanced between all of the ingredients. The green tea adds a fresh, cool, and vegetal flair. The mango, citrus, and goji berries do stick out but not overly so.
The creamy coconut gives it even more of a sweet and summery feel and definitely creates a great blend that I approve of, even though it includes ingredients that I don’t normally gravitate towards. I enjoyed this and feel like it would be a delicious and refreshing iced tea this summer.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
A creamy coconut tea with hints of mango and citrus accented with goji berries.
Excellent iced or cold brewed
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
August Peach Green Tea from Simpson and Vail. . . .
Apparently peaches in august are sweeter than other times of the year. I didn’t know this until now. Learn something new everyday, right? I really enjoy the mix of peach flavor and green tea. Theres something really crisp and refreshing about them together that reminds me of springtime air. This tea in particular tastes just like spring, to me.
There are two peach teas that are my favorite right now, both of them come from Anne’s brilliant blends over at 52 Teas- Peach Cardamom Green Tea and Peach Cheesecake Honeybush. Both of them are just sensational. Unfortunately all of 52 Teas’ are limited edition and you have to act fast before they are gone (re-blend! re-blend! re-blend!). So, I have been on the hunt for a good peach flavored replacement. This August Peach Green Tea sounded like it had potential. According to Simpson and Vail, in Vietnam peaches are an indicator of the coming of spring and symbolize peace and happiness. Apparently, peaches that are grown later in the season have a sweeter and more delicate flavor.
My first recognition when I examined the dry leaf was that it didn’t include chunks of peaches. While I realize that most flavor actually comes from flavoring opposed to dried fruits, I still like to see them in my blends. Anyways, I moved forward and brewed myself a cup. I wasn’t getting an overwhelming peach scent. I mostly could just smell the green tea with maybe a hint of peach if you’re looking for it. I’m not sure if I would say that the taste was overwhelmingly peachy either…but that’s not to say that this isn’t good. The first flavor I noticed was the green tea- buttery, grassy, and crisp. Next was the agave I added to the cup. Last was the peach. Even though peach was the last flavor I detected, it was so spot on! The aftertaste of this tea left me feeling as if I had just taken a bite out of a fresh peach! The flavor was so realistic and fresh, I really enjoyed it. This is a light tea and it would be fantastic iced in the middle of summer. I enjoyed the flavors of the green tea mingling with the fresh August peach flavor. Although I don’t think that this beat my other favorite peach teas, it definitely is at the top of my list! A total must try if you like peach and definitely if you like green tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Simpson and Vail
Description
Peaches are from a deciduous tree that is native to China. Cultivation spread throughout the world and today major supplies of peaches come from America, China, Italy and Greece. Peaches and peach trees have long histories of symbolism in Asia; in China, peaches are considered a symbol of long life, in Korea they are considered symbols for happiness, wealth and longevity and in Vietnam peaches herald Spring and symbolize peace and happiness.
Peaches have a delicate, intoxicating aroma and a heavenly taste. The peaches grown later in the season, in August and September, have a sweeter more delicate peach taste. This green tea blend has the underlying taste of a sweet, Chinese green with the refreshing taste of sweet peaches. Summer tastes all in one cup!
Ingredients: Green tea, marigold petals and sweet august peach flavoring.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!