Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: August Uncommon
Tea Description:
As the Austrian Alps warm they offer a multitude of aromas and colors. The woods come alive with light flickering through branches, beaming in unexpected clearings redolent of grasses, herbs and wildflowers in full bloom. The bright spruce aroma overhead and earthy fir needles melding with the soil underfoot. Brushing your hands against the sticky juniper bushes, gathering fragrant herbs and ripe blackcurrant berries warmed by the sun. Capture the fleeting majesty of the aromatic journey.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s been a while since I’ve written a review here on SororiTea Sisters but that certainly doesn’t mean I’ve stopped drinking wonderful, strange and unique teas such as this tea from August Uncommon!
This is such an interesting tea; any time you encounter a ‘savory’ tea with different kinds of unconventionally used herbs and spices, such as the rosemary and thyme in this blend, you know you’re going to be getting an outside of the box tea drinking experience. The dry leaf of this tea certainly has a very pungent aroma of thyme which is quite enticing. There’s also a slight earthiness which adds depth right off the bat, even before pouring any water!
The aroma of the brewed tea is surprisingly smooth with both a familiar, comforting aroma and air of exoticism. However, I just feel like once you begin drinking the tea it fails to deliver the level of flavour that you’d expect from all the wonderful aromas that have been experienced at this point. Not that it tastes bad! It’s just that I feel like this blend doesn’t quite commit to being either sweet OR savory. I taste a distinct flavour of thyme with hints of rosemary but not in the potency I expected or wanted. The sweetness comes from a hint of jammy flavour provided by the juniper berries; I’m missing the distinct pine flavour of the junipers though and that’s a slight disappointment too because I think that flavour note would have really sold the title for me. The whole thing is supported though by a very smooth, earthy base though and I’m REALLY loving that element of the blend.
And of course, like I said, it truly isn’t a BAD blend. On the whole, I actually find it really delicious – I’m just having to mildly adjust my expectations while drinking it. I absolutely recommend trying it if you get the chance. And for people who haven’t had savory teas before I think this would be a really good way to branch into that type of flavoured blend.
Minnesota Blend from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tea Description:
Our goal with this blend was to create something that was distinctly Minnesotan with additions like Minnesota Wild Rice and north woods juniper berries, while still feeling decadent and rich for a tea lover like Lady Gaga. Vanilla bean and generous saffron make the brew rich, full and sweet without overwhelming and heavy-handed cloying artificial sweeteners.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I saw that this was a limited-edition blend created to honor Lady Gaga’s visit to Minnesota, I knew I had to try the tea. Not because it’s a tea created for Lady Gaga, but, because it is a limited-edition tea! I am a sucker for limited-edition because … well, they’re limited. I like to know what I might possibly be missing out on, you know?
And I’m glad that I decided to buy a sampler package of this tea! It’s lovely!
Reading the ingredients list, one might think that this is a wild twist on the classic Genmaicha … and yeah … there are some similarities, but this is WAY more than just your average Genmaicha!
It’s a delightfully aromatic and sweet cup with notes of vanilla. I am also picking up on a gentle, warm ‘pine-like’ resinous flavor from the juniper berry. The rice gives it a smooth, nutty flavor. I don’t taste a heavy ‘vegetal’ flavor with this tea although I do taste notes of edamame. I’m getting that an umami sort of taste here that I attribute to the green tea.
At the start, I don’t taste a lot of saffron flavor, but I can definitely smell the saffron when I lift the cup to take a sip. It’s beautifully fragrant! As I continue to sip, I can taste the saffron notes beginning to develop, although I must admit that saffron is not a spice I have a lot of familiarity with (it’s a seriously expensive spice!) but I do taste subtle hints of it here.
I taste the rice and the vanilla most prominently and these two together give the cup an almost “rice pudding-ish” sort of flavor. By the time I reach mid-cup, I can pick up on more of the green tea flavors – it tastes sweet and savory and lush without tasting overly “leafy” or “green” or “vegetative.” The nutty notes of the rice intensify by the time I’ve reached the bottom of the cup.
I find myself in agreement with the last sentence of the above description … the vanilla and saffron make this a rich, full, and sweet without needing to add sweetener and yet the sweetness is not an overpoweringly, cloyingly sweet taste, so I would recommend adding sweetener very cautiously and only after you’ve tasted it first, you may find that you don’t need it at all!
This is also a tea that offers multiple infusions. I steeped the leaves three times and got a really pleasing flavor each time I steeped it. The second infusion was a little less “creamy” and “full” than the first cup, but it was still very satisfying and deliciously rich. These later infusions offered more nutty flavors and a little more green tea taste than the first did, and I think these flavors are worth exploring!
A really good blend. I recommend getting some of this while the getting is good because the website says that the quantities are low!
Eight Treasures Valentine Blend from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Yabao & Green Tea & Tulsi
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tea Description:
Unique and unexpected. This version of their amazing Eight Treasures Winter blend has been altered to emphasize the surprising similarity with a Valentine’s tradition – candy hearts. If you break the flavours down, this blend is complex – sweet and almost candy-like,with lively citrus, warming vanilla and natural wood and pine.
Learn more about this blend here.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
I know I probably say this every month, but I’m always so excited when my Amoda Tea box arrives! I was especially excited for this month’s tea box because I had read on Steepster that this would be a “special” blend box, similar to what we received in December. This month, Amoda Tea teamed up with another one of my favorite tea vendors: Verdant Tea!
And this special Eight Treasures Valentine Blend from Verdant Tea is the first tea that I’m tasting from this month’s Amoda Tea Box. Having previously tried their Eight Treasures Yabao Blend, I felt pretty confident that I’d enjoy this Eight Treasures too.
The ingredients of this blend are similar to the previously tasted and reviewed Eight Treasures, with a few notable differences: this blend has juniper, tulsi and burdock, while the previously reviewed tea has goji berry, marigold and honeysuckle. The result is a drink that tastes slightly warmer … spicier. The previous tea had a more floral and fruity taste – I’d liken it to a “springtime” sort of flavor, while this tea that sits before me has more of a warm “wintertime” kind of flavor to it.
I taste notes of marshmallow from the yabao and these mingle nicely with the vanilla notes. The above description suggests a “valentine hearts candy” sort of taste, and I get that. It does have a sweet taste that is vaguely reminiscent of those little hearts that say “Be Mine” or “Kiss Me” on them.
I also taste the woodsy notes that the description suggests and these notes give it a very winter-y kind of taste: imagine a cozy fire crackling in the fireplace and sipping on tea with your valentine! This tea inspires thoughts like those.
I found that my second infusion was even more delicious than my first – the sweet notes seemed more intense and those “candy heart” notes were better defined in the second cup.
This is a really delightful blend from Verdant, and this box from Amoda Tea makes me a happy subscriber once again.
Black Forest Tea Blend from Naked Teas Galore
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Naked Teas Galore
Tea Description:
This tea shares aromatic notes with merlot wine – chocolate, cherries, dried fruit and flowers. To taste, this blend is classic chocolate and cherries. Ceylon makes for a light black tea base – the backdrop for a fudge-y chocolate start and cherry on the finish. Add a splash of milk and a little sugar to mimic the whipped cream topping.
Learn more about this blend here.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
When I read the name of this tea: Black Forest Tea Blend from Naked Teas Galore, I got excited. Black Forest to me means the cake – you know what I’m talking about, right? The dark chocolate cake that’s topped with a glazed cherry topping and whipped cream. YUM.
But then I read the ingredients. Carob? Ick. Why carob? Why not cacao shells? Such an amazing chocolate flavor can be extracted from cacao shells. I’m a chocoholic and I don’t like carob because carob DOES NOT taste like chocolate … at least not a good chocolate. It tastes like carob. It tastes like a poor man’s chocolate. It tastes like imitation chocolate. Ugh.
So, now my expectations are not all that high when it comes to this tea. I’ll still try it and hope for the best. Let’s see what happens.
OK … so this isn’t too bad. It’s actually kind of tasty. The chocolate flavor is a little weak (then again, this is a usual complaint of mine when it comes to chocolate teas, right?) The cherry flavors come through nicely. It’s not a super strong flavor, but, it’s enough to let you know it’s there.
The juniper berries offer a sharpness to the cup, again – not an overly strong flavor, but it does add some “focus” that I think this tea would lack if it wasn’t there. I am also enjoying the rose notes that I taste. Not something I’d normally expect in a Black Forest cake, but, I enjoyed it in the tea.
The black tea base is smooth and flavorful. There is a sort of creaminess to the cup that develops as the tea cools, and I find this particular aspect of the tea quite enjoyable. It is a medium-bodied black tea, so there’s not a lot of gusto to it, but, the flavors and tea meld well together to create a palate pleasing taste.
Overall, it’s not a bad tea. I taste cherry, I taste a creaminess, I taste black tea. I even taste a hint of something that could be chocolate if you don’t try to hone in on that particular note. It’s certainly not as terrible as I thought it might be given that it’s flavored with carob rather than chocolate; I was able to finish the cup without grumbling.
I do still wish that Naked Teas Galore chose to employ cacao shells or nibs rather than carob, but, this tastes alright. Not something I’d buy again, but I’d drink it again if it were offered to me.