Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Shanti Tea
Tea Description:
The phrase ‘Mamma Mia’ has popped up quite a bit in popular culture: once as a 2008 American-British musical/romantic comedy film, again as a stage musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, and also as a song from ABBA. But in Italian, Mamma mia literally means “my mother”, and is an exclamation used in situations of surprise or anguish. In our case, we’ve adopted this phrase to mean “Wow, what an awesome tea!”.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I brewed Mamma Mia from Shanti Tea, I expected it to be a very floral tea. The photo is very true to what I saw when I opened the package: white tea combined with lots of petals and lavender buds.
The dry leaf smells amazing … and the brewed tea is even more fragrant! Notes of sweet lavender and aromatic rose. It’s beautiful. And the taste … like the appearance and fragrance … is quite floral.
But there’s more to it too. There is a hint of a wine-like flavor to this tea, like a sweet white wine or perhaps one of those fruity pink wines, because this has a distinct fruity tone to it. I taste notes of currant and raspberry.
And the white tea is not overpowered by the flavors in this cup, either. There is a sweet, hay-like note to this … notes of vegetation … it’s a very fresh, crisp and clean taste. The finish is clean, and there is a faint aftertaste that is sweet and even a little tart. I like that even though this is a very floral tea, I’m not getting a heavy floral aftertaste. The flowery taste lasts during the sip, but, I don’t feel this perfume-y note on the tongue after the sip is gone.
I find myself in total agreement with their last sentence of the above description: “Wow, what an awesome tea!” Indeed! I seem to fall more in love with this company with every new tea I try from them!
Organic Lavender Cream Oolong Tea from The Rabbit Hole
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: The Rabbit Hole
Tea Description:
Creamy oolong tea marries with lavender and vanilla to create this heavenly liquor. A guilty pleasure for those who don’t do guilt!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! What an absolutely DREAMY blend this Organic Lavender Cream Oolong Tea from The Rabbit Hole is! So delightfully sweet, smooth and creamy. I’m loving every sip of this.
I like that the lavender hasn’t been overdone … or underdone! Lavender is one of those herbs that when there is too much of it in a tea, the tea ends up tasting a bit like soap or perfume … and when there isn’t enough lavender, it becomes so subtle that it’s barely distinguishable and when it’s that subtle, as a taster I can’t help but wonder, what’s the point in adding lavender at all … you know?
But, with this blend, the lavender is just right. It is balanced well with the Oolong and the vanilla tones so that I can taste the sweet floral notes without tasting like I’m sipping on body spray. The vanilla softens and sweetens the cup, creating a very luscious, creamy taste and texture.
And these two flavors are blended with a lovely Oolong that enhances both the creaminess of the vanilla and the floral notes of the lavender. These three ingredients play so well together, working in a synergistic way to bring out the best in each. This is something that I could drink again and again. I found it very soothing and comforting to sip on this rainy day!
Nature’s Bloom Pu’erh Tea Blend from Nature’s Tea Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Nature’s Tea Leaf
Tea Description:
Nature’s Bloom Pu’erh Tea: is the ultimate blend of our select loose Pu’erh leaves expertly combined with our organic Jasmine, Lavender and Rosebud herbal teas. Our Pu’erh is handpicked, dried, and rolled tightly and neatly into strips. Subsequently, the leaves undergo a microbial fermentation process which makes this a unique, dark tea. Our Jasmine buds are beautiful and tight until infused when they burst into a beautiful flower with a lovely and soft fragrance. Lavender is a flower purple in color with an invigorating fragrance and subtle flavor that will linger on the palate. While the third bloom in this one of a kind blend is our Rosebud. A staple of Chinese medicine, Rosebuds have been found to contain vitamin C which boosts the immune system and promotes healthy skin and bones. The marriage of the bold earthy Pu’erh with this fragrant and soothing herbal trio will thrill the palate with a bouquet of flavor that you will enjoy every day of the week.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yep, I did it again. I put off trying this Nature’s Bloom Pu’erh Tea Blend from Nature’s Tea Leaf because it’s … well, because it’s Pu-erh. While I have come to the point where I very much enjoy Pu-erh and Pu-erh blends, I still have not been able to get past that point where my initial reaction is hesitation and yes, even a little bit of repulsion when I’m given a new Pu-erh to try.
And … I’ll say it again, I enjoy Pu-erh!
But, I had a couple of really negative experiences with my first pu-erh tastings and the memories of those negative experiences have lingered even though my positive experiences with Pu-erh greatly outnumber the negative ones!
All that said – this flowery Pu-erh blend is absolutely LOVELY! The aroma is very interesting because it is both floral and earthy, giving it an almost “greenhouse” kind of scent. What I mean by that is that this reminds me of the fragrance that I’d experience if I were to go to a nursery and go into their greenhouse. Scents of earth and flowers fill the air! This is also a visually stunning blend with whole rosebuds, jasmine buds, and lavender buds generously added to the dark pu-erh tea leaves.
And I love the flavor. I did a quick rinse of the leaves – just 10 seconds! – and then I brewed the first infusion for 1 minute. The first cup is earthy – but not overwhelmingly so. The notes of rose, jasmine and lavender are in pleasing balance with the earthy tones. The pu-erh is rich and mellow and very smooth, and the floral tones – which can sometimes be sharp – are sweet and those sharp tones have been softened by the pu-erh, creating a flavor that is just pleasantly sweet, floral and very relaxing to sip.
As one who tends to shy away from the sometimes overtly earthy tones of Pu-erh, I appreciate how the floral tones lighten some of those strong earthy notes. At the same time, I like that the floral notes do not overpower the cup. This is a really delightfully balanced tea blend.
Victorian Earl Grey Black Tea Blend from Tiesta Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tiesta Tea
Tea Description:
We’re still trying to figure out how this Earl Grey tastes better than any other Earl Grey we’ve ever had. We’ve combined the classic bergamot taste, with a flowery lavender finish that even a non-tea drinker can enjoy.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
Ah … Earl Grey! There is something about the combination of bergamot and black tea that makes my palate happy. And I like the way this Victorian Earl Grey Black Tea Blend from Tiesta Tea infuses the great classic flavor of Earl Grey with the floral notes of lavender and rose.
The lavender and rose seems to soften the bergamot notes here … either that, or the blenders at Tiesta Tea prefer to flavor with a lighter hand when it comes to oil of bergamot. Either way, I’m finding this to be a softer bergamot flavor … but there is certainly enough of the exotic orange to please this bergamot lover. Tangy and distinct! Very nice.
One thing that the lavender does do is appear at the finish. I love the way it comes through here. It barely insinuates itself throughout the sip, offering mere hints of its presence, and then when the sip is nearly finished, the lavender comes through. It is sweet but not overdone. It doesn’t taste soapy or perfume-y.
The rose is a little less discernible … but it is still definitely there. It’s a very soft rose taste, and it melds beautifully with the other components of this tea. The black tea is also not to be forgotten here, it is a pleasant tasting black tea base – I suspect this is a Ceylon, because it is a moderate, even-tempered kind of tea – not overpowering, but still strong enough to say “hey, I’m here too.”
Overall, this is a well-composed variation of the traditional Earl Grey, and I enjoyed it immensely. It is smooth, sweet, tangy, and floral. A very enjoyable cuppa from Tiesta Tea.
Bilberry Chamomile Bliss from The Whistling Kettle
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: The Whistling Kettle
Tisane Description:
Our Dr. Oz inspired bilberry blend helps stem dinner cravings and relax the body. Wild bilberry balances blood sugar, resulting in reduced sweet craving. Organic chamomile and lavender soothes and relaxes. Rose hip gives this tea a vitamin C boost.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
Huzzah! I am so thrilled that there is NO hibiscus in this Bilberry Chamomile Bliss herbal tisane from The Whistling Kettle! All too often with a tisane such as this one, tea companies feel the need to add hibiscus to it. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not fond of hibiscus and it’s tartness or its tendency to create a thick, syrupy liquid when infused.
But that isn’t a worry with this blend, because there is NO hibiscus!
And this is actually quite enjoyable. It has a sweet, floral taste, and because there is no hibiscus, I can really taste that lovely apple-like note of the chamomile. I taste a gentle lavender note – and I do wish there was just a tad more lavender to this. Then again, I love lavender. But for those of you who are less fond of lavender than I, I think you’ll find that the amount of lavender here is on the light side.
The bilberry adds a delightful berry note that imparts that berry tart tingle in the aftertaste. The rose adds a really pleasant touch too – not too strong – just enough to add contrast to the floral notes of this cup. The tisane does not taste overly berry, nor does it taste overly chamomile, lavender or rose. It has a really nice balance of all the different flavors here.
I don’t taste much from the peppercorns. When I slurp the cup, allowing the liquid to be experienced throughout the palate, I notice hints of a peppery flavor … especially toward the finish. In the aftertaste, I notice a whisper of a peppery tingle on the tip of my tongue, but the peppery taste overall is really very subtle, so, if you’re one who tends to shy away from peppercorns in your teas and/or tisanes, you needn’t really worry much about their inclusion in this blend.
This is a really pleasant cup of tea. One that’s nice close to bedtime … it does help me relax as I sip it … be sure to deeply inhale the fragrance before you sip and enjoy the relaxing qualities of the aromatic lavender and chamomile, this enhances that sense of calm.