Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Amazon Trading
Ingredients:
Green Tea with natural Key Lime Flavor
Learn more about Amazon Trading here.
Taster’s Review:
This Whole Leaf Green Tea with Essence of Key Lime from Eden Grove is one of the nicer lime flavored green teas I’ve encountered. What I’m enjoying most is that the lime is gentle – it isn’t too tart or sour tasting lime flavor, and it doesn’t overpower the flavor of the green tea.
The lime adds a bright lift to the cup. It’s not a strong flavor – just enough to enhance the cup without becoming too obnoxious about it. And this is something that I’ve noticed with the other teas from Eden Grove. The teas with “essence” tend to take a rather subtle approach to the flavoring of these teas. Eden Grove allows the tea to be the real star of the cup while allowing the “essence” to boost the flavor level without overwhelming the tea. I like that a lot!
The green tea is soft and has a lightly vegetative taste. It isn’t grassy nor does it have an overpowering vegetal note. It’s a sweet, fresh “leafy” sort of taste, reminiscent of lightly buttered, steamed spinach. It’s mild and has a very pleasant, creamy buttery note. There is a nice contrast between the sweet of the green tea and the sunny tartness of the lime.
A really pleasant cuppa – good served hot … but I think that this one gets even better as it cools. It makes a great iced tea.
Organic Corsican Olive Leaf Tea from Wise Owl Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit/Herbal Tea
Where to Buy: Wise Owl Tea
Tea Description:
Organic Olive leaf is a natural antibiotic and antioxidant. Olive leaf can rejuvenate your energy and enhance your immune system, supports your cardio vascular system and promote general health and well-being.
Olive leaves give a wonderful golden amber colour and a mild sweetness. This blend includes the delightful hint of apple.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
I wasn’t too sure what to expect from this Organic Corsican Olive Leaf Tea from Wise Owl Tea. I can’t recall ever having tried an olive leaf tea (but that doesn’t mean that I’ve not tried it … just that I don’t remember). And when I opened the very cool tube canister (seriously, I love the canisters!) I was a little bewildered by the amount of tea that is in each silky pyramid sachet. There is less than a teaspoon of tea in each little sachet – could this be enough to make a satisfactory cup of tea?
I contemplated using more than one sachet, but, instead, I went with just one sachet so that I could give as accurate a review of what one sachet of tea is capable of. I poured eight ounces of near boiling water (I never use boiling water in herbal/fruit tisanes like this one), and steeped the cup for five minutes as per the instructions on the package.
And yes! There’s flavor to this cup! The texture is thin but silky, and I taste notes of apple and a tangy pineapple note in the background. I also taste a sweet flavor that is neither apple or pineapple, and this is what I’m thinking must be the olive leaf. It has a soft vegetal flavor that reminds me a bit of green tea – but not exactly like that.
It is as though I can taste the olive there, and I’m not sure that isn’t just my mind telling me that I’m drinking olive leaf tea and I should be tasting olive … or if that’s what I’m actually tasting.
It’s a different taste … but not an unpleasant one. On the contrary, I’m quite enjoying this olive leaf tea from Wise Owl. It’s a mellow tasting tea. I have heard that olive leaf tea can taste bitter if it’s steeped too long, so I was careful only to steep this for five minutes and I’m very pleased with the results, so I’d recommend not going over the five minutes to avoid the bitter flavor … unless you like that sort of thing.
Olive Leaf Tea is known for its health benefits, and if it tastes this good, I’m not opposed to drinking something that’s good for me. That’s why I drink tea – not for it’s health benefits – but that it tastes good. The health benefits are an added bonus. Just like with this Olive Leaf Tea! The health benefits are just a bonus to the tasty flavor.
Whole Leaf Green Tea with Essence of Lemongrass & Chrysanthemum from Eden Grove
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Amazon Trading
Ingredients:
Green Tea with natural Lemongrass & Chrysanthemum flavors.
Learn more about Amazon Trading here.
Taster’s Review:
What I’m enjoying most with the teas that I’ve received in this Eden Grove Prism Collection is that many of these blends are very unusual. Take this Whole Leaf Green Tea with Essence of Lemongrass & Chrysanthemum from Eden Grove for example. This isn’t a blend that I’d probably find just anywhere.
Oh sure, I’ve tried many lemongrass blends, and a few teas with Chrysanthemum … but a tea that focuses only on these two essences? No, I can’t say that I’ve found a tea quite like this one before.
And I’m enjoying this. I can’t say that I’ll be out there looking for another Lemongrass and Chrysanthemum blend because I probably won’t. But if I do happen to find one, I wouldn’t be opposed to trying it. I like the light citrus-y note from the lemongrass and the soft floral notes of the chrysanthemum.
The green tea is a sweet and slightly grassy tasting tea, and I think that the natural buttery taste of the green tea accentuates the light buttery taste of the lemongrass. It makes for a pleasant taste and texture. The lemongrass has a sweet citrus taste that is reminiscent of lemon and lime, but without the pucker-y sour notes of the fruits.
The chrysanthemum is a very subtle taste with just a hint of floral taste that contrasts nicely with the tea and lemongrass.
Overall, it’s a pleasant cuppa. I enjoyed about half of my cup while it was still hot, and then I was distracted by other things, and came back to my cup and it was cold. I was surprised to find how tasty it is cold – this would make a really nice iced tea!
Love & Joy Tisane from Verdant Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Tulsi, Herbal & Fruit Tisane
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tisane Description:
The light apple aroma of the chamomile is tempered by herbs and florals and grounded with cacao. This blend does what tea is known to do – bring you to a place of relaxation and reflection. Love & Joy blend tastes sweet and has a soft and round mouthfeel. Sip, relax and enjoy.
Learn more about this blend here.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
What an interesting tisane! This Love & Joy Tisane from Verdant Tea is the second tea that I’m tasting from February’s Amoda Tea Tasting Box. Yeah, I’m a little behind. My March box should be arriving within days, and I’m still getting around to tasting February’s teas! Better get a move on!
This tisane has an abundance of ingredients:
Marigold (calendula), Goji, Linden Leaf + Flower, Honeysuckle, Chamomile, Tulsi, Elderberry, Cacao, Coriander, Frankincense.
And even though there seems to be a lot going on here, the flavors all meld together in an agreeable way. The first flavor that I can identify is the chamomile, and it offers a light, crisp, apple-y flavor to the cup. Then I notice the tulsi, and it tastes of basil and mint. There is a background of berry notes, and these berry notes come forward in the aftertaste. I get that tart note, that tingly berry sensation that you might experience after eating a tart berry.
After my first few sips, I start to realize that there is a distinct lime-ish note to this and then I re-read the ingredient list: linden! Yep, that would do it. The linden really brightens the cup.
There are light floral notes, not so much from the calendula (I very rarely taste a strong flavor from the marigold petals), but from the honeysuckle. It tastes sweet and floral and I like this little bit of sweetness from the honeysuckle.
In this cup, I smell the frankincense more than I taste it, but there is a warm spiciness to this cup which is not just from the coriander (and the tulsi!), but also the frankincense.
I found myself wanting more cacao. No big surprise there, I guess, since I am a chocoholic. My first 1/3 of the cup, I didn’t really notice much cacao at all, but by the time I finished that first 1/3 of the cup, I started to pick up on the notes of chocolate, and … YUM! I like the way the notes of chocolate meld with the other flavors of this cup. Sure, I’d like more cacao, but, I always do, don’t I?
As it is, this is a really interesting, intriguing cup. It seems to draw me deeper into the depths of its flavor with every sip. I discover more flavors each time I take a drink.
I have to admit that I like this a whole lot more than I thought I would. I’m not usually all that excited to try tisanes, but, this is really tasty!
Coconut Chai Black Tea Blend from Zhi Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zhi Tea
Tea Description:
Our unique Coconut Chai begins with organic coconut pieces and our top-quality organic Assam Black whole leaf tea.
Accompanying this superb pairing is a medley cinnamon, ginger, and whole cardamom. Bursting with the essence of the tropics, this handcrafted blend will soothe, nourish, and uplift your spirits. Share a steaming mug with a good friend.
Learn more about this chai here.
Taster’s Review:
The aroma of the dry leaf is tempting with notes of sweet coconut and spicy cinnamon and ginger. I waited anxiously for this Coconut Chai Black Tea Blend from Zhi Tea to finish steeping … three minutes seems like forever when you can’t wait to taste the tea! (And then there’s the cooling time! Argh! The anticipation!!!)
But this chai is well worth the wait! YUM! It’s a delicious way to warm you up. The spices are sweet yet spicy, and mingle in a very enjoyable way with the sweet, creamy coconut notes. I like that the coconut adds just the right creaminess to the cup; no dairy is needed to enjoy a latte-like experience. However, if you want to enhance those creamy tones, a splash of milk will do that for you.
The black tea base is an Assam tea, and I can taste the richness it provides. It has a smooth texture and a malty flavor that melds well with the sweetness of the coconut. The tea is full-flavored and has a sweet, caramel-esque undertone, and it is moderately astringent. It is bold enough to stand up to the strength of the spices, and I like that I can enjoy the flavor of this Assam as well as the other ingredients of the blend.
This is not an overtly spicy chai. The cinnamon tastes sweet, the ginger adds a pepper-ish kick to the cup while the cardamom adds a touch of warmth to the cup. It isn’t what I’d call a hot or spicy chai, rather, I would call it warm and inviting. This is the kind of chai that I think most people could enjoy – even the ones who tend to shy away from chai because they’re a bit too much for them. I think that the coconut mellows out the spices just enough to make this a warm chai but not a spicy one.