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!
Chamomile Citrus Herbal Tisane from Mighty Leaf
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Mighty Leaf
Tisane Description:
Chamomile Citrus herbal tea is a refreshing infusion perfected to curl up with and savor by the sip. Made with Soothing Egyptian chamomile flowers and subtle slices of citrus fruit, this vibrant blend will rejuvenate the spirit. From intoxicating aroma to sweet flavor, this signature herbal tea infusion in our silken tea pouch, our gourmet teabag twist, with chamomile, fruits and herbs reflects our vision of the artisan tea experience.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I have made mention in the past of my dislike of chamomile. OK, so I don’t hate chamomile. But I just don’t love it. I don’t think that I’ve ever thought: “You know, I’d really like a cup of chamomile tea.” That just has never really happened, because there are so many other things I’d rather be drinking. That said, sometimes, I need to chill out and relax, and chamomile does a good job of instilling that sense of calm that I want.
Much of my dislike of chamomile stems from past experiences of drinking teas made of crushed chamomile blossoms in a tea bag. Yuck. Fortunately, a lot of tea companies realize that when the chamomile blossom is whole and not crushed into dust, the brewed liquid tastes better. Mighty Leaf figured this out, and I can see through their silky pouches that the chamomile used in this Chamomile Citrus Herbal Tisane is beautiful, big blossoms combined with citrus peel, lemongrass, lemon myrtle and other herbs.
The citrus flavors combined with the naturally sweet, apple-like flavor of the chamomile offers a pleasant taste that’s easy to sip. The primary flavor here is the citrus flavors, followed by chamomile. I am happy to say that I don’t taste a lot of hibiscus here, although I do find myself wishing that I tasted more of the spearmint. I only taste very faint hints of mint in this cup.
Overall, this is a pleasant cup of tea. Not something I’d drink everyday, but I can see myself turning to it when I needed something to help relax. It’s very soothing and it’s tastier than plain chamomile.
Very Big Hill Dew Honeybush Tisane from 52Teas
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tisane Description:
Several people from our Southern Boy Teas Kickstarter campaign requested that we make a Mountain Dew inspired iced tea. I was thinking about how I would do it, and I kept thinking how good this would be as a honeybush blend. So here we have caffeine-free African honeybush with lemon balm, lemon verbena, lemon myrtle and organic flavors. This is YUMMY. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
OK … I cracked up laughing when I read the name of this honeybush tisane from 52Teas: Very Big Hill Dew. Maybe I have a twisted, whacked sense of humor. Because when I shared the name of the tisane with my husband, he didn’t think it was funny at all. Maybe his sense of humor is whacked.
Regardless, this is a really tasty tisane. I don’t drink a lot of soda, in fact, I can’t tell you when the last time was that I had a Mountain … err … soda by which this tisane was inspired. It’s been a long time. So, it would be difficult for me to say with confidence that this tastes like that soda. I do know that when I opened the package, it smelled like the soda, and that I know because my husband does drink it (well, the diet version of it), so I’m familiar with the aroma.
And this does have a soda-like taste. I can taste that bubbly, effervescent sort of taste. It’s light and refreshing. And there is a lot of lemon-y, lime-ish like flavors dancing on my palate. It’s very tasty.
The honeybush adds a sort of sweet, honeyed flavor to the cup, as well as a slight earthiness. Not exactly “nutty” the way I usually taste from a honeybush tisane. It’s just more of a slight earthy flavor that complements the lemon-lime notes in a really pleasing way.
It is sweet, a little bit tart and tangy, and very enjoyable. I drank a cup of it hot, and then I chilled the rest that I brewed and drank it iced. It’s better iced (it is a soda-inspired tea, after all), but, it’s still tasty served hot too. I found it to be a calming, relaxing cuppa – nice for the end of a busy day.
Citron Oolong Tea from David’s Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: David’s Tea
Tea Description:
This blend of high-grown oolong is truly rejuvenating. It’s scented with lemon myrtle, jasmine and natural citrus essences, and the result is light, fresh and uplifting. Hot, it’s soothing and citrusy. Iced, it’s an unbelievable thirst quencher. And infused into vodka, it makes the world’s best martinis.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Citron Oolong Tea from David’s Tea has a really nice medley of flavors. The citrus notes are soft (and I find that they intensify as the tea cools!) and the jasmine adds a lovely floral note to the cup.
In the first infusion, I find that the flavors are all pretty evenly balanced. I taste notes of jasmine, notes of lemon-y citrus, and the lush, vegetative notes of the Oolong tea. The taste is very refreshing, and I think I like this better iced than hot … although it’s quite good hot too.
The second infusion, I began to notice more of the Oolong notes. There is a light buttery note to the Oolong, soft and creamy, and this mingles with the lemon-y notes quite nicely, giving it a sweet note with just a hint of tart. The jasmine is softer than it was in the first cup, but it is still present.
Overall, a very pleasant Oolong blend. I served some to my daughter, and she also found it to be very enjoyable. It’s very smooth and relaxing to sip.
Passion Fruit Flavored Rooibos Blend from Octavia Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Octavia Tea
Tisane Description:
Lemon myrtle is more lemony than a lemon itself. If you didn’t know that already, this tea will show you! The citrus hits you, mingles with the tropical fruit and continues to linger. The hibiscus plays its part in adding beautiful colour and a tartness that tones down the sweetness of the tropical fruit, creating a more true fruit flavour.
Learn more about this blend here.
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Taster’s Review:
The aroma of this Passion Fruit Flavored Rooibos Blend from Octavia Tea really blew me away! It smells AMAZING! The combination of the passion fruit, peach and mango essences, together with the notes of citrus from the lemon myrtle … create a really ambrosial fragrance that … knocked my socks off!
OK … so my socks are still on, but you get what I’m saying, right?
And … I’m loving what I’m tasting here too. This is really yummy. But … for the purists out there who think that tea should taste like tea and not like a sweet, fruity drink … this tisane is NOT for you! This is a sweet, fruity drink!
In fact, one of the things I like best about it is that I’m not tasting much of the rooibos base. As I’ve said on numerous occasions, I’m not a big fan of the woodsy tasting herb. Here, just hints of the nutty, honeyed taste of rooibos comes through.
And I’m also happy to say that even though I steeped this for seven minutes, I didn’t get a heavy hibiscus note … nor did I get that heavy syrupy thickness that comes with steeping hibiscus a long time. The hibiscus here has been thoughtfully blended … adding just enough to give the cup just a touch of tart flavor without overpowering the blend.
The lemon-y notes from the lemon myrtle is bright and flavorful, and it really perks up the other fruit notes. The passion fruit, the peach and the mango … make delightful partners in this blend … so sweet and juicy!
This is a tisane that kids would love because it has a lot of sweet, fruity flavor. And it would certainly be better for them than that sugar-y soda … not only would it be less sugar, but rooibos have some great health benefits, as does hibiscus. And I love that the ingredients in this tisane are organic, too!
A really tasty tisane! This one gets an enthusiastic thumbs up from me.