Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Tulsi & Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tisane Description:
Tastes like jujubes
Sweet aroma of berries, apple and chamomile. Slightly sweet on the tongue, lightly minty with a tart finish. This tea is full-bodied and rich. Sip this tea and it will calm your body and relax your mind. ahhhhh.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
So, I’m a bit behind on my Amoda Tea reviews! This Poppy Fields Tisane from Indie Tea came in my July Tea Tasting Box, but, I’m just now getting around to reviewing it. What can I say, when it comes to tisanes … I always seem to be reluctant to try it!
But this is one of the prettiest teas I’ve seen in a long time! Big flower buds of chamomile, poppy and rose. And BONUS: No Hibiscus! Yay!
I was excited to see Tulsi as one of the ingredients in this tea (here, it was called “holy basil”) because I have enjoyed the tisanes with Tulsi that I’ve tried. I like the herbaceous, slightly minty, slightly spicy taste that Tulsi brings to a tisane.
In this tisane, the Tulsi offers subtle hints of the minty basil tones which are especially noticeable in the finish. I’m noticing more of a peppery warmth during the sip from the Tulsi than the cooling mint taste. But I like the way the Tulsi comes through in this blend, because there is a strong fruity character to this cup, and the spice gives it some added interest and depth.
The description from Amoda Tea suggests that this tastes like Jujubes … and I don’t know that what I’m tasting is Jujubes. I’ll be honest and mention though, that I’ve not had Jujubes since I was young. They were never really a favorite candy of mine (I didn’t like the way they stuck to my teeth). But I did like their bright, fruity taste, and while this tisane does have a fruity taste to it, I can’t say that this reminds me of that candy.
But it is sweet with lots of fruit notes: apple, orange, and hints of lemon. I don’t really taste a lot of ‘berry’ as mentioned in the description by Amoda, but, I do notice the tartness that lingers in the aftertaste. Given the sheer number of flowers in this blend, I did expect it to taste more floral than it does. It does certainly present a floral note to the palate, but, it’s a smooth, subdued floral taste rather than the sharpness that I often associate with floral tones.
Then again, everything about this particular blend is very calm and relaxed. The flavor is gentle and mild. It is a really tasty tisane … certainly better than I expected it to be given my hesitancy to actually try it. I like the fruity overtones, I like that it doesn’t taste overly herbaceous or medicinal, and I like that there is a pleasant warm yet sweet taste to it … without adding sugar.
As I mentioned in my review of The Road To Hana (also from Indie Tea) – a tea that also came from my Amoda Tea Box for July – I have already tasted and reviewed the third tea that came in my box: Lover’s Lane. I was really happy to see that Amoda Tea focused in on Indie Tea, because they are a company that I really like. They are a fun company with a youthful vibe … I like the jovial attitude they give their teas!
So this tea review gets me all caught up with my July reviews for Amoda Tea … and a good thing too, because I have August’s box waiting for me! I can’t wait to try the teas in that box from their featured blender: Tea Xotics … a company I’ve not yet tried! Yay!
Organic Redbush Chai from Steenbergs Organic
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Steenbergs Organics
Tisane Description:
Steenbergs Organic Redbush Chai Tea combines with a delicious blend of Steenbergs organic spices with organic redbush tea to create our own wonderful organic redbush chai tea. You brew Steenbergs Organic Redbush Chai Tea in the same way as normal chai tea and can add sugar, honey or milk to taste.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I have tried a couple of different teas from Steenbergs Organic now, and I must say that I’m continually impressed with their quality products! This Organic Redbush Chai is no exception. This is a wonderful spiced tisane!
I know I’ve mentioned this on more than one occasion, but there is a big difference in flavor between conventionally grown rooibos and organically grown rooibos. The organic rooibos is SO much better. The conventionally grown rooibos tends to have a very woody taste, veering on the side of “sour wood” that is somewhat off-putting. However, I don’t really notice the sour wood taste in the organic rooibos … yes, it still tastes “woody” but, not like sour wood. Not an off-putting woody tone.
And in this particular blend, the difference is important because unlike some other rooibos blends where the rooibos is indistinguishable, here, the rooibos is tasted. The natural woody and nutty flavors of the rooibos, as well as the sweetness of the rooibos, meld beautifully with the spices.
I taste the peppery notes of the ginger and the pepper accentuates the ginger nicely, offering a pleasantly warm taste without coming across as overtly spicy. The cardamom and cloves give the cup a solid background of spice – exotic, warm and inviting. The lemongrass perks up the cup just a little bit without being too obvious a flavor.
But what I’m liking best about this particular blend is that the cinnamon is nicely done. It isn’t overdone – and this is so often the case with chai blends. Here the cinnamon is sweet, yet spicy, but not overly sweet or spicy. It doesn’t taste like cinnamon candy. It tastes the way cinnamon should taste!
Bravo to Steenbergs Organic for yet another well-crafted chai! Very nice, indeed.
Lemon Pepper Melange from Della Terra Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Della Terra Teas
Tea Description:
This black tea has the wonderful, crisp taste of lemon with the spiciness of pepper! Our Lemon Pepper Mélange has a taste that will let you know that spring is on its way!
Ingredients: Black tea, lemon bits and flavor, red peppercorns, ginger pieces, orange peels, bits of apple, lemongrass and cinnamon
For more allergy info visit our FAQ
Suggested brewing tips:
Serving Size: 1 level tsp./6oz serving
Water Temp: 210°F
Steep Time: 2- 3 minutes
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I won an ounce of Lemon Pepper Melange from Della Terra Teas on their Facebook page. If you do not follow Della Terra on Facebook I suggest that you do. They often run drawings for tea, and always post their most current sale there. Anyway, I was the lucky winner of this tea and I love it, not because it was free, but I really love it. So what is wrong with this picture? Well the fact is, it has lemongrass in it! Some of you may know how much I despise lemongrass. This is not a tea I would have ever paid for in a million years, so it is a good thing I won it because I would have been short changing myself from a stellar tea!
This tea is so perfect. The lemon is the obvious leading role in this blend but the pepper and spices give it a nice kick. Some of the spices in this tea remind me of a chai blend, while others a fruit tea blend. This would be delicious on the holidays, but I am thinking it will be an amazing tea to drink iced this summer too. This is so fresh, lemony without being sweetened, which is nice because the fruits give off the perfect amount of sweetness naturally. There are very nice spicy notes here too, and the pepper kick is the right amount. It tastes very fresh and is refreshing as well. A great morning or anytime tea.
You know, really the lemongrass does not bother me at all in this blend. I really do not notice it is there and trust me I have tried to find it! In a way, and this may sound bizarre, but I believe it is the lemongrass giving tea blend an almost bubble gum like flavor at the very end of the sip. Not that I have ever thought lemongrass, on its own, taste anything like bubble gum. But with all of the fruits, the spices, the black tea, somehow at the end of the sip I get this bubble gum type note that I really feel comes from the lemongrass. Maybe I just convinced myself of that. Anyway, for someone who has literally sworn off ALL lemongrass teas, Della Terra has opened my mind, my eyes, and my taste buds. I tell you what though, if anyone could do this it would be Della Terra as they have some of the most stellar tea blends.
Now I do not feel I will be trying every lemongrass blend I come across or anything, but Della Terra does have a few others I have skipped over that I think I will give a try now. Maybe in one of their Try Me packs.
Citrus Earl Grey Black Tea Blend from Naked Teas Galore
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tea Description:
There’s a whole lot of tang in this tea: orange peel, lemongrass, bergamot oil. The Ceylon (Sri Lankan) base tea can also have a tangy character. This is a smooth, medium-bodied cup. Obviously, the citrus in this tea is bold, but it’s not aggressive or bergamot-heavy.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn how to subscribe to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
This Citrus Earl Grey Black Tea Blend from Naked Teas Galore is the second of the three teas I received in this month’s Tea Tasting Box from Amoda Tea. I really do enjoy these boxes, and this month, they did things a little different. Instead of providing three different teas/tisanes from three different tea vendors, they chose just one vendor to focus on, and selected three different teas from them.
I kind of like this change … it gives me the opportunity to try not just one tea from a tea company, but, three! Let’s just hope that the company they choose will be a new-to-me company – like this month’s vendor, Naked Teas Galore.
I am very happy with this particular selection – Citrus Earl Grey. Of course, Bergamot is already a citrus, but Naked Teas Galore really zoomed in on the citrus notes by adding Lemongrass and Orange Peel. These additional citrus flavors soften the sometimes sharp bergamot flavor and create a sort of “medley” of citrus-y flavor … sort of like a citrus punch, if you can imagine that. The bergamot is still distinct, of course, but just … more mellow. Smoother. Sweeter! The orange peel and lemongrass do not offer a strong, specific flavor of their own in the brewed cup; instead, these ingredients contribute to the aforementioned “citrus punch” like taste.
The black tea is sort of a mellow-tasting black tea that sits off in the background, content to let the citrus-y flavors play. It is a solid black tea flavor, but it is definitely off in the background. It is not an aggressive flavor, but I think a stronger black tea flavor would have interrupted the citrus-y notes that I think Naked Teas Galore was trying to hone in on with this blend. It might be interesting to see how a stronger black tea base would have tasted here, but as it it, I find this to be a really tasty tea, perfect for one of those lazy afternoons, when you just want to sit and contemplate the joy of tea!
MintGrass Tisane from The Teaologist
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tisane Description:
This tea is about the balance of its parts. Straightforward in its ingredients, uncommon in its composition. Bits of mint tingle the tongue, sticks of lemongrass refresh the palate and hints of chamomile calm the body. Slice up some ginger to add some spice. Stir in honey to sweeten the pot. Simplicity can be versatile.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Learn how to subscribe to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
This is the second tea from this month’s Amoda Tea Tasting Box that I’ve tried, and even though it’s a tisane (and I really would prefer that Amoda start including more TEAS in these boxes instead of tisanes), I am still finding this MintGrass Tisane from The Teaologist an enjoyable cuppa.
There is a really lovely balance of peppermint, lemongrass and chamomile in this blend. The peppermint is crisp and cooling – very refreshing! But I like that the other two ingredients here soften the vigor of the peppermint just enough so that it doesn’t taste too minty. Sure, the peppermint is a strong component to this blend, but, I don’t feel like I’m drinking liquefied toothpaste.
The lemongrass offers a really lovely, bright citrus-y note. It tastes faintly of lemon – but it’s a mild lemon taste – not really so tart as it is sweet, but there is a hint of tartness toward the finish that leads into the aftertaste.
The chamomile adds a touch of floral sweetness. Of the three components of this blend, the chamomile is the most discreet, but it does manage to make its presence known in the sip. There is a distinct “chamomile-ness” to the cup, but what I’m liking is that this doesn’t taste like a chamomile blend … if you get my meaning. So often when you brew a chamomile blend – there is a very heavy presence of chamomile … while here the chamomile is more subdued and allows the peppermint and lemongrass to do their thing in their own way.
Overall, this is a very enjoyable tisane, and I can definitely see the relation that this tisane has with this month’s Amoda Box theme – which is St. Patrick’s Day/Spring (this tisane being related to the spring part of the theme) It definitely has a fresh, spring-time kind of flavor!