Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Adagio
Tea Description:
A sunny, citrusy green tea, with a hint of delicious vanilla. Contains green tea, lemongrass, sunflower petals, citrus peels, and lemon and vanilla flavor.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Over time, this has become one of my favourite Adagio teas, and it takes a lot for me to say that. This is a green tea blend, part of the Sunlit Blooms collection, containing lemongrass, citrus peel, and lemon and vanilla flavourings. The dry leaf is primarily green tea, and the leaves are medium to dark green, fairly long and folded. No specific variety is given, but I’d say Dragonwell as an educated guess.
There’s also a generous scattering of sunflower petals, which I assume are there to carry the lemon and vanilla flavourings. Lemongrass and citrus peel are less in evidence, although it’s possible to find the occasional piece if you stir the leaf up and look hard. This hardly sounds encouraging, but as this one actually turns out to be a great tea I’m going to refrain from further comment.
I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 2.5 minutes in water cooled to around 180 degrees. The resulting liquor is a bright golden yellow, and smells mildly citrusy. To taste, it’s a different story entirely. Lemon cream, in the best bakery sense of the words! Although the green tea is a large proportion of the mixture, it’s completely unobtrusive in the finished cup, and super-smooth to boot. This means that the flavours really shine through, with lemon the first flavour to emerge, followed by a wash of vanilla and cream in the mid-sip. It’s truly wonderful, and sipping on this is putting me in mind of a huge lemon sponge coated in light, fluffy vanilla buttercream.
The lemon here is candy-like and a little tart, which works with the sweet, desserty vibe of the blend overall. Personally, I could probably take a tad more sharpness with all the creamy sweetness, but it’s so great I can’t say I’m all that concerned. This is lemon cream in tea form! A dessert replacement if ever there was one!
Adagio can be hit and miss in my experience, but this one is a definite hit. It’s just so perfectly put together, with really well balanced flavours. This is a must-try blend for anyone who appreciates a good dessert tea. I don’t think there are many that can match this one for pure lemon creaminess. Spectacular!
Enchanted Narnia herbal tea by Bluebird Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Bluebird Tea Co.
Tea Description:
‘Put the Turkish Delight down, Get out of that wardrobe + get the kettle on Edmund!’ said Lucy… Well perhaps we have paraphrased a little there. But we’re pretty sure that’s what she was thinking. Enchanted rose + smooth chocolate make an enchanting brew indeed.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I love the inspiration behind this blend from Bluebird Tea Co. The dry leaf looks like something right out of Narnia, with its whole pink rosebuds, additional rose petals, plentiful cocoa shells, lemongrass pieces and the fluffy, mossy greenness of the raspberry leaves. It’s so pretty, the White Witch of Narnia might well use it to tempt Edmund away. I used a generous heaped teaspoon of leaf for my cup, and gave it 4 minutes in boiling water. No additions. The resulting liquor is a medium golden brown, and the scent is faintly herbal, maybe a touch floral.
To taste, this one is pure liquid turkish delight, although the variety that comes coated in chocolate rather than dusted with icing sugar. The rose is the most prominent flavour; sweet with a hint of perfume. The flavour of milk chocolate emerges in the midsip, adding a creamy, almost vanilla-like sweetness that really complements the rose. Although cocoa shells are responsible for the flavour, there’s none of the dry bittersweetness cocoa can sometimes add to a tea. This is liquid milk chocolate over rose-flavoured turkish delight; sweet, smooth, and perfectly befitting a fairy tale.
I had hoped that the lemongrass would add perhaps a hint of lemon-flavoured Turkish delight, but it really doesn’t. While it contributes to the overall sweetness of this blend, its mild citrus flavour is completely overpowered by the rose. Still, that’s a minor complaint. With a tea this delicious, it hardly registers.
I’m always impressed by Bluebird’s blends. It’s clear that they take a lot of time putting each one together, and the ingredients are obviously wonderfully fresh. The rose buds in this blend, for example, are a bright pink, firm to the touch, and still tightly nipped together. There are no brown, soft, wilting rosebuds here! The abundance of whole ingredients adds to the aesthetic impact of the dry mix – these are truly beautiful teas that are a delight to look at as well as drink. The inspiration behind this tea is strong and clearly realised – it would be easy to identify this as a turkish delight tea, even had it not been labelled.
If you’re interested in a quality herbal tea, a delicious dessert tea, or are just a fan of the Narnia books and films, this blend could be just the thing for you. It comes highly recommended.
Feverfew Lemongrass Herbal Tea from Buddha’s Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Buddha’s Teas
Tea Description:
Feverfew & lemongrass tea brings together two well-known herbs to provide a brew of complementary flavors that is delightfully citrusy and refreshing.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Buddha’s teas has the most extensive collection of single-herb tisane that I have seen on the internet. I use a lot of those herbs for my own personal functional herbal blends, and it’s nice to see such a wide selection and knowledge base out there. This tea was provided to me for review.
Before I begin, I must give a little bit of a disclaimer. I have been dealing with migraines for quite some time. I almost always have a headache and the stupidest things can trigger intense brain pain at any moment, causing me to be mentally and physically crippled for hours on end. Even scrolling on my phone too fast will set it off. My type of headache is typically tension related.
That being said, I have a few tips and tricks that I do to help me ride the wave. I have read recently that feverfew is really effective in easing migraines. I was super stoked to be able to try this tea out from Buddha Teas.
The packaging is pretty slick, the feel of the box is much nicer than the usual store bought cardboard. Although I didn’t think it was necessary for the little glue strip keeping the lid on, I thought the package was fine without it. (actually, I thought it was some kind of booger at first! Lol)
The teabags are wrapped in the same color black velvety-textured material. The teabag is your average paper teabag, although I liked that this was made from eco-friendly items. There is also a cute little quote on each of the teabag labels.
Now on to the steeping! I used boiling water and tested steeping at 4 minutes and at 8 minutes. I believe the 8 minute mark is best for this type of tea because it allowed the subtle flavors to become more prominent.
The flavor of this tea is very fresh and herbaceous. The lemony tang of the lemongrass shines through as the main flavor. If the lemongrass wasn’t there, I may be able to tell what feverfew tastes like. I’m glad it is not an unpleasant addition. Rather, it is the most crucial.
I took this at the first sign of an oncoming migraine. I forgot to take any kind of painkiller, like I usually do. I put a heat wrap on my neck and sipped on this tea instead. I noticed that the coupling of these two factors help keep my migraine at bay. It felt pretty effective and it worked pretty quickly. I think almost any trace of my headache was gone in about 20 minutes. Which is a life saver for me!
Thanks Buddha Teas for letting me review your selection!
Energize Herbal Tea by Teatoxy
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Teatoxy
Tea Description:
Teatoxy Energize is a 100% organic blue detox tea blend that is absolutely unqiue and gives you the energy you need to stay fit throughout your day. Our master blenders have created Teatoxy Energize with 3 things in mind: flavour, health and energy. By combining organic Thai lemongrass, Pandan leaves, Moroccan Rose pedals with Bluechai and Lavender you get an amazingly delicious, all natural tea with a vast amount of health benefits.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was initially attracted to this tea due to its reputed energy-giving properties, and I’ve been drinking it fairly regularly since first receiving it a few months ago. The first thing that stood out about this blend was the quality of the “leaf”. Although this blend is herbal so there’s no actual tea, leaf seems an appropriate term to describe this particular mixture. The pieces of lemongrass are some of the largest I’ve ever seen – minimum 1cm square, with whole rose buds, whole bluechai flowers, and large, curly pandan leaves. The lavender is the only small thing here, with a generous smattering of buds throughout. It’s a really beautiful blend to look at – pink, blue, green, yellow, and purple. A true feast for the eyes.
When brewing a cup, I’ve been following the recommended parameters and using 2 heaped teaspoons of leaf. It would be difficult to measure much less than a heaped teaspoon in any case! This can be left for up to 8 minutes in boiling water, but in this case I went for a more conservative 4.5. I’ve found that this gives the most pleasant flavour (more on that in a moment), and means that the tea hasn’t cooled too much before it’s even finished brewing.
The second thing that stands out about this blend is the colour of the liquor. It’s bright blue. This is due to the inclusion of the bluechai flowers, which give this tea its energising properties. As an added novelty, lemon juice will turn the liquor from blue to purple. Lemon has the added bonus of lifting the flavour a little, making it sharper rather than sweet, and more refreshing, which might be quite welcome depending on your personal taste.
As it is, the flavour of this blend is another fairly unique thing. It’s certainly not like anything I’ve ever tasted before! The main note I can detect is rose, but underlying this is a thick almost-maltiness, reminiscent of some of “sleepytime” style herbal tea blends or hot chocolate. It reminds me a bit of Lush’s Twilight shower gel, as a matter of fact. The lavender obviously plays a part in this, but I suspect the pandan may also play a part. I’ve no previous experience with pandan to draw on, however, so I can’t say this too confidently. The aftertaste has a very natural, almost “green” flavour, which puts me in mind of a summer garden in full bloom; grass, chlorophyll, and the scent of flowers. This isn’t a tea for someone who really dislikes heavily floral flavours, because there’s a lot of that here, although adding lemon juice can minimise this to some extent. It cuts through what can become a very cloying tea, and makes it sharper and more refreshing. Definitely worth a try if you’re finding a full cup of this one a bit too much.
Since I’ve been drinking this one, I have noticed a slight improvement in my energy levels and ability to focus. I’ve taken to drinking a cup just after lunch at work, when I often start to flagg. It’s not a massive boost, but I’ve found it to be a good mild pick-me-up, without the associated problems of a caffeine slump. This is an interesting, unique, and intriguing blend. It’s definitely worth a try if you like herbals, want to try some new and unusual tea ingredients, or are looking for a natural boost. My first experience with Teatoxy was definitely a good one!
Lemongrass & Pandan Tisane from Chiang Rai Tea House
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Chiang Rai Tea House
Tea Description:
An exquisite, balanced blend of two fragrant herbs typical of South East Asia. The lemony flavor and aroma of lemongrass is a great match to the sweet, vanilla-like taste of pandan. If you haven’t tried pandan yet, this infusion is not to be missed. The lemongrass-pandan combination is known to relieve stress, ease constipation. detoxify the blood and, being caffeine-free, it’s also the perfect after-dinner beverage. As for all our teas and herbs, these two are also organic.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I don’t recall ever having tried Pandan before, so this moment with Lemongrass & Pandan Tisane from Chiang Rai Tea House represents a new experience for me.
Pandan is interesting! It has a sweet flavor that is reminiscent of rice. The description above suggests a vanilla-like taste and I get that too, but I think I taste more of a rice-like flavor than a vanilla one. I’m quite enjoying it!
I have tried a lot of lemongrass in the past, but I must say that the lemongrass that I’ve sampled from Chiang Rai Tea House is truly exceptional. I realize that there are people out there that might thing that ‘lemongrass is lemongrass’ but for those people, I’d recommend trying one of Chiang Rai Tea House’s lemongrass offerings and that might change your mind. If nothing else, you might find the curly shavings of the lemongrass more interesting and enchanting than the typical blades of lemongrass that you might be used to.
The combination of the sweet, citrus notes of the lemongrass with its subtle hints of butter complement the pandan in a very pleasant way. This is a really nice caffeine free drink – one I wouldn’t mind drinking on a regular basis!
Overall, I’m really happy that I had this opportunity to try this Lemongrass & Pandan Tisane – Pandan is delightful and so is the lemongrass! A really nice tisane.
