Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White Tea & Herbals
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Tea Description:
Blood orange tisane outshines white tangerine (20 percent) and lemon grass (20 percent) in this delicious, refreshing blend. Try it iced for a homage to summer, or drink it hot to reminisce on winter days.
A Carolynne Keenan Custom Blend.
Learn more about this custom blend here.
Find more Carolynne Keenan blends here.
Taster’s Review:
I steeped this tea at 190°F for 5 minutes and even with that short a steep time, the liquid looks super dark ruby red (like hibiscus) and the texture is thicker than I hoped for. Too much hibiscus in this!
So I decided to let it cool for a while and see how it would fair as an iced drink because as a hot tea, I found the hibiscus to be too overpowering for me to enjoy it. As the tea cools, I can pick up on some of the blood orange, tangerine and lemon-y notes from the lemongrass. The hibiscus enhances the tartness of these fruit flavors which is nice. I’m not usually a big fan of tart-y beverages but when it’s “lemonade” a bit of tart is OK.
I don’t taste a lot of white tea. This tastes more like a citrus-y punch than it does a tea. Which is OK I suppose but I’m more of a tea drinker than a citrus punch drinker.
Overall, this isn’t my favorite tea from Carolynne Keenan’s collection of custom tea blends with Adagio Teas. I think that if there was a little less hibiscus and more of the fruity flavors, this would be better. I would also prefer it if it tasted more like tea than like hibiscus. Then again, you know how I feel about hibiscus. Not a bad drink, just not my favorite.
Banana Coconut Tisane from The Persimmon Tree
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos & Herbal Tisane
Where To Buy: The Persimmon Tree
Tisane Description:
Our Banana Coconut herbal tea is a smooth and scrumptious herbal blend of rooibos, chamomile and lemongrass with notes of ripe banana, sweet coconut, graham cracker and a hint of caramel. This caffeine-free tropical blend will put a smile on anyone’s face. Try it iced and lightly sweetened for an extra refreshing summer beverage.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
I don’t always say “yummy” when I’m tasting a chamomile blend. I don’t always say “yummy” when I’m tasting a blend made with rooibos. So to have a blend with both these herbals in front of me and to have me say “yummy” after taking a sip seems pretty remarkable to me. But this is indeed yummy!
And that yumminess factor has less to do with the rooibos and chamomile and more to do with the other flavors going on in this cup: banana, coconut, caramel and even a little bit of graham cracker.
This is an interesting cup because there is a lot going on but it works. When I read the description and saw the flavors of banana, coconut, graham cracker and caramel” I thought … oh, ok, that sounds like a yummy pie. But then you see ingredients like lemongrass and chamomile and you think … what? Why are those ingredients in there?
But somehow, it all works together in a very flavorful way, and without any one flavor or ingredient becoming overwhelmed by any of the others. I taste each component of the tisane and it all tastes really good together.
The chamomile offers a very light apple-y flavor. The chamomile works harmoniously with the honey notes of the rooibos, because I taste a hint of pollen-ish flavor from the chamomile and this melds with the rooibos to bring out the nutty, honey sweet flavor of the South African herb. And the lemongrass is subtle here, offering a smooth, buttery note with a hint of citrus-y brightness.
Each component seems to unite with other components of the cup to bring out the best in each ingredient. And really, that’s what you want from a tea blend – that’s the thing that makes blends so appealing is the way that each ingredient adds to the combination so that the sum is greater than the individual parts. And this blend really succeeded in that quest!
This is a naturally caffeine-free (and guilt free!) treat that makes a perfect bedtime treat for those nights when you’re craving something sweet before you tuck in to bed. Served warm, it’s so soothing, comforting and a delightful sweet-tooth indulgence. It’s also tasty iced!
Ginger’s Island Fruit and Herb Tea from Good Life Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit/Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Good Life Tea
Tisane Description:
Ginger spices up this tropical blend of dried apples, coconut, rose hip, hibiscus and lemongrass. Step aboard for your 3 hour tour and loose yourself in your own island bliss.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
More hibiscus. Well, since this is another tisane from Good Life Tea and I had pretty good luck with the C of Tranquilitea tisane I hoped as I steeped this tea that my experience with this tisane would be as favorable as my experience with the C of Tranquilitea was.
This blend has a bit too much hibiscus for my liking, and that’s most of what I’m tasting. If I can get past the tart, pungent taste of the hibiscus, I can taste subtle notes of ginger and lemon grass.
It is a rare occasion when I find ginger in a tea and it’s presented as a subtle spice, but here, the hibiscus is so strong that it obscures the flavor of the ginger unless I slurp the sip. The aftertaste is tangy and there is some ginger heat to the aftertaste. This warmth from the ginger gradually intensifies as I continue to sip the cup, but it never really becomes a strong flavor in the cup.
The same is true of the lemon grass and the other ingredients in this tisane. I can taste them – very faintly – but most of their flavors are hidden behind the strong hibiscus notes.
Normally, I might blame this on over-steeping. But I steeped this tisane for just five minutes in 195°F. Usually, with a hibiscus blend, I steep for six minutes, but when I saw how robust the ruby color of the liquid was after five minutes, I decided to stop the steep process at five minutes.
In the note that I received from Good Life Tea, they indicate that this tisane is
…a fruit and herbal Tisane with Hibiscus, Rosehips, Coconut and Pineapple. The tropical flavors are tempered and enhanced by ginger and lemongrass.
I’m not getting much pineapple flavor from this tisane, nor am I getting much coconut. Now that I am more than halfway finished with my cup and the cup has had some time to cool, I am starting to pick up more coconut and pineapple-y flavors (and I’m tasting more ginger now too), leading me to believe that this tisane is probably much tastier as an iced tea rather than a hot tea.
That said, I can’t help but think that this would be infinitely better without so much hibiscus in it. If you’re a fan of hibiscus, you would probably find this tisane very much to your liking.
Not my favorite cup, but they can’t all be my favorite. This one is better as it cools. When it’s served hot, the tisane tastes strongly of hibiscus, but once it cools, the tropical flavors that are promised in the above description begin to shine through.
Summer Garden Citrus Mint Blend from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green & Oolong Teas
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tea Description:
Summer calls for a blend that’s crisp, sweet, and tangy enough to be a showstopping iced tea. We wanted to do something a little different to celebrate the season, so we sourced a beautiful Wenshan Baozhong Taiwanese oolong tea as the base of our recipe. Wenshan Baozhong is an extremely green oolong, full of grassy notes, but with floral and creamy aftertastes. Mixed with a dash of Yunnan Jingshan Green to round out the body, we think this makes the perfect green base for summer.
To bring out the fruity and floral notes naturally present in Wenshan Baozhong, we picked out creamy and sweet orange peel, rich lemongrass and a juicy bergamot. We use roasted dandelion root and licorice root to draw out the sweetness and help you make a satisfying iced tea- no sugar necessary! Finally, we make it crisp and refreshing with a dash of lavender and spearmint. Enjoy!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! This tea really is the perfect summer refreshment. This summer has been so hot and uncomfortably muggy that there have been times when I couldn’t bear to brew a pot of hot tea because even though I know that hot tea tends to be more cooling than a cold drink, I couldn’t bring myself to brewing something hot to drink. Thank goodness I had a pitcher of iced tea in the fridge for times like that.
This! This tea would make a perfect iced tea. I’m drinking it hot right now, and even served hot, it’s incredibly refreshing. The base of Yunnan Jinshan Green and Wenshan Baozhong Oolong makes for a wonderful sweet and light flavor with a lovely creamy texture. It’s lightly vegetal with just the right buttery note.
The lemon grass, orange peel and touch of bergamot adds a bright citrus note. The bergamot does not give this an Earl Grey-ish sort of flavor, but instead just enhances the sunny citrus flavors with it’s zesty character. I don’t know that I necessarily taste the dandelion root, although I do taste a toasty, nutty flavor which may be the presence of the roasted dandelion root. I also don’t taste a lot of licorice. But I do get a nice sweetness here – it’s pleasantly sweet without the addition of sweetener.
But the real star of this cup is the spearmint. It adds just the right touch of crisp, cool minty flavor without getting too aggressive. It doesn’t overpower … everything tastes very harmonious. This tea is named perfectly: Summer Garden Citrus Mint Blend. I taste fresh leafy notes, citrus, mint. It’s a beautifully smooth and enjoyable cup.
I can’t wait to be drinking this one chilled tomorrow! YUM!
Tropical Sunshine Herbal Blend from Simple Loose Leaf
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
Tropical Sunshine is an explosion of flavor amongst a rich backdrop of organic rooibos. With cardamom, red peppercorn, lemon grass, cornflowers, cinnamon chips, orange peel, cranberries, apples, papaya and grapefruit flavor, this elaborate tisane is as unforgettable on the palate as it is beautiful to behold. Outstanding both hot and iced.
Cardamom, Red Peppercorn, Lemongrass, Organic South African Rooibos, Cornflowers, Cinnamon Chips, Orange Peel, Cranberries, Apples, Papaya Flavor, Grapefruit Flavor
Learn more about this tisane here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Selection Club subscription program here.
Taster’s Review:
This tisane has a lot going on! And while it may have a lot of ingredients, they all seem to work together in a very tasty way. It is fruity, sweet, tart, and warmly spiced, and I love the contrast in flavors.
What I’m liking best about this particular tisane is that this is more like a medley of flavors rather than a focus on one or two. The different components of this blend work together to create a seamless, unified taste that isn’t really distinctly one flavor or another, but more of a combined effort of all the flavors into one unique taste.
Notes of subtle spice are there from the cinnamon and cardamom. These two spices offer a mellow, gentle warmth that accentuates the nutty flavor of the rooibos and the citrus notes of grapefruit, lemongrass, and orange.
The rooibos is not a strong flavor, but there are some nutty tones. The papaya offers some sweetness, as does the apple, while the cranberry offers a light tartness that plays well with the citrus-y flavors.
It’s a harmonious blend of spices and fruit with hints of nutty sweetness. A really tasty cup – this is the kind of rooibos blend that I tend to appreciate most, where the rooibos doesn’t present a strong flavor profile, instead it becomes part of a combined flavor.
A really tasty herbal that’s naturally caffeine free, it tastes great hot, but I like it even better iced!
Don’t forget to check out Simple Loose Leaf’s Selection Club subscription. I received five different teas every month! It’s an awesome deal! And if you want an even better deal use the coupon code SISTERSELECTION25 when you subscribe to this club and receive a 25% discount when you sign up for the Selection Club! This discount is applicable only to the monthly Selection Club subscription and not the retail selection of teas.