Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Tisane Description:
Brace yourself. This tea has got a serious citrus kick that gets you in a good way. Lemon and lime together is an experience your taste buds will enjoy. The aroma of the tea is subtly sweet, woodsy with a nice lemon cream. The first sip is soft lemongrass with a lingering lime twist and hints of the natural sweetness of the rooibos.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
There are a few things that I do as I prepare to write a review. Probably the most obvious thing is that I brew myself a cup of tea – or tisane, as is the case with this Rooibos Kalahari Tisane from Tea Affair. I examine the dry leaf, smell it, and brew it .. sometimes according to package instructions, and sometimes according to what I think would work best for me.
For example, when given an Assam tea, typically I see 5 minutes as the ideal steep time. However, over the course of the many years that I’ve been drinking tea (more than I want to admit to!) I’ve learned that 5 minutes for most Assam teas is just too long and produces a bitter cup of tea. So, with most of the teas that I brew, I go with my best judgment and seldom does it let me down.
I also go to the website and check out the information that the tea purveyor provides on the tea I’m going to write about. Information like ingredients and where you, the reader, can buy the tea if they’re intrigued by it. However, when I went to the Tea Affair website to find information on this tisane, I came up empty handed. This tisane doesn’t appear to be available on the website. So, I shot out an email to Amoda Tea to ask them about it. They got back to me quickly.
Amoda Tea is GREAT when it comes to customer service, which is one of the main reasons why I’m still subscribing to this service. Well, that, and the fact that I get the opportunity to try new-to-me teas, and some are from new-to-me companies. I love that.
According to Amoda Tea, Tea Affair is a wholesale tea company … so this isn’t a tea that you – my readers – can buy. So, if you’re interested in this tea, please contact Amoda Tea about it!
In the meantime, let me tell you a little bit about this tisane!
Tasty! The citrus notes here are strong – much stronger than I would typically experience with just lemongrass, which suggests to me that the “natural flavors” here include lemon and lime flavors. There is a creamy element to this cup as well which could be from the lemongrass, as I often experience a somewhat buttery note from lemongrass.
I am enjoying the way the earthy notes of the rooibos (a little bit woody with a slightly sweet, nutty tone) contrast with the bright citrusy flavors. It’s a very refreshing beverage and tastes good iced, but is also quite the soothing cuppa when served hot.
Overall, an enjoyable rooibos blend. Not my favorite caffeine free selection that I’ve gotten from Amoda Tea, but, I liked it alright, and it was interesting to learn a little bit more about Tea Affair – a company that I hadn’t heard of before this experience began.
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!
Winter White Chai from Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
A soft, delicate version of traditional Indian chai, Winter White Chai features our fine Shou Mei white tea amongst the backdrop of customary chai spices, with one surprising addition: coconut. Delicious served in the traditional chai manner with milk and sugar or untouched for a more simplistic and delicate cup.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s NEW Selection Club subscription program here.
Taster’s Review:
I love the aroma of the dry leaf of this Winter White Chai from Simple Loose Leaf. It smells so delightfully spicy with notes of cinnamon, clove and pepper with a high note of coconut. My mouth began to water when I smelled it.
The brewed tea doesn’t have an overpoweringly spicy fragrance, instead, it smells warm and mildly spiced, like spice cake baking in the oven. And that’s the first thing I thought of when I took my first sip: spice cake! The spices come together in a very pleasing way in this chai – they’re warm and comforting.
Of the spices represented in this blend, the cinnamon and cloves are the most prominent. I taste a light kick of pepper from the ginger and the pink peppercorns, and there is a very gentle cardamom flavor to this too. I think that these spices were very thoughtfully blended: it’s a well-balanced masala chai blend that pairs well with the light Shou Mei base.
And I do taste the Shou Mei. When it comes to white teas, I think that Shou Mei is the least delicate tasting, and I think that it was the right choice for this particular blend because it needed something that could be tasted beneath the spices and other components of this blend. It has a subtle earthy tone, but the biggest contribution that I’m getting from the tea base is a refreshingly crisp note that enlivens the palate.
The coconut and vanilla notes work in unison to offer a soft, creamy note. I don’t taste a really obvious “coconut” flavor, but I taste more coconut in the aftertaste than in the actual sip. I find my thoughts debating among themselves as I’m trying to decide if I’d want more distinct coconut flavor to this tea. On the one hand, I do like the creaminess from the coconut and vanilla; it sort of gives a “latte-ish” taste to the cup without adding milk or cream to the tea (milk in white tea? No, that just seems wrong!) and I think that a stronger coconut presence might shift the focus off the lovely spices of this blend. I really like the blend as it is … then again, I really like coconut and there’s that part of me thinking “more coconut might be nice.”
The lemongrass adds a very light citrus-y note to the cup. It isn’t a strong presence, but it brings a little brightness to the overall flavor.
I really liked this Chai. It’s light and crisp, but still pleasantly spiced.
Organic Tulsi with Lemongrass & Ginger from Tea of Life
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Tulsi
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Tisane Description:
Tulsi or Holy basil is considered a medicinal plant with different parts of the plant possessing various different medicinal properties. Tulsi is said to be a remedy for digestive problems, acidity and other digestive disorders and help reduce weight as well.
Ingredients: Organic Tulsi, Organic Lemongrass & Organic Ginger.
Taster’s Review:
This Organic Tulsi with Lemongrass & Ginger from Tea of Life is a really tasty tisane. I appreciate the simplicity of this blend and I like that it’s all organic.
The Tulsi adds a slightly herbaceous flavor to the cup but it isn’t too much. It has a light “basil-y” sort of flavor with hints of mint and pepper. The lemongrass adds a pleasing citrus note that is a little lemon-y and a little lime-ish. Not too tart, though and I like the brightness that the citrus note adds to the cup.
The ginger is a soft ginger note. This isn’t a peppery-kick kind of ginger taste, there is a subtle pepper taste that is accented by the tulsi, but I like that the other elements of this herbal tea balance the pepper notes out so that it doesn’t taste too peppery. There is a slight peppery aftertaste – a pleasant peppery aftertaste! – that I find invigorating.
I find this to be a nicely balanced cup. The components meld together in a seamless way. A really tasty tisane.
Citron Tisane from Eden Grove
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit/Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Amazon Trading
Ingredients:
Naturally Caffeine Free: Hibiscus, Apple, Orange Peel, Lemongrass & flavors of Lemon and Lemongrass.
Learn more about Amazon Trading here.
Taster’s Review:
I am always initially leery of any tisane that boasts hibiscus as the first ingredient in its ingredient list. So, it should come as no surprise to you that when I was offered this Citron Tisane from Eden Grove to try, I was not as excited as I was to try some of the other teas from Eden Grove. (I especially enjoyed their Lovers Leap Estate Indigo Black Tea!)
But, I have been surprised in the past by teas that I was originally skeptical of, and so I decided to give this Citron blend a try. And I’m really glad I did. It might not be my favorite cup of tea from Eden Grove, but, it’s tasty!
Even though the hibiscus is the first ingredient in the list, there is relatively little hibiscus in this. A quick glance through the silky pyramid sachet tells me that the primary ingredient in it is lemongrass. And I like lemongrass. I only saw maybe a couple of hibiscus pieces.
After steeping in 195°F water for five minutes, this tisane brews up a golden color (not pink – another suggestion that there isn’t too much hibiscus in this!) and the texture is smooth – not thick or syrupy. All of the sudden, I feel much better about sampling this tisane!
And it’s pretty good. The flavor (not surprisingly) is citrus-y. I taste a tart note from the hibiscus (but again, this is not an overpowering presence of hibiscus), and that tartness accentuates the tart notes of the lemon and lime. There is a sweetness from these two citrus fruits as well as a sweet hint of orange with just a hint of bitter from the orange pith. I also am tasting a smooth, buttery note from the lemongrass, and a sweet apple note.
Overall, this is a bright and enjoyable tisane to enjoy any time of the day. The sunny flavor of the citrus makes it a good choice for earlier in the day, but it’s also an agreeable tisane for later in the evening when I’m looking for something caffeine free. It would also be nice to brew up and chill for something cool and refreshing.