This is the first time I’m trying a blend from Love Some Tea. I got a chance to try Tropical Sunset blend thanks to a generous SororiTea Sister. The first thing I noticed about this tea is its colorful logo and package design. A green stylized tree is set on a bright background of orange and pink sunset rays. The colors look a bit like a groovy blacklight poster or a flower power mural.
The second thing I notice about this tea is the size and quality of its leaves. Their description says this includes both black and green teas, but it is hard to tell the difference in the dry leaves, they are all lush, long, curled leaves. Brewed, the color difference between the green and black leaves is more distinct and you start to notice the layers of flavor in the scent and taste.
This tropical blend is a medium body tea, like an oolong, with a touch of green and mineral flavors. But the black tea also adds a bit of unexpected starchiness and a tiny hint of woodsy smoke at the end of each sip.
Among all of these intense tea flavors, there are fruity flavors like passionfruit, mango and papaya. The fruitiness is so lush the dry leaf almost smells like a fresh plum, but the tropical nature of the fruits comes out more in the brewing.
The quality of the tea leaves made it so that I really enjoyed this tea when brewed hot, but something about tropical flavors always makes me think the tea would be even better when served iced.
I was impressed by my first experience with Love Some Tea and I’ll have to try some of their other flavors sometime soon!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black and Green
Where to Buy: Love Some Tea
Description:
Our first green and black blend layered with all the wonderful aromas of Thailand, including dried mango, dried passion fruit, dried papaya, rose flower, blue lotus flower, jasmine flower.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Drink Me Oolong from Plum Deluxe
Drink Me Oolong from Plum Deluxe has a warm and toasty roasted oolong base with added mango and almond essence. The darker oolong tea keeps the blend from getting too sweet, adding an almost savory nuttiness with each sip. The almond adds its trademark, almost-floral marzipan candy taste. The fruity mango adds a nice brightness to keep this blend uplifting and not too dense or cake-like.
I believe the name of this blend is inspired by Alice in Wonderland, but even without the reference is it a cute name to have looking back at you from your tea cupboard on rainy days. With sunny mango, bakery sweet almond, and a mid-level of caffeine, this is a great tea for the afternoon slump or a mid-day tea party.
Drink Me Oolong from Plum Deluxe was a limited edition blend, that should cycle back around in their seasonal blends or as part of their subscription service. In the meantime, give Pick Me Up Oolong a try, with almond and maple flavors and a similar oolong tea base.
Or try another flavor of oolong tea. Plum Deluxe teas always have great flavor combinations, and include things like “love” and “gratitude” on their ingredients list, so you can’t help but feel good when you brew a cup of their tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
This tea is no longer available but click below for other options!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Mango Madness from Blooming with Joy. . . . .
With a long and varied ingredients list, I have to say that the “madness” part of Mango Madness blend from Blooming with Joy is very fitting. We have white tea, rose hips, pineapple, mango, cranberries, rose petals, apple pieces, hibiscus, blueberries and more. Whew! There are a lot of flavors going on in this tea.
Believe it or not the white tea base holds its own against all the fruit inclusions. A pleasant, buttery, earthy undertone lingers at the back of each sip balancing the forward tropical sweetness.
With tart cranberries and rose hips along side sweet apples and mango, this tea is equal parts sweet and sour, like a bowl of fresh fruit salad. I don’t taste as many of the blueberries or pineapple pieces, or they get hidden behind similar flavors like hibiscus or mango. The berry juiciness of the hibiscus is the most prevalent fruit flavor, so this might not be the blend for you if you are looking for strong pineapple or mango notes.
A white tea with lush fruit flavors has a lot of potential to be your next favorite iced tea. With low caffeine and natural sweetness, it can be the perfect afternoon refreshment. I also found it to be pleasant as a hot tea, with so many fruits it almost felt like a fruit-boosted herbal tea. Not to mention all the fruits have vitamin C to keep your immune system healthy.
Dip a toe into some madness with Mango Madness from Blooming with Joy.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Blooming with Joy
Description:
Ingredients: White Tea, Rose Hips, Pineapple Pieces, Mango Pieces, Cranberries, Rose Petals, Apple Pieces, Hibiscus, Blueberries, Natural Mango Flavor and Natural Pineapple Flavor
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Ten Flavors of Kombucha from GT’s Living Foods
Kombucha appears to be all the rage right now, with stores stocking more companies and flavors than I’ve ever noticed before, even outside the shelves of my local health food store. What is kombucha? Kombucha is fermented black tea. The fermentation process gives the brew carbonation and bacteria, the good kind of bacteria like in yogurt, which helps the digestive system. Due to the fermentation process, some kombuchas are contain alcohol, and others have gone through processes to filter out this excess alcohol and make it safer for those who don’t partake. Check on the alcohol content of the next bottle of kombucha that you pick up to make sure it’s at a level you prefer.
My favorite Kombucha brand at the moment is GT’s Living Foods, specifically their Enlightened and Synergy series. These teas come in heavy glass bottles with well-designed labels, and those with a white cap contain only trace amounts of alcohol. Not to mention, these teas are available in seemingly every flavor imaginable. Each time I find a store that stock’s GT’s Kombucha, I find a new flavor I haven’t seen before.
The best flavor I’ve tasted is their Synergy Trilogy flavor, which I see most often on the shelves. Trilogy features a trio of fruits and spices, blending raspberries, lemon, and ginger with the bubbly black tea base. This is the perfect balance of sweet and tart that compliments the sour bite of the fermented tea. The fizziness makes this feel like a sweet treat, but it has far less sugar than a can of soda, and more natural ingredients. With black tea, bubbles, and that perfect touch of tartness, this kombucha always makes me feel like celebrating. I can’t speak to how the good bacteria has helped my stomach, as I haven’t noticed a drastic change, but drinking the tea does do wonders for my morale.
Some of the other flavors I’ve had an opportunity try include:
- Trilogy – I’ve already waxed poetic about this flavor, see above.
- Gingerade – Less fruity, with more lemon and a spicier ginger kick, a great flavor for fans of ginger beer soda.
- Limited Edition Liberty – This blend came out for 4th of July, and features a blend of watermelon, cherry, and lime. It’s a fun limited edition, but the fruit is a bit too delicate to hold up against the bold tea base. I think it would have been better with a stronger lime-ade presence.
- Guava Goddess – Tasty, tropical, and pink, this was one of the sweeter blends available with the guava powering through the black tea base.
- Gingerberry – Very similar to the Trilogy flavor, but slightly sweeter with blueberry instead of raspberry, and still a hint of ginger spice.
- Cosmic Cranberry – The tartness of the cranberries work well with the sour tea base. It’s similar to the Trilogy flavor but with more tart zing.
- Multi-Green – Surprisingly nutty and not too grassy at all. Much more savory than the other flavors. Definitely an acquired taste.
- Lavender Love – The brew is almost purple in color from all the lavender. The soft, fragrant florals dance over the top of the sweet/sour tea.
- Lemonade – Most of the blends feature some lemon notes, but this blend is all-lemon, the sour citrus pairing perfectly with the tart tea.
- Mystic Mango – This blend is bright and opaque, full of fresh mango fruitiness. This is like a kicked-up orangina, with hearty sweetness and a burst of bubbles.
Even looking at their website now, I see additional flavors I’m intrigued to try. They even have a whole chia-seed series I haven’t seen before. I’ll have to keep an eye out at my local stores.
If you’re intimidated by the idea of kombucha, give one of GT’s Living Foods many delectable flavors a try and see what new avenues of tea await you.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: GT’s Living Foods (or at your local grocery/health food store)
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Orange & Papaya from Tea-Shirt Teas. . . .
I’ve been in a green tea mood lately, tasting all the flavors and mix-ins that go best with those lighter tea leaves. It was the perfect day to try Orange and Papaya from Tea Shirt Teas.
I was immediately impressed by the delicious scent of the tea in the dry leaf. It was amazingly fruity, and hard to resist smelling the dry leaves in my mug while I waited for the water to boil. The leaves themselves are all dressed up for the occasion, with big chunks of dried papaya and orange slices mixed in among the green tea.
Along with the papaya is a hefty dose of lemongrass, but despite all the lemongrass in the dry leaf, the brewed blend tastes most strongly of orange and papaya. A hint of mango comes out at the back of each sip. It all makes for a vibrant cup of citrus and green that can’t help but jazz up your afternoon.
This blend is sweet and fruity enough to love it hot or iced, and either way the luscious fruit flavors were super satisfying and thirst-quenching. Though I tried the blend both hot and iced, with all these tropical flavors, this blend is absolutely calling out to be the next pitcher of iced tea in your fridge. Drinking it cold, the fruit makes the tea almost candy-sweet, like a more mature fruit punch.
This is a great blend for when you need to brighten your day and imagine yourself in a sunny grove of tropical fruit.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tea Shirt
Description:
Ingredients: green tea (60%), lemon grass, apple pieces, freeze-dried apple pieces, orange slices, mango flakes, papaya flakes, flavouring.