Anyone else feel that when they drink tea on an empty stomach that it doesn’t always feel great? Sometimes I am totally fine and others it just makes me nauseous. Yet I tend to go to my kettle first thing in the morning anyways and then stress about what to make for breakfast. Well today I decided to do something a little different with my tea and ended up adding it to a breakfast smoothie.
I made a concentrate of Mango Black Tea by Capital Tea Limited by steeping 3 teaspoons of leaf in 4 ounces of 200F water for 2 minutes. The concentrate got added to a mixture of 2 frozen bananas, 200 g of honey greek yogurt and a cup of milk. I put half the mixture into a glass and got to drinking, figuring that this would allow the other ingredients to serve as breakfast while still getting my tea fix. Two birds…one stone.
The good news is I have no nausea and I have a nice comfortable full feeling. The bad news is the mango flavor was almost entirely drowned out by the other ingredients. I taste some of the tea base which I think is playing off the tartness of the greek yogurt. In addition, it is clear there is something more than honeyed banana contributing to the sweetness but its a little difficult to discern anything specifically mango.
Since I got this tea in a tea swap and am unsure how old it is, I thought perhaps there was some flavor deterioration which could account for the lack of its flavor in my smoothie. To test out my theory, I brewed up a cup of this tea just as a plain tea and got to sipping only to find a whole lot of fresh, ripe mango juiciness atop a slightly metallic ceylon base. A really nice mango breakfast tea actually because it tastes like a mango flavored tea as opposed to just mango.
At the end of the day, both beverages were good. I believe the tea did add to the flavor of the smoothie though not as much as I hoped. Next time I will play around with the ingredients to try and coax out more tea flavor.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Capital Teas Ltd
Description
This tea does not appear to be on the website anymore but click below for teas that are.
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Mango Party/Wize Monkey
Well, technically this isn’t tea since “tea” means a beverage made from Camellia sinensis leaves, but it is a hot beverage derived from the leaves of a plant so here we go!
In my search for information about coffee leaf being used for beverages, I came across a documentary on the company website that was very informative. Many workers on coffee plantations must uproot their families as the coffee bean harvest ends. It makes it difficult for children to stay in school and to have consistency in their lives and causes interruptions to the family income. By learning to use the coffee leaves, the harvest is both increased and extended and the workers and the families have greater stability and higher income. It is worth a viewing when you have the time!
Now I am not a coffee drinker AT ALL so I am pleased to say that it does NOT taste like coffee.
Steeping the leaves has produced a beverage the same color as mango, and there is a natural mango aroma coming up in the steam from the cup. It is a nice, fruity smell without artificial candy scent. Note that other coffee leaf offerings may be darker as this company does many levels of oxidation just as can be done with tea.
The base does not taste like tea to me. It is pleasant, though. There is no bitterness to it and no drying of the tongue. It has medium body, creamy, with an aftertaste of wood and almost… smoke? I think of forest and find it to be mostly low notes.
The instructions say to resteep multiple times and that you don’t have to worry about oversteeping. I did keep to the suggestion of going two to three minutes for the first and five minutes for the second. The second steep has less mango flavor but now the coffee leaf flavor stands out much more, and it is just as full-bodied if not more so. I think of how Graham Kerr used to talk about mouth-roundness of flavor, and that is what I get from this.
If you enjoy trying new things, this is worth a shot! You may find a new flavor love.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Coffee Leaf
Where to Buy: Wize Monkey
Description
It’s like a mango party in your mouth!
- Our award-winning CLTea base blended with fruity and fragrant mango flavour
- Delivers antioxidants like mangiferin and chlorogenic acids
- Put your steeping on autopilot: can’t over-steep it, add hot water as needed for more cups
- Ingredients: Coffee Leaf Tea, dried mango chunks, calendula petals, natural mango flavour
- How to steep: 2.5g per 250mL/8 fl. oz cup, use freshly boiled water, steep for minimum 4 minutes
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!
Cherry Mango VersatiliTEA from Cup of Love. . . . .
If you are looking for a trail mix in the form of a tea – I have a suggestion for you – Cherry Mango VersatiliTEA from Cup of Love!
Cherry Mango VersatiliTEA from Cup of Love contains TWO types of dried cherries…Bing AND Ranier! This flavored black tea also features crushed almonds and mango, too! I must say I’m overjoyed that Cup of Love didn’t use Hibiscus in this tea! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I’m also thrilled at the use of these two different species of cherries! They offer a sweet, tangy, and puckery flavor to this cuppa. The mango gives it a contrasting sweet yet tropical creaminess, too! The almonds contribute a sweet nuttiness and a creamy note all at the same time.
The more I sip on Cherry Mango VersatiliTEA from Cup of Love the more I like it! I like it because it’s different, because it doesn’t have that dreaded hibiscus and you can taste the ACTUAL fruit, and because of the contrasting sweet, tangy, creamy, and floral notes. Cherry Mango VersatiliTEA from Cup of Love is pretty tasty and I’m looking forward to more new offerings from Cup of Love!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Cup of Love
Description
This Tea is Amazing. Cherries! Mango! Almonds! Oh, My. Naturally delicious, with chunks of real cherries, almonds, and mango; it is a cornucopia of delight. Brew it dark for a fuller, richer flavor, or light to capture its delicate notes. However you choose to steep your cup, we guarantee an experience of full satisfaction from this all-around versatiliTEA.
RECOMMEND: Hot or Iced.
China Black Tea, Safflower Leaves, two kinds of Chopped Cherry Pieces, Crushed Almonds, & Diced Mango Bits
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Mango Amazon from The Tea Can Company
I wouldn’t say I was an exceptional HISTORY student back in the day but the topics I was interested in I tended to research extensively. One of the topics I enjoyed not only in HISTORY but in GEOGRAPHY was AMAZONS and THE AMAZON. So when I saw Mango Amazon TEA from The Tea Can Company of course I had to try it for myself!
I may be a tad obsessed with Amazons. By Amazons – I mean the female warriors – known throughout history. I was a fan of Xena. Heck, I even ‘belonged’ to an online small group about 15 years ago of all females who made up a modern day ‘tribe’ that not only were friends but ‘sisters’ who shared our real daily lives with each other – as well as – wrote an ongoing story based around Amazon Living. I know – I know – it’s kind of nerdy – but – if you have been around The Sororitea Sisters for any amount of time – you already know that many of us are nerdy in one way or another and we tend to be pretty proud of that.
I also really appreciate THE AMAZON for all of it’s glorious beauty and wonder. The Amazon Rain Forest, The Amazon Jungle, The Amazon Basin…you name it…I appreciate it! The animals, the plant life, the scenery, the history! I hate to see the deforestation happening but that is for another day and another post.
I know I went off on quite a tangent here but when I drink tea I have several things that go through my mind. I have a lot of different associations with each tea whether it be because of the name, the flavor, the ingredients, the story behind it, the place the ingredients hail from, etc.
I really like Mango Amazon from The Tea Can Company for these and many other reasons. To get to the actual flavor part of the review I will say that the Mango in this flavored black tea isn’t over done but it is done nicely. Pair that with the floral flavors of the Marigold and the pucker of the Passion Fruit and you have something pretty darn special here!
The sweet to floral flavor combo is pretty even-steven and I think the passion fruit gives it a bitter of pucker which is nice and needed to make this flavor come full circle! It black tea base is a medium strength black tea but the flavor combo is what shines here – and the flavors all mesh well – they aren’t too over powering and done very nicely! For a trip back in time or to another place without leaving the comfort of your home give Mango Amazon from The Tea Can Company a try – it certainly made my day!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: The Tea Can Company
Description
Description: This special blend of Black Tea with ripe pieces of Mango and Marigold Flowers is fragrant and uplifting. Serve hot or cold.
Ingredients: Black Tea, Mango Pieces and Marigold Flowers with Mango and Passion Fruit Flavors, Contains Caffeine
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!