Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
Like being carried on trade winds, notes of mango create an exotic fruit pungency. Pineapple cubes added highlight to the mango character and mallow petals accent a clean finish.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Looking for a great tea to serve iced for these long, hot, summer days ahead? Look no further – Culinary Teas has got just what you’re looking for!
This Blue Mango Green Tea, while quite tasty served hot, is spectacular when served chilled. The light, crisp flavor of the Sencha green tea paired with the sweet, juicy mango flavor and hint of pineapple essence is so refreshing!
The green tea is sweet and offers but a whisper of grassy taste to the cup, a grassy tone that nearly disappears when the tea is cooled, leaving a taste that is fresh and somewhat creamy. The mango doesn’t overwhelm here, while it is the strongest flavor of the cup, I am able to easily find the flavor of the green tea and even the barely-there hint of pineapple that accents the mango notes so deliciously.
The tea finishes with a tangy astringency – not strong, but it’s there – and the aftertaste is distinctly mango, although I don’t find it to be a heavy mango, nectar-like note. More like a hint of mango, just to remind your taste buds of the goodness in your teacup.
This tea requires no sweetening when it’s hot, but I do think that the iced version really benefits from a bit of sweetener. I chose to sweeten my 8-ounce glass of tea with a little less than half a teaspoon of coconut sugar, which is made from the sap of the coconut flower bud. When tasted straight out of the package, I can taste hints of coconut to the coconut sugar, but, when I add it to a tea like this, the coconut is not noticeable at all, but the sugar does really enhance the flavor of the tea very nicely.
A really delicious tropical tea for summertime.
Monarch Blend from Ovation Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Ovation Teas
Tea Description:
Black tea blended with lavender, rose petals, mango, peaches, and marigolds with mango & peach flavoring.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This blend seemed to be a very busy blend – it had a lot of flavors and flowers and to be honest that was my attraction to it. I like when I come across a blend with a lot going on, as I like to sort of “test myself” to see if I can taste all the flavors.
This is really GOOD! And, yes, I can taste all the flavors! The mango and peach flavors are well-balanced, and they give a pleasing, nectar-like sweetness to this cup. Very fruity, but what I like is that the hint of rose and lavender in the background cut through some of the fruit notes and give it some contrast.
The black tea is not overwhelmed by all these flavors, either. It is smooth and rich, not what I’d call robust or bold, really, but, mellow and well-rounded. This is a very well-crafted blend by Ovation Teas … I become more impressed with Ovation Teas with every new blend that I try from them.
Pepper Mango Green Tea from Gurman’s Tea and Coffee
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
About this tea:
Green tea with mango bits, papaya bits, pink pepper, flavouring, chili pepper, sunflower blossoms, safflower.
Learn more about Gurman’s Tea and Coffee here.
This tea was imported by Nedas Tea and Coffee Ltd.
Taster’s Review:
A tea friend sent some of this tea my way, and I was only too glad to try it! I love mango, and I love spicy teas, and this green tea seemed to offer both. When I first opened the package, I was blown away with how delicious it smelled. It reminded me of Thai food: savory, sweet and spicy! YUM!
The flavor is a bit of a surprise, actually! It’s spicy, but it isn’t as hot as I thought it might be. The spiciness is tempered by the sweetness of the mango and also the green tea, to give the cup a savory element. It’s not a sweet tea which typically a mango tea is. At the same time it’s not too spicy, instead I’d call it a mild-to-medium heat that builds gradually, and it offers a pleasant kick that lingers in the aftertaste. I think that the spicy and the sweet have met together somewhere in the middle to provide a surprisingly savory cup that is absolutely mouthwatering!
I really love this. Unfortunately, I was not able to find it on the Gurman’s website nor was I able to find it on the Nedas website. That’s a bummer because this one is good, one I’d like to revisit again someday!
Cold Brew Mango Green Tea from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
Mango is a flavorful tropical fruit. The only improvement we could think of is to combine it with our rich Sencha. Fresh Sencha flavor and sweet Mango will bring a tropical summer treat to your tea time!
These large 5 gram teabags contain specially steamed and fired Sencha leaves which have been blended with a hint of Matcha. Specially processed to brew in cold water, just add a bag to a 20 oz bottle of water shake and you’re ready to go! They also have enough flavor to be infused up to 5 times so just keep refilling your bottle and one teabag will last you all day!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I didn’t steep these according to the above suggested parameters – that is, I did not add a tea bag to a 20 oz. bottle of water and shake it to produce the tea. What I did instead was to drop five of the teabags into my half gallon tea pitcher, add cold, filtered water, and refrigerate overnight. Today, I am treated with a pitcher full of ice-cold, mango refreshment!
This tea is very flavorful! Sweet and lots of delicious fruit flavor, I like that the mango is strong and distinct – no second guessing what I’m tasting here! – the fresh, slightly vegetative flavor of the Sencha comes through.
But what I like even more than the delicious flavors of mango and Sencha … is the Matcha! It gives the tea a smooth creaminess, almost a buttery quality that marries with the mango flavor so well.
This is so refreshing and it has a restorative, energizing quality to it too, making it a perfect to-go beverage for to enjoy after a hike or run. Summer is coming, and this is a tea you’ll want to have on hand – it’s easy to brew and so tasty too!
Evening Indigo from Kally Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Kally Tea
Tea Description:
Ahhhh… Lavender! It is thought to help with a multitude of symptoms. Here are just a few of the many health benefits believed to be aided by lavender; analgesic, antibacterial, antiseptic, relaxant, and nerve tonic. Even though the health benefits are many, just sitting down in a comfy chair and sipping this delightful brew is a genuine pleasure in itself.
Ingredients: Blue Lavender, Cornflowers, Blue Mallow Blossoms, Rose Petals, Lemon Grass with a hint of Lemon and Mango.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I couldn’t help but chuckle a little when I read the above description. “Ahhhh… Lavender!” was exactly the words that I murmured when I first took a sip of this tisane! Sweet, beautiful, wonderful lavender!
Lavender is one of my very favorite culinary botanicals, but I find few companies who really know how to blend with it properly. It’s one of those herbs that if you use too little, it won’t be tasted … but if you use even a little too much, the flavor becomes soapy.
Fortunately, Kally Tea knew what they were doing with lavender when they set out to create this Evening Indigo tisane. Lavender is the strongest flavor, but it is nicely offset with lemongrass, rose petals, and the essence of mango and lemon. These additions allow the lavender to shine as the prominent flavor without allowing the lavender to taste like the perfume shop in the mall.
This tisane is citrus-y with hints of mango and rose, but mostly … this tisane showcases lavender at its very best!
The cup brews to a pretty lavender blue color, and the infusion smells amazing. (The dry leaf smells – and looks! – like potpourri! So lovely!) But even more amazing than the aroma or the appearance is just how delightful it tastes, and the calm it instills as I sip it.
I think I shall have sweet indigo dreams tonight, thanks to Kally Tea.