Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Della Terra Teas
Tea Description:
When it’s time to relax and “mellow out” it’s time for our Mellow Mango Peach. Perfect for summertime, the real pieces of mango and peach along with the rose petals also make this perfect for anytime.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
This Mellow Mango Peach Black Tea from Della Terra Teas is aptly named – it really does have a very delicious, mellow kind of taste to it that seems to enhance a sense of calm.
Black tea tends to be an invigorating tea … with some types of black tea being more invigorating than others. And even though the tea used for the base of this blend is indeed a black tea … it is a very mild tasting black tea. It has a smooth flavor with a certain brightness to it, but, it isn’t overly stimulating.
Oh, there is caffeine in this blend so if you’re looking for something caffeine free – this isn’t it! But, even with this caffeinated drink, I’m not feeling that certain PUSH to get going like I’d experience with say, an Assam or a Yunnan. This is probably a Ceylon tea, which tends to be a gentler black tea leaf. However, I wouldn’t recommend brewing up a pot of any Ceylon black tea if you’re planning on heading to bed right away, I can’t guarantee that it won’t keep you alert. My alertness level is elevated from this tea … I just don’t feel overstimulated.
The flavors here are really delightful – a combination of sweet, luscious peach and juicy, delicious mango. There are also some rose petals scattered in this blend, but these seem to be present more for appearance sake (they do make the dry leaf look pretty!) than for the sake of flavor. I do taste very faint, vague notes of flower in the sip, but, these are so barely there that if I’m casually sipping, I don’t notice them. It’s only when I’m really focused on the tastes that I’m experiencing that I notice them peeking out.
But what I do notice is the peach and the mango. It tastes sweet and fruity with a pleasing tropical flair. The flavors are strong with this blend, and I would say that the flavors sort of overpower the black tea … but the black tea is still certainly present. It might be nice to have just a tad less peach and mango flavor and a little more black tea in the sip, but, as it is, it’s really very enjoyable. Della Terra Teas has managed to capture the flavors quite well.
A very pleasing cup of tea – a nice afternoon cuppa! It would also make a stunning iced tea … and those hot summer days are quickly approaching (too soon for me … can we just reset Autumn, please?)
Shamrocks and Shenanigans from Della Terra Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Della Terra Teas
Tea Description:
Top o’ the mornin’ to ya! It’s almost St. Patrick’s Day! Celebrate with our take on a delicious St. Pats Tea! Shamrocks for luck, and shenanigans for being an ornary little Leprechaun. Have fun! We have blended delicious, creamy vanilla mint with dark chocolate. An absolute treat.
Ingredients: Black tea, chocolate flavoring and bits, vanilla bits and flavoring, mint leaf and shamrock sprinkles
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Gad if only I had not just eaten two HUGE jalapenos with peanut butter! I could surely enjoy Shamrocks and Shenanigans from Della Terra Teas even more! However knowing that I did just eat those devil jalapenos and knowing I can still taste this delicious tea – you know it must be really very good!
This is a seasonal blend from Della Terra Teas so get it while you can! I know I sure miss my all time favorite seasonal blend from them – Eight Candles! I hope it will be back next year! Regardless this is a good one! It has a lovely vanilla backdrop to a minty and yet chocolatey yummness!
Love the cute little green shamrock sprinkles!
I realize this review will post after St. Patties Day but you may want to go check because Della Terra Teas always has amazing sales and since the holiday is now passed it very well could be discounted!
As I sip on this tea longer the burn from the jalapenos is subsiding and I am tasting more of the chocolate note, where before I was picking up more on the vanilla. This is a mild flavored tea which is comforting and sweet, but not overly so. I really like the chocolate note as it tastes very natural due to the use of cocoa nibs.
This tea is really making me want to give Della Terra’s Swiss Mountain a try! I can’t recall if I have tried it before. Its another chocolate mint tea – without vanilla from Della Terra. You can find that one here.
The mint in this tea is light but notable and a real tummy saver as well. I am sure I will be appreciating that later today!
So points for a good chocolate note, points for a lovely vanilla note, points for it not being overdone on the mint, and points for a good base that I can taste but allows the flavors to do their work since the flavors are somewhat relaxed and mellow.
This isn’t an end all be all in your face flavored tea that says POW but it is a very enjoyable cup when you want mint, vanilla, and chocolate, without feeling your having a typical dessert tea. It is more like an after dinner tea.
2012 Fu Ding Bai Cha from China Cha Dao
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: China Cha Dao
Tea Description:
This tea will be 2013 China popular tea***
Fuding Ba Cha is a really healthy tea, it has the effect of medical treatment, lower blood pressure, lower blood sugar, anti-oxidation, anti-radiation & anti-tumor. We have customer with high blood pressure and this tea works out really well for him, just have a small cup everyday or every two day, is healthy!
We strongly recommend tea lover to collect this tea, buy a kilo or two, put it somewhere nice clean and dry and store it!
The tea taste sweet and mellow after aged, a lot nice than new tea! Price goes up like puerh as well!
Aroma – Mild, Roast
Flavor – Sweet, Creamy
Soup – Yellow
Suggest use 7 gram for Gaiwan or Teapot, use 3-5 gram in 200ml Glass Cup
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
2012 Fu Ding Bai Cha from China Cha Dao is a lovely white tea. I am not always impressed with white tea, its a little too mellow for my palate, but this one has some lovely character. I really love the creaminess of this one, along with the lovely light vegetal flavor. My first reaction was green beans smothered in butter, which by the way I love my green beans smothered in butter! I am a confessed butter-holic.
While the taste is still on the light side it gives me a feeling of looking into a reflecting pool – just staring into it gazing for that little glimmer of a koi swimming by, or a frog that leaps out unexpectedly from the greenery around the pond. It has its subtle nuances and surprises within the cup. It is also so dreamy, relaxing, and mellow.
To explain what I mean, there is a light spicy note to the sip, like a sparkle of cinnamon on the tip of the tongue. The after taste coats your mouth with the flavor of ginseng and honey!
I don’t know if I would trust myself to store such a tea, I would either drink it all up or I fear I would store it improperly but I will say that a tea like this – it is so worth getting! Especially at right under 15.00 for 8.8 ounces!
Jerry Ma of China Cha Dao got his start as an Ebay seller and I had ordered from him before via Ebay but I am so happy that he has a tea site up and running so that more people will be exposed to his fine selection of teas. You can learn more about Jerry here.
2012 Fu Ding Ba Cha has many layers of flavors that peek out and keep bringing me back to my magical reflection pool, just now I was sure I tasted something rather smokey. Perhaps it is the haze left behind by the waters as they cool from the setting sun or perhaps it is just the tea cooling a little. Either way this tea is quite dreamy.
Toffee Apple from The Rabbit Hole Organic Tea Bar
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: The Rabbit Hole Organic Tea Bar
Tea Description:
Transport yourself back to the days when an apple on a stick, smothered in toffee was nothing to be ashamed of. Here’s a tea to remind you of times when visits to the Dentist weren’t so expensive.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was excited to try this tea because I have heard of The Rabbit Hole Tea Bar before. I am expecting some teas from them from a trade partner in Australia! When I saw this in a box my Sororitea Sister Anne sent me I squealed!
The oolong flavor is mellow, creamy, and nutty. It is a light oolong. The toffee flavor is excellent! The apple is well done and there is absolutely not trace of a chemical flavor in this cup. Everything tastes perfectly natural and organic. The three flavors meld perfectly into a refreshing, creamy, lightly sweet, fruity cup.
The longer the tea cools the more pronounced the flavors become – a perfect tea for icing or cold brewing!
I have to say – being this is my first experience with teas from The Rabbit Hole Organic Tea Bar, I am impressed! Now I am even more so looking forward to my trade with my Australian Steepster friend! And I mean, come on, what a cool name for a tea bar!
I love it when a tea blender can not only get an amazing tea organically, but when the tea base itself is allowed to shine, yet the flavors are still very present and the tea taste like its name sake! This is a totally winning blend.
PRODUCT REVIEW: Marley’s Mellow Mood Lite – Half Lemonade/Half Tea from Marley Beverages
Product Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Marley Beverages
About Marley’s Mellow Mood:
Marley’s Mellow Mood is a new line of 100% natural relaxation beverages created in partnership with the family of legendary musical prophet, Bob Marley.
Learn more about this product here.
Taster’s Review:
I was a little hesitant to try this one, mostly because when I see the word “lite” on a beverage, I worry that it contains aspartame to which I’m allergic. Having suffered one too many reactions because of this artificial sweetener, I tend to avoid “lite” products all together.
So, I read the ingredients:
water, sugar, erythritol, pear juice concentrate, lemon juice concentrate, black tea, sodium citrate, reb A (stevia leaf extract), natural flavor.
No aspartame. But what was this erythritol? It is a sugar alcohol which is safe … at least, safer for me to consume than aspartame. So, I waited until late evening (as it does say it can make you drowsy), and opened the bottle and started sipping.
The pros: This is pretty tasty. The first few sips had a sort of artificial sweetener sweetness to it, and I suspect that this is the stevia. However, once the other flavors started to emerge, I didn’t taste that funky sweetness anymore, and just enjoyed a very pleasant combination of sweet-tart lemonade and black tea.
The Cons: Because the black tea is sharing center-stage with the lemonade, it is a less distinct (although still quite distinguishable) flavor. And it is sweet. A bit sweeter than I usually would want my iced tea to be.
Overall: I am enjoying it, even though it’s a bit on the sweet side and even though the tea is not as prominent as I’d like it to be. And… the mellow part works. I’m already starting to feel drowsy, and before opening the bottle I probably would have been awake for at least a couple more hours.
So, even with the drawbacks of this beverage, I’d still give it two thumbs up because it does deliver what it promises, which is a mellow mood!