Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Hampstead Tea
Tea Description:
Refreshing and healthy, our mint green tea has a mellow flavour and cooling finish.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When it comes to mint teas, I often find myself preferring mint tisanes or pure mint leaves (and my preference is peppermint) over mint combined with tea leaves, because as I’ve found a few mint teas where the mint has overwhelmed the flavor of the tea leaves so much that the taste of the tea is almost indiscernible. But that is not the case of this Organic Mint Green Tea from Hampstead Tea.
In fact, the green tea seems to dominate! The peppermint is strong enough to be tasted here, but, it isn’t so strong that it overpowers the green tea … instead, the sweet, smooth flavor of the green tea works to soften some of the zesty flavor of the peppermint … making for a much nicer delivery. This doesn’t taste like mouthwash … it tastes like a sweet, lovely, delicious tea!
Oh, sure, it has that crisp, invigorating flavor of peppermint, and the palate feels clean and refreshed after sipping … but, it doesn’t feel like I poured mouthwash in my teacup and started sipping. It has a lightly vegetative, slightly buttery taste of green tea … and the palate notices this immediately. Then, the zesty flavor of peppermint is recognized.
I love that this tea is organic and fair trade … but what I love most is that this tea is more tea than it is mint! Well done, Hampstead Tea!
Mint Masala Chai from Blue Lotus Chai
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Blue Lotus Chai
Tea Description:
Our new variety is a taste sensation! Exhilarating and surprising, it rises to the same standard of excellence that defines Blue Lotus Chai, and that our fans have come to expect.
Ingredients: Naturally brewed and flash-dried black tea powder; 100% Certified Organic powdered spices: ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, peppermint from extract.
Learn more about this chai here.
Taster’s Review:
I was thrilled when I found this Mint Masala Chai from Blue Lotus Chai (as well as their other varieties) available at my local Chuck’s Produce Market! I just love Blue Lotus Chai!
And this Mint Masala Chai is awesome. It tastes very much like the Original Masala Chai, but with a big burst of refreshing mint flavor! The mint adds such a nice dimension of flavor – it’s so cool and crisp and invigorating!
I prepared this according to package directions, using 4 ounces of freshly boiled water, 4 ounces of milk, and a heaping scoop (the bamboo scoop that is included with the package of chai is just the right size!) of powdered chai. Remembering last time that I like this to be a little spicier, I added another half a scoop, and this produces the perfect cup of chai for me.
The mint adds a nice sweetness to the cup, so no additional sweetener is needed, but, I did find that if I added a little less than half a teaspoon of turbinado sugar, this brought out the spices a little more, and when I drink chai, it’s usually all about the spice for me! But I love that Blue Lotus Chai lets you decide whether or not to add sweetener rather than going ahead and adding it to the mix. I find that too often with these types of chai mixes, the sugar is just too overwhelming … I like that I control the amount of sweetener I put in … not to mention that I can control whether I add milk and how much strong I want the chai to be!
The smooth flavor of black tea hits the palate first, and then the spices come on strong! I taste pepper and ginger almost immediately, and these flavors linger, but they aren’t so strong that I need to search for the other spices. I taste cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and the delicious taste of nutmeg too. I love that Blue Lotus Chai includes nutmeg in their chai blends!
And then the mint comes forward and it is so fresh tasting – ZESTY! I love the way the mint adds such a cool, bright flavor to the cup. It’s a really nice change from the usual chai blends!
Even if you can’t find Blue Lotus Chai in your local retail store, if you like chai … YOU’VE got to try this! I highly recommend visiting their online store and getting yourself some of this amazing chai – you won’t regret it!
The Killer’s Vanilla from Butiki Teas
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Guayusa
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tisane Description:
Don’t let the name fool you, this guayusa is subtle and calming but it is deceptive in its high caffeine content which creates a relaxed yet alert feeling. Lavender, mint, and vanilla are well balanced and come together for a light and earthy treat. Add a little sugar and the flavors come to life. The creamy vanilla, gentle mint, and relaxing lavender mingle and fight for attention but ultimately the vanilla is the strongest. This guayusa was inspired by a song that we adore, The Killer’s Vanilla by Amon Tobin, one of our favorite artists to listen to while blending tea. For more information on the naming of this guayusa check out our blog .
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
To the eye, this doesn’t really look all that special. It looks like most other Guayusa tisanes that I’ve seen.
To the nose, it smells like creamy vanilla with a earthy overtone and a distant note of mint … and an even more subtle hint of flower. So subtle, in fact, that it is difficult to discern that what I’m smelling is lavender (one of my favorite florals, especially when it comes to tea!) This tisane actually smells a little weird … but in a very intriguing kind of way.
To the tongue, this tastes really good! It is interesting and different with every sip. In one sip, I’ll notice a strong vanilla note, and in the next, I’ll notice the rich earthiness of the guayusa and notes of mint. Then in the next sip, I’ll notice the lavender as the prominent taste. I love that it seems to change with every sip … offering me different flavors to explore.
The guayusa has less of a vegetative taste than the aroma would lead me to believe, it tastes more earthy … imagine pouring half a cup of coffee and topping off the cup with yerba mate, and then you added the essences of vanilla, mint and lavender … this sort of tastes the way I’d imagine that cup would taste. There’s lots of flavor to enjoy here!
I love this tisane … and while this cup has been a complete surprise from start to finish, one thing that doesn’t surprise me is that I do love this. Butiki Teas never fails to impress me, and it seems like I fall in love all over again with each new cup I try from this company.
Candy Cane from Adagio Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Tea Description:
Premium black tea from Sri Lanka flavored with minty candy canes. This wonderfully smooth treat that will fill you with warm Christmas spirit and leave you jolly. Santa knows if you’ve been naughty or nice, so you’d better buy some for a friend, too! Give our Candy Cane Tea a try before Yuletide’s end.
Taster’s Review:
Many tea companies have a special holiday offering, and this tea is from Adagio’s Stocking Stuffer collection, as well as their Spice Jubilee collection.
This is a very tasty black tea blend with a strong minty presence and just a hint of sweet creaminess. I like the addition of the creamy taste because it seems to soften the sometimes harsh character of Adagio’s black tea base, making it not only palatable, but actually quite smooth and enjoyable.
I like that that the mint here is strong but it isn’t overpowering, and I can taste the sweet “candy-like” flavors as well as the flavor of the black tea. Overall, a very enjoyable holiday tea, one that would be very happily received in a tea lover’s stocking!
Chocolate Raspberry Mint from Ovation Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Ovation Teas
Tea Description:
Black tea blended with peppermint leaves, cacao nibs, raspberries, and peppermint candy with chocolate raspberry flavoring.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Just look at the picture! Yes, seriously – that is what this tea looks like! Huge, whole, dried raspberries, large chunks of cacao nibs and bits of peppermint candy and leaves mixed with black tea leaves. This is one of the most appealing looking teas I’ve ever seen!
But really, they had me at Chocolate. All I had to see is Chocolate in the name, and I was immediately interested. Then I saw raspberry and mint, and I knew that this was something I needed to try!
The first few sips while the tea is still piping hot, fresh out of the teapot, I find to be pretty much MINT and not much else. If I really focused on the sip, I noticed hints of raspberry which were particularly noticeable at the finish and in the aftertaste, and a touch of chocolate. But the mint was the main focus of those first few sips.
Once the tea cooled for a couple of minutes, the other flavors began to shine through. The black tea base is noticeable for the first time after a few minutes of cooling, and it tastes rich and full-flavored. There is a hint of astringency toward the tail that sort of melds with the mint and the berry in a way that it becomes difficult to tell which is causing the astringent effect on my tongue: is it the mint? or the raspberry? or is it the tea? I find that the more that I sip, the less noticeable the astringency becomes … and it really wasn’t all that strong to begin with!
The sip begins with the distinct note of peppermint. It tastes cool and fresh and very crisp, like breathing in the fresh, cool air of winter after snowfall. The chocolate is also there – from beginning to finish – and I like that it seems to be ever-present. It is a lighter chocolate taste, and of course the chocoholic in me would like there to be more chocolate, but, the tea drinker in me finds the way the three flavors come together with the taste of the tea.
The raspberry comes in toward the tail of the sip, and lingers into the aftertaste. Also lingering in the aftertaste is a chocolate mint taste, like the aftertaste one would experience after consuming an after-dinner mint.
A very enjoyable collaboration of flavors. I like this very much! With those first few sips, I was a little worried that there was too much going on and that all I’d end up tasting is mint … but everything comes through in a very nice way. Two thumbs up!