Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Juniper Ridge
Tea Description:
White Sage has a rich, earthy, minty flavor that made it a favorite tea for many of the Native American tribes and early settlers of the Southwest. I like to sip this tea during the wet winters here in Northern California and let my mind drift off to the hot desert country where White Sage grows. So many backpacking trips over the years in that beautiful, sunbaked country—maybe I’ll just sit here in the shade of this Palo Verde tree and let some of the afternoon heat pass while I nod off to sleep with the smell of Wild Sage in the air . . . Now you can enjoy this classic Southwestern tea and dream your own daydreams of the big rock, White Sage desert country.
WILDCRAFTED FROM THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS OF THE WEST · 10% OF PROFITS DONATED TO DEFENDING WESTERN WILDERNESS
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I grow sage in my garden – tons of it, so I could easily say it is one of my favorite herbs. This tea has such a perfect aroma and I know they are using quality sage in this blend.
Normally I would not be that excited to try a bagged tea, but anything that says SAGE on it is something that peeks my interest! I had never heard of this tea company before but thanks to Anne, my SoroiTEA Sister, I was lucky to try this tea! Thank you Anne!
When I visted the Juniper Ridge website I was delighted to see they sell other items as well. I love essential oils, hand crafted soaps, colognes, and such, so I spent some time really pouring over their site. I love their devotion to wilderness see more info here.
For a bagged tea, this bag packs quite a punch! It has a lovely, delightful, sage flavor, and a minty, but not overpoweringly mint taste. Now keep in mind I do love mint, almost as much as sage, so its not like my taste buds are delicate to a mint flavor, this may be far more minty to you than it is to me, but what really speaks to me is that the mint, being somewhat of a strong flavor element, does not take away from the excellent sage in this tea.
There is also a nice spiciness to this tea as well but not like a chai, more like a black pepper note, and it also tastes like the sage may have been roasted a little.
This tea is quite relaxing. I mean really very soothing, centering, grounding, a perfect tea for meditation or before bedtime. There is something about drinking a tisane from nature, that is pure and unadulterated.
I love how this tisane makes me feel, warm, cozy, light hearted, relaxed, and happy.
An experience everyone should have.
Xocolatl From Bird’s Eye Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal/Spice Melangé
Where to Buy: Bird’s Eye Tea
Tisane Description:
This lovely blend will get your day off to a great start or can be perfect for an afternoon pick-me-up. It satisfies a chocolate craving without overwhelming your body with processed sugars. All it takes is a little honey or agave added to the brewed tea to create a healthy treat for yourself. Calming chamomile and mints in the blend help relax and calm the nervous system while the chocolate gives its characteristic energy kick and mood boost. Rose petals were added to bring out the subtle floral character in chocolate. Chipotle powder increases circulation and adds a slight smokiness to the overall tea flavor. Cinnamon, ginger, and star anise add a dessert like quality, but also support healthy immune function.
To learn more about this tisane, click here.
To learn more about subscribing to Bird’s Eye Tea, click here.
Taster’s Review:
Recently, the SororiTea Sisters were introduced to a new tea company that is LOCAL for me – well, kind of local (the same state, anyway!) and I was so excited to learn about them! The company: Bird’s Eye Tea!
They are a subscription tea service – which means that for just $22. every month, they send a box with several different selections of teas in it. This Xocolatl is from the October box, and it is a yummy blend of raw cacao powder, chamomile, rose, mint, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, chipotle powder and roasted cacao nibs. I know, it sounds amazing, right?
Because the ingredients are so different from any other tisane that I can remember drinking, and because it LOOKS so different too, I followed the directions precisely … I even got out a measuring cup and spoon! I measured 3/4 cup of hot water to steep with 2 teaspoons of the tisane, and I steeped it for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, I heated 3/4 cup of milk, and I added the steeped liquid to the warm milk and I frothed it a bit with my handheld frothing tool. I did add a little bit of turbinado sugar to the cup just to enhance the spices, and it created the most delightful tasting cup of Xocolatl!
Oh, my… I have GOT to get some more of this! This is amazing. This tastes so much like the hot chocolate that my Latina friends would serve in their homes! Sweet and chocolate-y, but with just the right amount of warm spice. The rose offers hints of flavor and an interesting dimension to the overall cup. It isn’t too spicy, and it is a gently comforting heat rather than an invigorating spicy-hot taste. Every one of the ingredients is represented in the flavor, but at the same time, they all come together to form an amazing taste that is greater than the individual parts.
Like I said, I want more. MORE of this, please!!!
Organic After Dinner Mint from The Rabbit Hole
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: The Rabbit Hole
Tisane Description:
The perfect after dinner treat to help with digestion and give you the illusion of munching on an after dinner mint (or ten!). Great for those of us watching the waistline.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
My favorite cookies as a girl scout (yes, I was a girl scout!) were always the thin mints. Crunchy chocolate-y cookie coated with a chocolate-y coating … and somewhere in there was also the crisp flavor of mint. Even now, whenever the girl scouts come ’round to my door selling cookies, I can’t resist ordering at least one box of thin mints!
Well, this tea is very thin mint-ish. It’s pure, organic cacao nibs and dried peppermint leaves. That’s it. No rooibos or honeybush or anything else. Just cacao and mint.
The result is a creamy, chocolate-y, cool minty tasting tisane that makes a great after dinner tea that could also substitute for dessert! The peppermint helps soothe and calm the tummy while the cacao satisfies the sweet tooth! Does it get any better than that? And this has a delicious sweetness to it, so you don’t need to add any sugar to it – making this a low calorie, low caffeine way to curb those late night cravings!
Talk To Me from Hari Tea (Shoti Maa)
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Hari Tea
Tisane Description:
It’s no secret that the mental stress of modern life affects us. How can we avoid this unwanted guest? Sometimes we can’t. But maybe with a little comfort, we can maintain calmness. Here is a big comfort – Shoti Maa Tea. Each of the varieties is formulated to comfort your senses in different ways. Traditional and not-so-traditional herbs and spices are blended to give you an experience of meditative well-being. And perhaps the biggest comfort of all: Shoti Maa teas are simply delicious. One sample of the heady aroma and taste tells the story.
Note: This tea is part of the Shoti Maa line of tisanes from Hari Tea.
Taster’s Review:
Well, after reading such a lovely description, I would have liked to have been as equally as eloquent and complimentary about this tisane as they are about the product. Unfortunately, I can’t.
That is not to say that this is a bad tisane, it’s not bad at all, but, it just doesn’t taste or smell – in the opinion of this taster – as good as the description sounds to me.
The aroma is herbal in a medicinal kind of way, which was a little disappointing as I had hoped for a stronger lavender scent. As it is, I can barely discern the lavender, smelling mostly the licorice. Now, I like licorice, as anyone who has read very many of my reviews can attest. It’s certainly a favorite flavor of mine. However, for some reason, it just isn’t working for me in this blend.
The taste is a strong licorice flavor, and something about the way that it unites with the cardamom and lavender just isn’t really knocking my socks off. It’s not a bad flavor, but, it is strongly spiced/herbaceous, again, in a medicinal sort of way. I find myself wishing that the flavor had a stronger mint note or even a stronger lavender note. Perhaps even a stronger cardamom flavor might work. But, as it is, the strong licorice really overwhelms just about everything else, and the supporting herbs and spices seem to accent the licorice in all the wrong places.
On the up side, I do find that sipping this is incredibly soothing to my throat – suggesting to me that this would be a good tisane to have on hand if one is feeling under the weather and wanted something to help relieve an itchy, achy sore throat. And I find it does help calm and relax me.
And it isn’t a terrible tisane, I just find myself wishing it could be so much more than it is. I find myself wanting more from it, and as it is, it just seems to fall short of the mark. I would love to hear other people’s thoughts on this herbal, so if you’ve tried it, please do comment and tell me what you thought!
Pink Rose Lemonade from The Tea Spot
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: The Tea Spot – be sure to check out the coupon code featured just after this review for a limited time offer on this tea!
Tea Description:
Pink Rose Lemonade is a swirling collage of flowers with a hint of lemon and wintergreen. Like a fancy floral confection, this delicately handcrafted tea will refresh and soothe your palate. Pink Rose Lemonade is totally guilt-free, as it has no caffeine and is naturally sweet. Lemon, rose, mint, chamomile, and lavender spring to life in this absolutely fabulous herbal tea. Pink Rose Lemonade tastes distinctively wonderful brewed hot or cold.
Learn more about this caffeine free tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
Along with my Steep & Go, I received three samples of teas that go well using this cold-brew device: Boulder Blues, Climber’s High, and this tisane. Of those three, this one is my favorite to use in the Steep & Go. This was really surprising to me, because, I tend to avoid chamomile blends. I don’t dislike chamomile, but I don’t really like it either. However, the combination of ingredients in this herbal tisane works together so well, especially when cold-brewed in the Steep & Go.
It’s also quite good when hot-brewed and served warm just before bedtime. I especially like the aroma of the hot-brewed tisane. It smells so beautiful – I can smell the rose and the lavender and the combination of the two flowers is absolutely enchanting.
And it tastes pleasant too! The lavender and chamomile are very relaxing, and I find it tremendously soothing especially after a busy day. The flavors are sweet and lemony, with a foreground of floral notes and a background note of mint. The mint is not nearly as strong as I thought it might be, as mint tends to be a rather aggressive herb. Here, it takes the back seat and allows the other flavors to express themselves in a tasty and calming way.
But as I mentioned above, I really prefer this tea when cold-brewed using the Steep & Go. I recommend allowing this to steep at least ten minutes, but it really gets good the longer you let it steep. I found that after about a half an hour, the flavor was just perfect: light and thirst-quenching. I found that the bright, lemony notes were very refreshing, the hint of mint brought a cool, crispness to the taste and the floral tones added a pleasing contrast. It was pleasantly sweet without sweetener – this is the perfect on-the-go beverage.
To be honest, when The Tea Spot sent me this tea to try with the Steep & Go, I had my doubts… I guess I come from the school of thought that believes that the best flavor can be achieved through hot brewing a tea … but I am coming around to the whole idea of cold-brew after trying this tisane cold-brewed! This one made a believer out of me!
Special, Limited-Time Offer: Now through October 14, you can save 15% on your purchase of this Pink Rose Lemonade from the Tea Spot! Just put the Pink Rose Lemonade in your shopping cart, and use the coupon code sororitearose at checkout, and enjoy your savings … and the tea!