Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Monterey Bay Spice Company
Tea Description:
Abundant with tropical treats, Gold Rush Tea is as appetizing as it is visually appealing! Chunks of delicious mango improve your mood while bits of passion fruit inject vitality into your body! Amongst the high floral notes of the colorful and aromatic blossoms are cornflowers, blue mallow flowers, safflowers, and marigolds. Completing this blend is robust black tea that provides body and warmth to this savory selection!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I first tried this Gold Rush Black Tea Blend from Monterey Bay Spice Company hot, and while it was enjoyable served hot, it is really best served as an iced tea! It’s so refreshing and thirst-quenching!
The black tea base is strong and somewhat astringent. I would classify the astringency as a “fair” amount of astringency, not overly astringent and this should not be confused with bitterness, but, there is that tangy sensation toward the tail of the sip. This tea is not bitter when brewed properly, although I did notice hints of bitterness in the sip that suggest to me that if you were to over-brew this tea, you might end up with a bitter cup. I brewed it for 2 1/2 minutes, and this was long enough to produce a fairly robust tasting tea without the bitterness that a longer brew time might have created.
The flowers in this blend provide a very colorful, appealing dry leaf appearance, but, I don’t think they add a whole lot of flavor to the cup. I do notice the faintest whisper of a floral presence to the sip, but, it is very slight.
The flavors are very pleasantly tropical with lovely notes of mango and passion fruit. Sweet and just a hint of tangy fruit taste. The sip is primarily sweet and fruity … with the tangy notes coming through more in the aftertaste than during the actual sip. The fruit flavors are delicious and sweet, but I like that they are not overwhelming the cup. The tea comes first … the fruit is an accent flavor. Just a little fruity note to complement the natural fruit tones of the black tea!
Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable cup – and as I mentioned at the start, this is much better iced than hot. It’s still good hot, too – but it’s spectacular iced!
Summer Fruit Ambrosia Tea from Monterey Bay Spice Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Monterey Bay Spice Company
Product Description:
Summer Fruit Ambrosia smolders in the cup, a powerful and stimulating fruit tea that helps to slim the body and maintain alertness in the mind! At the heart of this fruit tea is safflower, whose vibrant red petals not only add colour, but also bring essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals to the infusion! Coupled with a robust black tea, this beverage is truly a “food of the gods!”
Taster’s Review:
When I think of “ambrosia,” I am reminded of the family gatherings at my gramma’s house on the 4th of July and other summertime occasions (or sometimes, no special occasion at all!) Gramma would prepare a meal for us – picnic style – that we would all enjoy out on the patio. One dish that was sure to appear at any such gathering would be ambrosia salad: a concoction of fresh and/or canned fruits mixed with mini marshmallows and whipped topping. I don’t really care so much for ambrosia salad now (it’s a bit too sweet for my liking), but when I was a kid, it was a bit like heaven in a bowl!
Well, take away the marshmallows and whipped topping, and add some black tea, and you’d have the tea that I’m enjoying right now. And I do like this better than I like ambrosia salad (sorry gramma!) because it isn’t cloying.
This is sweet, but it’s a nice level of sweetness. The fruit tones are pleasant and delicious, although they are a bit muddled. It is difficult to distinguish any individual type of fruit note – rather, it tastes a bit like a fruit punch.
The black tea is a delicious and strong black tea. It has a nice level of astringency – astringent but not too drying. It leaves the palate feeling clean, allowing this taster to enjoy the sweet aftertaste.
Overall, I find this to be quite an enjoyable tea, one that will certainly be a staple these warm months – because it tastes GREAT iced! My daughters love it too.
Root 66 Tea from Monterey Bay Spice Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane/Spice Melangé
Where to Buy: Monterey Bay Spice Company
Product Description:
Roasted dandelion, chicory root, and sarsaparilla root get you started towards Root 66 Tea. Creating a robust and dark infusion, this herbal tea exudes a mouth-watering natural earthiness. Good for your liver, Root 66 Tea also twists in a bit of the exotic: the lively sweetness of coconut and the slight chocolate taste of carob. With lingering licorice airiness, this herbal makes a fantastic coffee substitute or a dessert tea!
Ingredients–Sarsparilla root, chicory root, roasted dandelion root, carob pods, cinnamon, fennel, crystal malt and coconut.
Caffeine Free
Taster’s Review:
I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m always a little leery of herbal blends such as this. I’m always afraid that they’ll taste too medicinal for my personal taste, so I find myself always putting off trying them.
And I am really sorry that I put off trying this one as long as I did, because it’s rather tasty! It has a sweet, root beer-like taste to it which is enhanced by the spices and malt. It has a slightly roasted taste to it too, and I like how the coconut and sarsaparilla taste together. It’s really much better than I imagined it would be.
The Sarsaparilla root gives this tisane its root beer taste. The licorice-y taste of fennel and the cocoa notes of the carob enhance the sweetness of this cup while the cinnamon gives it a nice warmth in the background. There is a roasted note to this as well from the chicory and roasted dandelion root which adds depth to the cup.
But what really makes this tisane special is the coconut. I love the combination of flavors – it’s sort of like a chocolate and coconut flavored spiced root beer!
This tisane has a little bit of an herbal/medicinal aftertaste that I would define as almost peppery – it’s the dandelion! However, this aftertaste doesn’t linger very long. And because I enjoy the flavor of the tea so much, I can overlook the aftertaste.
I am sipping this now as a hot beverage – it is cold and wet outside and I am enjoying the warm, cozy comfort of a hot tea, but I think that this blend would be even better iced – it would be a great substitute for soda! Just a little pinch of sugar will enhance the sweeter notes and make it an irresistible treat for the kids. It’s naturally caffeine free, so there’s nothing to overstimulate them, either!
This is YUMMY!
Pineapple Papaya Green Tea from Monterey Bay Spice Company
Tea Type: Green Tea
Where To Buy: Monterey Bay Spice Company
Product Description:
Exotic tastes and colors create a tea that is delightful to brew and delicious to drink! Pineapple Papaya Green uses Chinese Sencha as its base, a green tea with slender leaves that produces a yellow cup and a naturally sweet flavor. The Sencha is followed by pineapple pieces and blue malva flowers, which deliver soothing and healing vitamins and enzymes. Delight in this sensational tea with health benefits to boot!
Ingredients- Sencha green tea, pineapple pieces, blue malva flowers, and fruit flavor.
Contains Caffeine
Tasters Review:
Dry Loose Leaf Scent is very nice – it’s mostly Papaya & Flowers where as the Wet Loose Leaf Scent smells more like Green Tea, Papaya, and Pineapple. After infusion is complete – the Liquid Aroma is VERY slight mixture of all of the above.
The Color has a typical medium Green Tea look to it.
This has a Sweeter Green Tea Taste with hints of Pineapple and Papaya…more Pineapple than Papaya. The floral notes sneak in towards the end of the sip and throughout the aftertaste. I have really enjoyed the cups I have had of this flavored green tea!
Herbal Chocolate Chai Tea from Monterey Bay Spice Company
Tea Type: Rooibos Chai
Product Description:
Starting with the snappy bite of ginger and the citrus twist of cardamom, chocolate chai exudes decadence with every sip. Inherently sweet with spicy warmth, chocolate chai brings the dark richness of chocolate chips to the silky smoothness of rooibos tea. With two sources of antioxidants, this dessert tea promises to tantalize your taste buds and deliver warmth in the evening or a boost in the morning!
Ingredients- Rooibos, ginger, cardamom, chocolate chips, and chocolate flavor.
Caffeine Free
Tasters Review:
I’m not an expert on Chai by any means but I do know what I like and I like this Chai.
If you were to take your stereotypical Chai scent and add a little orange and even a little more chocolate – that’s what you will smell with this yummy creation from Monterey Bay Spice Company!
After infusion – nearly the same scent applies but add a slight ginger scent.
To this day I think Rooibos has a distinct smell but it it’s clouded in this blend and that’s ok with me. This is a medium brown in color – post infusion. The taste is pleasant and sweet but the spices are still there…mostly ginger but the ginger isn’t obnoxious. It’s surprisingly smooth and I can pick up on the chai notes as well as the chocolate and orange. It’s lovely that the other ingredients pulls away from the stereotypical rooibos flavor, too.
I must say this little gem surprised me…and for the most part – I LIKE surprises!