Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Amazon Trading
Ingredients:
Green tea with natural citrus & pomegranate flavors.
Learn more about Amazon Trading here.
Taster’s Review:
When I read the name of this tea, I was pretty sure I’d enjoy it – I like citrus flavors in tea and I like pomegranate teas, so I felt pretty confident that this tea would be one I liked.
And it’s alright. I’m getting a fair amount of both flavor profiles, I can taste the bright and tangy notes of citrus fruit and I can taste the sweet-tart notes of pomegranate.
The green tea is a smooth, buttery green tea. The citrus notes are present throughout the sip, and I find that the citrus flavors are especially nice in this cup. It’s a very lilting sort of taste that lingers into the aftertaste. The pomegranate is a little softer in taste and seems strongest right toward the tail of the sip. I like that little burst of flavor that I get from the pomegranate.
Overall, it’s an enjoyable cup.
Rooibos Cinnamon Vanilla Tisane from Tea of Life
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Tisane Description:
Pronounced “roy-boss” and means “red bush” in Afrkaans, studies have shown this tea is comparable to green tea in the amounts of EGCG it contains. Rooibos is totally pure and natural. It contains no colorants or preservatives.
And Rooibos tastes divine! It is less bitter than most teas.
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
I confess that the first time I had a cup of this tisane, I accidentally oversteeped it. I had started it brewing and walked away and forgot about it. Some twenty to twenty five minutes later, I remembered it. Fortunately, it’s a rooibos blend and rooibos doesn’t get bitter the way a tea (Camellia Sinensis) would.
However, I didn’t figure it would be a fair assessment to write this review based upon that steeping, so I waited until the next evening (tonight!) to try brewing it for my usual steep time for a rooibos tisane (ten minutes) and this time actually setting a timer for it.
And while this review will be based upon my cup from the 10 minute steep, I will also add some thoughts on the cup that steeped longer. (Both cups were steeped with 195°F water.)
This is a very flavorful rooibos blend. It seems a simple enough combination: rooibos, vanilla and cinnamon. This combination makes me think “Snickerdoodle” and well, it does have a snickerdoodle-ish taste to it. The rooibos has a sweet, nutty flavor to it, and when combined with the vanilla and cinnamon, the result is a taste that’s a lot like the classic cookie.
The cinnamon is a warm but not spicy cinnamon taste, and one that marries well with the sweet, creamy notes of vanilla as well as the warm, honey-like sweetness of the rooibos. It’s a pleasant cup of tea that’s not too sweet, but makes a nice late-night snack if you’re craving something just a little sweet but don’t want to wreck your diet by indulging in a real snickerdoodle cookie. This tea makes a tasty and healthier substitute.
Milk Oolong Tea from Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf here.
Tea Description:
Upon opening the bag, you’ll be greeted with a heavy scent of fresh, sweet cream. We crafted our Milk Oolong by blending our Green Jin Xuan with natural milk flavors for a delightful, creamier taste that’s sure to please.
Ingredients: Green Jin Xuan, Natural Milk Flavors
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Selection Club subscription program here.
Save 25% off when you sign up for the Selection Club. Use the coupon code SISTERSELECTION25 when you join. This discount is applicable only to the monthly Selection Club subscription and not the retail selection of teas.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve been spouting praises about Simple Loose Leaf for quite some time now, and the reason is simple: every month, I open my mailbox to a package containing five different tea samplers. I like that. It’s what I call happy mail. It’s happy mail because it makes me happy. It’s not a bill. It’s not junk mail. It’s TEA! What could be better than that?
Well, one thing that’s better than receiving the tea is actually brewing it and drinking it. And this Milk Oolong from my August Selection Club box is an absolute delight to sip!
Sweet, creamy … luscious!
A Jin Xuan Oolong is the tea that is generally referred to “Milk Oolong” because of it’s naturally creamy, milky flavor. Simple Loose Leaf has taken this one step further and added natural milk flavors to give it a very creamy, decadent flavor that goes beyond the natural flavors in the Jin Xuan.
In the tea community, there is some debate on whether or not this flavoring should actually be done. I find that I enjoy both the pure Jin Xuan and the flavored Milk Oolong so long as the flavoring is a quality flavoring, and this tastes like it’s a good quality product.
My first two infusions (following a 15 second rinse) were combined to make my first cup. And the first cup is very creamy and sweet. A background note of nutty flavor and a light vegetal tone. Later infusions were not quite as creamy – some of the creamy notes begin to lighten up as I continued to steep the leaves. This allowed for some beautiful floral notes to emerge. Lily? Orchid? Somewhere between the two. Lovely!
A true delight – this Milk Oolong from Simple Loose Leaf’s August Box! If you haven’t yet joined the Selection Club, well, why not? It’s a great service from a company that provides exceptional customer service. A win-win!
Thym Tisane from Les 2 Marmottes
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Tisane
Where to Buy: Les 2 Marmottes
Tisane Description:
Thymus in Greek means ‘perfume’. Our friend thyme took its name in the pure sense. Not for him the discretion! Wherever he goes, he makes his presence felt, with a hint of camphor to assert its explosive character. Like any clear-cut personality, we love or hate. No half measures! For those who can appreciate it will be the friend you expected. Its natural mover will take care of clutter. His explosive side waltz send your sworn enemies of winter. A superhero among plants.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Thym tisane smells like my spice cabinet! It smells like what I smell when I open the door to my spice cabinet. And that makes sense, since this is 100% thyme.
And while I can’t recall having a tea with thyme in it (I may have, it’s just that none come to mind), as I sip this, I’m really digging it! I’m liking it a lot more than I expected to. I wasn’t sure if I’d like it as a tisane.
I mean, I like thyme as a spice, and it’s an herb I turn to every Thanksgiving to add just the right flavor to my turkey. It’s great in meatloaf and I also add it to the crock pot when I’m cooking a pork roast. But, I never really thought to steep it and drink it in a tisane, and to drink a tisane that is 100% thyme, nope, I can’t say that I’ve ever really considered it until I received this sampling from Les 2 Marmottes.
But I like this! I like it a lot! It has notes of mint and clove with a pleasant woodsy flavor that I’d describe as something between pine and cedar. It’s a little sweet and it’s savory and it’s definitely different.
It’s really tasty!
Mint Julep Black Tea from Tea of Life
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Tea Description:
Black tea with natural mint flavor.
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
When I read the name of this tea: Mint Julep … I expected a little more than a black tea with mint. I guess when I think Mint Julep, I think bourbon and mint.
But! Don’t take that statement as me not liking what I’m sipping, because this is an enjoyable drink. The black tea notes are strong, it’s a brisk tasting black tea with a smooth character. It’s not bitter or overly astringent, although there is a mild astringency toward the tail. I like that even though there is this faint “dry puckering” of the inside of my cheeks, the transition from the beginning of the sip to the sensation I just described is very smooth.
I’m a little surprised by the mint notes. They are quite faint, and generally when I have a minty tea I expect a stronger mint flavor. This is really quite subtle. This is definitely more a black tea than a mint tea.
So, that leads me to say this: if you’re looking for a minty black tea, this is not the right tea for you. If you’re looking for a black tea with a hint of mint, this is the tea. This doesn’t have that really CRISP cool minty sensation that you’d probably expect from a minty black tea. This has a delicate mint note that sort of lingers in the background.
It’s a pleasant, enjoyable cuppa, but not quite what I was expecting!