Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit/Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Tealux
Tea Description:
Summer solstice is the name for the mythical night of the 21st of June ‘ the shortest night of the year. Midsummer is often described as a pause in-between a change in nature and provides us with the opportunity to pause for a moment in order to align ourselves with the energy changes of the natural forces. We have united the taste of ripe sun fruits and fresh herbs with the Swedish midsummer tradition of blossoms, in order to keep the rays of sun a little while longer in your cup.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s not quite the Summer Solstice yet, but the weather is definitely getting warmer! Perhaps that’s why this particular blend really spoke to me today. It’s hard to tell from the description exactly what you’re going to get, so I jumped right in and brewed up a cup. The first thing of note is the size of the fruit pieces contained in this blend. There are whole raspberries, generous slices of freeze-dried strawberry, and large pieces of apple, pineapple and papaya (about 1 inch square.) There are smaller pieces of hibiscus, small flakes of nettle leaves, and a scattering of sunflower blossoms. The blend as a whole is bright and colourful – very summery-looking. It smells quite rich and fruity, rather in the manner of fruit cake.
I used approximately 2 tsp of leaf, and gave it 4 minutes in boiling water. It’s by no means easy to measure, due to the large leaf size, but I did my best! The resulting liquor is golden brown, and the scent is mildly fruity – I’m picking up blackberry and coconut primarily.
To taste, the raspberry and strawberry are a lot more prominent than I thought they might be. They’re juicy and natural-tasting, sweet initially and then a little tart. The more “tropical” flavours develop in the mid-sip; a lot of coconut, a hint of pineapple, and a slight pepperiness from the papaya. It’s a slightly odd combination, like two halves of two different teas have been unexpectedly brought together. It’s not unpleasant, but the transition from summer berries to tropical fruit is a little jarring. The fruit flavours linger well into the aftertaste, and I can detect a splash of blackberry at this point. It’s tart and a little sour, but again incredibly juicy, and I could see this working well with the initial strawberry/raspberry combination. Somehow, though, it’s not quite what I wanted after the tropical explosion that preceded it.
I quite like this one, purely for it’s accurate fruit flavours and sheer juciness. It’s a great thirst quencher on a warm day. I would have preferred it to be either berry or tropical, though, rather than both. The two flavour sets aren’t a brilliant match to begin with, and nothing is gained when they have to compete with each other for dominance. Still, it’s a pleasing cup on the whole, and I can imagine it working well iced in the warmer months to come.
Dragon’s Dream Tea (Signature Blend) by Adagio Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green, Black
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Tea Description:
In the lair, a dragon dreams sweet, sweet dreams of glittering treasure, ponies, and those who lurk. And destruction. This warm and spicy brew is full of musical depth and fire.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The other day I walked in my living room to see my boyfriend had the second Hobbit on TV. . .again. . for the 10th time. . and I of course had to watch right along with him. My 9 year old son came in a little after and he was also drawn in to the movie. He had never seen it before so it was fun to enlighten him on all things Hobbit related. His eyes lit up when Smaug came on the screen and was rooting for the dragon to destroy the merry band of traveling warriors. Yep. . he is totally my kid.
While we were watching the movie, I remembered that I had this blend and hadn’t tried it yet. This one was created as a Fandom blend for the Hobbit. Honestly, I am not a fan of the Adagio teas on their own, but I do really enjoy them when they are in the Signature Blends.
This one is a interesting and different blend. Green Chai, Assam Melody, and Cinnamon (black favored tea). Not flavors I would have paired together. It smells very much like a cinnamon cake. When brewed up, it tastes like a buttered up sweet potato with cinnamon on it and a tart like finish. Maybe even some sort of sweet potato pie.
It is a unique flavor. That is for sure. I did overleaf it after I checked out some other reviews about this blend on Steepster. A lot of the other reviews said it was bland and “meh”. If I hadn’t dumped in about 1 1/2 tsps more I can see that being the case. I did brew this up at work with my coffee pot water spout and then dumped the tea into ice for a iced green chai. Maybe if I messed with the steeping parameters more I could bring more flavors out. As it is, the cinnamon and spices don’t over take the tea like some chai blends I have had before. It is a very subtle and enjoyable chai blend with a rich buttery sweet potato finish.
Blood Orange Tea from Mountain Witch Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Mountain Witch Tea Company
Tea Description:
This unusual tea blend combines the sweet flavor of blood orange with black tea, roses, a dash of sweet vanilla and other delicious fruit flavors. It’s a real taste delight similar to an orange creamsicle. It is made with our best black tea, orange peel, rose hips, rose petals, safflowers, natural & artificial flavors.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I was a kid, I loved orange creamsicles. I asked my mom for them all of the time. Those and those Fred Flinstone “Push-Ups”. My whole family loved them. We made a huge mess with them. They always seemed to melt before we were able to finish them. I remember one night my dad almost taking down an entire box himself. This tea tastes just like one of those!!
I have had several teas in the past that say they taste like an orange creamsicle but those always seemed to fall short. Usually the black tea base was always stronger than it should be or the orange flavoring tasted fake. So when I was on Steepster and checking out everybody’s reviews I noticed a new company I had never heard of. Mountain Tea Witch Company. I checked them out and they had several different flavored blacks, greens, whites, and herbals. I was excited about the different ones that they offered. Blueberry Pancake, Bavarian Vanilla Cream, and Blood Orange Tea just to name a few. There were so many to choose from.
First sip, I was expecting that artificial orange taste to hit me, but that wasn’t the case at all. This tasted like a real orange with a creamy vanilla side. I am even having trouble typing up this review because I keep stopping to drink more. This may very well be the best orange tea I have ever had. The vanilla is so perfectly done. It provides that natural sweetness and soft creaminess that blends so very well with the blood orange. All of the flavors taste very fresh and not artificial at all. There is a black tea base but its hardly noticeable. I am even drinking this iced and usually you instantly taste the black tea. Not so here. Just a very well balanced tea. I am extremely pleased with this offering and am looking forward to checking out the rest of the teas they have to offer. Well done!
Juicy Orange Pu’erh from DAVIDsTEA
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu’erh & Black Tea
Where to Buy: DAVIDsTEA
Tea Description:
Something magical happens when you combine rich, earthy pu’erh with sweet, juicy orange. Somehow the result is so much more than the sum of its parts – deliciously fresh and fruity, yet undeniably good for you. Whether you sip it hot or over ice, it’s super-soothing and addictively refreshing. With a tea this happy in your arsenal, who knows what else might go your way? Things are looking cup…
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a relatively new offering from DAVIDsTEA and it appears to be a part of their regular line up of teas, and not a limited edition seasonal blend or from one of their constant limited edition collections. It’s nice to see the company expanding their Pu’Erh offerings, though I was skeptical about this one even before seeing other people review it; it seems relatively similar to their Garcinia Goodness blend.
Reviews on this one seem to be fairly polar, and I was actually relatively sure I’d land on the side of people who dislike this blend. This smells very juicy, and tangerine-like dry though. Enough so that I didn’t let my prejudice get the better of me and I picked up a small sample in store to try.
Steeped up this actually isn’t anything like I thought it’d taste. Which I suppose is good because, like I’ve already expressed, I was doubtful this would be that good. There’s a sparkling effervescence to this blend. Right off the bat it comes through clear as crystal in the smell and is capture very well in the taste as well. I can see it making a phenomenal tea soda!
I’m really, really tasting the tangerine in the blend which is so lovely and different from a lot of citrus heavy blends. The regular orange flavour is quite strong too and has a wonderful, fresh taste but it’s not nearly as interesting as the tangerine. Overall the flavour reminds me loosely of orange tic tacs? Sweet, candy orange with a little bit of tang to it. Surprisingly I don’t really taste anything that particularly reminds me of hibiscus? That’s certainly a relief. Maybe there’s not a lot of it in the blend, or it just blends into the tangerine really well.
As for the base; it’s hard for me to believe this is pu’erh or black tea (the blend uses both). It’s just really light overall and the flavourings are really the focus here. I suppose I do taste the pu’erh just a little though; there’s a rawness to the fruit that tastes a little earthy in the finish. The mouthfeel of this one is nice too; kind of thick with that sparkling quality.
I’m pleasantly surprised by the blend. I didn’t buy a lot but I’ll be able to have a few more cups and if they’re like this one at all I could, in fact, see this as a blend I’d buy more of! It seems like it’d work as an iced tea as well, so it could be a wonderful spring or summer companion.
Honey Citrus Raspberry Green Tea from M&K’s Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: M&K’s Tea Company on Etsy
Tea Description:
M&K’s own unique blend! We take Chinese green teas, blend them with three citrus fruits, licorice root roasted in honey, and actual raspberries! Not too fruity, not too simple, it’s a perfect blend of green tea and fruit. We use local honey from California beekeepers and local California orange peel.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
After having tried quite a few different teas from M&K’s Tea Company, I must admit that this one isn’t my favorite. And I thought it would be one I like quite a bit because the name offers quite a bit of promise! Citrus, Honey and Raspberry flavors in a Green Tea? Yes, please!
But the execution is a little off for me and I can’t really pinpoint it yet, so maybe in the process of writing this review, I can figure it out.
To brew this tea, I measured 1 bamboo scoop of the loose leaf tea into the basket of my Kati Tumbler. Then I added 12 ounces of 175°F water and let the tea steep for 2 minutes.
The green tea base is pleasant: it’s a combination of two Chinese green teas: gunpowder and Huangshan Maofeng. Together they give the tea an enjoyable texture – soft and creamy – and a smooth, lightly buttery taste with hints of smoke and vegetation.
The citrus note is subtle to this and most discernible when the tea is slurped (this helps aerate the liquid on the palate and it “enlivens” the flavors for your palate). I taste tart and tangy notes of citrus with a light sweetness of the honey. I also get a hint of bitter from the citrus peel.
Then I pick up on the sweet notes of licorice. Because the licorice root has been roasted in honey, the flavor of the licorice has been softened – I’m not getting that sharpness that I often get from licorice root. I think that this works for this particular blend because if the licorice root hadn’t been softened somewhat, it might have taken over the blend and we’d have Licorice Citrus Raspberry Green Tea instead of Honey Citrus Raspberry Green Tea.
Instead the licorice just adds a hint of almost candy-like sweetness to the cup that I actually enjoy. It might be my favorite thing about this particular blend
The raspberry is also quite subtle and I think that is what I’m thinking is off. I feel like I’m tasting more hibiscus and raspberry leaf to accentuate the raspberry than I’m actually tasting raspberry and that’s unfortunate.
So, there you have it, I’ve pinpointed my issue with this tea: I’d like the flavors of citrus and raspberry to be a little more prominent in the blend. I do like that the green tea is a dominant flavor here and I like the little contrast that the licorice root adds, but I think that because this tea is called Honey Citrus Raspberry Green Tea that I’m wanting a little more focus on the citrus and berry notes.
It’s not a bad tea but it’s not as great as I thought it would be. I’ve enjoyed many of M&K’s blends though, so I won’t hold this against them, because while it’s not my favorite tea that I’ve had from them, it’s tasty. It’s good, just not as great as some of the other M&K’s experiences that I’ve had.
