Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Praise Tea
Product Description:
Our Pineapple Bamboo Green Tea is an exotically fruity, pineapple and mango infused green tea. A smooth and juicy blend that provides a way to escape in your day. Delectable both hot and cold. Try some with white crystal sugar. Indulge your taste buds.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a really good! I often approach tropical teas with a somewhat pallid attitude. Don’t get me wrong, I really like tropical flavored teas; but sometimes it seems like every tea company out there has a tropical tea, and they all end up tasting pretty much the same. So, I like it when I find one that is different from the rest. And this one definitely qualifies as DIFFERENT!
The pineapple flavor is prominent, but I don’t find it to be an overwhelming taste. I think that is due to the fact that this tea really does have a lot going on. There’s pineapple, mango, papaya, bamboo, cardamom, ginger, coconut, raspberry and rose in this, not to mention three different kinds of green tea: Chinese Sencha, Bancha and Genmaicha.
For me, what really makes this tea extra special is the touch of Genmaicha. It isn’t an overwhelmingly strong note – the Genmaicha – but it adds that little something to this. The sweet flavor of the roasted rice accents the flavor of the cardamom and ginger so well, giving this a warm, exotic kind of feel without it coming off as too hot or spicy. And if you’re one who does not care for spicy teas, you can rest assured that this is NOT a spicy tea, instead, I’d describe it as a very mild spice that serves as an accent rather than the main focus of the tea.
The coconut is a gentle flavor, adding just a hint of creaminess to the cup, while the mango and papaya add a nice sweetness to the background. The bamboo is also a gentle flavor, there is just enough there to make the taste buds sit up and say “hey, what was that?” Just enough to add some interest to the flavor without it becoming all about the bamboo.
In fact, that would probably be the theme for every ingredient of this tea. There is just enough of each ingredient to add an interesting note to the cup without it overpowering it or throwing off the balance of flavors.
I really like this offering from Praise Tea!
Summer Fruit Symphony from Praise Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green & White Blend
Where to Buy: Praise Tea
Product Description:
Our special blend of white and green teas are fused together to make the delicate flavor the perfect summer drink. This amazing blend of summer fruits of mango, pineapple, papaya, strawberry, sour cherry, and apricot bits produces a refreshing, naturally sweet tea.
Tea Information:
Summer is over, but this tea offers the very best of summer in one teacup. (And truth be told, we are still experiencing some very summer-like weather lately!)
There are a lot of different fruit flavors in this tea, but I like that even though the fruit flavors are strong, they do not completely overwhelm the delicate base of green and white teas. The tea base tastes lightly grassy, sweet, and fresh. It is a very smooth tasting tea.
The fruit flavors are sweet, but they don’t taste cloying or sugary-sweet. There are notes from each of the fruits present: I can taste the tropical notes of the mango, pineapple and papaya, I can taste an almost nectar-like note that is very apricot-ish, and the aftertaste has a berry taste that is very strawberry. There is an ever so slight tart note, which I attribute to the sour cherry. This tart note is not present in the first couple of sips, but as I continue to sip, I notice it hit just before the tail.
The finish is sweet and there is next to no astringency to this blend. The aftertaste is sweet with a berry tingle that lingers a while. This is a really delicious fruit flavored tea. Enjoyable hot or iced, but I think I find it most refreshing as an iced tea.
While browsing through Praise Tea’s incredible selection of teas, I had some trouble finding this particular tea on the website. I contacted the sales department of Praise Tea and learned that this tea is a seasonal blend that is currently sold out. (Their sales staff is very courteous!) Watch for this tea to return when the weather turns warm – you’ll want to keep it on hand for an iced tea that your whole family will LOVE!
Iced Tea Series II (Tropical Fruit Series) from 52Teas, Part 5: Papaya Flavored Black Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
About this series:
Here are FIVE unique iced tea blends we’ve created from high quality Nilgiri CTC teas. These are uber fine teas, so they are not as pretty as our whole leaf teas, but they steep up a bold, rich, flavorful iced tea.
Taster’s Review:
Deeee-lish!
With my first couple of sips of this iced tea, I was a little unsure how I felt about it. But now that I’m halfway finished with my second glass, I can say with complete certainty that I love it!
It does take a little time for the sweet flavor of the papaya to develop. Those first couple of sips were a little “off” – I could taste the black tea but little else. Now the flavor of the papaya is about even with the black tea. The strong Nilgiri is a bit more prevalent but not by much. It has a brisk flavor and a moderate astringency that at first came across as slightly bitter rather than tangy, but now that the papaya flavor has developed the astringency has tapered off a bit.
The papaya is sweet and flavorful. It definitely inspires a tropical feel – mentally transporting me to a hammock on a sunny tropical island. Now, if only I could get Johnny Depp to refill my glass of tea . . .
Gingersnap Cookie Rooibos from Fusion Tea Room
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Fusion Tea Room
Product Description:
This mouth-watering herbal blend is sure to delight. Wonderful with a splash of cream and a pinch of sugar. It doesn’t have to be winter to enjoy this gingerbread treat. Aromatic and naturally caffeine free.
Taster’s Review:
As I sit here, the fragrance of this tisane is enticing me to take a sip. I have never had freshly baked gingersnap cookies before, but, this is what I would expect them to smell like if I ever happen to try my hand at baking them myself. It smells so wonderful.
And it tastes even better than it smells! It is sweet and delicious – and yes, it tastes very much like gingersnaps.
The flavor is nutty and spiced just right. The ginger is warm and slightly peppery, but, it isn’t a spicy-hot ginger taste. The fruit in this lends a nice depth to the flavor. It doesn’t taste fruity, but it tastes sweeter and a little richer because of the fruit.
After my first cup – which I drank without any additions – I decided I wanted more of this amazing tisane, so I brewed another cup. This time I felt a little adventurous so I added a little bit of turbinado sugar and a splash of milk. What a treat! Yes, it was delicious straight, but with a little milk and sugar the flavors really come to life!
This one is going on my shopping list! I must have more!
Garden of Eden from Praise Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Praise Tea
Product Description:
A harvest of fruity flavors awaits you with this stunningly energetic black tea that combines the lush tropical richness & colors of summer fruits of apple, mango, peach, papaya, and orange peel. A superb iced tea. Try with some brown crystal sugar. Indulge your taste buds.
Origin: China
Ingredients: Organic Chinese Black Tea, Apple, Mango, Tropical Fruit, Peach, Papaya, Orange Peel
Taster’s Review:
Delicious!
The fruit flavoring is very strong in this tea. It is a beautiful medley of fruit: crisp apple, juicy mango, lush peach, sweet papaya and tangy orange. Each of these flavors are well-represented in this tea, and I like that despite the strong fruit presence, the flavor of the black tea does not become hidden.
The black tea is a brisk tea. It isn’t what I would call a particularly bold or assertive tea, but it is strong enough to hold its own. It offers a very tasty base for the ambrosial blend of fruit. It has a moderate amount of astringency but so long as it is not over-steeped it doesn’t taste bitter.
It is difficult to say which fruit is the most pronounced in this blend, because I can taste notes of each. At the start, the peach is what stood out most for me, but as I continued to sip, the orange started to really pop. The apple is smooth and even and has a constant presence in this cup from start to finish. The papaya and mango compliment each other well and give this tea definite tropical flair, although I don’t know that I’d call this a “tropical” tea. It is a fruit flavored tea with tropical notes.
I really enjoyed this tea. I liked it hot and iced, but in this weather – it’s best iced. I don’t know if that opinion would change if I were writing this review in autumn or winter, but since we’re experiencing some very warm weather I want most of my teas cold! It doesn’t need sweetening – it’s very tasty served straight – but I found that a little bit of agave nectar (a little goes a long way with this tea!) highlighted the flavors wonderfully. I don’t recommend adding milk, though, as I think it would overwhelm the unique balance of flavors that this tea has to offer.
Another awesome tea from Praise Tea!