Revitalizing with Peppermint from Balcony Tea is a herbal tisane made up of peppermint, spearmint, aniseed, chamomile, liquorice, and rosemary.
Ever since I had a Licorice and Peppermint tisane from a completely different company I am afraid what others might bring. Maybe afraid is the wrong word – perhaps – CAUTIOUS – would be more fitting. But I didn’t have to worry with this Revitalizing with Peppermint from Balcony Tea because it was VERY nicely done!
The ingredients in Revitalizing with Peppermint from Balcony Tea were playing together nicely. I was able to taste the licorice and minty duo of peppermint and spearmint upfront but with the others following closely behind. The subtle Aniseed, Chamomile, and Rosemary served a mighty purpose with a small roar. This was a DANDY of an herbal!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Balcony Teas
Description
This indulgently sweet and minty blend will refresh and revitalise. Naturally caffeine-free, it is perfect after a meal or as a pick-me-up during the day. It is packed full of herbs traditionally used to sooth the digestive system and boost wellbeing.
Ingredients:
Peppermint – Cooling and balancing. Used traditionally to aid digestion. Spearmint – Tingling and refreshing. Aniseed – Delicately aromatic, widely used as a digestive. Chamomile – Treasured for its relaxing properties. Liquorice – Traditionally used to treat cold symptoms and improve digestion. Rosemary– A wonderfully flavoursome Mediterranean favourite, used traditionally to help circulation and concentration.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Oo’ Peppermint from Harlow Tea Co
So let me just start by saying I am not the biggest oolong fan. Often times, I find the base takes over and if you aren’t a lover of that type of tea, it can be hard to overcome that. With that said, I am happy to report that is not a problem here. The oolong is present but subtle, providing a slightly floral foundation on which the other flavors are shining.
The star here is the peppermint. This did not come as a surprise in light of the tea being named Oo’ Peppermint. That plus the dry leaf had a whole lot of of mint leaves. It’s bright and fresh and provides a crisp yet smooth flavor.
However, this is more than just your typical peppermint tea. The dry leaf had almond pieces, tulsi leaves, and vanilla beans as well. The tulsi adds a hint of clove flavor to add a touch of spice while the almond counters that with a slight sweetness lingering beneath the mint. I am not getting as much vanilla as I hoped, especially since vanilla-mint, is a favorite combination of mine, but there is a bit of a creaminess to this tea that could be attributed to the vanilla beans. I just wish there was more vanilla flavor.
This is a lovely introduction to Harlow Tea Co., a new company for me, and though I wanted a little bit more from this tea it is still making for a pleasant evening treat. If you are a peppermint fan, this is a great tea for you because it will give you that peppermint flavor and then some.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Harlow Tea Co
Description
Do you love peppermint, well I hope so! This tea gives a kick of peppermint that lingers long after that last sip is taken! Oolong has long, pun intended, been known as an all around pleasing tea for those who may find green tea too bitter and black tea too strong. Love both, then oolong is a perfect combination of the two!
Oo’ Peppermint offers hints of almond and is balanced with pieces of vanilla bean. You may even see some vanilla bean seeds in your tea!
Ingredients:
Oolong tea, peppermint leaf, almond pieces, tulsi leaf, and vanilla bean.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Filthy Human Plant Juice from Geeky Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Geeky Teas
Tea Description:
Green tea, cocoa nibs, natural chocolate mint, and peppermint flavor give us a tea that well, tastes like a thin mint cookie.
Girl Scouts beware! I will fling my pig of greased up squigginess at you!
Now we sing the doom song
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Geeky Teas is one of my favorite tea companies to check out. I love the compassion for all things geeky that they embrace. They have been busy too with moving to a new location so I haven’t had a chance to chat with Donna in a bit. I do believe that Filthy Human Plant Juice is one of about 3 or 4 remaining tea samples I have left from Geeky Teas. Looks like I may need to order more soon. (I mean c’mon- there is a Deadpool Oolong Blend!)
So right off the bat, this tea has a dessert feel to it. The description on Geeky’s Teas says it best-this tea does have a remarkably strong resemblance to Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies. And who doesn’t love a Girl Scout cookie?
Brewed with the packages recommendations-Steep at 180F for 2-3 minutes, I was literally drooling with the idea of this tea. I am not a chocolate fan by any means but I have always loved Thin Mints. Especially after having them frozen in a freezer for a few months and enjoying them on a hot day. There is nothing better!
First sip of this tea and I could see exactly what Geeky Teas was trying to accomplish, but to me, it missed the mark a bit. The green tea has a more vegetal feel than I had hoped. That could be from a oversteep. I was hoping for more of a buttery silky tone and texture. The chocolate and peppermint also didn’t quite sit well with me. The flavors didn’t seem to really mingle well together and create the palate refreshing notes I was looking for. This blend just really seemed to want to contrast itself every step of the way. Maybe as a cold brew, this tea would bring out the notes I am looking for.
Even tho this particular blend didn’t sing true with me, there are so many others that do from Geeky Teas. I love the combo of fandom and tea. Just makes my geeky tea gal’s heart happy!
Holiday Happiness from Aka Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Aka Tea
Tea Description:
Don’t you love the smell of warm sugar cookies and cinnamon? How could that combination go wrong? This tea was inspired by winter loveliness, glistening white snow, a good book by the fireplace, and the ambiance of laughter. This tea is just waiting to celebrate holiday happiness with you!
Holiday Happiness – Green tea ( Mao Jian ), cinnamon, hibiscus, jasmine, spearmint, rosehips, peppermint, anise seed, rosemary, and natural flavoring
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
After trying to unsuccessfully make a protein matcha smoothie, I needed something to refresh my tastebuds. When I noticed in my tea stash that I still had a serving of Holiday Happiness from Aka Tea, I was giddy! I had reviewed a lot of their teas a while back and didn’t realize that I still had one left. I have already reviewed Holiday Happiness on my blog-CuppaGeek, but I wanted to see if my thoughts were the same.
Right out of the pouch you can smell the minty baked good aroma that reminds me of peppermint sugar cookies. What a treat!
Brewed this up per the instructions Aka Tea provides on their site-175 F and steep for about 3 minutes. The brew turned a lovely shade of pick almost instantly. Made my heart happy!
What I really love about this blend in particular is the amount of tea vs inclusions. There seems to be a happy medium of both. The tea isn’t overwhelmed by the inclusions and the inclusions are not overwhelmed by the tea. There is a lovely partnership between the ingredients blending together and creating a wonderfully unique flavor.
First sip in and I am once again in my tea happy place. Warm sweet cinnamon notes mixed with a slight tart minty background. Rich buttery green notes followed by a sweet flora note. Thru the entire sip, there is a spiced undertone that really mixes well with the rest of the flavors. Sure this tea is sort of all over the place, but it is one journey I love time and time again.
As odd as those flavors sound, this blend really works. There is an almost winter feel to the tea, but I have no problem drinking this in the middle of summer and am looking at buying a larger size. Holiday Happiness from Aka Tea is a tried and true flavored tea that never disappoints!
Pomegranate Mojito from Zest Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Zest Tea
Tea Description:
ZEST TEA ENERGY BLENDS
Winner of Best New Product at the 2015 World Tea Expo, Zest premium energy teas offer the same kick of coffee without the negative side effects. Despite our teas having comparable caffeine levels to coffee-about three times the levels of traditional teas-the amino acids in Zest help create a steady and prolonged alertness, instead of the jitters and crash of other caffeinated products.
All of our full-leaf blends are enhanced with natural caffeine from tea leaves & packaged in biodegradable sachets, making for the perfect healthy coffee substitute.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
At work it seems sometimes it is easier to grab a bagged tea than a loose leaf tea. I have all the instruments and vessels to brew up a proper cuppa but it can sometimes come down to time. When I don’t even have time to grab lunch, brewing tea isn’t always on the top of my things to do.
Today was one of those days so I grabbed a tea that I had recently picked up from Amazon. This tea sounded amazing. A Young Hyson green tea mixed with pomegranate, mint, and lime with an added caffeine boost to keep you going thru your day. Sounds pretty fantastic to me. I have actually tried this tea both hot and cold. And I have to say, one way is way better than the other and it completely surprised me.
This tea just screams “Make me into a nice ice tea” but I have to say, it isn’t what I hoped for when I cold brewed this tea. The tastes are lovely and the smells you get from the dry leaf mix in the sachets is to die for. It smells exactly how it is described. I thought for sure this would be a lovely tea that would remind me of a gorgeous sunny summer day.
Brewed in my water bottle for a few hours with ice and two sachets, this tea delivered a sound flavor but it almost had a dirt tasting finish. I was a little surprised by that. You can taste all of the lovely ingredients and the taste was ok when you first take a sip, but then there is a weird dirt aftertaste.
So after that experience, I tried this tea hot. And wow, did it every blow me away. Who would have thought hot this tea would have been stellar. The green tea gives off a nice bitter green note that helps calm the tart pomegranate and lime flavors and the peppermint leaves you feeling refreshed. Really well done and the fact that this is a tea bag makes prepping it easy and no fuss. Gotta love that. And that dirt flavor wasn’t present in this style of brewing.
I have a feeling that maybe with a touch of sweetener, this tea would make an amazing iced tea. Glad I have a few more tea bags to experience with!