Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Den’s Tea
Tea Description:
This is a new formula of our Mint Iced Green Tea. Two all natural mints, peppermint and spearmint, were cut and blended with Sencha tea leaves. The mint has a relaxing and calming effect and is a great thirst quencher.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh, man, I am LOVING these cold-brew iced teas from Den’s Tea. Yeah, yeah, I know that they’re bagged teas, but, I just love how convenient it is to cold-brew these teas. I just plunk five bags into my half-gallon iced tea pitcher along with a half gallon of freshly filtered, cool water and seal the lid, and stash it in my fridge. The next morning, I have a pitcher full of delicious, refreshing iced tea.
And this Mint Iced Tea from Den’s doesn’t really need anything more than that! No sugar or other sweetener, nothing. It’s got a pleasant sweetness to it without anything more added, and it has a cool, crisp minty taste that adds to the overall refreshment of the glass of iced tea.
The green tea is the strongest flavor, and that’s the way it should be. The green tea tastes vibrant and clean with a sweet, vegetative taste. I like that the mint flavor – a combination of both peppermint and spearmint – is also strong, but it doesn’t overpower the green tea. That happens all too often with mint teas … the mint flavor becomes so dominate that all one can taste is the mint. I drink tea because I like tea, not for the added flavors. The added flavors do add a little something extra, but really, when it comes right down to it, it’s all about the tea for me … and I like that it’s all about the tea with Den’s tea, too.
A very refreshing way to cool off during these hot summer days!
English Peppermint from Tiger Spring Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Tiger Spring Tea
Tisane Description:
Our single estate peppermint, grown and harvested in England is probably the strongest peppermint in the UK. It is coarse cut and its pure taste will satisfy all peppermint lovers and because only a small amount is needed to make a refreshing cup of ‘tea’, it makes it an excellent value product. Because of its fragance be prepared to store this tea in an air-tight container, unless you prefer your whole house to smell of nothing but pure peppermint!
Learn more about this herbal infusion here.
Taster’s Review:
Living in the Pacific Northwest, I find that I can be a bit snobbish when it comes to things that are grown here – like apples and cherries and even peppermint. I tend to think that Washington peppermint is the best, and no other even comes close. Well, this English Peppermint from Tiger Spring Tea is proving me wrong.
That’s not to say that we don’t have the best peppermint here in the Pacific Northwest, I still (stubbornly) believe that is true. But, I must admit that this single estate peppermint from England is really good, and quite possibly just as good as anything I’ve tried that was grown in Washington.
Now, I bet some of you are sitting there, reading this, and thinking: “come on! Peppermint is peppermint! It’s an herb and it’s the same no matter where it’s grown.” But, that’s not true. Just as tea is different depending upon where it is grown, peppermint is also different. (Of course, the quality and taste of the peppermint also depends largely on how it’s harvested, processed, and how long it’s been stored)
The moment I opened the pouch of this English Peppermint, I was blown away at the strong, fresh scent. It smells VERY minty. And of course, it tastes very minty too – it’s pure peppermint, after all! But, there is also a smoothness to it, almost a buttery note to the background. While it does have an intensely fresh taste to it, I don’t feel like I’m sipping on liquified toothpaste.
And it is very soothing, too. Peppermint is often used to calm the digestive system and I find that after my barbeque rib dinner this evening, this is relaxing and soothing … not to mention the fact that my mouth feels minty fresh and clean!
An excellent peppermint tea. I really enjoyed this and would recommend it to anyone looking for an exceptional peppermint tea … and that says a lot for a peppermint that wasn’t grown here in Washington!
Laoshan Apothecary Green Tea from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green / Tulsi blend
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tea Description:
The goal of the blend is to bring out the complexity of texture that Laoshan green exhibits while allowing the flavors of spring and of Laoshan itself to come through. We used cardamom and coriander as complex texture building blocks that draw out the aftertaste and make the mouth water. These additions are fortified with Holy Basil and peppermint to keep the crisp flavor and sweetness.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was really excited to try this tea – I had been hearing so many good things about it on Steepster! Plus, I really love cardamom and coriander, and I love that this blend focuses on these two spices as well as their Laoshan Green Tea from this past spring’s harvest. This tea seemed to have all the makings for a real winner of a blend.
The aroma is amazing. With my first deep inhale, I picked up the unmistakeable notes of coriander. My brain also was telling me “cardamom” although I thought I was just trying to think of coriander and cardamom popped out … then I smelled again and YES… that’s cardamom alright! Then I started to notice subtle hints of peppery mint … is that tulsi? Yes, indeed. And once the olfactory nerves moved past the tulsi I was also able to discern the peppermint. All these wonderful fragrances together with a very subtle leafy green note, smelling very much like the air in spring-time when all the new green growth is sprouting up all around me. Very fresh and lively!
I wondered if the spices would overwhelm the Laoshan Green Tea, though, because they smell so strong in the dry leaf … but David at Verdant Tea mixed this blend skillfully and with great attention to achieving balance. This tastes and feels very nicely rounded on the palate, offering hints of pepper, citrus, mint and vegetative green notes, but without one flavor overpowering another.
The first few sips, I tasted the green tea – front and center! And that’s just the way it should be. This is a green tea blend … not a spice blend with green tea. It is sweet and creamy, with hints of creaminess – maybe somewhere between fresh cream and butter – and notes of whole grain. It is a great base to use with the spices that were chosen for this blend.
The coriander is probably the most immediately recognized spice, but the cardamom comes in just after that. They provide warmth in the form of a peppery tone – this is more of a savory pepper than a spicy-hot one though – and I think that it has enough of a subtly about it that even those who tend to shy away from “spicy” blends could enjoy this … this is not a chai!
About mid-cup, I start to notice the crisp, minty tones of the tulsi and peppermint. These are very subtle, and I like how they were added to the blend – not with a heavy hand, but with a plan to utilize these herbs as accentuating components rather than the main event. Instead of tasting strongly of mint – it tastes crisp, zesty, cool… very fresh and exhilarating, without overpowering the cup.
This is very refreshing iced, too. It’s almost a completely different tea! The mint is much more prominent in the cooled version, but the peppery tones of the spices are also there, offering accents to the mint. I’d describe it as a new twist – or perhaps a twisted new version – of a Moroccan Mint. And it’s a very nice twist indeed!
Mojito Mint from Jeeves & Jericho
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Jeeves & Jericho
Tisane Description:
Our Mojito Mint is a bespoke herbal blend. It combines the assertive zing of peppermint with the calming freshness of lemon grass and subtle sweetness of the blossoms.
This delicious, soothing and refreshing brew adds an interesting slant to the more traditionally known peppermint tea. The herbs combined add wonderful digestive and cleansing properties to this fantastically invigorating all day drink.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! This is a zesty, refreshing cuppa!
The peppermint is strong, and it dominates this cup. However, I like that even though the peppermint is the strongest flavor, it still allows some room for the creamy citrus notes from the lemon grass to shine through.
It is crisp, cool and minty, while at the same time, it has a certain smoothness to it. The lemon grass brightens the cup. Together, these two ingredients offer a taste that is at once invigorating and yet calming, helping to soothe my stomach after eating a spicy chicken salad about an hour ago.
Very refreshing – and tastes great hot or cold! Would make a very nice ice cold beverage at your next picnic!
Climber’s High from The Tea Spot
Please Note: Check below for special savings on this tea!
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Yerba Maté, Black Tea, Green Tea, White Tea, Pu-erh & Tulsi PLUS Spice Melangé
Where to Buy: The Tea Spot
Tea Description:
A super-charged blend of teas, spices and herbs formulated to provide a refreshing daily lift for people with active, high-energy lifestyles. Climber’s High is a high-powered way to increase your intake of beneficial antioxidants such as flavonoids and catechins, as well as a host of healthy vitamins, trace minerals, beneficial phyto-constituents, and caffeine. It was originally conceived to assist people in adjusting to higher altitudes. This spiced yerba mate chai tea is both good for you and a pleasure to drink.
Learn more about this Yerba Mate Chai here.
Taster’s Review:
This blend has got a WHOLE lot going on!
When I first opened the package, I noticed a pleasant smell that was sweet and a little spicy, smelling a bit like a gently spiced chai. And one quick glance at the ingredient list suggests that this could easily be categorized as a chai (well, yeah, all tea is technically chai, but, I’m talking about what we here in North America think of when we think “chai”) so, I categorized it as chai.
The brewed tea smells a little earthy, slightly vegetative, but still possesses a certain spicy tone – a bit different than that of the dry leaf, but, it still smells warm, sweet, and a little spicy.
Wow! OK, so yeah, this DOES have a lot going on, but, somehow, it all comes together to offer a pleasant tasting blend. I don’t really taste each of the specific tea types here, I just taste a medley of different flavors that I’d associate with the different leaf types.
For example, I taste the earthy, vegetative taste of Yerba Maté, and I would attribute some of that earthiness to the Pu-erh as well. It tastes rich and smooth like a black tea, but it has a light, almost creamy/airy texture and flavor that I’d attribute to the white and green teas. I taste hints of mint and basil that I attribute to the peppermint and Tulsi. And yes, I taste the warmth of the spices, and the sweet, creamy finish that I attribute to the vanilla.
I wouldn’t say that I taste specifically any one of these ingredients, instead, I taste the combination of them all. I taste hints of sweet licorice, I taste the sweet warmth of the cinnamon and little peppery kick from the ginger and pepper. I don’t know that I taste any one ingredient more than the others, they all seem to come together in such a way to provide a very solid taste without one overpowering the others. Some might seem a little lost along the way but at the same time I can’t say that this blend would be the same without any one of these ingredients.
And while there are a lot of flavors to explore here, I am really enjoying the challenge and the journey this tea offers. It is warm and energizing, just the kind of cup I want on those mornings when I need a little motivation.
I like it!
Special Savings: Now through July 22, you can save 15% off of Climber’s High Tea from The Tea Spot. Use the code climbsister in the coupon field at checkout to receive your special discount!