Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Chi Whole Leaf
Tea Description:
A cleansing blend of Chinese Green Tea, Mint Leaves, Indian Eucalyptus and Milk Thistle Seed from Bulgaria.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Thanks again to Will at Chi Whole Leaf for the samples!
I’ve decided I’m going to review 3/5 here on the blog, though all five will be reviewed on my Steepster account. If you’re interested in learning about the 2/5 I’m not reviewing on this blog here they are: Ginger Chai & Chamomile. I had a few biases going into those tastings, which is why I’m leaving them out on this blog.
This was one of the samples I was pretty stoked about; I really like eucalyptus (if I could be reborn as an animal it’d probably be either a Sloth or a Koala) and the pairing of eucalyptus, mint, and green tea makes me think of a day of being pampered at a Spa or hot spring; cool, refreshing and very stress relieving.
Normally I think this is a blend I’d have opted to try cold, but since I’ve made the other three blends I’ve tried hot I did the same with this one just to have some consistency. I thought dry this smelled pretty minty, but as I was tasting it the green tea base was actually the strongest flavour with both the eucalyptus and the mint providing a refreshing, cooling aftertaste. It was very pleasant and did have a calming “Spa” sort of affect. However I personally didn’t feel totally satisfied with the flavour either; I liked the level of grassy, vegetal green tea notes but I really craved a stronger more “menthol” feeling mint notes, and a touch more eucalpytus. I think both were a little light handed for what they could have been.
That said; I enjoyed the blend and I did feel like my hope of a refreshing hot spring-esque tea was met. And again, I can’t stress enough how much I really like the convenience of these powdered teas; it’s a huge part of why I’m so drawn to matcha as well. But unlike the flavoured matchas I enjoy, these ones a more nuanced and layered instead of fairly monotone flavours!
If nothing else, I’m a big fan of the concept.
Simmer Down from The Random Tea Room
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: The Random Tea Room
Tea Description:
A blend of chamomile, lemon balm, motherwort, peppermint, lavender, and passionflower. Designed to assist the body in alleviating stress and worn nerves. Very relaxing. This is calm in a cup!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
First off, I am not a fan of lavender in teas. I feel that the lavender adds a bite to the tea and creates a overwhelming fragrance to the tea. When I received this tea and noticed that there was lavender in it, I was a bit worried. Lately I have been really trying to get myself to not drink the teas that I know I will like. Like how you encourage a child to try different foods, I’m taking that same plane of thought in my tea drinking. I have been trying some pretty unusual teas and having a fantastic time. I have discovered that I enjoy rose petals in tea. After having this tea, I am ok with lavender now being in tea.
This tea is presented in a marvelous tin. The label on this package is awesome. I love the way The Random Tea Room packages their teas.
I added two scoops of tea into my Breville One Touch and hit the herbal button (212F-5 min). Once the tea was ready, I poured the liquid into two mugs, admiring the coloring of the tea. There was an almost purple color to it.
Jason and I took our first sips and we both looked at each other and smiled. First sip and I’ve fallen in love with another tea. This tea is a perfect herbal tea. Relaxing, soothing, comforting, and cooling. Everything you would want in an herbal tea and more. The chamomile provides a baked dessert background while the peppermint (which is subtle) adds in just a touch of a cooling aesthetic. There is also a touch of a fruity flavor through the sip and the lavender delivers an ever so slight floral note. A lot of flavors in this blend, but they all work together and play nicely in my cuppa. I’m impressed with yet another of The Random Tea Room’s blends.
I was able to get about 4 infusions out of this one session with this tea. Even tried it iced and thought this herbal tea delivered a solid flavor. You can’t ask for a better herbal!
Pocketful of Posies Herbal Tea by Adagio Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Tea Description:
A relaxing, naturally caffeine-free herbal tea blended from blackberry leaves, chamomile, peppermint, hibiscus, lavender flowers, and rose petals.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is an herbal tea from Adagio’s Sunlit Blooms collection. It’s a floral blend, containing whole chamomile flowers, lavender and rose petals. It also contains peppermint, hibiscus, and blackberry leaves. Judging by the dry leaf, the main constituent is blackberry leaves, which are green and fluffy, rather like raspberry leaves. The other ingredients seem rather sparse.
I used 1.5tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 4 minutes in boiling water. The resulting liquor is yellow-green, which is doubtless testament to how little hibiscus is actually in this blend. The scent is deeply herbal – predominantly chamomile and lavender as far as I can discern.
To taste, this is a mild, lightly floral blend. Rose is clearly there, and lavender, although both are less pungent than might be expected, and don’t make the cup taste “perfumey” in the way they sometimes can. Half of me appreciates this, as teas with heavy perfume-like flavours can be rather cloying. The other half is wishing for a bit more flavour, as the overall effect is rather thin-tasting. The chamomile emerges a little towards the end of the sip, adding a honey-like sweetness that works well with the floral flavours. It’s a pleasant enough cup, if a little bland and weak. It’s like this tea is lacking in personality.
I’m really not sure what the blackberry leaves are adding to this blend, other than bulk. I appreciate that they have reputed health benefits, but I would have liked to have seen the other ingredients in greater quantity, as they impart the flavour this blend is sadly lacking. This one would make a pleasant pre-bedtime cup, if you’re after a caffeine-free blend with mild, relaxing flavours, but it’s not really one I’d purposefully seek out at other times of the day.
Casablanca Twist by Adagio Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Tea Description:
An interesting twist on classic Moroccan Mint tea, which traditionally combines Gunpowder green tea from China with fresh mint. We kept the latter, and replaced the smoky notes of Gunpowder with the muscatel highlights of a Darjeeling from India. The result is very a refreshing cup, with bold, cool minty notes, smooth and relaxing texture and flavor. Very intriguing cup.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea is a mint lovers dream! It screams mint from the moment you open the package until you take your last sip. I love mint teas. I especially love green tea with mint, but this tea takes the award for being the tea with the most mint flavor that I have ever had.
I picked this one up at the Chicago store when I was there for work a couple months ago. I had never had it but with it being a Darjeeling with mint, I knew I would love it. So I went with the 2 oz package. Glad I did.
I prepped this one up per the instructions on the bag, throwing a few more tsps in since I knew I wanted to try this one iced. (I’ve been in a huge iced tea sort of mood lately). So refreshing! I just shared a bacon breakfast with my boyfriend so this was the perfect tea to try right after that heavy meal.
The Darjeeling takes a step aside while the mint (which is peppermint) dominates this tea. I like it, just wish you could taste more of the base tea. But saying that, I think this would be a great base tea to mix with some herbal teas to bring out a brighter flavor or to spruce up a tea that you might not have liked the first go around. I have a few of those sitting around. This would also be a good one to have with some honey for a tea to drink while you aren’t feeling your best.
I can’t say that I would drink this tea by itself again, but I’m eyeing a package of Blood Orange herbal from Adagio that is right next to my computer and my brain is starting to create some other blends I could throw a tsp of this into to make a few new concoctions of my own.
Vanilla Mint Chai from Rishi Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Rishi Tea
Tea Description:
Creamy, rich textured and inviting, this pu-erh based chai is unlike any other. Its delicate balance of silky and luscious vanilla bean, bright and soothing peppermint and sweet cinnamon transform this chai into something magical.
Tasting Notes: Decadent vanilla bean and sweet Saigon Cinnamon complement smooth, rich Pu-erh tea
Ingredients: Organic and Fair Trade Certified™ pu-erh tea, organic peppermint, organic cinnamon, organic vanilla bean, organic licorice root.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have never had Rishi teas (at least not that I could remember) before nor have I had a lot of Pu-erh. So when I saw this the other day while I was online, I thought I’d give it a whirl.
Steeped this one up per the instructions on the box. 2 tbsp with 1 cup of boiling water on my stove top. Brought the mixture to a boil and then added a cup of almond milk and brought the mixture up to a simmer. Once I was at that point I removed the pot from the heat and let the tea do its thing and steeped for 3 minutes. After I steeped it for 3 minutes, I added some honey to my mug and strained the tea into the mug. Seems like a lot of steps for a simple cup of tea but this is anything but a simple cup of tea.
This chai mixture has pu-erh instead of black tea or green. I can’t say I’ve ever had a pu-erh chai blend before. I am a newbie when it comes to pu-erh so please bare with me.
First sip and I was immediately greeted with this beautiful blend of earth tones and sweet cinnamon spices. Sweet and savory at the same time. The vanilla just added to the sweetness/creaminess factor and the almond milk brought out more of the earthiness and gave the tea a well rounded balance. The mint gave the tea a refreshing after taste. It was very light and faint. I could barely pick it up.
I think I finished the cup in about 2 minutes flat. I really enjoyed this. My first voyage into pu-erh chai was a success. I think I may have to check out some pu-erh blends now.