Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Chiang Rai Tea House
Tea Description:
Everything that goes in our teas is organic and traditionally grown at the farm. Just like the peppermint in this amazing blend. As green tea boosts the metabolism and reduces appetite, it may help burn calories. Meanwhile, peppermint can improve your workouts by allowing higher brain oxygen concentration and reducing lactate build-up, while also helping your digestion. Oh, did we mention it smells and tastes delicious, hot or on ice?
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I generally enjoy minty teas, but I especially like it when the mint isn’t so powerful that it ends up tasting more like mouthwash than tea. This Green Tea & Peppermint from Chiang Rai Tea House has got the balance of flavors just right!
It’s minty, but not overly so. It is more like a soft, subtle whisper of mint that accents the sweet green tea. It has that cool, refreshing flavor that I want from mint teas, but, I’m tasting more green tea here than I’m tasting mint and for that, Chiang Rai Tea House gets bonus points.
The green tea leaves are large and whole and I could see the fine, fuzzy hairs on the leaves. I was kind of surprised at the appearance of the leaves because I’m used to Chinese or Japanese green teas that are much greener – these are a pale green with silvery tips! In fact, these looked more like a Bai Mu Dan tea than most green teas I’ve seen.
Then again, these tea leaves are from Thailand and I can’t say that I’ve experienced a whole lot of teas from Thailand.
But I like what I’m tasting – I’m enjoying this tea a lot! It’s sweet and it tastes fresh and lightly vegetal. The vegetal notes aren’t so much like grass. It has a slight ‘hay-like’ flavor (another nod to the previous Bai Mu Dan comparison) and there are notes of sweet fruit – evoking thoughts of honeydew melon.
A really surprising tea on many different levels. And it’s been a very happy set of surprises! A really delightful tea!
Green Tea Peppermint from Tea of Life
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
This Green Tea Peppermint from Tea of Life is alright but to be honest, I really expected a bit more than what I’m getting from it. The flavor is just a wee bit flat and “flat” isn’t a word that I normally would associate with peppermint.
The green tea is pleasant enough – it’s soft and buttery and doesn’t impart a strong, grassy flavor. It’s a nice complement to the herbal notes of the peppermint.
But generally when I drink a peppermint tea, I’m expecting a burst of zingy flavor. You know? That bold, refreshing, unmistakable flavor of mint? And I didn’t get that with this tea. My first few sips, I found myself thinking, “There’s mint in there?” Because it was just sort of … flat and uninspiring.
Now, as I’m about halfway through my cup, I can taste the peppermint and it’s pleasant. It feels cool and crisp and it leaves that fresh flavor on the palate. But, it’s still very lackluster and boring and mint shouldn’t be like that.
It’s as I said at the start. It’s alright but not my favorite selection from Tea of Life.
Shamrock Iced Green Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Shamrock = Peppermint, spearmint and a HINT of vanilla Premium Organic green tea with organic flavors.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!
I’ve had this Shamrock Iced Green Tea from Southern Boy Teas for a little while now, but I held off trying it until it was closer to St. Patrick’s Day for a couple of reasons: 1) when I originally planned to write a review of it, I saw it was out of stock and I thought I’d wait to see if they restock it, which they did; and 2) I thought it would be cool to wait until St. Patrick’s Day.
This is a chilled glass of YUM. The green tea is light and buttery. The minty notes are crisp. The vanilla is smooth and creamy. Together, the three components create a tea that tastes fresh and sweet and delicious.
To brew this, I heated 1 quart of water to 170°F and steeped the tea bag for 1 1/2 minutes. Then I heat a second quart of water and resteeped the tea bag for 2 minutes. I combined both of these quarts into my favorite 1/2 gallon iced tea pitcher and then I put the tea bag into a airtight container and put both in the fridge. (I can resteep the bag for another 1/2 gallon of tea later!)
This is a really refreshing iced tea. I really love the green teas that Southern Boy Teas is coming out with – and I’m looking forward to the Banana Peach one … I hope that will come out soon!!!
Pure Peppermint Herbal Tisane from Rington’s Premium English Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Rington’s Premium English Teas
Tea Description:
An exciting and invigorating herbal infusion of pure peppermint leaves to revitalize and refresh. Peppermint has been shown to aid digestion.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Pure Peppermint Herbal Tisane from Rington’s Premium English Teas is really bright and fresh tasting! I know that I’ve been down on bagged teas quite a bit lately but this particular bagged tea is quite enjoyable. The flavor is really strong and has the cool, crisp flavor that I expect from a good quality peppermint tisane.
Very minty – as you might expect it to be. It IS pure peppermint, after all! It has a zesty, slightly peppery bite to it and my mouth feels minty fresh after I drink it.
I like to keep peppermint on hand because I find it to be a soothing tea to drink after I’ve had something spicy. (I eat a lot of spicy stuff!) It helps to settle the tummy and it’s ideal when my daughter has a stomach ache.
A really nice pure peppermint.
Serene Herbal Tisane from The Honest Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
Tea Description:
This tea does exactly what its name promises – brings serenity to your day. Ingredients like chamomile, jasmine and lavender really do have that affect. We taste the apple-like flavours of chamomile, a perfect lemon squeeze and smooth mint. There’s tart and sweet florals playing off one another and hints of relaxing lavender that come out mid-sip.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
After my first few sips of this Serene Herbal Tisane from The Honest Leaf, I found myself contemplating whether or not I actually liked it. I didn’t dislike it but I wasn’t too sure whether or not I was enjoying what I was tasting.
That is to say, it’s quite unlike other teas I’ve tried.
Now that I’m about halfway through the cup, I can say that yes, I do like this. It’s different, it’s tasty and I like it.
The flavor starts out quite subtle. I notice a soft lemon-y note from the lemon peel and flavoring. This flavor develops over the course of the sip – starting off with a delicate whisper of lemon. The finish is bright with lemon notes and the aftertaste is quite lemon-y, as if I had just taken a sip of lemonade. The aftertaste lingers a while.
After the subtle introduction of lemon, I pick up on flowery notes of jasmine, lavender and passion flower just before mid-sip. These floral notes are also quite subdued. They don’t develop the way the lemon does, but I do pick up on a few more floral notes mingling with the lemon notes in the aftertaste.
Just after mid-sip, I notice the crisp peppermint. I like that the peppermint follows the example set by the flowers and lemon and is understated. The cool peppermint is a nice contrast to the lemon-y flavor, but the mint doesn’t slap you in the mouth with it’s minty presence. It’s just a slight ‘peppy’ sort of flavor that perks up the flavors of the tea without tasting like someone spilled a little bit of mouthwash in my teacup.
I didn’t really notice the chamomile until I reached mid-cup. The chamomile is more of an undertone, offering a indistinct apple note and hint of honey. I can smell more chamomile in this than I can taste. After the mid-cup point, the chamomile notes develop somewhat, but they never become a strong, prominent profile to the cup.
Happily, I notice no hibiscus in this, unless the hibiscus acts as a ‘tart’ agent to help amplify the tartness of the lemon, because the aftertaste does have a tartness to it. Not too puckery, though, but as I said, I do get a lemonade-y sort of experience in the aftertaste.
Overall, I found this to be a relaxing, enjoyable cup. It’s certainly different than the typical ‘nighttime’ type of tisanes, and different is good!