Wow look at those curls of fresh coconut! There’s more flaky, white goodness in this tea blend than all the snow we have had in this New England winter. Teana Colada is a simple blend with a cute name and quality ingredients: red rooibos tea and coconut chips. Brewed hot, there is so much coconut, the buttery blend is almost savory, like butter on toast. As it cools, the tropical notes of the coconut shine through and mingle with the nutty red rooibos. This isn’t a true pina colada blend, as there isn’t any pineapple or fruity flavors, but it is a coconut dream tea.
As a cold brew, the rooibos comes through more strongly, making the blend taste like a creamy, vanilla rooibos tea. On its own, the cold brew is a little one-note, but it might be a winning secret ingredient in a tropical iced tea summer blend. The upside of a rooibos blend is that it is naturally caffeine-free, so you can steep a cup of this blend at any time in your schedule.
This is a tea for nutty coconut fans, or someone who is looking for an exceptionally creamy, buttery rooibos blend. If you really want to take this tropical theme to its height, drink Teana Colada out of a tiki mug with a big wedge of pineapple on the side!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Tea Geek’ery
Description:
This herbal tea is naturally sweet with hints of cream & nuts. Phenomenal blended with ice & your favorite coconuttie adult beverage.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
#MusicAndTeaMonday: Pina Colada Rooibos Tea from Steeped Tea
It’s not to hard to predict which song I am pairing with this #MusicAndTeaMonday: Pina Colada Rooibos Tea from Steeped Tea. That’s right…Rupert Holmes’ Escape (The Pina Colada Song)! But first let’s get to the tea at hand!
It’s funny but I usually don’t care for Pina Colada drinks. I LOVE coconut and I LOVE Pineapple. So why don’t I LOVE Pina Colada? I guess I am just that complex of a person. Having said that…Pina Colada Rooibos Tea from Steeped Tea wasn’t too shabby! I think it was because it wasn’t overly aromatic. Maybe that is why I’m not usually fond of Pina Coladas…I think they smell like sun tan lotion. Blah! Pina Colada Rooibos Tea from Steeped Tea does NOT smell like sun tan lotion, thankfully. It smells like pineapple and coconut.
The taste of Pina Colada Rooibos Tea from Steeped Tea was first – the red rooibos – but the coconut and pineapple fit in lovely. It was creamy, too! This was definitely one of the better Pina Colada drinks overall I have tried let alone a rooibos! You probably have to like Red Rooibos to enjoy this, tho, because the flavor of the rooibos is prominent. It provides a sweetness to it but I enjoyed it.
The only thing I would change about the dry contents of this would be to have pineapple chunks verses pineapple slivers. But then again that would probably change the overall flavor so I’m not married to that idea. Pina Colada Rooibos Tea from Steeped Tea was a nice surprise and a great song connection for #MusicAndTeaMonday so without further aahhh-dooo…Rupert Holmes’ Escape (The Pina Colada Song)…enjoy! Also…let us know if you participated in our #MusicAndTeaMonday in comments!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Steeped Tea
Description:
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pina Colada Green Tea Blend from Bruu Tea
Our Sister’s Thoughts:
Hello Steeping Friends!
Today I bring you a review from Bruu Tea, a UK based company that ships worldwide and offers an array of their own creative tea blends. Pina Colada Green was one of three tea’s chosen from my Tea Club box that arrived today and is my first taste of Bruu Tea. I find their style rather quirky, as well as receiving three teas (the others being Vietnam OP and Brazilian Blend) I also received a random flag (Somalia), a cocktail umbrella, a party blower and a chocolate coin; needless to say an Olympic theme was in mind with this months package. Either way it made for a nice change to have some personality in a club pack. Pina Colada was chosen as a random tea to review for SororiTea Sisters.
Ingredients: Green Tea, Coconut Chips, Pineapple Pieces and Sunflower Petals.
The packet itself is see through so I can see the blend with ease, as such I can pick out each of the ingredients listed. The green tea itself does have some stems/sticks and is roughly broken resulting in a quick steeping time.
Opening the packed I am hit with pineapple and coconut, more perfumed than soapy *thankfully* and a sweetness that lingers in my nostrils. Pina Colada heaven. (Starts singing “If you like Pina Colada’s, and getting caught in the rain”).
Steeping wise this had some handy instructions on the front for those unsure. It states 1tsp of leaf in 80C water for 2-3 minutes. I did 2 minutes as I indicated earlier that the green tea leaves were quite small and wouldn’t need long, I would hate for it to be bitter.
Once steeped a cloudyish yellow liquid is produced with a mild grass and pineapple scent.
Leaving it to cool slightly I take a sip, it’s subtle in overall flavour despite the strong scent but I can taste the green tea, the pineapple and the coconut. The green tea base is soft, slightly bitter yet buttery (like a Chinese Sencha though I cannot be sure which green tea it is) but behind that is a subtle yet slightly sweet and perfumed pineapple with an ever softer coconut cream in the after taste. I like that I can taste the green tea and it is not overpowered by the fruit.
Half a cup down and it’s slightly dry in the after taste with an increase on perfume; but it leaves such a delicate Pina Colada-esque flavour in my mouth it makes up for them. You can also notice a slight toasting of the green leaves part way down the cup which compliments the blend, making it non too sweet.
Overall I would say I am impressed. On the negative side I thought that it could have been a bit stronger but on the other side I sort of like that it wasn’t, if I have a nice green tea base I want to taste it. Perhaps I can try a double strength next steep and see what happens, or try the 3 minute marker. Either way I know I will be using the rest of this tea up pretty sharpish. Also it gave notes to try this tea iced and I think that just screamed winning idea.
Until next time,
Happy Steeping!
Here’s the scoop!
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea Blend
Where to Buy: Bruu Tea
Description:
A Caribbean green bursting with the taste of summer.
Subtly sweet and almost smoky. Green tea drinkers must try and try again…and again. We go cocoNUTS for this beauty.
Learn even more about this tea this tea here
Strawberry Colada Tisane from DAVIDsTEA
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit Tisane
Where to Buy: DAVIDsTEA
Tea Description:
Picture it. You’re sitting poolside, basking in the sunshine and sipping something cool and refreshing out of a coconut. Okay, so maybe the pool is a bit of a stretch. But with this sweet and fruity, retro cocktail-inspired tea, at least we’ve got that exotic drink covered. With strawberries, pineapple and coconut, it’s like a perfect summer getaway in a cup. Try it over crushed ice with a splash of rum. The only thing missing is the little paper umbrella.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is part four of a five part review of the DAVIDsTEA Summer Collection.
I think this was secretly the one I was most looking forward to, despite the abundance of hibiscus in it. I just can’t get enough pineapple in my life, and Pina Colada is one of the best flavor pairings to ever be thought up, in my not so humble opinion. It’s better than Peanut Butter and Jelly! I think the only thing that could rival it is Ham & Pineapple; and I’m going on scent alone (because I don’t eat meat and haven’t actually tried the pairing) there…
I actually don’t know how DT managed to pull off a collection with only one hibiscus inclusive blend. Well, now that I think about it maybe I do; they stuck coconut in everything. As a company, they’re definitely guilty of over using those two ingredients. Mmm, the dry leaf smells exactly like promised; rich Pina Colada with fresh strawberries. It’s got a faint tartness to it because of the hibiscus. I’m preparing this one as a cold brew; I’m worried that if I make this one hot than the hibiscus will take over too much.
The taste is… It’s amazing.
There’s nothing overly fancy about this blend, if I’m being honest. But it’s exactly as advertised and that’s a pretty rare thing; it’s Pina Colada with semi-tart strawberry juice, and the hibiscus actually blends really naturally into the strawberry. When you get past bold, vibrant strawberry top notes there’s a really solid, fresh coconut foundation and sweet, candied pineapple notes that are taking me back to DT’s Tropicalia Blend – which is one of my all time favourite blends from them. This is definitely my favourite of the five Summer Collection teas; and I don’t know if that’s really predictable, because of how I feel about Pina Colada, or surprisingly given how I feel about hibiscus.
I’ll certainly be picking up more, though.
One Night in Rio Black Tea Blend from Camellia Sinensis
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
Tea Description:
This tea is so hard to resist! The coconut is prominent, but not overpowering. You can still taste the malty black tea at the base. Sweet, juicy pineapple first, creamy coconut second, and a lingering note that tastes oddly like cookies. A new flavoured favourite of ours.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
One Night in Rio Black Tea Blend from Camellia Sinensis had my mouth watering from the moment I opened the pouch! The combined aroma of pineapple and coconut was strong and oh-so-delightful! And what I think I appreciated most about it was that this was an authentic fragrance – it smelled like REAL pineapple and coconut.
I brewed the tea in my Breville One-Touch, using 500 ml of water and the entire contents of the sampler pouch that was in this month’s Amoda Tea box. I set the parameters for boiling (212°F) and 2 1/2 minutes. As I stood there – eagerly awaiting – I noticed that the fragrance of coconut and pineapple had filled my kitchen.
And now that same fragrance is wafting from my teacup. I waited another few minutes – leading me to realize that the hardest part when it comes to drinking tea is waiting for the tea to be ready to drink! But finally – my first sip! YUM!
I find myself in slight disagreement with the above description from Amoda Tea – I am tasting the black tea as the prominent flavor profile of this cup. The coconut is a close second with the pineapple lingering in the background until the finish, when the pineapple flavor pops.
I like how all three sets of flavors are present throughout the sip, though. I’m not waiting for one of the flavors to shine through. From the very start, I taste notes of black tea, coconut and pineapple.
The black tea, although it is the strongest flavor for me, is not an overly strong or aggressive tasting tea. It’s a mellow, medium-bodied black tea: sweet with notes of malt and I taste hints of flower. It’s a pleasant black tea base. Not one I’d choose as a breakfast tea (at least, not in this presentation) but it would make a really nice afternoon or dessert tea.
The coconut flavor starts out strong in this cup and continues to develop. By the time I reached mid-cup, I could really taste and feel the soft, creamy texture of the coconut. It never really becomes a ‘slick’ coconut texture though – I know that some of the fans of coconut teas want that slickery texture from the coconut. This doesn’t really have that but it does have a genuine coconut flavor that I really enjoyed.
The pineapple is a more subdued flavor, as I mentioned previously, and while the pineapple isn’t the star of the show, it does add a bright, uplifting note to the cup that invigorates the palate.
A really enjoyable blend – a big thanks to Amoda Tea for including this tea in the box this month!
