Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Teavana
Tea Description:
Well-balanced sweet and savory blend of tomato, lime, hibiscus, carrot and celery with a hint of chili heat finish. A modern twist on the brunch classic, this Bloody Mary inspired herbal tea is garden fresh and fabulously flavorful. Rich and sweet sun dried tomato, celery, beetroot, carrot, apple, plum and raisins get a quiet-heat and citrus kick from pieces of chili, lime, orange and cinnamon in this haute tea that is fashionably and refreshingly cool.
Ingredients:Apple pieces, tomato pieces, hibiscus blossoms, raisins, beetroot pieces, cinnamon, carrot pieces, natural and artificial flavoring, orange pieces, lime pieces, rose blossom leaves, plum pieces (plum, rice flour), celery pieces, chili pieces
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I know there area a lot of different opinions when it comes to Teavana. My general feelings are that I think they tend to cater to the fruitier and tarty/sweet flavored tastes more than anything. I have found most of the teas I have tried from Teavana to be TOO sweet and/or tarty for my liking but that hasn’t stopped me from trying some of their offerings at least once. I think the reason they are over flavored and sweet or tarty is because they over use Hibiscus which is something I don’t like. I’m not a big Hibiscus fan, overall.
Having said that…I wanted to try their Tomato Lime Cocktail Herbal Tea just because it sounded interesting. Again, I think they used too much hibiscus. BUT…looking around that…here’s what I thought about this tea from Teavana…it wasn’t bad. The aroma – once infused – was a combination of tomato soup and hibiscus. The color was a deep purple.
I don’t know if I would agree with the product description saying that this blend of flavors was well balanced due to the high tart flavor it has but I appreciate the ingredients they did use in this otherwise. Up front you can certainly taste the apple, tomato, and hibiscus. 2nd sip I noticed the carrot, orange, lime, and celery. It was the end sips that I noticed the plum/raisin notes. And in the after taste the chili and cinnamon were present.
I’m thinking they used the beetroot to enhance the color and not-so-much the flavor. And I have no idea why they added rose blossom leaves in there…maybe for the look of the dry blend to the eye, maybe.
I wasn’t happy with this when I was sipping on it SUPER HOT…only because of my dislike of Hibiscus…it was just way too tart for a hot tea (for me). After letting it cool for about 7 minutes I enjoyed it much better. I also think at a little warmer than ‘luke warm’ makes this cup fairly tasty! Overall – I think this was a good flavor attempt and offering by Teavana. I did like that hint of spicy kick at the end of the sip, too. I liked that it didn’t get too out of hand – as well. The company did do several things RIGHT with this combination of flavors – I just wish they would pull back on that hibiscus!
I’m fairly certain that another company could use less hibiscus and pair it with a black tea base or maybe even a green and create something really amazing! But if you are into really unique flavors and offerings and want to try something off the wall – try this one!
Maiden’s Ecstasy Organic from Samovar Tea Lounge
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Puerh
Where to Buy: Samovar Tea Lounge
Tea Description:
Wild-crafted from 30-foot trees in the jungles of Southwest China, this tea is a traditional wedding gift and evening mood-setter. Dark, creamy, and luxurious with notes of bittersweet chocolate and espresso.
Details
Tea Type: Pu-Erh
Origin: Jing Mai Mountains in Yunnan, China
Caffeine Level: Medium-high
Processing Details: Tender, young-leaf, vintage, loose leaf Pu-Erh
Tasting and Aroma Specs: Very balanced, smooth, rich and dark, with a slightly sweet, wildflower honey finish. Deep, strong forward notes of earth and moss with a lingering raisin sugar sweetness.
Food Pairing: Dim Sum and Samovar’s Mushroom Quiche
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It is really difficult to sum up a puerh in a review without mentioning each and ever steep. Especially when it is such an excellent puerh like this Maiden’s Ecstasy Organic from Samovar Tea Lounge.
Maiden’s Ecstasy is one of the first pureh that I ever tried and is still one of my favorites. I stopped drinking coffee shortly before I found my love for loose leaf tea, and this Maiden’s Ecstasy provides such a rich, full, and robust cup that it brings back memories of my once loved coffee, but is so much better, and far more flavorful!
With a creamy, heavy mouthfeel, this tea has notes of german rock sugar, brown sugar, raisins, tree bark, oak moss, and so much more. Sometimes you will taste a more woodsy note, while other times you get a taste of chocolate, and other times a savory note of mushroom!
There is something otherworldly about this tea. It is the kind of tea I like to drink while watching a movie such as Avatar, or The Never Ending Story. I would take this and drink it at the Renaissance Festival every year if I could find a way to keep steeping it! It makes me feel like jumping from toadstool to tree trunk and swinging from branches of friendly tress and cavorting with gnomes but beware of the trolls because this tea does have a sparky, spicy kick to it at times as well! Its not dangerous though, it won’t burn your tongue at all, its just a little spark of playful now and then in the middle of an otherwise dreamy cup.
It does evoke thoughts of sipping on a very luxurious espresso, a good one though, one you could probably only find at one of those quaint cafes in Italy, as you sit writing in your diary at a white linen clothed table, dreaming of a romantic interlude. Flavors of molasses peek through resembling the sweet desires playing out in your mind as you gaze into nothingness, while someone, sitting at a table not too far away can see everything emoting through your eyes.
Yes, this tea is that special.
Premium Taiwanese Assam from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black, Assam
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Our Premium Taiwanese Assam is sourced from Yuchih Township in Nantou County, Taiwan. Assam bushes were brought to Taiwan in the early twentieth century but have since been refined by the Taiwan Research and Extension Station. The long dark chocolate-colored leaves produce a sweet fruity aroma. This malty tea has rich chocolate notes with notes of cinnamon, clove, and raisins.
Ingredients: Taiwanese Black Tea
Recommended Brew Time: 3 minutes
Recommended Amount: 2 teaspoons of tea for 8oz of water
Recommended Temperature: 212 F (boiling)
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Premium Taiwanese Assam from Butiki Teas is one of my favorite black teas. The leaves of this tea are stunning! Twisty and wirey with almost a blue tone hue to them.
Some of you who read my updates on steepster may have already read a portion of this as I am using a part of my review from there.
The steeped cup is a lovely deep golden amber tone and smells of sweet potato and chocolate. This cup is DELICIOUS! If you are not used to really high quality amazing tea like this just understand – this is not your mother’s or grandmother’s Lipton tea! Haha, my grandmother, bless her heart would drink that instant powdered tea daily, you know the stuff that came in the glass jar with the green lid. Today it is probably in plastic but regardless – this is a true delight and anyone who is even considering trying a different black tea should give this one a go!
There is a very sweet aspect to the tea, it has notes of sweet potato pie, even a bake-y element to it but it is not that sweet – not like as if someone spooned sugar into the cup – just a very natural sweetness. There are strong notes of chocolate and also notes of honey. A very rich cup yet the mouthfeel is bright and cheery. It is not too heavy or syrupy.
The only regret I have is that I did not try this tea sooner. It has become one of my stash favorites. It has a permanent home in my tea cabinet.
There is a slight very light note of cinnamon or some kick of spiciness here but nothing that would cause those who are spice shy to shy away from. There is also a bit of a saffron note!
As the tea cools a bit it does become slightly thicker with a heavier mouthfeel and notes of maple syrup begin to peek through.
I know it sounds like I am talking about a dessert not a tea yet this is not a dessert tea but rather a wonderful black tea that anyone would love!
The only downside I have found to this tea is that when steeping western style, it does not re-steep very well. However if you opt for gong fu style steeping it holds up to many steeps giving you layers of wonderful notes to discover cup by cup.
Caribbean Holiday from Souvia
Tea Type: Herbal (Fruit) Tisane
Where To Buy: Souvia
Product Description:
Apple Bits, Raisins, Carrot and beet root pieces, candied pineapple, candied papaya, flavoring, bamboo leaves, lemon granules
Tasters Review:
Everyone needs a Caribbean Holiday from time-to-time and after the winter we had in the eastern snowbelt of the U.S. this tisane was perfect timing when I first started sipping on it – the end of March!
This is another new release from Souvia!
Normally I don’t usually like fruity herbally tisanes because they are too sweet or fruity or tart or full of hibiscus BUT…this is nice!
This is a TREAT! It tastes like liquid candy! This doesn’t have hibiscus in it! YAY!
The purple/red you may see is beet root. Sure…it’s tarty and fruity but the sugary and candied fruits help counteract that. I’m think this would be best iced but it’s pretty tasty hot today, too!
Yup! The key is the candied and granulates ingredients! And I’m not going to lie…I grabbed one of the lemon granulates and gnawed on it while the rest infused!
If you are looking for a fruity tisane without hibiscus…this is a WINNER! If you are looking for a quick escape from daily hustle-bustle…give this a whirl…it brings that HAPPY PLACE to YOU!
Elf Help from David’s Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: David’s Tea
Product Description:
Sweet and fruity with a dash of nutty flavour, this green tea is the saviour of elves everywhere. When they’re building to deadline in the workshop, they crave a drink that’s like dessert with a kick of energy. So we made a tea that tastes just like fruitcake in a mug. Add some brandy for the authentic cake experience – those tipsy elves always do.
Ingredients
Sencha green tea, orange peel, apple, papaya, raisins, barberries, freeze-dried cranberries, coconut, natural flavouring.
Taster’s Review:
Yum!!! This is so tasty.
One quick glance at the ingredient list might lead someone to believe that this is going to be a very fruity tea – and it is – but, it isn’t SO fruity that it overwhelms the flavor of the green tea.
The green tea is light-bodied and light in flavor, but it adds a crisp, fresh taste to the fruit that is distinct. It isn’t very grassy or vegetative to taste; if you’re one that doesn’t care for green tea because it does come off as too grassy or vegetative, this is an excellent choice for you!
There is a lot of different fruit tastes here. I can taste hints of each fruit, but the two that stand out the most definitively to me are the orange and the cranberry. There is also a certain “tropical-y” taste to this, like the Elves on holiday!
It is sweet (almost candy like!) and there is a hint of tartness toward the end of the sip. Due to the sweetness of this cup, it is one that I recommend tasting before you add additional sweetener – you may find this one to be just right without it.
I can see why David’s Tea decided to make this a holiday-ish blend – it definitely reminds me of Christmas with its delicious flavor. It does remind me a bit of a fruitcake (which I happen to like although sometimes I think I’m the only one who does!)
It is sweet, fruity and delicious. A tea that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys flavored green teas – this one is one I could enjoy again and again! Love it!
