Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Yerba Mate
Where to Buy: Guayaki
Tea Description:
Enlighten Mint has a minty flavor with a touch of honey flavor, and an earthy note from the yerba mate. It’s easy drinking and clean tasting, and not too sweet.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Continuing with the exploration of Guayaki drinks, this is the one I was most skeptical about of the three I picked up. I’ve tried a few yerba mate and spearmint blends, and actually have one stocked right now so I know that it’s not a terrible pairing; in fact it’s a pretty popular pairing. It’s actually the honey aspect of this that scares me; when it comes to more commercial tea beverages, ‘honey’ usually means very sweet.
However, because Revel Berry maintained a respectable level of sweetness I was open to this one; hopefully it would do the same. I was poorly mistaken in my assumptions, however. This was assaulting; the spearmint was ridiculously strong and sweet in and of itself; like those Spearmint leaf five cent gummy candies that come in giant bulk bags. I’ve never been a fan of those. They taste so fake. On top of that the sweetness of the honey was equally as intense. The yerba mate, while pretty drowned up, did come through a little bit but it felt kind of grimy, and yet at the same time all three notes together conjured up the image of neon green slime.
To me, it tasted like one of those five cent candies dipped into a bottle of raw honey and then sprinkled with a little dirt. Why would you willingly put that in your mouth? I struggled through a third of the can and then finally called it quits and tossed it. It makes me more skeptical to try the third, and last, one I bought now knowing just how big the range between ‘hit’ and ‘miss’ from this company can be. Personally, I’ll be avoiding (and internally wincing) this flavor every time I pass it in the aisles at work – but if you’re feeling bold enough, and you like super sweet mint flavored things, I guess giving it a try couldn’t hurt.
Cotton Candy Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green/Matcha
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
Cotton Candy Matcha’s sugary flavor makes the perfect sweet snack for any dull day. This is because, this supremely sweet flavor is ideal for those who love all sweet things and relish their uplifting quality. The sheer variety of Cotton Candy Matcha makes it an instant favorite for those who want to sample the sweet delights that can be enjoyed by their palates. This is an excellent flavor for occasions of the young and young at heart who want to enliven their taste buds with something pleasurable.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Continuing with the “Choose Your Own Matcha” sampler from Red Leaf Tea, I thought it’d be a cool idea to make some of the five flavors I chose ones I had previously tried to do a comparison and see how my tastes have changed personally. Here are some of the highlights from my old tastings/reviews on Steepster from over a year ago:
“…there’s also a slight vegetal taste in the first part of the sip”, and
“…in the aftertaste you get more of a true cotton candy flavour”.
The first time I tried this was in cold milk, but for this tasting I’ll be using cold cashew milk like I have for all the other flavors so far. Dry, I think this smells pretty rich but in a generically sugary way; it’s hard to capture a smell that’s clearly cotton candy when, realistically, all cotton candy is just hot, spun sugar.
Funnily enough, my initial impression/observation is true to my old review: I think the first thing you taste is a very grassy top note which eventually does lean into a more sweet body flavor. It is very generic for me though; I don’t think if I was trying this blind I’d be able to pinpoint it as cotton candy flavor. That said, I did actually like it and I appreciate the nice balance between the flavor of the matcha and the added flavors. It’s not as accurate as it could be though, so that is a bit disappointing.
I’m happy I revisited this one though! And I look forward to trying out the last sample to see if my observations from a year ago are also accurate for that one.
Caramel Apple Almond from Full Leaf Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Full Leaf Tea Company
Tea Description:
This black tea blend steeps to a rich caramel color with subtle hints of apple to the taste.
The tea in Full-Leaf is a mix of marigolds, apple bits, caramel bits, and almond chips
Country of Origin: India
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I love discovering new companies and new tea company owners that really care about what their customers think. Matt@ Full Leaf Tea Company is just that kind of owner. He cares about what his customers think and really takes the time and care to listen. When I come across that kind of a company, I tend to keep going back. On top of the awesome customer service you reciceve, there is also an amazing selection of teas to try. And I have tried several.
Recently I had their Caramel Apple and Almond Black Tea. I couldn’t wait to try this one. Threw some tea leaves into my Breville One Touch and set this up with the black tea setting (212F-3 min). The dry leaves had a slight almond like aroma with hints of a sweetness. Didn’t exactly smell like caramel or apple but you can tell there was something there. You could actually see the caramel bits, apple bits, and the almond chips right in the blend. You have to love that!
Poured myself and Jason (my boyfriend) a cup. Brewed up hot, this had a very pu erh flavor and smell. The tea was very earthy and I couldn’t taste any of the caramel, apple, or almond. We both thought this tasted like a pu erh blend so much that I actually emailed Matt and asked him if pu erh was in the black base tea. He said there wasn’t. I was a bit confused by this.
Typically when I don’t like a tea brewed hot, I will enjoy it cold brewed. Threw some leaves in my cold brew bottle and let it steep overnight. In the morning I had a fantastic blend of sweet and earthy caramel apple tea. The earthy flavor was still there but the flavor blended so well with the sweet caramel apple. I didn’t taste the almond but I have a feeling the almond was more subtle and aiding in the rich earthy flavor.
I think I just need to go back and play with the steeping parameters on this tea. I have a feeling that the 3 min steep was too long and maybe should go with a 2 min steep when trying to brew this up hot. I also want to try and steep this up in my glass tea pot instead of the Breville. This is a tea that just needs a bit of experimenting to bring out all of those lovely flavors and I am up for the task. Just need to get some more.
Prickly Pear Herbal from Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
A remarkable tea that shines with desert pride and spotlights one of our most unique herbal teas. Hibiscus and Rose Hips are blended to create the vibrant magenta base for our one-of-a-kind Prickly Pear Herbal Tea.
Hibiscus, Rose Hips, Chicory Root, Chamomile, Dried Prickly Pear Fruit, Natural and Artifical Pear Flavor.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s monthly plan here.
Taster’s Review:
Recently I received a promotional email from Simple Loose Leaf announcing a sale. Their monthly box that is typically $15 a month. I couldn’t pass up the deal. I jumped on the sale and a couple weeks later my box arrived. There were 4 tea blends in the box. This one was the one that I couldn’t help but tear right into. Mountain Witch Tea Co has an amazing Desert Mojave Prickly Pear that I just adore. So much so that I picked up a 4 oz pkg of that tea without hesitation. Since that particular tea, any tea that I see has prickly pear in it, I’m sold.
What I love about these monthly subscription boxes is that you just get enough of a tea to “wet your whistle” but not add a ton of tea to an overflowing tea stash.
Brewed this up like a herbal-212F-5 min in my One Touch Breville. Let the brew cool for a few minutes and took my first sip. Wow, can you say tart? This blend not only has dried prickly pear but also has quite a bit of hibiscus. I love my hibiscus but this was even too much for me. I continued to try to drink this and hoped other flavors would become present. That never happened. To me this tasted like a straight hibiscus blend. For me, I think this blend would be phenomenal if there was more of the dried prickly pear fruit than the hibiscus.
I did try this tea cold and ended up with the same result. Just to tart of a tea for me. I really don’t like adding sweeteners to my tea and on the rare occasion will I add honey.
If you love really tart teas or hibiscus blends, this tea is for you. For me, it was just too tart.
Funnier in Enochian: Castiel Supernatural Inspired Tea Rose Blend from Fandom Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Fandom Teas
Tea Description:
A tea fit for our favorite Cas! If Cas found this tea shop, he would drink it. This special blend fits Cas’s angel attitude with a pleasant rose aroma and delicious soft flavor.
-Part of the Supernatural Series of teas inspired by the hit TV series Supernatural
-Available in 1oz and 2oz loose leaf or 10 individual tea bags
-Great gift for the Supernatural fan!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I admit it, I am not a Supernatural fan. Only because of time. I have engulfed myself in so many other shows that this one has just gone by the way side. Specifically as of late, we have been watching a ton of Northern Exposure and Game of Thrones. Jason and I have been binging like mad on Northern Exposure and now with GoT over and we have just about finished up with the whole Northern Exposure show, I’m hoping I can jump right into Supernatural. So please forgive that I’m in the dark with the references to Cas.
What I can talk about is the tea itself. I have been craving rose petals in tea as o f late. Something that I’ve touched on in my blog-CuppaGeek. I tried a rose herbal that turned my thoughts completely about having rose petals in my teas that I drink. Typically I wouldn’t give them a second look. Anymore, I am reaching out and craving for those beautiful flowers to be in my tea.
This is a black tea with rose petals. These particular rose petals are more of a peach color than the pink or purple ones I have had in the past. I brewed this up like a typical black tea- 212F-1 cup water-2 min in my glass teapot. Let this cool just for a few seconds before taking my first sip.
First sip in and this is the flavor I have been craving. The black tea providing a smooth background and the rose petals added a slight sweet flavor. Simple but very well done. This is a tea that could get muddled pretty quick with having too much of the black tea in and not the proper ratio of black tea to rose petals. What I would love to see is maybe a touch of vanilla or honey added in to kick the sweetness up a notch and giving the tea more dimension. But even as it sits, this is a subtle tea that would be perfect tea for any time of the day. Another gem found on Etsy. Great job Chris & Alexa@ Frandom Teas. Can’t wait to try the rest!