Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Rooibos
Tea Information:
Sometimes you just want a tea that’s bursting with fun flavour. We think it’s not too much to ask for that flavour punch to taste completely natural. Welcome French Lemon Creme with your luscious lemon and creamy vanilla sweetness. This is built on a green rooibos base, so the blend has extra health benefits from locking in the herb’s natural enzymes.
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I want to start this review by saying: the aroma of this tea smells just like what the name promises: It’s lemon and cream. And it’s lovely!
I was happy to see that this rooibos blend is a green rooibos blend which is my preference when it comes to rooibos teas. I like the fruity element of the green rooibos rather than the woody/nutty and sometimes gentle smoke note of the red rooibos (the red rooibos is oxidized to achieve it’s color, while the green rooibos is not oxidized.)
To steep this tea, I used my Kati Tumbler. I measured out 1 1/2 bamboo scoops of the tisane into the basket of my tumbler and added 12 ounces of water heated to 195°F. Then I let it steep for 10 minutes. Rooibos doesn’t get bitter because it isn’t tannic like camellia sinensis, so go ahead and let it steep – the flavors will just intensify. Do be sure to keep the temperature below boiling though, because you may get a ‘sour’ taste from rooibos if you steep it too hot.
Mmm! This is good. The aroma of the brewed tisane is still quite lemon-y and because of that, when I raise the tumbler to my lips and inhale deeply, I smell the lemon. My palate’s reaction to this is to prepare itself for something sour. But the sip doesn’t start out that way! Instead I get a sweet, creamy lemon taste, similar to lemon curd.
It isn’t until mid-sip that I start to pick up on the tart notes of the lemon. They aren’t a pucker-y tart, but just enough tart to let you know that hey, you’re tasting lemon! The creamy vanilla notes are strong right at first, and then they subside to let some of the bright lemon notes shine through.
I really like the way these two flavors have come together in this. It’s sweet but there’s enough tart to keep it interesting and to keep it from becoming too sickeningly sweet! And the rooibos base melds beautifully with these flavors, adding sweetness without taking away from the sunny lemon and the luscious cream flavor.
A really awesome rooibos blend. I don’t often say that about a rooibos blend, but this one has earned that praise!
Florida Sunrise Herbal Tea from Because UR Priceless
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos/Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Because UR Priceless on Etsy
Tisane Description:
FLORIDA SUNRISE Herbal Tea Blend reminds me of all the things I love about summer. The aroma of orange and the tang of hibiscus draw me in, and I can almost feel the warmth of the sun. Add in the antioxidant rich, good for you combination of green rooibos*, rose hips, and red raspberry leaf and you have awesomeness in a mug.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I gotta tell you, I wasn’t really looking forward to trying this tisane. Hibiscus! UGH!
However, the hibiscus isn’t a strong flavor in this. There is a certain tangy ‘hibiscus-ness’ to this but it’s not overpowering the cup. Instead, it seems to accent the orange notes in a really pleasant way.
The raspberry leaf together with the hibiscus gives the cup a berry-ish sort of taste that nicely complements the orange notes. The green rooibos has a light, fruity note that melds well with these flavors.
It’s a refreshing beverage. Sweet, fruity and pleasant to sip. I appreciate that the hibiscus hasn’t been overdone. I don’t get that heavy hibiscus texture nor do I get a strong flavor from it, and what flavor I do taste from the hibiscus marries well with the other flavors of the cup.
I enjoyed this.
Mint Marigold Spice Herbal Tea from M&K’s Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: M&K’s Tea Company on Etsy
Tea Description:
Sweet spices and a minty rooibos blend swirl together in this exclusive M&K’s creation! Peppermint and spearmint coat Asian star anise, providing a licorice taste complimenting the spicey, roasted ginger. This infusion is part of the M&K’s Original 20.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
My first reaction to my first sip of this tisane was: mmm! Now, granted, that’s my reaction to many teas that I taste for the first time and it’s usually my reaction when I indulge in a favorite tea. But, it’s not always a first reaction when I take a sip of a tisane. And it’s certainly not a frequent reaction when I take a sip of a rooibos tisane.
But M&K’s created a winner when they crafted this rooibos blend. It’s warm and cozy but also cool and invigorating! It’s a lovely medley of contradiction.
The first flavor I notice when I take a sip is cinnamon. Almost immediately after picking up on the cinnamon notes, I taste the crisp, refreshing taste of peppermint and spearmint.
Mid-sip, I notice the zesty licorice flavor from the anise. It’s not an overwhelming flavor and I suspect that even those who are not typically fond of blends with star anise would enjoy this tisane. It is more of a warm snap of licorice with a hint of sweetness from the anise without the strong spicy snap of it.
I also notice a warm, peppery ‘glow’ from the ginger.
What I don’t notice is a strong, obvious flavor of rooibos and I’m sure that those who are familiar with my likes and dislikes know that I’m quite alright with the lack of rooibos flavor. I like that I’m tasting the gentle honey sweetness of the rooibos and a hint of nutty flavor without a really strong rooibos taste.
I like the way these flavors – peppermint, spearmint, anise, ginger and cinnamon – come together in this blend. Any one of them can be a very aggressive flavor but rather than one flavor overpowering the others, they are working together in a synergistic way to create a very harmonious taste that’s both spicy and sweet, warming and cooling.
I like this one!
Product Review: Teavana® Oprah Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks
Product Information:
Spicy chai blend of cinnamon, black tea and rooibos, lightly sweetened and finished with steamed milk.
Where to Buy: Your Local Starbucks
Learn more about this product here.
Taster’s Review:
This product combines two things that I do not like with a couple of things that I do like. I don’t like Teavana and I don’t like Starbucks. But I do like chai lattes and I like Oprah Winfrey. So, I decided that since I happened to be at my local Safeway and there happens to be a Starbucks inside that I’d try Oprah’s “new” (it’s not really new anymore, but it’s new to me) Chai from Teavana that has been crafted into a latte by Starbucks.
Two things that I noticed right off the bat that I appreciated – first thing: it wasn’t prepared too hot. The very rare times that I stop at a coffee shop to get a chai latte (very rare), it seems like the drink is too hot to consume and it takes forever for the temperature to drop. This was prepared at a slightly lower temperature, I think, and it was a drinkable temperature. Nice.
The second thing that I noticed: it’s not too sweet. Yeah, it’s been sweetened. But it’s not cloyingly sweet. It’s not so sweet that I felt myself recoil from the overwhelming sweetness. And there’s a nice balance between sweet and spice.
I can taste the tea here and that’s another thing I appreciate. More often than not, when I do have that rare latte from a coffee shop, many times it’s made from a concentrate and it’s overly processed and I just can’t taste any tea. I taste some spice but mostly what I end up tasting is warm milk and sweetener.
That’s not happening with this. I can taste the black tea and I taste a light nutty flavor from the rooibos. The spices are nicely balanced. Overall, it’s a pleasant chai latte. Not my favorite – my favorite is the kind that I make at home where I control the sweetness and the amount of dairy that goes into it. But for a latte that I picked up at a coffee shop (even if it is Starbucks), it’s pretty good. And it’s definitely better than Starbucks “classic” chai latte.
I don’t know that I’ll be lining up at Starbucks to get this again soon, but, if I happen to find myself at Starbucks, this is probably what I’ll order.
Seven Seas Herbal Tea from Simple Loose Leaf
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos & Herbal
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf here.
Tisane Description:
This healthy and harmonious herbal tea blends peppermint, ginseng, cinnamon, echinacea, sarsaparilla, licorice, and organic South African rooibos. The cooling peppermint and warm cinnamon notes pair perfectly with the sweet, soothing finish provided by the other herbs. This special blend is an ideal and tasty way to stimulate your immune system.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Co-Op program here.
Taster’s Review:
As I’ve said in the past, I’m not usually a big fan of ginseng, but this blend has enough going on that I barely notice that the ginseng is there! I’m too busy enjoying the contrast between crisp, cool peppermint and zesty cinnamon and snappy licorice to focus on the ginseng. The peppermint, cinnamon and licorice are the three strongest components of this cup.
This is a delightful tisane to sip on this cold winter’s night. The combination of cinnamon and licorice are warming me from the inside out, while the peppermint adds a refreshing element. As I said, I don’t taste much from the ginseng. I also don’t taste a lot from the rooibos or the echinacea.
At first, I had trouble locating the sarsaparilla in this, but if I slurp the sip, I do pick up on a light root beer-ish flavor in the distance, and it’s quite an interesting note to be tasting along with the cinnamon. Peppermint and licorice are both profiles that I’ve occasionally noticed in gourmet root beers, but not cinnamon. The cinnamon and sarsaparilla are quite intriguing and this combination is keeping me sipping.
This is a tisane that was a sample in my last box from Simple Loose Leaf (when they switched from the selection club to the co-op plan), and I held on to it for a while because … well, because it’s a tisane. That’s why. I have admitted before that I’m often skittish when it comes to tisanes and this just goes to show what I mean by that.
But I’m glad I finally decided to try it because I enjoyed this. It’s a wonderful medley of contrasts, and there’s a lot of health benefits in this too!