Sometimes when you receive tea mail, a tea instantly catches your eye. That is exactly what happened when we recently received a lovely box of tea to review from Tielka Tea, an Australian tea company with one of the prettiest websites I’ve seen in a while. Their tea blends are gorgeous and I couldn’t wait to steep this delight up.
First off, this tea is a green tea and with a name like Rose Moscato, I knew I was in for a treat!
Brewed up with water at 190F and allowed to steep for right around 3 minutes, this tea delivered on aroma and taste. Beautiful rose notes fill the air long with that floral sweetness I’ve grown to really love and enjoy. After having a long day, this blend exactly what I need to unwind and start to decompress.
First sip in, I have to say this tea is very simple but all of the flavors work- and work lovely. The green tea that is used in this blend is heavenly and I am a sucker for all things rose. The tea itself has this romantic air about it and I’m thoroughly feeling indulged. I do have to note that there is a touch of tartness in the blend from the hibiscus and schisandra berries that adds this pop of tartness to counter act the sweetness from the rose petals and buttery richness of the green tea.
All in all, this tea captured this green tea lovin’ gal’s heart and I’m excited to dive into other teas from Tielka Tea and hope to make a purchase with them soon.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tielka Tea
Description
Wulu green tea, schisandra berries, hibiscus, and rose petals.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Rose Lemonade/Taylors of Harrogate -Just Tea-Zen-
I love when I find a bold, caffeine free herbal! This is another one of those teas that I have to remember to sip instead of guzzle. If I had to describe it in one word, I’d have to say it is “LUSCIOUS”.
I am one who normally shies away from floral blends because they’re just not my thing. I’ve had some rose blends that were just too heavy on the rose. I love roses…I love the way they look and smell; I have just never found a rose tea blend that I love. Well friends, that just changed!
I have to admit, I was skeptical. When I opened my little sachet, I could very distinctly smell roses. Again, I love the smell of roses and that aroma is coming through as my cup is steeping.
I take my first sip with an open mind and I am beside myself! It’s not just delicious…it’s astonishing (well, it is for me since I wasn’t expecting to love it). It’s bright, it’s cheery, it’s smooth, and like I said…it’s just luscious.
The rose aroma and flavor is very noticeable but the lemon peel and lemongrass “cuts” it just enough so that the rose is not overpowering. It’s a simple but bold blend of rose and citrus. I sweetened my cup with a little agave. I’m finding that I get better flavor notes on herbals by adding a tiny bit of sweetness.
I wasn’t looking for a favorite floral, but I definitely found one. Lucky for me, I have extras; this one will be next up to try iced and I can’t wait!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Taylors of Harrogate
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Strawberry Rose Champagne/The NecessiTeas. . . .
A while back I won an Instagram giveaway which made me the proud new owner of a Sacred Lotus Love tea tumbler and the recipient of three NecessiTeas blends: Orange Fluff, Pineapple Mimosa, and this tea, Strawberry Rose Champagne. However, the giveaway was for people living in the U.S. and since I live in Canada, I provided my father’s address, which is in California. I have used my Dad as a tea mule many times before so I knew this would be fine with him.
Normally, my dad mails me anything I send to him but this time around he personally delivered the goods since he came to Toronto for my brother’s college graduation. This personal delivery was of course accompanied by my Dad’s typical comments like “tea is for sick people” and “tea has no flavor” and “why do you keep buying tea?” In fact, this time around he told me he had no interest in tea and even if I offered him tea, he would not try it. This was particularly entertaining because later that same night, I brewed this tea as a teapop and he all of a sudden was intrigued. After confirming that the tea was cold, he even asked to try it!
He sniffed it first and said it smelled interesting and then at first sip looked at me and our conversation went as follows:
Him: “I thought this was tea?!” Me: “it is” Him: “no, it’s soda” Me: “no, it’s a teapop”
He then told me that this was “ingenius” and then proceeded to drink two glasses of this tea. He was amazed that it was actually flavorful and carbonated and delicious, all without added sugar (which is especially important to him as he is diabetic).
When I finally got to try it, I enjoyed it quite a bit too. It was a touch too floral at times but it had a nice berry flavor. I hope that was because of the tea and not the strawberry perrier I used to make this a teapop. It also had an effervescence that was very reminiscent of champagne and a touch of that familiar alcohol dryness.
It’s a nice tea and definitely does well as a teapop. I like that it is different than so many other fruit blends that rely heavily on hibiscus/rose hips to create a flavor. I wish there was less rose, but that is more my personal preference than a criticism of the tea. With that said, given it converted my ever-critical father into a believer, I am definitely delighted I got a chance to give it a try and I am pleased I have a whole lot more leave left to experiment with.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Fruit Tisane
Where to Buy: The NecessiTeas
Description
Inspired by the delicate floral and fruity notes in a glass of sweet champagne, this tea blends the voluptuous scent of blooming roses with the sweet flavor of fresh-picked strawberries. Steep up this bubbly concoction with friends before your next GNO or for your better half after a romantic dinner for two. Cheers!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Bad Wolf from Geeky Teas. . . .
What a clever tea! For those who don’t already know, Bad Wolf is a pop culture reference from the long running British tv show, Dr. Who. The Doctor’s companion in that series was named Rose. She was a street smart, brave, adventurous working-class British girl.
If you have seen the full Bad Wolf series, you know that Rose is no shrinking violet. (See what I did there?) So a tea named Bad Wolf can NOT be a foofy, princessy teatime blend. It has to be STRONG! But it has to have the essence of Rose, too, and the love that never, ever died.
Don’t go into this tea expecting a Victorian romance novel. They named it Bad Wolf, not Rose!
This is a bold black tea base with a hint of rose, the peppery kind of rose, running beneath. I have found that when rose flavor in tea is subtle, it tends to lend subtle sweetness rather than tasting full on floral. That’s the case with this tea for me. The lingering aftertaste is a little sweet, but not overly floral or cloying.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Geeky Teas
Description
Black floral rose tea
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Bad Wolf Tea from Geeky Teas. . . .
Hello dear readers, I return with a review of a tea that is one of my favorite combinations, black tea, and rose. Now I apologize profusely for the long absence. There has been a lot of real life stuff including a funeral and trying to wrap my brain around several literary theories. So I thought what better way to apologize than to review a tea that was based on two of my favorite things: Doctor Who (the tenth doctor will always have my heart) and of course roses (and of course I love Rose as a companion). A little personal tidbit about myself: I have rose in everything! I have rose serums, micellar water, rose infused witch hazel, perfumes, multiple teas, body butter, lotions, rose candy, shower gel, and face masks. So you can say I am a little obsessed.
So to get started, the thing that I always understand with a tea that is just black tea and rose petals is that it has the tendency to get a bit dry when you have it black. So to alleviate that I usually add a touch of milk and for those you of who are lactose-intolerant or otherwise the same effect can be achieved with a dairy-free creamer. Now this tea, when paired with a creamer, has the odd watery sweet flavor that I have come to love from roses. Paired with the black tea it has a bold finish that seems to give even more flavor to the rose petals. I like to think of it as a tea that soft and florally sweet with a boldness that will wake you up while also relaxing you.
Now on to the price of this tea. I do have a couple of qualms about this tea when it comes to how it is presented on the Geeky Teas website. While there is a close up picture of the tea I would like to know how much I get for the price of $9.95 and if it comes in a bag or a tin. I also wish that there was a sample option for I myself am very picky when it comes to my rose tea and if I didn’t get a sample for being a reviewer I wouldn’t want to drop about $10 on a gamble. Those reasons in mind I, unfortunately, can’t really say if this is a good price for this tea.
In conclusion, I would say that this was a good tea but for the reasons listed in the paragraph about prices I believe I won’t be reaching for it anytime soon. If you do want to try out this rose tea I would say to be cautious with your purchase for I hope that you will at least get an ounce for almost $10.
See you for the next cuppa!
Kara
P.S. I did send an email to the support team on Geeky Teas for the specifics on their Bad Wolf Tea but by the time I wrote this review no one got back to me.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Geeky Teas
Description
Black tea with rose petals
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
