Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black/Green
Where to Buy: Tea Desire
Tea Description:
Ingredients: Ceylon black tea, Sencha green tea, Java black tea, pink rose petals, bucco leaves, natural flavour.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Tea Desire is a smaller Canadian chain primarily based in British Columbia; I just happen to be fortunate enough to live in a city that has one of their branches so over the few years I’ve lived here I’ve frequented the store often and tried a sizable range of their teas – still there’s always more to try! The service feels a lot more personalized, and the feel of the store is certainly a lot less commercial that larger Canadian chains such as DAVIDsTEA.
One thing I do dislike about the company is the 50g minimum purchase – however because I do have a local store I can always purchase a To Go cup and try something that way; and that’s exactly what I did when I grabbed this newer Tea Desire blend. It’s one I wanted to try a few months ago, but my branch hadn’t received a shipment of it yet so when the associate today recommended it I was pretty on board.
Based on her recommendation I got it iced, and trying it now I definitely think that probably was a more appropriate way to try it than hot would have been. This is a very floral blend; it’s supposed to be rose and while I did taste rose I definitely thought the floral notes seemed a lot more like peony. There was a light, pleasant vegetal taste from the green tea but mostly the black tea came through; it was smooth softer with floral notes of its own; very characteristic of a good ceylon. For those familiar with DAVIDsTEA’s Elderflower Spritz I’d say this one tastes similar, but has a base with more backbone. Same sort of fruitier elderberry notes, too.
About halfway through I started to pick up on sort of weird buttery notes. I actually don’t have a clue where they were coming from, but it was weird and slightly jarring. Buttery flowers is definitely not something I’d normally pick for myself; but I actually didn’t hate it. All in all, I thought this was pretty good and DEFINITELY a well put together tea for what it’s named after: sweeter floral, natural flavours that definitely evoke the image of fairies, nymphs and yes, druids too.
I’d totally revisit this one!
Wish Upon A Star Green Tea from Tea Leaf Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tea Leaf Co.
Tea Description:
An eye-catching green tea blend with a sweet rose fragrance and light citrus notes. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this blend while the world’s magical nature reveals itself to you.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
My first couple of sips of this tea – Wish Upon A Star Green Tea from Tea Leaf Co. – were a little less than memorable, to be honest. I tasted green tea and little else. I found myself wondering where is the rose and citrus?
Then I sat the cup aside and let it cool a few minutes. Now as I sip it, I can taste those lovely notes of rose and orange – and they’re really quite lovely indeed!
The orange and rose are still quite delicate, but they’re discernible now and I like the way the flavors are arranged here. The green tea is the strongest flavor: it’s fresh and lightly vegetal with a pleasantly creamy texture. It’s very smooth! I’m not getting any astringency from this at all. The vegetal tones are somewhere between sweet grass and mild steamed veggies.
The rose is the next flavor I pick up on – it’s a subtle rose flavor. Not sharp nor does it lend a strong perfume-y flavor to the cup. It’s softly sweet and pleasantly floral. It’s a nice contrast to the hint of juicy flavor that I pick up on from the orange. Another subtle flavor, the orange adds just a touch of brightness to the cup. It’s a very uplifting note.
Overall, a very pleasant cup of tea. I recommend letting it cool slightly so that the flavors have time to develop – about five minutes – just the right amount of time to let the tea come to a drinkable temperature while the flavors come forward.
Topsy Turvy Black Tea from Disney Wonderland Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Disney World! (You can also find it on Ebay/Amazon)
Tea Description:
You’ll fall head over heels for this premium blend of black tea with a delicious citrus and fruity flavor. Hurry up before it disappears from your cup!
Learn more about this tea on Steepster.
Taster’s Review:
For someone who isn’t all that crazy about Earl Grey I’ve certainly been drinking a lot of it this week…
It’s about time I tried this one; my Mom was nice enough to hunt for it for me when she went to Disney last year and it took months to make it from her house back to me; and then months again for me to actually try it.
At least it not only was in a sealed tin (an absolutely gorgeous one by the way) but in a vacuum sealed foil back as well. Also, I don’t know why I thought this was Earl Grey and rose, because it’s not – maybe since the tin is covered in pink script with tons of decals of roses on it? But it doesn’t actually say rose anywhere so I should’ve known better than to assume.
Dry this smells very, very citrus heavy with more of a fresh peeled orange scent than a distinctly bergamot one. And, it actually does come off a tiny bit floral too. I prepped this as a cold brew because I thought since the orange seemed to be quite strong that it would brew up fairly sweet.
It actually does taste a little more like plain orange than bergamot, though the bergamot is significantly stronger in taste than it was in the smell. It’s kind of weird though; it doesn’t taste like the bergamot oil has turned or spoiled but it is clashing a little bit with the orange, which is more of a candy orange than a natural one and with the faint taste of floral notes, which are natural tasting, things aren’t fitting together seamlessly here.
What it ends up equating to is a fairly average Earl Grey that I think you’d find yourself drinking more for the Disney/Alice in Wonderland aspect than for the taste of the tea itself. And that’s perfectly ok because if we’re being honest here I think that’s who it’s ultimately marketed for anyway.
I’m quite happy I finally tried it though!
Vampire’s Kiss Tea from Herbal Alchemy Teahouse
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Herbal Alchemy Teahouse
Tea Description:
This black tea has everything in which to woo an unsuspecting pallet – roses, chocolate, damiana and rich spices, but like every vampire’s kiss this tea is blood red and has a tiny bite…of cayenne red pepper.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about the MidWest Tea Fest here.
Taster’s Review:
This Vampire’s Kiss Tea from Herbal Alchemy Teahouse is the third of the teas that were sent to me by the organizers of the MidWest Tea Fest: Herbal Alchemy Teahouse is one of the featured vendors at the festival! After a quick glance at the list of scheduled vendors at the festival, it makes me wish that I was able to attend! It looks like it’s going to be an awesome tea fest!!!
This blend is a combination of black tea, rose, chocolate and spices. The tea brews up to be a dark, burgundy red – like a blood red color which makes me wonder if there’s hibiscus in this? I didn’t see a full ingredient list, so I’m not sure, but if I were to wager a guess, I’d say that there’s either hibiscus or something ‘beet’ in this blend because of the color.
It doesn’t taste strongly of hibiscus, but I do get a slightly thick texture that I would normally experience from hibiscus. That could also be from beet. And because of the spicy notes, I’m not detecting anything that’s obviously tart from hibiscus or obviously sweet from the beet, so I’m not really sure what’s supplying the strong color, but I’m suspecting hibiscus because the flavor tastes more like hibiscus to me than it does beet.
So what do I taste? I taste chocolate. But it doesn’t taste like a creamy, rich kind of chocolate flavor, it tastes more like cocoa powder that’s been added to a spiced herbal tisane. Or like cacao nibs/shells that have been added to a spiced herbal tisane.
I taste the spice! The spices build gradually, staring out rather delicate, but after a few sips, I’m getting a warm burning sensation toward the back of my palate.
I also taste an odd, herb-y sort of flavor that I can’t really describe except to say it tastes sort of medicinal, but not in an unpleasant way. It tastes like an herbal tea and as I continue to sip, I’m tasting more hibiscus-like flavors too.
But, I’m not complaining because the cocoa and the spice play with these hibiscus-like notes in such a way that it tastes more ‘berry like’ than it does the tart, syrupy flavor that I usually dislike from hibiscus. It’s odd, it’s different, but somehow, it works!
My biggest complaint about this tea? I don’t taste much black tea flavor. I’m getting a strong presence of the other flavors here, but the black tea seems almost non-existent. I like that the chocolate is strong, I like that I taste notes of rose and even that hint of spicy cayenne pepper that builds on the palate. I like that warmth from the spices. I’m just wishing I had more black tea flavor here.
This seems a lot more like an herbal tisane to me than a black tea. It’s good, though. If you’re one who enjoys spicy drinks, this is something worth exploring!
And don’t forget about the Midwest Tea Fest! If you’re going to be in the Kansas City, Missouri area on June 6th – you should definitely visit! And if you can make the trip, GO! It’s a great opportunity for tea lovers to get more information about the beverage they adore and an excellent way for those who are new to tea to learn more!
Lemon Jasmine Cleanse Tea from WayGood Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: WayGood Tea
Tea Description:
A delicate herbal infusion kissed with fragrant rose petals & jasmine flowers.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Dry, this Lemon Jasmine Cleanse Tea from WayGood Tea smells more like sage and rosemary than it does lemon or jasmine (or any other ingredient in this herbal tisane). But I don’t mind – I like sage and rosemary!
To brew this, I placed one sachet in my teacup and poured 8 ounces of near boiling (195°F) water over the sachet. Then I allowed it to steep for 6 minutes. The brewed tisane is a golden hue and smells pleasantly of sage and rosemary with hints of flower and subtle notes of lemon. Similar to the dry tea – the fragrance is primarily rosemary and sage but more of the fruit and floral notes are coming through now.
The flavor is interesting. I can’t say that I’ve ever tasted a tea or tisane quite like this. That’s not to say I’m not enjoying it. To be honest, I think I need another minute or two of writing about it before I figure out if I really do like it!
I taste sage and rosemary – not surprisingly based upon my experience with the aroma – but I also taste rose. I appreciate that even though the sage and rosemary are dominate fragrances in this tea, their flavors do not overwhelm the cup.
I’m kind of surprised that the name of this tea is “Lemon Jasmine Cleanse” but of the ingredients in this blend – jasmine, rose, lemon verbena, alfalfa, sage, rosemary & lemon peel – the lemon and jasmine are not very prominent flavors in the cup. The only thing I taste less than the lemon and jasmine here is the alfalfa.
I really can’t recall ever having tasted brewed alfalfa – I very well may have in another tea in my years as a tea reviewer, I just can’t recall having tasted it. So, I wouldn’t know what to look for in the flavor here as an identifying note for the alfalfa.
As I continue to sip, I notice more jasmine and lemon notes, but they never really offer a strong presence in this drink. Despite this, I’m finding this to be an enjoyable tisane. It’s certainly different, but in many cases, different is good! And it certainly has proven that to be the case with this. I’d be happy to sip on this again!