Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
About Tea of Life Ayurvedic Collection:
The word “Ayurveda” is derived from two words – “Ayus” meaning life and “Veda” meaning ‘knowledge’ or ‘science’. So the literal meaning of the word Ayurveda is ‘The Science of Life.’
Life or Ayus, according to Ayurveda, is a combination of senses, mind, body and soul. So Ayurveda does not just limit itself to the body or physical symptoms, but also provides comprehensive knowledge about spiritual, mental and emotional health.
The traditional healing system of Ayurveda is based on a theory of balance between the body (physical), the soul (spiritual) and the mind (psychological).
Ingredients:
Green Tea with Asparagus, Lemongrass, Winter Cherry, Cardamom and Jasmine flavors.
Taster’s Review:
Well, I had a stressful couple of days, so I could use some “calm.” I’m hoping this Ayurvedic Calming Tea from Tea of Life will grant me some!
As I brewed this tea, I tried to recall if I had ever tried a tea with asparagus in it before. I can’t say that I have. That doesn’t mean that I haven’t, just that if I have I can’t recall and I would think that with as unusual a tea ingredient that asparagus is, I think I would have remembered!
To brew this tea, I went with my “go to” green tea parameters. For a green tea, I typically go with a temperature of 170° – 180° Fahrenheit. I went with 175°F for this tea, and I steeped the teabag in about 6 ounces of water for 2 minutes.
Going into my initial sip, I was a little apprehensive because I generally am with teas that claim to offer “functional” benefits like those that are offered in Tea of Life’s Ayurvedic line. Now, granted, having tried three other teas from this line and having experienced some true benefits from those teas, I do not doubt that the teas work as they claim to. I just tend to associate “functional” teas with “medicinal tasting” teas and there is also a skeptical side of me that seems to want to step in and question the validity of the Ayurvedic teas. That said, teas (other than stimulating black teas) tend to calm me to a certain extent.
OK, so this doesn’t taste terrible. It’s actually tasty. I don’t know if I’m actually tasting asparagus or if that ingredient sort of melds into the vegetal quality of the green tea, but I am noticing that the “green” taste of this cup seems to be enhanced somewhat.
This does have a certain herbaceous/medicinal flavor which I attribute primarily to the Winter Cherry. Fortunately, the other ingredients in this tea balance out that herbaceous tone, and I especially like the light citrus-y note from the lemongrass and the warm note from the cardamom. I don’t taste much from the jasmine at all.
Overall, this is not a bad drink and I do feel a little calmer than when I began to brew it. It does have a relaxing quality to it.
Cotton Candy Iced Green Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Southern Boy Teas
Tea Description:
Premium Organic green tea with organic flavors. Each 14g teabag will make one 2-quart pitcher of DELICIOUS iced tea. Re-steep the teabag and you can get a full gallon out of each one.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! OK, it was pretty much a given that I’d LOVE this flavor of iced tea from Southern Boy Teas. I love the original 52Teas version of Cotton Candy, I loved the Cotton Candy with the White Tea Base. And of course, I loved the Cotton Candy Black Iced Tea from SBT which was part of their original series of iced tea pouches. So, I was really confident before I even poured the first glass of tea that I’d love this too.
And I do.
It is sweet and refreshing. The lighter base of green tea is perfect for the Cotton Candy flavors which tend to be on the delicate side. The Cotton Candy notes are able to shine through nicely. And the buttery notes of the green tea work really well with these flavors.
I find myself emptying the glass of iced tea almost as quickly as I can refill it! It just tastes so good, but even though it’s crafted as an homage to one of my favorite carnival treats, it doesn’t taste sickeningly, sticky sweet. It’s sweet, certainly, and those of you who don’t like sweet beverages might find this to be a bit cloying, but for those of you with a sweet tooth, this cold drink might be right up your alley.
To brew this, I hot brewed the sachet in 1 quart of freshly filtered water that was brought to 170°F. I steeped the sachet for 1 1/2 minutes, and then I poured the brewed tea into my iced tea pitcher. Then I repeated the process – same amount of water and the same temperature, but this time I steeped the sachet for 2 minutes. And what I LOVE about the green teas from Southern Boy Teas is that you can resteep it for another half gallon of tea! I just stash the sachet in the fridge in an airtight container, and then I resteep the sachet at the same temperature (170°F), 2 1/2 minutes for the first quart and 3 minutes for the second. I get a full gallon of delicious iced tea out of this.
It tastes fresh and light and it’s a very invigorating glass of refreshment. This one is definitely one I’ll be reordering in the future. With the next one I buy, I want to try cold-brewing the sachet to see how it fairs!
I like it a lot!
Tropical Sorbet Black Tea from Tea of Life
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Tea Description:
Black tea with natural banana, pineapple, passion fruit & mango flavors.
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
This is one of the tastier teas that I’ve received from Tea of Life. I’ve enjoyed a few of their teas and there were some that I didn’t really care for but this one moves its way right toward the top of the list. It’s got a good flavor: a background of brisk black tea with a pleasant tropical fruit note. As summer has come to an end and fall has just begun, this tea takes my taste buds on a summer-y holiday to the tropics.
I like that I can taste each of the fruit flavors: I taste notes of banana and mango, hints of pineapple-y sweetness and a touch of passion fruit, but these flavors do not overpower the black tea base. The black tea tastes smooth and I’m tasting more of the sweeter notes of the black tea emerge thanks to the sweetness of the fruit notes. It’s a very harmonious taste.
It’s sweet but not too sweet and the fruity flavors are not overwhelming. There is no doubt that what I’m drinking is tea that has been flavored with fruit rather than fruit flavors rather than fruit flavors with a little bit of black tea mixed in. This is tea first!
It’s a tasty cuppa served hot but I like this one best when it cools because the fruity notes give it a very refreshing taste that is more “iced tea” to me. An enjoyable tea from Tea of Life.
Restorative Ayurvedic Tea from TeaVeda
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: The Veda Company
Tea Description:
Mildly caffeinated with green tea, one of nature’s antioxidant wonders. Regroup and recharge with the engaging and flavorful blend of orange and mango in our “Restorative” tea.
Learn more about the teas from TeaVeda here.
Taster’s Review:
This afternoon, I thought I’d try another tea from the TeaVeda collection from The Veda Company … this time from their “caffeinated” collection. This “Restorative” blend is a combination of green tea and the fruit flavors of orange and mango.
I steeped the silky pyramid sachet in freshly filtered water that was heated to 175°F for two minutes. This produced a flavorful cup where I can taste the bright notes of orange and the sweet notes of mango that highlight the lush green tea.
I like that while I can taste the fruit notes, they do not overpower the green tea. This is a tea first – meaning that the tea is not playing “canvas” and providing a background for these fruit flavors. I appreciate that.
The green tea is not an overly “grassy” tasting green. It’s sweet, creamy and has a light vegetal tone and hints of flower. It has a lightness that seems to meld nicely with the fruity notes. The mango and orange work very well together. These fruit notes taste juicy and pleasant with the green tea.
Overall, an enjoyable cup.
Tawantin Black Tea from Inca Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Inca Tea
Tea Description:
We thought long and hard about how to make a black tea as unique yet as strong as the Incan Empire and what we came up with was Tawantin Black Tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Tawantin Black Tea marks the last of the four teas from Inca Tea that are currently available. I’m so happy that I had the opportunity to try all four teas.
Dry, the aroma is very subtle, I can smell notes of “black tea” and also hints of corn. The brewed tea has a similarly soft fragrance, it smells very much the same as the dry leaf, although I think I smell less corn and more black tea now, but it’s still a rather subtle scent.
But there’s nothing subtle about the flavor! This is a robust black tea with plenty of GUSTO. This would make a great tea to reach for first thing in the morning because it’s got a real strong, energizing flavor to it.
The description on the Inca Tea website lists the ingredients as
INGREDIENTS: Finest 3 black tea leaves (2 or which are organic) and purple corn. The Inca referred to their empire as Tawantinsuyu, “four parts together.” In Quechua, the term Tawantin is a group of four things (tawa, meaning “four”, with the suffix -ntin which names a group) This blend is a robust combination of 3 quality black tea leaves and purple corn.
An interesting bit of information about the name “Tawantin.” Inca tea does not state what types of black tea is used here, but based on what I’m tasting, I would venture a guess that there is either Assam or Nilgiri (or possibly both?) in this blend because it has a rich, malty note to it. Based on the slight bitter note that I taste toward mid-sip, I would guess that it’s an Assam. The nice round character and slight wine-like notes suggest to me that there is either a Keemun or a Yunnan in the blend (or possibly both), or if not one of these two (or both), perhaps a Kenyan?
Again, that’s all guesses on my part. I’m not sure of the teas used. But it is a full-flavored, rich tasting blend of teas. There is a slight astringency toward the tail and I find that this astringency starts out light and develops to more of a “medium” astringency as I make my way to mid-cup.
The thing that makes this tea different from the rest of the black tea blends that I’ve tried, though, is not the blend of black teas but the addition of purple corn. The purple corn does not present a strong, obtrusive flavor to the cup, but I can taste hints of a grainy flavor to the cup. With the casual sip, my palate has a hard time picking up the notes, so this is a tea you want to slurp a little bit so that you’re aerating the liquid onto the palate. When I do this, I can pick up on those grain flavors and it’s a very satisfying flavor as it melds with the malty notes of the black tea. It becomes almost bread-like … like a hearty loaf of freshly baked bread. Nice!
Since I was unsure of the teas used in this blend, I brewed one pyramid sachet of tea in 8 ounces of 205°F (rather than going for the full boil) and steeped it for 3 minutes. I think next time, I’ll steep it for just 2 1/2 minutes at the same temperature and see if this minimizes the slight bitter note. The bitterness isn’t bad nor is it putting me off on the cup, but, I would rather it wasn’t there so next time I’ll tweak how I brewed it just a little to see if the results are better.
But as it is, I find this to be pleasant cup of tea. I like the richness of the black tea and I like the subtle flavor that the corn brings to the cup. This is unique enough to be fun and interesting to drink but not so unique that it becomes unfamiliar.
I look forward to seeing what else this new company – Inca Tea – will offer in the future. These four teas that I’ve tried thus far have been quite nice!