Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black & Green Teas
Where to Buy: Amazon Trading
Ingredients:
Black Tea, Green Tea, Passion Fruit, Pineapple, & Natural Flavors of Passion Fruit & Pineapple.
Learn more about Amazon Trading here.
Taster’s Review:
This Paradise Tea Tisane is an enjoyable blend of black and green teas flavored with passion fruit and pineapple. I brewed the silky sachet for 3 minutes in 185°F water. The result is a yummy cuppa!
As I’ve said in the past, when it comes to blends like this – where there is more than one type of tea, in this case, there is both black and green tea leaves – I usually opt to infuse the tea at the lowest temperature requirement for the tea to avoid scorching the green tea. This would result in a bitter tasting tea. So, I went with a lower temperature and steeped it for 3 minutes. This seemed to be the perfect setting for this tea, because the flavor is really nice.
The black tea isn’t particularly robust or even brisk. It’s more like a smooth, mild black tea flavor, lightened by the soft, silky taste and texture of the lightly vegetal green tea notes. It doesn’t taste like “black tea” or even “green tea” … it tastes like something totally different, but with similarities to both of these tea types.
And then there is the luscious tropical fruit notes of passion fruit and pineapple! These two flavors add a sweet, juicy taste to the cup without overwhelming the tea base.
The way I would describe this tea is that some mad scientist (a scienTEAist?) brewed a cup of black tea and a cup of green tea and added equal parts of each to a new cup, and then added the nectar of passion fruit and pineapple. I can almost taste the sweet pulp of the fruits! It’s really quite refreshing and tasty. Not too fruity though, I think a nice balance has been achieved. (Insert mad scienTEAist laugh here)
Really tasty served hot, but even better when it cools!
Earl Grey Black Tea from Zest Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zest Tea
Tea Description:
Earl grey has been a popular blend since it was introduced to the British Earl, Charles “Chaz” Grey, in the 1830’s. Most Earl Greys are made with low-quality base teas, but not ours (remember the whole not compromising thing?). Zest’s Earl is made with premium Nilgiri Indian black tea blended with a delicious bergamot essential oil. Don’t thank us. Thank Chaz.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Zest High-Octane Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
With this cup of Earl Grey Black Tea from Zest Tea, I have now tried all four teas offered by Zest Tea. And if you are familiar with me as a tea drinker, you might notice that I’ve saved what I thought would be the best tea for last. Earl Grey? Um … yes, please! It’s a rare occasion – very rare! – when I’ll turn down a cup of my beloved, the suave and charming Mr. Grey.
And this Earl Grey is quite charming, indeed!
The aroma of bergamot filled the room when I opened the pouch. If a nose could actually smile from what it was smelling, my nose would have been grinning from ear to ear. Which is kind of weird if you think about it. So, it’s probably best not to think about it.
Anyway, the bergamot fragrance here is absolutely delightful. It’s a strong scent, and that’s just the way I like my bergamot! Good and strong!
And I’m also appreciating that even though there is a strong essence of bergamot to this tea, I’m not being overwhelmed by bergamot flavor. I taste the Nilgiri black tea base, and it tastes smooth and rich and it has just a hint of malt. I like the way the sweet notes of malt mingle with the tangy citrus notes of bergamot. It’s lovely.
I know I’ve said this before, but it’s something that bears repeating. Bergamot is one of those things that when done right, it’s a beautiful thing. But, bergamot can be done wrong. The first way it can be done wrong is that a cheap bergamot oil can be used, and this results in a really icky tasting tea. Fortunately, Zest Tea doesn’t compromise and they’ve used a top quality oil here, and therefore, the result is YUM.
Another way bergamot can be done wrong is that it can be overdone, producing a very strong bergamot aroma but it also ends up creating an overwhelming bergamot flavor that ends up tasting more like your grandfather’s cologne than tea. I don’t know about you, but I don’t fancy drinking a cup of my grandfather’s cologne.
But I do fancy drinking another cup of this tea! That’s because while the minds behind this Zest Tea product decided to go big with the bergamot essence, they didn’t go overboard. They did bergamot just right.
After trying all four teas that Zest Tea currently offers, I like to think that I have a little bit of experience with this High-Octane tea thing. And I’m a fan! I know that there has been some thoughts and tea chatter about this, and I welcome your thoughts on it if you care to comment. I personally like having a product like this, where I can start my day with an extra boost of caffeine because some days I really need that extra boost, and I like that I can get that extra boost without the jitters of coffee. Coffee affects me adversely, so I like that I can get this extra caffeine in a drink that I can enjoy and not feel sick afterwards.
And of the four teas that Zest Tea currently offers, I have to say that this one is my favorite. I enjoyed the others, too, but, this is Earl Grey, after all. And yes, I’m happy to say that I did save the best for last!
Retour a La Ligne Green Tea Blend from Les 2 Marmottes
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Les 2 Marmottes
Tea Description:
This Tea will be your partner throughout the day as part of your weight loss mission. Flexible, it adapts to any situation. It is hot, warm or even cold, it is always delicious. Temptations no longer have control. You’re all set!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It was exciting to receive this box of samples – all the way from France! This Retour a La Ligne Green Tea Blend is the first that I’m trying from this new-to-me company, Les 2 Marmottes.
When you visit the Les 2 Marmottes website, you’ll find that you need to translate the website … unless you are able to read French. Alas … I am not, thankfully Google Chrome will translate it for me.
The dry leaf smells strongly of mint. Of course, this could be not only because of the spearmint but because of the meadowsweet. It’s a very fresh and uplifting fragrance. The brewed tea has a slightly softer mint aroma and I can detect the notes of the green tea and verbena now.
The flavor is much more subdued than I expected it to be, given the strong minty fragrance. The mint notes here are subtle but refreshing. The green tea has a sweet, buttery taste. There is a herbaceous overtone to this, tasting a bit more like an herbal tisane made of green herbals rather than a green tea.
I taste distant notes of fruit too, but they are a little difficult to discern because they’re off in the distance somewhere behind the stronger herbal notes. It’s a calming drink to sip, I find myself relaxing more with each sip I take.
Overall, this is a pleasant, mild tasting beverage. I don’t know if I taste anything from the tail cherries (or cherry stems), then again, I can’t recall ever having a tea with tail cherries in the list of ingredients so I don’t know what kind of contribution this ingredient makes to the overall flavor of the tea. I do taste spearmint and I do taste green tea. I taste notes of verbena and a slight sharp note from the meadowsweet.
It’s an interesting cuppa! With my first few sips, I was a little unsure if I was liking it, but now that I’ve nearly finished the cup, I find myself wanting a little more, so that’s gotta tell you something, right?
Organic Original Tulsi from Tea of Life
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Tulsi
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Tisane Description:
Tulsi or Holy basil is considered a medicinal plant with different parts of the plant possessing various different medicinal properties. Tulsi is said to be a remedy for digestive problems, acidity and other digestive disorders and help reduce weight as well.
Ingredients: Organic Tulsi Leaf
Taster’s Review:
I think that I prefer Tulsi when it’s part of a blend (with other ingredients) than when it’s going solo like it is with this Organic Original Tulsi from Tea of Life. This tulsi has a bit too much of a medicinal/herbaceous flavor for my liking and I find myself wishing that there was something else to perk up the beverage a bit.
That’s not to say that it tastes bad. It doesn’t. It has a basil like flavor, with peppery notes and a whisper of minty like background notes. It’s a pleasant enough, savory tasting cuppa. But, really, it’s just kind of … boring. Perhaps I’ve been spoiled and been treated to quite a few flavored blends with Tulsi leaf, andso I feel like this tisane is falling a little flat in comparison.
Some good points: It is a nice, gentle drink with a pleasing touch of spice, a really nice beverage to enjoy after meals. I find that it has a soothing, settling quality to it especially after a very filling meal (like spaghetti!) My tummy feels calmer now after drinking it than it did before I started sipping. Another positive: I like that this is organic.
Not a bad drink, but, not my favorite from those that I’ve tried from Tea of Life, either. I do like that it’s an organic tisane, and I appreciate the health benefits that Tulsi offers, although as I’ve said on other occasions, I drink teas and tisanes not because they’re good for me, but because I enjoy the taste. This is alright, but probably not something I’d want to drink often.
Forest Fruit Black Tea from Tea of Life
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
As I start a tea to steep, I find myself wondering – anticipating? – what the tea will taste like. This Forest Fruit Black Tea from Tea of Life has the flavors of strawberry, blackberry, black currant and cherry, so obviously I was expecting a very fruity tea.
But, what what surprised me – happily! – is that this tastes more of tea than it does of fruit. Oh, the fruit flavors are there and they’re loud and clear, but, the black tea base is robust and has a strong, solid black tea flavor. It doesn’t take a back seat to the fruit notes.
Instead, I taste a medley of fruit notes that sit just beneath the black tea notes. Strawberry pops out first with a sweet-tart cherry note coming in just after. The blackberry notes seem to weave their way in and out of the sip and are sometimes more difficult to discern than the strawberry and cherry. The black currant is most recognizable at the finish, when I notice a sort of tart note, and the astringency of the black tea makes that more distinguishable. It’s almost “wine-ish” at the finish. The aftertaste is like a blend of the four fruits, with a prominent berry tingle on the tongue.
An enjoyable black tea blend from Tea of Life: it’s sweet, fruity and flavorful. I find it especially nice as it gets cooler, making this an ideal choice for iced tea.