Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Mahamosa
Tea Description:
This mild China-Ceylon black tea blend evokes the Caribbean. Comprised of light-yellow orange peels and orange-red blazing safflowers, this tea creation has a sweet, firm, fresh and tangy flavor. A sip of this tea will bring to mind the fervent red flesh of sun-ripened blood oranges.
Ingredients: Black tea, orange peel, natural flavoring, safflower.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When sipping on Blood Orange from Mahamosa the first thing that comes to mind is POW! Mind blowing orange flavor! If you love the taste of natural orange this is your tea!
Blood oranges tend to be a bit more tart than your average orange with more antioxidants. I used blood orange often in my natural perfume blends and it is a favorite of mine so I was excited to see this on Mahamosa’s website.
The base tea makes way for the orange to take front and center yet there is some interesting taste on the end part of the sip that is distinctly the base tea. It is quite enjoyable but I am thinking this is one that must be cold steeped and enjoyed over ice!
One thing that I personally love about Mahamosa is that they contribute 50% of their annual net profits after taxes to support charitable causes including hunger, poverty, education, environment, clean water, animal/natural life welfare and other causes. You can learn more about their contributions here.
So no, this is not the most complex tea I have ever had the pleasure to sip on, but then again it is absolutely what it states that it is, a blood orange black tea made with natural flavors. The use of natural flavors does make this tea better than many flavored teas I have tried as I am very particular about flavorings used in tea.
As the tea cools a little the blood orange allows some of its sweetness to present and while there are no sweeteners used in this blend I do get a slight sweet note in the tea after cooling which, once again, makes me eager to do a cold steep with this leaf.
This is my first experience with Mahamosa Tea and I am eager to try more based on this experience.
Orange Danish from Trail Lodge Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Trail Lodge Tea
Tea Description:
You’ll feel like you visited the bakery when you taste this tea! The vibrant green tea leaves are joined with the sweet taste of orange, almond, and spice to taste like an orange danish.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yum! I’m loving this tea.
It has a very bright and sunny orange-y kind of flavor to it, but I can totally taste the “danish” connection too. There is this sort of nutty, buttery, pastry-like taste to it, very rich and almost creamy, that provides that danish-y type flavor.
I like the mellowness to this cup as well. Even with the bright flavor of orange, there is sort of a calmness to this cup, very sweet and gentle. It would make a great dessert tea, or a mid-day cup for those times when you want something a little bit sweet that won’t weigh you down or cause you to feel sluggish.
The taste of the green tea is not as distinguishable as I normally would like it to be, however, I think that the way the flavors all sort of meld together into a seamless taste works out well. While the green tea is not as sharp or distinct as it could be, instead, it becomes sort of soft and buttery, providing a nice background for the pastry flavor. It all comes together in a very unified way, and it’s quite enjoyable.
Cheers!
Pepper Mango Green Tea from Gurman’s
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Gurman’s
Tea Description:
Green tea with mango bits, papaya bits, pink pepper, flavouring, chili pepper, sunflower blossoms, safflower.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is such a very pretty tea to look at! It reminds me of a forest floor. The peppercorns look like ripe berries laying in a field of dried green grass that the green tea offers, along with the bits of mango giving off such an eye pleasing palate of color! The smell is intoxicating as well.
Don’t fear the peppercorns! This is such a well blended tea that you do not need to worry about a gentle palette being lit afire! The peppercorns do exactly what they should do, add a gentle presence that gives the tea a nice lift, and the dried mango does its job in sweetening up the cup! Truly you do not need to add any sweetener to this tea! While it does not have stevia or any added sweeteners to it, the mango is naturally and perfectly sweet enough to give this tea just the level of sugary goodness it needs!
The aroma while steeped is so amazing, even our own LiberTeas likened it to asian food, saying (not a direct quote) that it was savory yet sweet with a good balance. I absolutely agree here that Gurman’s managed to get this tea just right!
Originally I received this tea in a tea trade, but when I went to the site to purchase it – in great anticipation mind you, it was not on the site! I wrote Gurman’s and within days they had it back up on their site for me to buy! Now that is some good customer service if you ask me!
I have had several of their teas and every one has been excellent!
Now keep in mind as strongly flavored as this tea sounds with all the peppers, mango, etc… it is really quite a light tea, both in the color of the brew and the flavor. It is certainly now what I call a “punch in the face” flavored tea, I think many times we expect a tea with such ingredients to be so. Not this one, this is actually quite mellow and laid back. It may have peppers in it but it has manners!
Now I should say that peppers and I are friends. I don’t mind them one bit, in fact I love them. I can eat jalapenos in the raw form and often fill them with peanut butter as a snack. Granted jalapenos are not the hottest peppers out there but this is for frame of reference only. I have read a few tasting notes here and there that do say this is a spicy tea, however I just can’t honestly say it is. It only has a kick in my opinion but then you can also now see where my opinions come from!
I don’t want to give anyone a false idea that this tea is for everyone, but at the same time I don’t want to scare anyone away as it is truly a tea, and a tea company worth checking into!
Love Flavored Rooibos from TeaFrog
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: TeaFrog
Tisane Description:
Our most popular Rooibos blend, the Love blend is an aromatic delight that you will not be able to resist! This tea is so good, we sample it at every show, and sell out at every show! The scent and flavor are simply to die for!
Learn more about this rooibos blend here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m generally pleasantly surprised when I come across a rooibos blend that I enjoy. And really, I don’t know why I should be surprised anymore, as I tend to find more that I actually DO enjoy versus those that I do not like. But usually, the blends that I do like are ones where the flavorings have managed to mask the flavor of the rooibos in such a way that it obscures the flavor of the rooibos entirely. It’s a more startling discovery, though, when I come across a rooibos blend where I can actually taste the flavor of the rooibos and I’m still enjoying what I’m tasting.
But this Love rooibos blend from TeaFrog has managed to do just that. I can taste the nutty flavor of the rooibos, and it works really well within this blend. The nutty flavor adds depth to the sweet, luscious orange notes and the lovely floral tones, without coming off as too funky or sweet. Instead, it is very evenly flavored and has a richness that I don’t often find with rooibos (which usually tend to taste kind of thin).
This is nice served hot, but I like it even better cold! I had intended on drinking it hot this evening, but, after taking a few sips of it, I got busy doing something and when I returned to my teacup, the beverage had gone cold. Rather than toss it, I added an ice cube or two, and sipped on this deliciously orange-y, nutty tisane. I like the balance, I like that I can taste the rooibos without tasting some of the funkier flavors of the rooibos, and I like that while it is sweet, it isn’t too sweet. Very enjoyable, indeed!
Almond Sugar Cookie Tea from Simpson & Vail
Tea Type: Black Tea
Where To Buy: Simpson & Vail
Product Description:
Heavenly! That’s the best word to describe this black tea blend. You’ll think you’re in a bakery when you open the bag and the aroma of nutty goodness wafts out. The brewed tea is divine – with no calories!
Ingredients: Black teas, almonds, flavoring and safflower blossoms.
Brew tea at 212º – steep for 3 minutes.
Tasters Review:
Simpson & Vail is really knocking my socks off lately with their newest HEAVENLY TEAS! These are truly amazing!
The Almond flavor is perfect! It tastes very MUCH like you were to walk into a Bakery! And it tastes more like Sugar Cookie like as it cools a bit. This is terrific both hot and cold. It’s a nice medium-strong black tea base and I find it just lovely!
