Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
Our robust South Indian black tea meets the intoxicating flavor of summer blackberries in this rich and decadent tea. A touch of white sage completes the blend, balancing the plump, juicy flavors of berries with its mystical, earthen essence. With each sip of this deliciously ethereal tea, find yourself closer and closer to true awakening.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s customized subscription program here.
Taster’s Review:
Recently, I was offered a chance to try out Simple Loose Leaf’s subscription program, and this is Blackberry Sage Black Tea Blend is the first tea that I received as part of my fully customized subscription.
So before I talk about the tea, I want to talk a little bit about how the subscription works. You start by checking out the vast selection of teas that Simple Loose Leaf offers (and it’s quite an impressive selection!) Find a few teas that interest you. This shouldn’t be hard, because like I said, the selection is impressive! Put the teas that you want in your cart (Simple Loose Leaf recommends a starting point of 3 – 6 teas), and pay once – including one shipping charge (I was charged $7.50 for six teas to be shipped over the course of the next six months.) In the comment field at check out, you can list the teas in the order you’d like to receive them.
That’s it! Once a month, you’ll receive a package from Simple Loose Leaf containing the tea you selected for that month. (You can also request to have two teas shipped per month rather than just the one.) It is definitely a simple process, and I like the idea of getting a new tea every month like this.
If I were to offer a criticism of the program from what I’ve experienced thus far, it would be this: I would like for Simple Loose Leaf to offer its teas in 1 ounce portions as well as the 2 and 4 ounce portions that it offers. Especially with so many unique flavors, a smaller size would allow customers the opportunity to try it before they commit to a larger amount. In addition, I think it would be a nifty idea if they chose to include a small (one serving size) sample so that customers could try something new and possibly add on to their wish list.
Now, on to the tea for this month: Blackberry Sage Black Tea!
The dry leaf is beautiful with lots of dried blackberries tossed in with black tea leaves and torn pieces of white sage leaves. The aroma is enticing with its strong fruity presence and notes of earthy sage.
The flavor is really enjoyable. The blackberry is sweet, and the sweetness of the fruit is cut by the savory elements of the sage, making this a sweet yet savory cup. Really delightful! The black tea is rich and tasty. No bitterness, but I don’t think it’d be a good idea to over-steep this tea … because I think it could become bitter if it’s oversteeped. (I steeped this at 205°F for 2 1/2 minutes in my Breville One-Touch.) The tea is moderately astringent.
I’ve tried this tea both iced and hot, and I personally prefer it hot (which makes me really glad that it’s autumn! Hot tea tastes so much better when it’s chilly outside!) The flavors of sage and blackberry really pop when the tea is served hot, and as it cools, these flavors become somewhat muted and less distinct.
Overall, I’m very pleased with this first month’s selection for my six month subscription with Simple Loose Leaf! Next month: Earl Grey Assam! I can’t wait!
White Sage and Wild Mint from Juniper Ridge
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Juniper Ridge
Tea Description:
White Sage has a rich, earthy, minty flavor that made it a favorite tea for many of the Native American tribes and early settlers of the Southwest. I like to sip this tea during the wet winters here in Northern California and let my mind drift off to the hot desert country where White Sage grows. So many backpacking trips over the years in that beautiful, sunbaked country—maybe I’ll just sit here in the shade of this Palo Verde tree and let some of the afternoon heat pass while I nod off to sleep with the smell of Wild Sage in the air . . . Now you can enjoy this classic Southwestern tea and dream your own daydreams of the big rock, White Sage desert country.
WILDCRAFTED FROM THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS OF THE WEST · 10% OF PROFITS DONATED TO DEFENDING WESTERN WILDERNESS
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I grow sage in my garden – tons of it, so I could easily say it is one of my favorite herbs. This tea has such a perfect aroma and I know they are using quality sage in this blend.
Normally I would not be that excited to try a bagged tea, but anything that says SAGE on it is something that peeks my interest! I had never heard of this tea company before but thanks to Anne, my SoroiTEA Sister, I was lucky to try this tea! Thank you Anne!
When I visted the Juniper Ridge website I was delighted to see they sell other items as well. I love essential oils, hand crafted soaps, colognes, and such, so I spent some time really pouring over their site. I love their devotion to wilderness see more info here.
For a bagged tea, this bag packs quite a punch! It has a lovely, delightful, sage flavor, and a minty, but not overpoweringly mint taste. Now keep in mind I do love mint, almost as much as sage, so its not like my taste buds are delicate to a mint flavor, this may be far more minty to you than it is to me, but what really speaks to me is that the mint, being somewhat of a strong flavor element, does not take away from the excellent sage in this tea.
There is also a nice spiciness to this tea as well but not like a chai, more like a black pepper note, and it also tastes like the sage may have been roasted a little.
This tea is quite relaxing. I mean really very soothing, centering, grounding, a perfect tea for meditation or before bedtime. There is something about drinking a tisane from nature, that is pure and unadulterated.
I love how this tisane makes me feel, warm, cozy, light hearted, relaxed, and happy.
An experience everyone should have.
Vanilla Blackberry Sage Tea from Singing Dog Vanilla
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Singing Dog Vanilla
Tea Description:
Ingredients: Organic Black Tea, Organic Vanilla Beans, Organic Vanilla Extract, Natural Flavors, Organic Sage
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Whenever I’m in my local Whole Foods, I check the tea aisle. Well, I check the tea aisle in every store that I visit, but, Whole Foods is one of the few markets from which I feel comfortable purchasing tea. After having visited a discount store and seeing that they had tea that had passed its expiration date by over a year, I tend to be very picky from whom I purchase tea! Whole Foods hasn’t let me down yet.
The last time I was in Whole Foods, I found this canister of Vanilla Blackberry Sage tea (as well as a couple of other flavor options) from a company I’ve not heard from before: Singing Dog Vanilla. I’m always interested in trying teas from companies that are new to me, and the fact that Singing Dog Vanilla is a fairly local company, that cinched it for me. Into the cart it went!
The first time I brewed this tea, I brewed it the way I normally would brew a black tea: using boiling water and steeping for 2 1/2 minutes. However, my first sip told me that I should have been more cautious with the addition of the sage leaves, and should have lowered the temperature slightly. I find that with teas containing herbals (including herbal tisanes) a slightly lower temperature helps to avoid bitter tastes in the cup … and the sage in that first cup was just a tad bitter.
This time, I lowered the temperature to 195°F, and it has made a huge difference! This tastes so good! The vanilla is strong (and I was surprised to see actual VANILLA PODS in the tea as I measured the tea to brew it) and sweet and luscious. It is so creamy tasting, and I love that. I don’t need to add milk to get a creamy taste and texture out of this tea.
The black tea base is flavorful. Neither the canister nor the website mentions what type of tea is used for this blend – only that it is an organic black tea. It tastes fairly hearty though, and there is a definitely malty tone to it, so I am inclined to believe it is an Assam. It seems strong enough to stand on its own, and with the strong vanilla notes, it needs to be equally as strong, and I’m finding this base to be quite satisfying.
The sage and blackberry are more of accent notes rather than prominent flavors. The sage is stronger than the blackberry, and it adds a pleasing savory tone to the cup that offers a contrasting flavor to the sweet vanilla. The blackberry adds a hint of fruity dimension to the cup, sweet with just a hint of tartness that hits the palate toward the tail. It is not a strong blackberry taste, but, there seems to be just enough of it to add a compelling flavor to the cup, and I find that by the time I reach mid-cup, I notice more and more blackberry, especially in the aftertaste.
This is really a lovely cup of tea. I love the packaging – it is a recycled cardboard canister which houses a compostable cellophane bag that holds the tea. This company seems dedicated to providing organic, fair trade products, and I respect that. And while these things would mean very little if the tea wasn’t also delicious – the fact that it IS delicious makes it even better! This is a tea you can feel good about drinking!
White Sage and Wild Mint Tea from Juniper Ridge
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Juniper Ridge
Tisane Description:
White Sage has a rich, earthy, minty flavor that made it a favorite tea for many of the Native American tribes and early settlers of the Southwest. I like to sip this tea during the wet winters here in Northern California and let my mind drift off to the hot desert country where White Sage grows. So many backpacking trips over the years in that beautiful, sunbaked country—maybe I’ll just sit here in the shade of this Palo Verde tree and let some of the afternoon heat pass while I nod off to sleep with the smell of Wild Sage in the air . . . Now you can enjoy this classic Southwestern tea and dream your own daydreams of the big rock, White Sage desert country.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
This tisane has a very rustic feel to it … from the packaging (the labels are printed on recycled kraft paper, which give them a rugged style) to the aroma (earthy sage and mint) to the flavor.
This tisane boasts a fairly simple combination of sage and mint. But, I don’t think I’ve ever tried a sage and mint tea until I tried this one from Juniper Ridge. I know I’ve had teas with sage in them, and definitely teas with mint it them, but I don’t recall trying a blend of just sage and mint. Simple, yes, but also simply delicious!
Not surprisingly, it is a very minty tisane. The wild mint gives it a cool, crisp flavor, and it is definitely the strongest flavor of the cup. But the sage comes in beneath the mint and provides a nice earthy tone with a warm, peppery tone that arrives toward the end of the sip. It is a very enjoyable contrast of warm and cool flavors.
I find this to be very soothing to sip as I start to wind down for the evening, and yet it has an invigorating flavor to it that would be a nice, caffeine free pick-me-up in the afternoon if that’s what you’re after.
Blueberry Merlot from Tea Forté
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit & Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Tea Forté
Tisane Description:
Deep taste of succulent summer-sweet blueberries with a wisp of sage to heighten an excellent cup. Corkscrew not required. Your purchase helps protect fragile ecosystems.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
This tisane is part of the Herbal Retreat collection from Tea Forté. Having previously tried and reviewed the other tisanes of that collection, I wanted to save this one for last (my thinking was to save the best for last!), so I stashed it away … and then I forgot where I put it! I just came across it today (as I may have mentioned, I’m trying to organize my tea stash), and decided that it was about time to try it.
This is a very tasty tisane. A little heavy on the hibiscus, but, fortunately, the hibiscus marries very well with the strong blueberry flavor. The combination of these two ingredients creates a pleasant consistency (but don’t steep it too long or it will become thick and syrupy from the hibiscus) and an interesting balance of sweet and tart.
What really makes this tisane different and certainly the top contender for the best of the Herbal Retreat collection is the addition of sage. The sage lends an earthy, musky taste that is distinct. The sage brings a savory element to the party, and I’m really enjoying the contrast of sweet berry, tart hibiscus, and savory sage. Very nice, indeed!