Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Rishi Tea
Company Description:
The sublime character of sage is wonderfully balanced and masterfully combined with the citrus notes of lemon thyme and bergamot, which play beautifully with overtones of fresh pine, wintergreen and peppermint. Bergamot Sage is an original mood boosting and mentally clarifying blend, fit for anytime of day.
Taster’s Review:
This is surprisingly good. It’s definitely the best caffeine-free bergamot tisane that I’ve come across in a long time.
The dry leaf has an appealing bergamot and herb scent to it. As it brews, I notice that the herbal notes intensify a little bit, but it still smells amazing. If Glade sold this fragrance as a room freshener, I’d buy it!
The flavor reminds me a bit of a green tea Earl Grey. The bergamot flavor is strong but does not taste soapy. I think that the herbs in this tea tone the bergamot just enough so that it can be strong without tasting like Aunt Gertrude’s perfume.
I can taste the sage too, and it gives it an earthy quality and a well-rounded taste. The sage gives this a more masculine taste, as much of the floral essence of the bergamot is offset by the herb.
I really like this one a lot, in fact, this is one I could see myself drinking regularly. I like that it has a very calming, grounding effect, and it does help clear the mind (and tonight, with my daughter having a sleep-over, I definitely need some clarity!)
Bravo, Rishi Tea!
Immortalitea from Red Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Company Description:
Immortalitea tea blend is a taste sensation that anyone who has enjoyed cooking knows that there are incredible flavors to be coaxed from the leaves of rosemary and sage. Herbal teas also benefit from these old savory seasonings! Rosemary, a herb with many beneficial antioxidants such as rosemarinic acid and camphor, goes very well with strong flavors like lemon, as does sage, another healthy herb with a strong tart flavor. We have created a unique tea blend that brings together the finest green tea with rosemary and sage to create a robust herbal brew, and we’ve sweetened this blend with lemon and rose petals. Enjoy this fine mixture of vital flavors, all designed to quickly bring invigorating, heathy nutrients to every system in your body.
Taster’s Review:
This is a very distinctive tea. I could smell the rosemary and sage the moment I opened the package, and that aroma intensified as the tea began to brew. Such a savory fragrance!
The green tea base is fresh and slightly vegetative, which lends itself well to the herbal flavors of the rosemary and sage. The touch of lemon further accents the savory taste of this cup, and the contrast of the sweet yet sharp flavor of rose makes this one of the more interesting green teas I’ve ever encountered.
The tea is wonderfully restorative. I just came back from a rather vigorous walk, and this tea seems to bring me back to life!
I previously reviewed this tea, but, a really good tea such as this one deserves revisiting… or perhaps I should say, you owe it to yourself (and I owe it to myself) to revisit these delicious teas! They are worth it… and so are we!
Misty Morning from Good 4 You
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Yerba Maté & Herbal
Where to Buy: Good 4 You on Etsy
Company Description:
♥ A lemony yerba mate’ blend to lift the mind’s mist every morning, day or night! For memory, concentration and mental alertness. Recommended for studying & staying focused. There’s feverfew in it too, to possibly help a headache. A tea made for the crown chakra.
Ingredients: yerba mate leaves, lemon grass leaves, lemon balm leaves, gotu kola leaves, gingko leaves, rosemary leaves, stevia leaves, sage leaves & feverfew flowers and leaves. (CAFFEINATED)
Taster’s Review:
I want to start this review by saying that I really like this company. Good 4 You has a shop on Etsy, and for those of you who are unfamiliar with Etsy, it’s a fantastic venue where artists can sell their wares. I sold my teas as well as my art on Etsy, and I love it there. So I was excited to receive hand-blended tea samples from this Etsy store.
The package arrived and it was hand decorated – a nice touch! – and the packaging for each of the teas that I received is very cute and thoughtfully executed. I have nothing but respect and admiration for this company, and I urge you to support handmade!
OK… now that I’ve said that – this tea is alright. I am not a big fan of green Yerba Maté, I find it a bit too earthy for me, but, here, the other herbs manage to smooth out some of the earthy qualities for my palate, which I appreciate.
There is quite a bit going on with this blend. There’s the Yerba Maté, it’s vegetative, it’s earthy, and it provides a richness and depth of flavor to this tea blend.
Then there’s the lemon grass and lemon balm. These two ingredients provide a nice, lemony sweetness to the blend. It’s not terribly tart – a bonus – the lemon here tastes smooth.
There is a savory quality to this blend – I can taste the combination of rosemary and sage. This is a classic culinary combination, and it offers a unique and flavorful contribution to this tea blend.
Then… there is the stevia. Here’s the thing. I really wish that tea blenders/artists would not put stevia in their tea blends. I am not really crazy about stevia as it is, I like it ok sometimes… but most of the time, I detect a funky sort of aftertaste from it that I’m just not wild about. Basically, the main purpose of stevia is to add sweetness to a tea (it’s sweeter than sugar), but if I want to make my cup sweet, I’d like to do that myself.
The stevia aside, I think that this blend makes a decent cup of tea. It’s not my favorite blend, but, I like that it is a handcrafted blend. I like the creativity and thoughtfulness that went into making this blend. It’s tasty and I like that I feel more alert after having enjoyed a cup of this tea. It is a FEEL GOOD kind of tea that I can feel good about drinking!
Kapha Balance Tea from Shanti Tea
Tea Type: Rooibos, Herbal
Where To Buy: Shanti Tea
Product Description:
An energizing and warming blend which is spicy and robust.
An energizing and warming blend of rooibos, holy basil, fennel, ginger, cardamom, orange peel, sage, pepper, and licorice. A rich orange infusion which is spicy and robust. Great for combating fatigue and balancing Kapha.
Tasters Review:
This Herbally-Rooibos is from Shanti Tea and it’s called Kapha Balance.
This Kapha Balance Tea is WARM – naturally. Yes, it is spicy but you can’t really pick out each spice…except for maybe the pepper…
I enjoyed what they did this with Rooibos here – almost like a Rooibos Chai, even. The rooibos along side the other ingredients make the taste of the rooibos not-so-stereotypical. Yes, it’s naturally sweet but it’s much more than your run-of-the-mill rooibos taste.
This one surprised me and I ended up liking it quite a bit more than I thought I would.
If you would like to learn more about Kapha and Balancing Kapha – check this out:
Of the three mind-body types in Ayurveda, Kapha is the one that is the most steady in energy, temperament and mood. Ayurveda dates back 5,000 years to India, where rishis (sages) codified guidelines for diet and how to treat different diseases.Read more: How to Create Balance Kapha Ayurveda Mind-Body Type | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4495046_create-balance-kapha-ayurveda-mindbody.html#ixzz0zHTq8kph
Bergamot Sage from Rishi Tea
Tea Type: Herbal
Where To Buy: Rishi Tea
Product Description:
Bergamot Sage, Organic Botanical Blend
The sublime character of sage is wonderfully balanced and masterfully combined with the citrus notes of lemon thyme and bergamot, which play beautifully with overtones of fresh pine, wintergreen and peppermint. Bergamot Sage is an original mood boosting and mentally clarifying blend, fit for anytime of day.
Water: 212°F / Boiling / Leaves: 1 tablespoon per 8 oz / Infusion Time: 5 minutes / Ingredients: Organic lemon thyme, organic sage leaf, organic peppermint, organic lemon verbena and natural essential oil of bergamot. Origin: Rishi blend.
Tasters Review:
This one really surprised me. I went into this thinking it was going to be all about the sage for some reason but there is a lot of other flavors going on here. It’s pretty good! I’m sure the peppermint had something to do with it. Many of you know how much I like Peppermint!
I can taste the peppermint, sage, and bergamot. The Lemon is noticeable but blends in with the bergamot mostly. There is a slight sage aftertaste a little bit more sage than peppermint. This is very different but pretty good.