Tea Type: Rooibos
Where To Buy: Sands of Thyme
Product Description:
Ingredients: rooibos, cherries, flavor, cinnamon, orange peels, ginger bits, cinnamon sticks, candied pineapple bits (pineapple, sugar), candied papaya bits (papaya, sugar), candied mango bits (mango, sugar), cardamom, star-anise, cloves, vanilla bits, rose petals
Tasters Review:
You know when you go to Folk Art Fairs and you smell dried fruits and spices in potpourri…that’s what this smells like! This is very nice and very home-E.
The ingredients go well with the Rooibos here. I can first taste the cherries and cinnamon/stick as well as a hint of vanilla and sugar. I can also pick up on subtle hints of pineapple, mango, and anise. The after taste is sugary-fruity-sweet.
This is tasty! There is a lot going on here but it’s a fun and interesting cuppa!
Snow Flake Black Tea from Sands of Thyme
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Sands of Thyme on Artfire
Product Description:
Ingredients: black tea -Ceylon, -South India, -China, coconut rasps, flavoring, almond flakes
Taster’s Review:
We’ve been experiencing some rather warm weather lately here in the Pacific Northwest – and sipping this tea makes me wish for the cooler weather of late autumn and early winter. Even with its tropical flair it has a very cozy, wintery taste to it.
The black tea base is delicious. Just strong enough to establish itself without overwhelming the coconut and almond notes. There is also an intriguing biscuit-y taste in the background that gives the overall cup a “cookie” kind of flavor. It is a brisk, pleasant tasting tea that is free from bitterness and has very little astringency.
The coconut is the strongest flavor of the cup. It is smooth and sweet with a touch of creaminess to it. It isn’t as strong a coconut taste as some coconut teas that I’ve tried, but I like the level of flavor to this – it has enough coconut to know what I’m tasting without being too much. A stronger coconut flavor might overpower the almond notes here, and I really like the way that the two flavors meld together. The almond is sweet and nutty, and enhances the cookie note I mentioned previously.
I like this one well enough that I can comfortably say that this is one of my new favorites from the Sands of Thyme. It’s yummy!
Earl Grey Cream Black Tea from Sands of Thyme
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Sands of Thyme on Etsy or Sands of Thyme on Artfire
Product Description:
Ingredients; black tea Assam, lemon bits flavoring, rosebuds
Taster’s Review:
I received this tea as a free sample with my order that I placed a while back – I always appreciate it when companies are generous with their teas and send free samples with orders! It’s like getting the bonus prize in a box of Cracker Jacks – only better, because this is TEA!
The dry leaf is quite beautiful. Big chunks of dried lemon and whole, red rosebuds are scattered throughout the Assam black tea leaves. It smells quite good too – I can smell the lemon, the bergamot and even a hint of vanilla.
Taste wise, this is a very unusual Earl Grey Cream. It’s the lemon in this that makes it so different. The lemon is a very strong component, and it aggressively attempts to take over. The bergamot is there, but it is hidden beneath the strong lemony notes. I think that this tea would be more appropriately named a lemon cream tea or a citrus cream tea rather than an Earl Grey Cream.
The Assam in this tea is also quite dominating in this blend – I steeped it for just three minutes and there is quite a bit of bitterness to the tea. Much more than I typically would get from an Assam for such a short steep time. The Assam does have some redeeming qualities, though. It is bold and malty. It would be much more enjoyable, however, if it weren’t so bitter and astringent.
As it cools, some of the stronger flavors temper somewhat, and it becomes a smoother tasting tea, but it still has that bitter tone that is a difficult obstacle to overcome with this tea. I don’t think I would classify this as a horrible or undrinkable tea, and I don’t want to dissuade anyone from trying it. I would love to hear from you if you have tried it and experienced something different. And while I doubt I will ever order this tea for myself, I am glad that I had the opportunity to try it.
Mayan Cocoa from Sands of Thyme
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Sands of Thyme on Etsy
or on Artfire
Product Description:
Ingredients: black tea, cocoa bits, barley malt, roasted chicory root, ginger bits, cardamom, flavor, black pepper
you know how most chocolate teas leave you feeling disapointed. remember what i said about our quality. now try the best this is the chocolate tea that will take away that candy bar craving. sweeten it with a pinch of stevea and reduce the calories even more
Taster’s Review:
As some of you probably are well aware, I am a chocoholic. Therefore, when it comes to tea, chocolate is one of my favorite flavorings. As a result, I have tasted a lot of chocolate teas, and I’ve reviewed quite a few of them.
There are a lot of great chocolate teas out there, and some of them … not so great. This one falls somewhere in between, leaning a little more toward the not so great than the great. And I confess myself to be a little disappointed, because I was really looking forward to this tea. I not only love chocolate, I especially love a spiced chocolate, because I love the contrast between sweet and spicy.
Let me start with the chocolate – it is a strong chocolate taste, and I like that. In fact, the chocolate flavor in this tea is its redeeming quality. It tastes authentic and rich and delicious, and it is what is keeping me sipping this tea.
The black tea base is decent, although it is plagued by the overwhelming flavor of chicory root. Normally, I enjoy chicory root in a tea – I love the deep, roasted flavor that it offers. However, with this tea the chicory root is too strong and overwhelms the tea. This causes the tea to have a funky taste that remains well into the aftertaste. The funky taste is almost numbing to the taste buds, and making the tea less enjoyable overall. It just tastes “off” somehow…
This tea is just OK with me. I liked the chocolate flavor, but its the rest of the blend that sort of ruins the cup for me. It isn’t my favorite, but I would really love to hear from others who have tried this tea and enjoyed it. It could be that I just got an “off” batch. I don’t know… but if you’ve tried it and liked it, please comment!
Lemon Cream Tea from Sands of Thyme
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green & White
Where to Buy: Sands of Thyme on Artfire ~0r~ Sands of Thyme on Etsy
Product Description:
Ingredients: white tea China Pai Mu Tan, green tea Darjeeling, green tea China -Fog Tea, -Lung Ching, -Jasmine, -Jasmine Jade Pearls, orange peels, flavor, lemongrass, yogurt bits, lemon bits
Taster’s Review:
This tea has a lot going on, but, it works!
The base of green and white teas alone is rather interesting, consisting of a white tea (Pai Mu Tan) and several different green teas. In the sample I received, I didn’t find any jasmine pearls, but I can definitely taste the presence of jasmine in this cup. It is a soft note of jasmine, but I like that its there.
The white tea is not very distinguishable in this cup, although, I don’t think that this tea would taste the same without the white tea. While it isn’t easy to discern specific “white tea” qualities, it is obvious that there is more than just green tea notes. The base tastes lively and smooth. There is some vegetative taste to the tea as well. There is no bitterness to this tea. A moderate amount of pucker-y astringency at the tail that works very well with the lemony flavor.
Although I didn’t notice any of the yogurt bits in the blend when I measured out the tea, I must have gotten some in there because I can taste the tangy taste of yogurt. The yogurt along with the combination of teas (and this is where I suspect the white tea plays a role) create the creamy note of this tea which is not overwhelmingly creamy, but just enough to tie in with the name of the tea. I’m not left asking “where’s the cream?” with this tea.
Overall, this is a very interesting and delightful cup of tea. It isn’t too pungent or over-the-top, nor is it too subtle with its approach. A very nice tea makes me think of spring on this cold winter’s eve!