I’ve had this little packet of savory, broth-esque tea sitting on my desk at work for MONTHS, friends. Months, just waiting, with the knowledge that someday, I’d be feeling under the weather, and someday, this is exactly what I’d want.
Well– it came. I’m coughing and sneezy and feeling generally woozy, but good enough (and not-contagious enough) to be at work. As soon as I sat down at my desk, I knew I’d be brewing up a cuppa this beauty for a little mid-morning pick-me-up. I’ve tried a few Millie’s savory teas before, and have always been impressed by the amount of flavor in those tiny tea bags. This play on pho was no exception!
My tea brewed up dark and deliciously, with tons of incredible umami flavor, almost like I was slurping down a delicious cup of pho at my favorite Vietnamese restaurant. And those sniffles? Maybe they’re not completely eradicated, but the hot water was soothing on my throat, and I swear my sinuses opened up some. When it’s not feasible to drink a cup of soup during your morning meeting on a sick-y day, THIS is where it’s at.
My desk stash is now sadly depleted of any Millie’s flavors, but I’ll absolutely be stocking up for future icky-sicky days. Delight-pho, indeed!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Millie’s Savory Teas
Description
This Delight Pho is a hearty blend of onions, basil, spicy red peppers, spices & decaf green tea. Steep one broth bag in 6 to 8 ounces of hot water for two minutes. Winner Fancy Food Show Outstanding Hot Beverage of the Year.
INGREDIENTS VEGETABLE BLEND (CARROTS, CELERY, ONION, TOMATO, SPINACH, BELL PEPPER), YEAST EXTRACT, SEA SALT, RICE HULL FIBER, BASIL, GARLIC, LIME, DECAF GREEN TEA, VINEGAR
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Tomato, Basil, and Black Pepper Black Tea from 52Teas
Hello 2017! Welcome! Yes. . . I know I’m a few days late but I’m very ready to welcome this new year in.
This year I’m not going to make resolutions but I am going to make myself explore different types and flavors of tea. I thought this tea would be the perfect tea to get that ball rolling.
Yesterday I made a few homemade soups for my hubby’s and my lunches. One of those soups was a tomato bisque. I had a little veggie juice left over and enjoyed myself a glass. I don’t drink a lot of V8 or anything like that, but every once in a while I found myself craving it.
That is where this tea can absolutely come into play. There aren’t a lot of savory teas out there but everyone in awhile one will cross my path and I find myself devouring it.
Prepped up per the package recommendations- (212F-2 1/2 minutes- allowed to cool for 10 minutes) I was excited to see how this tea would taste. Smoky savory notes with a heat from the black peppercorn while the tomato and basil bring the flavor together to a solid and flavorful finish. This tea reminds me of a sweet yet savory tea but not sweet fruity like. Sweet like that familiar sweet and tangy flavor that is unique to what a tomato can deliver.
This is one of those teas that you surprisingly can’t get enough of. I found myself craving more after every sip. I think next infusion I’ll let the tea steep a bit longer and not allow the tea to cool for so long. If you have a chance to check out this tea or any savory tea, I recommend it. It definitely provides a nice change of pace from all of the teas I typically drink.
I have a feeling this will be a tea that I’ll be sad to see the end of.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This is a reblend that was crafted for one of 52Teas’ ambassadors. He didn’t actually request this reblend outright, instead, what he did is ask me to reblend my favorite tea. (Isn’t that nice?) Since I have several “favorites” from the 52Teas archives, I ultimately came to my decision by determining several factors: which tea I missed the most, which tea I wanted to try blending the most and which tea comes to mind first when I ponder the question: “what is my favorite 52Teas blend?” This tea – Tomato, Basil & Black Pepper Black Tea – won the most points overall in that decision making process.
Fortunately, the ambassador was very excited about trying the tea – so that was a bonus!
The original description of this tea went like this:
When our good friend, LiberTEAs [Yep, that’s me!] asked us to create this blend, I have to admit that I tabled the idea for a few days, thinking she would forget about it. We’ve created some unusual blends, but tomato, basil and black pepper? Really?
Well, she didn’t forget about it and though it took me a while, here we are.
We’ve blended our premium Indian black teas with just a tiny touch of lapsang souchoung, sun-dried tomatoes, black peppercorns, basil and natural flavors.
This is just a little different from the original because a) different black teas in the base, b) I crushed the black pepper with my trusty mortar and pestle and, c) I used freeze-dried tomato bits rather than sun-dried tomatoes.
For the base, I used my black tea base of organic Assam, Ceylon and Yunnan teas, plus I added a small amount of Lapsang Souchong – just enough to add a hint of smoke but not enough to overwhelm the cup. Then I added organic, natural flavors and freeze-dried tomatoes, organic basil and crushed organic black pepper. (You’ll still find some whole peppercorns in there too!)
This tastes amazing. If you liked the original blend – I’m confident you’ll enjoy this. Or, if you didn’t try the original blend and the idea of a tomato, basil and black pepper black tea sounds too interesting to pass up – please don’t! If history is any predictor, this tea will not stay around on my tea studio’s shelves.
Taster size is approximately 15g.
ingredients: organic teas, freeze-dried tomatoes, organic basil, organic black peppercorns & organic natural flavors.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Tomato Tornado from Stylin’ Blends. . . . .
Tomatoes? Yes, please! I have to say that was the REAL reason I was so stoked about trying this tea/tisane. The tisane I am referring to is Tomato Tornado from Stylin’ Blends. Ingredients include Tomato, Ginger, Beet pieces, Hibiscus, Cardamom, Black Pepper, White Pepper, Cinnamon, Clove, and Nutmeg.
Stylin’ Blends product description says…Yes the first ingredient is tomato. When we were told there was a blend that had tomato and ginger as well as spices we use in our chai blends, we were really intrigued. The name of this unique blend came from my mother who was in Kansas at the time. Since this is an herbal blend there is no caffeine!
Tomato, Beet, and Hibiscus are the flavors you taste first quickly followed by the chai spices. Each of these ingredients are on the more mellow side but when they are all together they work out incredibly well. There are nods to a tomato soup type flavor as well as those chai spices.
Tomato Tornado is not only a conversational tisanes it’s one the is good tasting and good for you! I really enjoy this tisane. I will say that I could taste the ginger more as it cooled naturally at room temperature and if you cold brew it. Two thumbs up from me on this one! Nicely done, Stylin’ Blends!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal Blend
Where to Buy: Stylin’ Tea Blends
Description
Yes the first ingredient is tomato. When we were told there was a blend that had tomato and ginger as well as spices we use in our chai blends, we were really intrigued. The name of this unique blend came from my mother who was in Kansas at the time. Since this is an herbal blend there is no caffeine!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Moon Milk from Millie’s Savory Teas. . . . .
Moon Milk from Millie’s Savory Teas is a ground-breaking herbal product that will change the world of Turmeric Lovers out there! This product is a colorful, aromatic, fine powder that you can add to your coffee or tea. But I say…WHY STOP THERE? Heck! I’m looking forward to trying to cook with it!
The wholesome ingredients in Moon Milk from Millie’s Savory Teas include: coconut palm sugar, coconut milk, ginger, turmeric, black pepper, and non-gmo tapioca maltodexrin from Yucca Root!
Upon opening the package I could smell the turmeric and black pepper. The light yellow-orange fluffy powder with white and black specks was impressive to see and smell! I then added Moon Milk from Millie’s Savory Teas to water. It mixed well and even frothed!
It’s creamy, peppery, and sweet. I try to add turmeric in my day someway or somehow because of it being a natural pain and inflammation reducer. Moon Milk from Millie’s Savory Teas is an easy and tasty way to do that! This is also a great vegan treat, too! YAY!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Millie’s Savory Teas
Description
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pineapple Bacon Rooibos from 52Teas
My husband (type B, carnivore) and my brother (type A, vegetarian) are friends, but they don’t agree on many things. One of the few they agree on: me. I’m great and they know it.
The other thing they both like: facon. (Fake bacon.) They adore this strange compromise between bacon and fantasyland.
I’m not much of a facon person, but I think this tea is fascinating. This facon/rooibos/pineapple tea is totally unlike anything I’ve ever had. It’s juicy, salty, and throaty. It’s lush.
It’s also a little bit peculiar.
I decided to take it and shove it in people’s faces. My roommate says it smells like “green olives.” My husband says it smells like “throat soothing medicine.”
I don’t know if it’s something I’d purchase, but I am so glad I got a chance to try it. This tea is so original. I’ll enjoy the rest of my sample.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea was reblended by request from one of our start-up Kickstarter contributors. I started with organic red rooibos and added bacon and pineapple flavors. I also added freeze-dried pineapple bits and vegan bacon bits – this blend is 100% vegan but I can’t be 100% certain that it’s 100% gluten-free. I’m not sure if the vegan bacon bits are gluten-free and the packaging didn’t assist me in finding out. The company that I ordered them from wasn’t any more helpful. (Sorry!) So if you’re one who needs to avoid gluten, I wouldn’t recommend this tea. I do take very special care to avoid cross-contamination – so the other teas are fine – but this tea, I’m not 100% sure of it’s gluten-free-ness.
The original description of this tea goes like this:
Did you think we were done playing with bacon teas?
So did I. But check this out: I was thinking about how much I enjoy a Hawaiian pizza or just a nice ham with a pineapple glaze and nice juicy pineapple rings baked on it… My wife is of the opinion that meat and fruit should not be mixed, but… well, nobody’s perfect, right? Anyway, I was thinking that if ham and pineapple is good, pineapple and BACON would be even better. And when I was thinking about what base tea to use, it occured to me that the woodiness that I personally somewhat dislike about rooibos might go well with pineapple and bacon, and oh boy does it! Juicy pineapple, salty bacon and refreshing rooibos are an amazing combination. Not to mention that it’s a guilt-free indulgence.
I stuck pretty close to the recipe for this blend. After reading my review of the original blend – read it here – I seem to recall the original blend tasting a bit too sweet, kinda like pineapple bubblegum with bacon flavoring which is just a little bit weird. Fortunately, I’m not really tasting that now which I’m grateful for. I taste pineapple – it’s the strongest flavor component and I taste bacon. The bacon flavoring does lend a certain ‘salty’ factor to this blend but you might want to add just a teeny pinch of salt to the cup to enhance that salty bacon flavor. But I don’t taste “bubblegum” or that sweet, sugary note that a ‘bubblegum’ description would seem to imply.
I am enjoying the balance of flavors better here than I think I did with the original blend – so overall, it’s a win for me. And hopefully our contributor enjoys it too and it’s a win for her!
Taster size is approximately 15g.
organic ingredients: rooibos, freeze-dried pineapple, vegan bacon bits and natural flavors.
