Firewater from Pelican Tea gets its name from the addition of hot habanero peppers to the tea. But hot peppers aren’t the only unusual ingredient, this solid black tea also has toasted brown rice, an ingredient that is usually found in green tea genmai cha teas.
I always like to get a whiff of my tea leaves before I brew them, but I was a little nervous about sticking my nose in the bag this time. Would I get a noseful of hot peppers and run away sneezing like in the cartoons? Well, I got lucky, this tea smells savory and earthy and a bit like baked bread from all the starchy brown rice, but no burning or sneezing.
I let the leaves steep and took in the scent of the brewing tea. Still no bite of spice, just more toasted cereal tones from the rice, and a robust black tea. Taking a sip, I finally get a glimpse of the hot peppers. At the back of each sip there is the slightly smoky, chipotle flavor of habanero peppers, and a warm burn of capsaicin down my throat. It’s not so spicy as to be unpleasant, but it is definitely a distinctive experience. All the forward flavors of the tea focus on the nutty, roasted rice.
This would be a great tea for those who like rice in their tea, like in genmai cha. Or this would be a winner for those of you who like the spicy soup sipping broth products out there. The brown rice and earthy black tea take over most of the flavor palette in this tea, but the passing flame of hot pepper spice with each sip makes this something special.
All in all Firewater is a really unique blend that would be a fun gift for any lover of all things hot and spicy.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Pelican Tea
Description:
The original Pelican Tea, and an instant classic. Habanero-infused Orange Pekoe black tea and toasted brown rice contribute to an unpretentious blend that’s as comforting as it is spicy.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
PRODUCT REVIEW: Spicy Tortilla Green Tea Infused Sipping Broth from Millie’s Savory Teas
Product Information:
Leaf Type: Green
About This Product:
A zesty blend of chipotle pepper, spices and green tea. The flavor and spice of a Mexican Sopa.
To Learn more about this Millie’s Savory Teas, click here.
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Taster’s Review:
I was excited to try this savory “tea” because I’ve enjoyed the other green tea infused sipping broths that I’ve tried from Millie’s Savory Teas. I felt confident that I’d also enjoy this Spicy Tortilla.
I could smell the spices of this tea the moment I opened the package! It smells like Mexican Food! YUM!
Oh, this is tasty! As I’ve mentioned in the first paragraph, I’ve tried a couple of other tea infused sipping broths from Millie’s – you can read my review for the Indian Spice sipping broth here, and for the Tomato Basil sipping broth here. If you were to ask me before tasting them which of these three I think I’d prefer, without a moment’s hesitation, I would have said the Tomato Basil. But as it turns out, the Tomato Basil is my least favorite of the three. This one might just be my favorite thus far.
It has a nice amount of spice to it, but this isn’t so spicy that it has me running to the kitchen for a glass of water to cool my tongue. It’s zesty, warm and delicious, much like a tortilla soup that I might order at my favorite Mexican Food restaurant. I can taste notes of chipotle, garlic, tomato and onion. All that’s missing, really, is strips of tortilla chips!
Oh … and the green tea is missing, too. As I’ve mentioned in my reviews of the other savory teas, the green tea is difficult to detect in these sipping broths. Of the three, I think I tasted more green tea in the Indian Spice. There isn’t a whole lot of green tea flavor to this.
That is my one big complaint about these blends. I find myself wishing there was more green tea so that I can actually think of it as a “tea.” It’s a bit like adding a little bit of tea to my soup … I’m still eating soup, not drinking tea. That’s what’s happening here too. I’m sipping broth, not tea.
It’s still really tasty, though, and something I’d sip again.
PRODUCT REVIEW: Tomato Basil Green Tea Infused Sipping Broth from Millie’s Savory Teas
Product Information:
Leaf Type: Green
About Millie’s Savory Teas:
Our first-of-its-kind sipping broth is a blend of savory herbs and spices infused with loose leaf green tea. Excellent as an alternative to coffee or plain tea. Each tin comes with 15 tea bags that make 8 oz cups each. Just boil water, pour into a cup then add a tea bag and let steep for 2 minutes, stir and enjoy. Let the bag steep longer for a more intense flavor.
To Learn more about this Millie’s Savory Teas, click here.
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Taster’s Review:
I received this product – a tea bag of this Tomato Basil Green Tea Infused Sipping Broth from Millie’s Savory Teas – in my February Love with Food Box. I subscribe to these boxes and review many of the samples of food that I receive from them on my foodie blog, which you can read here.
I was very curious about this “tea” because, as many of you know, I’m a HUGE fan of 52Teas and after months of bugging Frank of 52Teas, he finally relented and created a blend for me: LiberTEAS Tomato, Basil, and Black Pepper Tea. And I loved the stuff! And to be honest, when I had originally suggested the tomato, basil, and black pepper blend, I had a green tea base in mind rather than a black tea base. Frank thought that a black tea base with a hint of Lapsang Souchong in it would be better, and I do think that the black tea base was a good choice. However, I remained curious about the green tea base, so when I received this Tomato Basil green tea infused sipping broth, I was excited to finally try a green tea with the flavors of tomato and basil.
The aroma of the bag when I opened the pouch was similar to the smell that I get when I open a tin of dried basil from my pantry. The aroma had a very strong herbaceous scent to it. The bag was kind of … hard. that is to say that it didn’t really seem very “loose” or “leafy” inside the tea bag, it seemed to be more like a bit of bouillon that was dried in the bag. Since this was called a “sipping broth” I didn’t find this objectionable, but, I can see how tea purists might find it a bit off.
Let me say that the “infused” part of the Tomato Basil Green Tea Infused Sipping Broth is the key word to the name of this product. Because the green tea flavor is nearly indistinguishable. I taste hints of an earthy, vegetative greenness to this “tea” which turns out to be more like broth than tea, and the hints are not really enough for me. I found myself wishing that this was more like a tea and less like a broth. That said, I do like that this is not quite as salty as I find the typical commercially produced broth or bouillon would be.
As a broth, it’s tasty. As a tea … it leaves quite a bit to be desired. Not bad, and it would be nice to maybe have on hand for when you might be feeling a tad under the weather and want a cup of broth to soothe and comfort you. Especially nice if you’re at the office. And that’s what I’d recommend it as: a soothing, comfort food for when you’re away from home. If you’re looking for a tea with the flavors of tomato and basil … I’d suggest looking somewhere else.