A few months ago, I found myself stuck in on a plane in Detroit due to a wicked thunderstorm. The delay caused myself and basically the rest of the plane to miss our connecting flights. There was a silver lining though, while on the plane I met this incredibly interesting lady who was a podcaster and we started talking about the blogs, podcasting and all sorts of geeky subjects. Of course the conversation turned to tea and she told me about an interesting tea company that she had recently been introduced to via her podcast. Fast forward a few months, that same tea company reached out for SororiTea Sisters to review their teas. I was ecstatic!
The first tea I tried was literally the first tea I grabbed from the sample pack. Spa- a blend of green tea, mint, cucumber, and citrus vibes. This tea called to me in many different ways and I will admit, I’m a sucker for a cool crisp mint cucumber tea. Of course as soon as I parceled out my sample from the pouch and into my tea pot, I had to stick my nose right in and take a big whiff. I was instantly enamored with the gorgeous pops of citrus cucumber aromas with a minty undertone. No lie, my kettle couldn’t prep the water fast enough. Brewed with water right under boiling and allowed to brew for right around 3 minutes, I took my first sip and I’m not going to lie, my heart sank a little.
Though I could get these bright pops of citrus, cucumber, mint, green tea. . . I also tasted stevia. Unfortunately, I am not one that enjoys stevia in my tea and usually have found that stevia over takes the tea in general and I’m sad to say that is what has happened with this blend. Being one that typically doesn’t add any kind of sweetener to her tea, I went to Tea Vibes site and noticed that this blend did in fact have stevia. Not a bad thing and there are some blends that stevia does seem to work, but for me this wasn’t one of those blends.
But I will say, thru the stevia, I can taste these awesome flavors that scream relax vibes with authority. So if you are one that doesn’t mind stevia in their tea, I highly highly encourage you to check out this blend. Their site is so appealing and their packaging is different than what I have been seeing for other companies, along with the unique palm tree being built into their logo. So even tho this one go may not have been for me, I’m excited to dig thru the rest of the samples Tea Vibes sent us to see if I can find a tea that is more to my taste buds.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tea Vibes
Description
An invigorating loose-leaf green tea infused with mint, cucumber and citrus vibes. Add one of our infuser accessories to complete your Vibe.
Ingredients: organic green tea, peppermint, green tea, cucumber, lime pieces, lemon peel, lime juice, flavors, stevia, lemon myrtle, lemon juice, sea salt, citric acid, malic acid. Blended in a facility that processes nuts (coconut). Vegan.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Rose City Rooibos from Beach House Teas. . . . .
Spring and summer are my favorite time for drinking floral teas, complementing the flowers blooming outside of my teacup. So this seemed like the perfect time to try a cup of Rose City Rooibos from Beach House Teas.
This is the first tea I’ve tried from Beach House Teas so I took a look at their website. Family-run business in the Pacific Northwest with a focus on organic and wild ingredients, producing hand-blended teas. They also have an Etsy shop, if that’s more your style. They even offer herb-infused sugar for cooking, and herb infused salts and bath bombs for the bath.
Let’s get back to the tea at hand, Rose City Rooibos. Like many tea blends on Beach House Teas, this blend looks great in the dry leaf with beautiful curled rose blossoms in pink and cream, and the rich russet tones of the red rooibos.
Brewed, this tea is smooth and simple, with the nutty, caramel tones of the red rooibos with gentle floral overtones. The ingredients list says there is peppermint in this blend as well, but the mint gets lost under all the rooibos taste and rose scent. I wouldn’t mind more peppermint in the next batch to help add more dimension to the flavor set of this blend. I usually favor teas with a bit more punch to their flavors, so I might not brew this one again. Overall this was very simple and comforting.
This tea’s description calls this a “liquid spa” and I won’t deny that the floral notes are relaxing, and the rose petals are captivating to look at. A good tea for when you need some relaxing aromatherapy.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Beach House Teas
Description:
Rose City Rooibos is 100% organic loose leaf tea blended with red rooibos tea, rose petals, peppermint, and pure extract. This floral elixir is all about beauty and what better way to surround yourself in beauty than rose petals and rooibos that’s like a liquid spa?
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
White Ambrosia from White Lion Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: White Lion Tea
Tea Description:
Rare white tea leaves are laced with sweet toasted coconut and juicy pineapple. It’s like having a vacation in a cup!
Canister $42.95 7 Ounce
Glass Jar $15.95 1.5 Ounce
Sample Tin $4.75 0.5 Ounce
Also available in Sachets
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
White Ambrosia from White Lion Tea is a smooth blend with a full and creamy mouthfeel.
You can taste the toasting of the coconut, which sets it apart from many of the other coconut tea blends out there. The pineapple is lighter and a nice afterthought that is not too powerful but present in the sip. It gives the tea a fruity punch toward the end of the sip.
A great iced tea but I actually prefer this one hot which surprises me!
White Lion Tea is served in spas and I can absolutely see why! Every blend I have sampled from White Lion Tea has been excellent! They are all in their own way either relaxing, or rejuvenating, and I can see how you could easily find one of their blends to fit your mood and needs perfectly!
Every time I order from White Lion I get a couple of sample sized tins, which are really cute. Each time I wish I had ordered a glass (full size) instead. I have never had a tea from White Lion Tea that I did not like! There are some companies that do a few teas really really well, and the others are more or less fillers in their inventory, either so so or really not worth ordering. With White Lion Tea you can be assured that all of their teas that they sell are top quality!
This is one of those teas I ordered as a sample only. And as per usual, I want to order more!
I love the glass jars! Even though you want to keep them out of direct sunlight to preserve the flavor of the teas, they are so kitchy, so cute, and they look amazing displayed!
