Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Tea Description:
As part of the Wonderland series of tea, this blend mixes spearmint, cinnamon and candy cane for a refreshing – if bit mad – concoction of tea. The taste is extraordinary; minty, mad and yet crazy fun – just like Wonderland.
A Carolynne Keenan Custom Blend.
Learn more about this custom blend here.
Find more Carolynne Keenan blends here.
Taster’s Review:
The name of this Wonderland Custom Tea Blend from Adagio Teas designed by Carolynne Keenan is what interested me about this blend. I’m a fan of Alice in Wonderland, so I was intrigued by this blend. I don’t know if I would have selected the Cinnamon, Candy Cane and Spearmint teas to create a blend called Wonderland, I guess because in my mind, they seem to go together so well, and I would think that Wonderland would be a bit more wacky.
That said, this blend is very tasty. A really good balance of flavors has been achieved. It’s got a zesty flavor from the cinnamon, but not too much. There’s a fresh, minty flavor from the peppermint and spearmint, and a sweetness from the candy cane notes and it all melds in a way that is very pleasing to the palate. It’s got a crisp, lively flavor to it.
And while I do taste the black tea, it’s more of a background note and not a real dominating force in this cup. And given some of my past experiences with Adagio’s black tea base, I’d say that not experiencing that harshness from the black tea is all for the better. It’s a good thing!
I drank about half a cup of this without any additions, and then I tried a full cup with about a half a teaspoon of sugar. I found that the sugar really brought out the candy cane-ishness of this tea, and I enjoyed that. It’s good without sugar, but better with just a little bit of sugar to bring the candy cane flavors to life.
Berber Tea Blend from Tay Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tay Tea
Tea Description:
The light and sweet Moroccan spearmint is a crisp counterbalance to the rich, smoky gunpowder green tea. So refreshing, this tea goes down easy. Re-steep this tea a few times to let the rolled gunpowder tea unfurl and release its full flavour. If you want to get authentic with this tea, sweeten it until your heart’s content.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! Minty! After I opened this Berber Tea Blend from Tay Tea, the first sampler packet from this month’s Amoda Tea Tasting box that I decided to try, I was a little overwhelmed by the fragrance of mint. The aroma reminds me of Wrigley’s Spearmint gum. It’s very, very minty.
The strong minty scent worried me a little. I started thinking this was going to end up tasting more like a mouthful of toothpaste than a cup of tea. Fortunately, this doesn’t taste quite as much like toothpaste as the aroma led me to believe. I am happy to say that I can taste the flavor of the gunpowder green tea in this tea as well as the crisp flavor of spearmint, and while it is a minty tasting tea … as I’m sipping it, my palate recognizes that I’m drinking tea and not mouthwash that has been heated up and poured into a teacup.
The Moroccan spearmint was a good choice to use in this mint tea blend, because I generally find spearmint to be a “lighter” tasting mint than peppermint. I’m also finding that this spearmint seems to unite with the gunpowder green tea to create a smooth flavor. The spearmint is crisp and refreshing, but not overpowering.
The gunpowder green tea is light and sweet, and there are some vegetal notes that meld beautifully with the herbaceous tones of the spearmint. It all comes together in a very pleasant way. The texture of the liquid is somewhat broth-y which offers an intriguing contrast to the invigorating mint flavor.
It’s a very clean and fresh taste. It’s revitalizing but also soothing. I’m not about to say that this is my favorite tea that I’ve ever pulled out of my Amoda Box, but, I am enjoying it, and I’m happy that I got this opportunity to try something from a new-to-me company like Tay Tea. Thanks, Amoda!
Whisper of the Woods Green Tea Blend from Whispering Pines Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Whispering Pines Tea Company
Tea Description:
The most beautifully soothing mint green tea. Imagine a crisp beautiful sunrise in a densely wooded pine-oak forest with sheets of trilliums and wild currant berries. You wake up, step out of your tent and breathe the last sliver of fog before the shattered sunlight wisps it away. Whisper of the Woods is an ideal green tea reminiscent of that crisp and floral serenity with just the perfect amount of heart-warming energy to induce prana and exploration. Enjoy.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Nice! I don’t know why, but something about this Whisper of the Woods Green Tea Blend from Whispering Pines Tea Company made me think that there’d be smoke notes to it.
I don’t know if it’s just the name of it: Whisper of the Woods. It makes me think of a walk through the woods and the smell of the air that would surround me as I’m walking, and in that image that is playing in my head, the smell of the air would include a touch of smoke from a far off log cabin with a fire blazing in the fireplace. Or perhaps it’s just the name of the company: Whispering Pines Tea Company. Something about this company makes me think of that aforementioned blazing, crackling fire in the fireplace.
But this isn’t a smoky tea. And I don’t know that I’d want it to be smoky. I like the notes of mint – a combination of peppermint and spearmint – and I like the hint of jasmine. I like the way these flavors play together with the sweet, lightly grassy notes of the green tea.
And what I like best is that this isn’t overwhelmingly minty. Sure, the mint flavor is there and it’s strong and there’s no mistaking it. But, it isn’t a “toothpaste-y” mint. I don’t feel like I just took a sip of mouthwash. This was masterfully blended, and the result is a mint tea that isn’t too minty.
The jasmine essence builds as I sip. I barely noticed it in the first couple of sips, but, now that I’m nearly finished with the cup, the jasmine comes through really well. It’s not perfume-y, but it brings a beautiful floral note to the cup. I like the way the jasmine and mint notes come together.
It really is a bit like a whisper in the woods. Imagine a gentle breeze filtering through the woods, picking up notes of wildflowers and mint growing in the wild along with hints of grass. A beautiful scent. A delicious flavor. That’s what this tea delivers.
Chamomile Citrus Herbal Tisane from Mighty Leaf
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Mighty Leaf
Tisane Description:
Chamomile Citrus herbal tea is a refreshing infusion perfected to curl up with and savor by the sip. Made with Soothing Egyptian chamomile flowers and subtle slices of citrus fruit, this vibrant blend will rejuvenate the spirit. From intoxicating aroma to sweet flavor, this signature herbal tea infusion in our silken tea pouch, our gourmet teabag twist, with chamomile, fruits and herbs reflects our vision of the artisan tea experience.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I have made mention in the past of my dislike of chamomile. OK, so I don’t hate chamomile. But I just don’t love it. I don’t think that I’ve ever thought: “You know, I’d really like a cup of chamomile tea.” That just has never really happened, because there are so many other things I’d rather be drinking. That said, sometimes, I need to chill out and relax, and chamomile does a good job of instilling that sense of calm that I want.
Much of my dislike of chamomile stems from past experiences of drinking teas made of crushed chamomile blossoms in a tea bag. Yuck. Fortunately, a lot of tea companies realize that when the chamomile blossom is whole and not crushed into dust, the brewed liquid tastes better. Mighty Leaf figured this out, and I can see through their silky pouches that the chamomile used in this Chamomile Citrus Herbal Tisane is beautiful, big blossoms combined with citrus peel, lemongrass, lemon myrtle and other herbs.
The citrus flavors combined with the naturally sweet, apple-like flavor of the chamomile offers a pleasant taste that’s easy to sip. The primary flavor here is the citrus flavors, followed by chamomile. I am happy to say that I don’t taste a lot of hibiscus here, although I do find myself wishing that I tasted more of the spearmint. I only taste very faint hints of mint in this cup.
Overall, this is a pleasant cup of tea. Not something I’d drink everyday, but I can see myself turning to it when I needed something to help relax. It’s very soothing and it’s tastier than plain chamomile.
After 8 Tea Tisane from Eden Grove
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black & Green Teas
Where to Buy: Amazon Trading
Ingredients:
Green Tea, Black Tea, Spearmint, Pineapple, Mint Flavor, Red Rose Petals, Jasmine Flowers, Chrysanthemum Flowers, Hibiscus, Calendula Flower.
Learn more about Amazon Trading here.
Taster’s Review:
This After 8 Tea Tisane from Eden Grove is one of the more unusual teas I’ve come across in my ongoing tea journey! It has a lot going on … but I’m happy to say that the flavors work together in a pleasing way.
I brewed this at a lower temperature to accommodate for the green tea (180°), and steeped it slightly longer (3 1/2 minutes) to ensure that I could get a lot of flavor from the black tea and the herbals in this blend.
The result is a very unusual yet flavorful blend of flower and mint, with an earthy, sweet background. I taste both the black and green teas here. The black tea is not as full-bodied as I would probably have achieved if I brewed the tea at a higher temperature, although if I had, I don’t know that I would be tasting the sweet, buttery notes of the green tea that I am able to taste now. I think that the delicate notes of the green tea would have been lost if the black tea were a stronger, more developed flavor.
The mint is not overpowering, but it is a dominate flavor profile in this cup. It tastes crisp and cool without tasting like someone added a splash of mouthwash to my cup of tea. I taste light pineapple notes, and I’m happy that the hibiscus here is more of a “tart” flavor rather than a profound note.
That little bit of tart flavor from the hibiscus highlights the pineapple and accents some of the sharper notes of the floral flavors of rose and jasmine. I taste more rose than I do jasmine. The jasmine is a soft, exotic note and is not quite a fully realized jasmine flavor, while the rose is a sweet, slightly sharp, distinct rose taste, albeit delicate.
Overall, I found this blend intriguing. It is quite different from anything that I’ve tasted before, and I like that. I like that this is a little out of the box … but not so “out there” that I found it too bizarre to enjoy.