Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Whittard of Chelsea 1886
Tea Description:
Set against smooth black tea, this blend is enriched with the exotic taste of cinnamon bark and fragrant citrus peel; scented with spiky cloves and long dark pods of vanilla. From your steaming cup these majestic flavors curl and twist. Let them take you on a journey to lands rich with the fragrance of spice.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This smells so good. It is spicy with strong cinnamon notes and hints of clove. It has a delightful citrus-y undertone and a background note of earthy black tea with just a subtle touch of vanilla in there too.
I expected it to taste super spicy, like the spicy-hot cinnamon hearts. But it doesn’t. It certainly does have a warm level of spice, but I wouldn’t call it spicy.
What I am liking right off the bat with this tea is that the black tea is not hidden beneath all these spices. It is evenly matched with the cinnamon, which is the strongest flavor of the spices. The cloves come through about mid-sip, while the orange notes seem to peek through, brightening up the entire cup. The vanilla is more of a subtle, distant note, and I find myself wanting a little bit more from it. However, as it cools, the vanilla seems to rise to the surface, and gives me what I was hoping for. It doesn’t ever become a strong flavor in the cup, but, it becomes a little less shy about revealing its flavor after the tea has had a couple of minutes to cool. Not cold, it’s still hot … but, it’s not as hot as it was when I first poured the cup.
I am enjoying this, but I do find myself wishing there was a little more … something … from the black tea. From what I am tasting, I would speculate that this is a Ceylon, and it is pleasant enough and tastes good, but, it’s just not quite as solid a tea as I would like. It’s a bit too mild here; I think needs a bit more roundness to it. I think that this could have done well with a touch of Assam, perhaps, or maybe Nilgiri, to give it a slightly denser flavor with a hint of malty flavor. Don’t get me wrong, this is a very enjoyable tea – I just think it could be even better!
Overall, though, I am really enjoying this warmly spiced blend – it evokes thoughts of autumn – my favorite time of year – and reminds me that it is on its way! And this tea would be a delightful one with which to start those days in fall. I can’t wait!
Sanctify from Hari Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Spice Melangé
Where to Buy: Hari Tea
Tisane Ingredients:
Ginger, fennel, cinnamon, cocoa shells, anise, cardamom, tumeric root, black pepper, cloves.
Taster’s Review:
Life is stressful. At least, it is – at the moment – for me. My oldest daughter is getting married. My youngest daughter is a “tween” who is a little more TEEN than child. My husband has been working some crazy hours. Like I said: life is stressful.
Times like this, I want a tisane that understands that and can help me relax and allow the things that stress me to disappear. And this tea from Hari Tea accomplishes just that.
And it not only helps me to calm the mind and soothe the spirit, but, it is also pretty darned tasty too! The fennel and anise give it a licorice-y note, while the cocoa shells give it a nice chocolate-y note that contrasts nicely with the peppery notes of ginger and black pepper, and the warmth of cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. And when I “say” it like that, it sounds a lot like a chai. It tastes a bit like it too … except that this doesn’t come across so much as spicy or invigorating the way a chai would normally taste. This, instead, tastes very warm, soothing and comforting.
What I like best about this tisane is how well the chocolate and licorice tastes go together. It is sweet without tasting candy-sweet or cloying, and that sweetness comes naturally without adding anything to it, which makes it a good choice for later in the evening when you just want to unwind.
Usually when it comes to “relaxation” teas, I think chamomile or lavender, but, this is a deliciously different relaxation tea for those times when you want something a little different.
Plum Spice from Kally Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Kally Tea
Tea Description:
Nilgiri region black tea, blended with cinnamon chips, to give it a nice spicy bite. But we didn’t stop there, give it a plum flavor to add a depth of fruitiness as well as safflowers to balance it all into a comforting aroma and there you have Kally Tea’s presentation of “Plum Spice”.
Ingredients: Black Tea, Cinnamon Chips, Safflowers, Cinnamon and Plum Flavors.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! This tea reminds me of the holidays!
It smells amazing. The cinnamon is very strong in the aroma, it smells warm and cozy! The plum comes through – although a bit more gently than the cinnamon notes – providing a sweet yet spicy, fruity fragrance that is absolutely enchanting.
The flavor is a bit surprising. After smelling all the cinnamon and fruit notes, I wasn’t expecting the first flavor to hit my palate to be that of Nilgiri tea! That’s not a bad thing though – not at all. After all, I’m drinking TEA … not fruit punch. I’m happy to be tasting the tea, and I’m thrilled that Kally Tea focused on the tea in this blend, and less on the flavors.
I mean, sure, the flavors are important, because if I wasn’t wanting to taste plum and spice, I wouldn’t have selected the flavor, right? I would have just purchased pure Nilgiri tea. And the flavors are there! The point I was just trying to make is that the tea is the main focus in this blend, and that is just how it should be!
After the rich, bold flavor of Nilgiri touches the palate (malty, slightly earthy), I notice the sweet, caramel-y undertones of the Nilgiri, and the delicious spicy-sweet cinnamon. The cinnamon is a spicy/sweet type of cinnamon, but it isn’t an overpowering flavor, so it doesn’t overwhelm the palate with spice. It is warm, comforting and delicious.
The plum comes through as a sweet-tart kind of plum taste. The plum notes hit the palate at about mid-sip, weaving their way in and out until the aftertaste, where the plum notes are strongest. I taste PLUM now. YUM!
This blend is nicely balanced with its sweetness and spice, and well-rounded flavor of the Nilgiri. Very enjoyable. I find it’s better to allow this one to cool slightly, as the flavors begin to pop about three or four minutes after I poured the cup. This one is also quite delicious iced!
Tummy Tonic from CaryTown Teas
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Medicinal Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: CaryTown Teas
Tisane Description:
Organic Tummy Tonic is an herbal tea blend designed to help sooth an upset stomach, stimulate digestion, relieve bloating and is delicious and safe to drink any time of day, every day!
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I feel that I owe the kind people at CaryTown Teas a bit of an apology. They had sent me a sampling of this tea some time ago for me to review. But because of it’s purported stomach soothing properties, I wanted to wait until I had an upset stomach before I tried it so that I could review the tisane on more than just its taste. Well, time went by, and I’m quite sure that I’ve had at least one or two tummy aches between now and then, but, I had forgotten about the tea until a couple of weeks ago when I came across it as I was going through my cupboard.
Well, tonight is the night. I actually do have a bit of an unsettled stomach, as I’ve been enjoying some rather spicy (VERY spicy) jalapeño snacks (you can learn more about these on my foodie website) and as delicious as the snacks are, my stomach now feels a bit uneasy. So, I’m hoping that this Tummy Tonic from CaryTown Teas will help soothe my stomach … and hopefully I won’t end up with a case of heartburn. And while I’m not so sure that this is the type of upset stomach that CaryTown Teas had in mind when they developed their Tummy Tonic, it would be nice to have a natural tisane remedy for such a case, as I tend to eat spicy food rather often.
This blend is a melange of ginger, licorice, peppermint and chamomile, so I expected a strong minty taste with peppery notes and hopefully that snappy sweet taste of licorice. And that’s pretty much what I’m tasting. The chamomile is a light flavor here – primarily I taste the ginger, licorice and peppermint. The peppermint is a bit lighter than I expected it to be, but it is crisp and cooling, and I’m enjoying it.
The ginger has a peppery taste, and I like the way the peppermint and ginger compliment each other. I don’t know that I really noticed how well these two ingredients go together before, but they make a winning combination. It is zesty without being too peppery or minty, they balance each other out, cutting through the powerful flavors of each so that the overall result is more mellow and soothing. The licorice is quite pleasant here too, sweet and yet spicy in its own way. It lends a very enjoyable taste to the overall cup. Yes, the flavor is a bit medicinal, which should be expected from a medicinal herbal blend.
However, it isn’t an unpleasant flavor, and yes, it is indeed soothing my stomach. I will have to finish this review in the morning, after I’ve had time to determine whether or not I’ve suffered from heartburn … but, I’ll let you know!
The Next Morning: No heartburn last night, and this morning my tummy feels good as new! Hurray for Tummy Tonic!
Chaider from World Spice Merchants
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush & Rooibos
Where to Buy: World Spice Merchants
Tisane Description:
Chaider is sure to take off the chill with its original blend of Star Anise, Tellicherry Peppercorns, Cassia Cinnamon, Ginger, Cloves, Green Cardamom Pod and Seed, Honeybush and Rooibos. Serve it steeped as you would tea, or in warmed apple cider.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a very tasty tisane from World Spice Merchants. It does indeed have a flavor that is reminiscent of hot spiced cider, all that’s missing is the apple! Then again, it is a little different from a typical cider. This has a strong licorice-like flavor to it that gives it a sharpness and a sweet flavor and gives this its own unique flavor.
I’ve had this twice now, and the first time I steeped it, I steeped for ten minutes using a little too much leaf – about 2 heaping teaspoons per 8 ounces, which is about the normal amount for me when I make a chai blend, as I usually plan on diluting it with steamed milk to make a latte.
However, I didn’t make it a latte, so I had a very strong-tasting tisane, and I think it was a bit too strong, especially after tasting my second cup which I steeped for about 8 minutes and used 1 1/2 teaspoons per 8 ounces instead of the 2 heaping teaspoons. This made a big difference in the taste, and I found the second cup to be much more palatable.
The anise flavor is quite strong with this tisane, and as I am a fan of anise, I don’t have a problem with that. However, if you’re not a licorice or anise fan, this is not the tisane for you. The other spices are nicely balanced, and the cinnamon and anise complement each other very well. But this isn’t too cinnamon-y which is something I often find with cider-like teas or tisanes, and I like that I can taste the other spices here.
I can also taste the rooibos and honeybush, and they bring a nice, woody tone to the background. Normally, I am not a fan of the woody flavors of these herbs (especially rooibos) but it works here, because of the overall rustic quality of this tisane.
A nice, warming tisane for these chilly early spring evenings.