Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Spicely Organics
Tisane Description:
Free of caffeine, but full of energizing ingredients! This tea is perfect for fine-tuning and focusing the senses, while also supporting healthy circulation. This tea is tangy, sweet, and a little spicy — the synergistic effect of this blend is perfect any time of day. INGREDIENTS: Organic Rooibos, Organic Ginger, Organic Calendula Petals
Learn more about this tisane here.
Learn more about the Spicely Organics Monthly Tea Membership here.
Taster’s Review:
I didn’t have big expectations from this Organic Ginger Calendula Rooibos Tea from Spicely Organics, to tell you the truth. It didn’t seem like all that exciting of a blend. It’s rooibos, ginger and calendula.
But, I’m finding myself enchanted by the ginger in this blend. It’s got a really zesty flavor. It’s spicy but not fiery hot, and I like the way it contrasts with the honey-sweet, woodsy/nutty flavors of the rooibos. It’s a very comforting taste: warm and cozy and something I’d like to curl up to on a chilly evening. It’s also quite soothing to the throat, so I brewed some of this for my youngest daughter who is getting over a cold, and it helped her feel better.
Calendula is essentially marigold petals, and they really add very little to the taste and texture of a tea or tisane. I’m of the opinion that the main reason that tea companies use calendula in their blends is to add some color, and I think that some companies use too much calendula in their blends, and if I were to offer any real complaint about this tisane, that would be it: there is a lot of calendula in this blend, maybe too much calendula.
That said, because calendula doesn’t add a lot of flavor or taste to the cup, I really didn’t mind the calendula in this blend. And I am really enjoying the combination of ginger and rooibos together … a lot more than I thought I would!
A simple blend, but it’s very enjoyable, and one I’d be happy to drink again.
Organic Love White Tea from Spicely Organics
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Spicely Organics
Tea Description:
This delightful blend, with its light floral essence and smooth minty finish, is perfect as an after meal pick-me-up or as a late night elixir to refresh the mind and enhance the mood. One pot can make the night sweet and reminiscent. Share it with someone you love. INGREDIENTS: Organic White Peony, Organic Rose Petals, Organic Lavender, Organic Peppermint
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about the Spicely Organics Monthly Tea Membership here.
Taster’s Review:
This Organic Love White Tea from Spicely Organics smells so amazing! I wouldn’t have thought that mint, rose, lavender and white tea would have made such an appealing aroma, but, it’s really quite lovely. White tea and mint … perhaps. Definitely rose, lavender and white tea. But, all four together? I wouldn’t have imagined it smelling so beautiful.
And it tastes quite beautiful too!
The peppermint is the strongest flavor of the four ingredients in this tea, but I’m happy to report that it isn’t an overpowering flavor. This doesn’t taste like mouthwash or even like a piece of peppermint chewing gum. It has a light, sweet peppermint-y note that mingles in a very pleasing way with the flavors of lavender and rose and white tea.
The lavender is especially subtle here, offering just a hint of it’s calming presence. Just enough to let you know it’s there, lulling you into a relaxing state. The rose is a gentle flavor too, and it isn’t a sharp rose flavor. It’s lightly sweet and floral. The two flowers seem to mingle in such a way that it offers more of a “floral essence” than a distinct, powerful flowery taste.
And that’s good, because this IS a white tea, after all. And White Peony tea tends to be a somewhat delicate tasting tea, and if the other components to this blend were too strong, they would create a taste that was all mint and flower. I like that I can taste the white tea, it tastes fresh, light and crisp. It is a perfect base for these other three flavors.
This is a really beautiful tea that seems to instill a sense of calm. And definitely a tea with which I could easily fall in love!
Organic Unwind Tulsi Tisane from Spicely Organics
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Tulsi
Where to Buy: Spicely Organics
Tisane Description:
Relax and restore with this tulsi based blend. Cinnamon and rose blend perfectly with tulsi to ease away any tension and relax after a long day. INGREDIENTS: Organic Tulsi, Organic Cinnamon Sticks, Organic Rose Petals.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Learn more about the Spicely Organics Monthly Tea Membership here.
Taster’s Review:
This Organic Unwind Tulsi Tisane from Spicely Organics has a fairly simple ingredient list – tulsi, cinnamon and rose – but sometimes simplicity works. It certainly did in the case of this blend; it’s really quite tasty.
Since there is no camellia sinensis or other ingredients that were likely to become bitter if oversteeped, I went ahead and steeped this for 10 minutes in 195°F water. The result is a flavorful cup that has strong cinnamon overtones but it’s a natural cinnamon flavor: not that overly sweet-hot red-hot-candies sort of cinnamon-y flavor. This tastes like the cinnamon you’d sprinkle on your toast or over your bowl of oatmeal in the morning. It’s warm and zingy yet sweet.
The tulsi gives the cup a somewhat herbaceous note – I taste notes of basil. Basil and cinnamon are not two flavors that I would normally think to combine but they work nicely together to create a sweet yet savory note with hints of warm, zesty spice.
The rose offers a nice floral undertone. I like the way the rose and cinnamon work together – this is a flavor combination that I’ve been fond of for a long time and I’m happy to see another company embrace the combination.
A very calming, relaxing blend – just exactly the type of tisane I’d turn to if I wanted to “Unwind”!
Organic Vanilla Chocolate Delight Pu-erh Tea from Spicely Organics
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Spicely Organics
Tea Description:
A perfect dessert-like cup of tea! The tea is delicious as is and can be enhanced with a touch of sweetener or milk. It boasts cacao nibs, cinnamon sticks and vanilla; the perfect combination for a cup of decadence. INGREDIENTS: Organic Pu-erh Tea, Organic Cacao Nibs, Organic Cinnamon Sticks, Organic Vanilla Nibs, Organic Stevia Leaf
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about the Spicely Organics Monthly Tea Membership here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m not usually excited to try pu-erh, but, I’m usually more than excited to try chocolate. So, when it came time for me to try this Organic Vanilla Chocolate Delight Pu-erh Tea from Spicely Organics, the excitement and happiness over chocolate trumped my lack of enthusiasm for the pu-erh.
When I brewed this blend, I did a quick rinse of the leaves to help remove some of the strong earthiness of the pu-erh, hopefully without sacrificing any chocolate or vanilla flavor in the process. After a quick fifteen second rinse, I then brewed the leaves for 2 1/2 minutes in 190°F water.
The result? A really interesting and tasty cup of tea!
The cup is rich and chocolate-y. I like how the earthiness of the pu-erh accentuates the earthy notes of the chocolate and cinnamon. While I am usually somewhat put off by the earthiness of pu-erh, here, it works. And the sweet, creamy aspects of the chocolate are complemented by the sweet and creamy notes of the vanilla and the cinnamon not only offers a contrasting note of spice but, also enhances the overall sweetness. It’s sweet … but not too sweet. It’s earthy … but again, not too earthy. Everything plays together in a pleasing, harmonious way.
I enjoy the rusticness of this tea. I think that the pu-erh brings out the rustic, smoky notes of the vanilla that are often hidden in other tea blends. This is a very clever blend, it is as though each ingredient was carefully considered to bring out the most in the other ingredients and to create a very satisfying cup of tea.
The one thing I am wishing wasn’t present in this tea blend is the stevia, and I know that I’ve addressed this previously with other blends that contain stevia. I don’t like it when a sweetener of some sort is added to a tea blend because I want to be the one who decides just how sweet – or not sweet – my cup of tea will be. That said, the stevia doesn’t add an overwhelming amount of sweetness, and similar to the other ingredients of this masterfully crafted blend, the sweetness it does add enhances the overall cup.
This is good served straight but I think I prefer it with a splash of warmed milk to create a latte. So creamy and dessert-y! A really nice way to end a meal, and it is suggested that pu-erh aids in digestion – bonus!
Organic Jasmine Cacao Green Tea from Spicely Organics
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Spicely Organics
Tea Description:
This chocolaty jasmine flower and green tea blend has a lingering effect . The gentle jasmine flowers add a hint of relaxation to the invigorating combination of antioxidant-rich green tea and cacao nibs. INGREDIENTS: Organic Houjicha, Organic Jasmine Flower, Organic Cacao Nibs, Organic Carob
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about the Spicely Organics Monthly Tea Membership here.
Taster’s Review:
This Organic Jasmine Cacao Green Tea from Spicely Organics is not at all what I expected – it’s so much better than I anticipated it being! When I see jasmine and green in the name of a tea, my immediate thought is not a houjicha tea. But that is what Spicely Organics used for the base of this jasmine green, and I think that is what makes this tea so good.
Because the base tea flavor is toasty and nutty rather than vegetative, the chocolate-y notes meld well with the sweet, exotic jasmine. I don’t know that it would have worked as well with a grassy green tea that has been scented with the jasmine blossoms.
The jasmine here is rather subtle, and takes a back seat to the nutty flavors of the houjicha and the earthy cacao notes. I still taste the distinct flavor of jasmine, but it isn’t a dominating flavor.
The chocolate notes are nice. Yeah, I would like a stronger chocolate flavor – but when do I not? As it is, though, I think that there is a good balance between chocolate and toasty, nutty houjicha. This is a warm, nutty tasting tea with mid-notes of chocolate with hints of jasmine that peek their way in and out throughout the sip.
A really unusual and tasty tea. This is one I’d recommend to someone who typically doesn’t like jasmine teas because it isn’t like a typical jasmine. It would also be a great tea for those who love the roasty-toasty teas like houjicha with a twist. This one is familiar, but different enough to shake things up. I like it.