Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Strand Tea
Tea Description:
Premium Black Teas from highland China blended with lilac flowers. This tea looks, smells, and tastes great.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
I must agree with that last line in the description above: this Lilac Blend Black Tea from Strand Tea DOES look, smell, and taste great! I love the beautiful purple blossoms, the tea is lightly fragrant with the flower, and the flavor is a rich, full-flavored black tea with a delicate floral tone.
I really like the texture of this tea. It has a delightfully round taste, and the texture is almost creamy when it glides over the palate. The flavor is lightly floral and sweet with notes of caramel and honey.
I can’t say that the flower that I taste is distinctly “lilac” because I can’t say for certain that I’ve actually tried a tea with lilac flower in it before. But I will say that the delicate flower notes are very pleasant. The flowery notes don’t taste sharp, they are soft and sweet tasting. It doesn’t taste off-putting or perfume-ish. It’s just really … nice!
I have been a fan of Strand Tea for a while. I love that they’re a local company, and I love that they embrace that with their Portland Blend. I also like that they include cookies with every order. I love it when a company adds special little touches like that … it makes me feel special as a customer, and it makes me want to order from that company again, and the next time I order from them, I’m going to be getting more of this Lilac Blend because it’s really good!
Rooibos Spice Tisane from Mint Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Tea Purchased from Mint Tea
Product Available Online at Strand Tea
Tisane Description:
Rooibos Spice Caffeine Free Herbal Tea. Organic Red Rooibos blended with Natural Cacao Bits, Ginger Pieces, Cinnamon Bark, Chicory Root, Barley Malt, Cardamom Pods, and Black Peppercorns. What a great winter tea! Rich & flavorful, sure to be a favorite treat any time of year.
Taster’s Review:
I bought this tisane when I visited the Mint Tea Shop in Vancouver, Washington some time ago. I knew that they obtained some of their teas from Strand Tea, including this one.
While some of the ingredients in this Rooibos Spice Tisane from Mint Tea appear to be chai-like, and the flavor of the tisane is somewhat chai-esque, there’s some other flavors going on here that I don’t usually find in a chai.
Like chicory and barley malt, for example. The chicory gives the drink a coffee-ish background note, a deep, roasted sort of flavor that accentuates the spices in a really interesting way. I also enjoy the way the chicory and the cacao work together. I also taste the malty tones from the barley malt, giving the cup a “grainy” flavor that adds an intriguing depth.
The spices are well-defined here. I taste the cinnamon throughout the sip, and there is a backdrop of pepper and ginger. The cardamom adds some exotic warmth to this beverage.
This is really tasty, winter-y kind of tisane, something that I can see myself drinking whenever I want something warm and soothing, but something that won’t stimulate me the way a caffeinated tea would.
Buddha’s Delight from Mint Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Tea Purchased from Mint Tea
Product Available Online at Strand Tea
Tea Description:
Premium Ceylon Black Tea with all Natural Apple Bits, Orange Peel, Currants, Cinnamon, Almond Flakes, Cloves and Safflowers.
This tea fills the room with enticing scents and brews a delightful rich cup of tea.
Taster’s Review:
A few weeks ago, I visited Mint Tea in Vancouver, Washington with my oldest daughter. We had a lovely lunch, and this is the tea I enjoyed with my delicious salad. When we left, I couldn’t help but pick up a pouch of this tea to enjoy at home. While there, the friendly cashier told me that their teas were procured from Strand Tea, and this is where this tea can be purchased online, if you don’t happen to be visiting Vancouver any time soon.
This is a delicious black tea blend. It has quite a bit going on, but somehow it all seems to work together. The dry leaf is very visually appealing, with big chunks of apple and orange peel, whole currants, slivers of almond and cinnamon chips, and whole cloves. It smells delightful, warm and spicy with a yummy fruit undertone.
Once brewed, the aroma becomes much more muted, but it is very flavorful. The black tea sometimes seems a little lost amid all these fruits, nuts and spices, however, I do taste it. Its there, in the background, but sometimes it does seem that the other flavors – especially the spices – overwhelm it.
The cinnamon and cloves present the strongest flavors here, followed by a lovely orange note and a hint of almond. The currant and apple are much softer, but if I really focus on the sip, I taste them.
Even though the spices and orange are the strongest notes, I wouldn’t consider this to be a typical orange spice tea, because it isn’t. The flavors of an orange spice are indeed there, but, it is much mellower than the standard orange spice tea.
This is a very enjoyable cup of tea, and makes a nice tea to sip with lunch or in the afternoon, when you want a lighter cup. It would also make a very refreshing iced tea!