Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tea Description:
Tastes just like the ingredients would suggest: white chocolate, vanilla and mint… yes! It came as a surprise to us that the natural flavours of rooibos made their way through all that mint. The honey and almost woodsy characteristics are definitely there. Of course though, that peppermint keeps going and going and going.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m a bit behind on reviewing some of my teas … this tea came in my Amoda Tea Tasting Box for December. The 12 Days of Christmas thing threw me for a loop, and then there was that nasty head cold … but, enough with the excuses. Let’s talk about this delightful Minty Winter Wonderland from Tiesta Tea!
This is really yummy. It is a rooibos blend, but I don’t taste a lot of rooibos here. There’s a nutty sort of flavor – something between nutty and woody – that is definitely rooibos but, it is such a small part of this tisane.
Mostly what I taste is MINT! Crisp, cool peppermint! And the way this tisane has been composed, it tastes very much like a candy cane. The white chocolate gives it a sweet, creamy note … and the touch of vanilla enhances that sweet and creamy note. It is so yummy … it tastes like someone may have melted a candy cane in a cup of rooibos. There is a honey-esque tone too … something I don’t usually attribute to rooibos, but, it’s there.
Overall, a delicious cup of tisane.
Awake from Bird’s Eye Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Yerba Maté & Tulsi
Where to Buy: Bird’s Eye Tea
Tisane Description:
This energizing blend will brighten your mornings! This is a really fun blend that I hope will invigorate and keep you focused during this cool dark season we are entering.
Ingredients: Yerba mate, Tulsi, Bacopa (brahmi), Spearmint, and Currant
To learn more about this tisane, click here.
To learn more about subscribing to Bird’s Eye Tea, click here.
Taster’s Review:
I had a hard time waking up this morning. I just didn’t want to. I was all warm and snuggled in my bed, so comfortable … but I had to get up. Too many things to do today!
This is exactly the kind of tisane that I need on a day like this. Awake from Bird’s Eye Tea is a Yerba Maté blend that was included in their November subscription box.
Yerba Maté – as many of you probably already know – is super-charged with caffeine for an eye-opening experience, but, what I like about this tisane isn’t the earthy/vegetal taste of the Maté (although I don’t dislike that), I’m liking the hint of mint that I taste from spearmint and tulsi – it isn’t a strong MINTY taste, but it is a nice touch. I find mint to be an invigorating taste, and tulsi has a sort of calming effect … which allows me to become alert but not jittery.
I don’t have much experience with brahmi … in fact, I cant tell you with certainty that I’ve ever had this herb in a tea … or in anything else, for that matter. The Bird’s Eye Tea Newsletter for November says that brahmi is an adaptogenic herb, which is supposed to help the body adapt to stress.
OK, so what I’m deriving from that is that this tisane helps you wake up and face the day, stress free! Heck yeah! I certainly could use a little of that!
My one complaint about this tisane is that I wish I could taste more of the currant. I taste the mint, I taste the herbaceous, earthy flavor of the Maté (and of course the other herbs contribute to this herbaceous note as well), but I don’t really taste a whole lot of berry, except in the aftertaste. Not even in the immediate aftertaste, but, after I’ve finished the sip, about a minute or so afterward, then I notice a hint of berry flavor come through – just a wee hint of tingly, tart-yet-sweet currant. I like that … but I’d like there to be a little more.
Overall, though, I found this to be a very enjoyable herbal tisane. It is energizing, as I am just over the halfway point with my cup here, and I am already feeling invigorated. A really pleasant blend – I’m really liking Bird’s Eye Tea!
Xocolatl From Bird’s Eye Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal/Spice Melangé
Where to Buy: Bird’s Eye Tea
Tisane Description:
This lovely blend will get your day off to a great start or can be perfect for an afternoon pick-me-up. It satisfies a chocolate craving without overwhelming your body with processed sugars. All it takes is a little honey or agave added to the brewed tea to create a healthy treat for yourself. Calming chamomile and mints in the blend help relax and calm the nervous system while the chocolate gives its characteristic energy kick and mood boost. Rose petals were added to bring out the subtle floral character in chocolate. Chipotle powder increases circulation and adds a slight smokiness to the overall tea flavor. Cinnamon, ginger, and star anise add a dessert like quality, but also support healthy immune function.
To learn more about this tisane, click here.
To learn more about subscribing to Bird’s Eye Tea, click here.
Taster’s Review:
Recently, the SororiTea Sisters were introduced to a new tea company that is LOCAL for me – well, kind of local (the same state, anyway!) and I was so excited to learn about them! The company: Bird’s Eye Tea!
They are a subscription tea service – which means that for just $22. every month, they send a box with several different selections of teas in it. This Xocolatl is from the October box, and it is a yummy blend of raw cacao powder, chamomile, rose, mint, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, chipotle powder and roasted cacao nibs. I know, it sounds amazing, right?
Because the ingredients are so different from any other tisane that I can remember drinking, and because it LOOKS so different too, I followed the directions precisely … I even got out a measuring cup and spoon! I measured 3/4 cup of hot water to steep with 2 teaspoons of the tisane, and I steeped it for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, I heated 3/4 cup of milk, and I added the steeped liquid to the warm milk and I frothed it a bit with my handheld frothing tool. I did add a little bit of turbinado sugar to the cup just to enhance the spices, and it created the most delightful tasting cup of Xocolatl!
Oh, my… I have GOT to get some more of this! This is amazing. This tastes so much like the hot chocolate that my Latina friends would serve in their homes! Sweet and chocolate-y, but with just the right amount of warm spice. The rose offers hints of flavor and an interesting dimension to the overall cup. It isn’t too spicy, and it is a gently comforting heat rather than an invigorating spicy-hot taste. Every one of the ingredients is represented in the flavor, but at the same time, they all come together to form an amazing taste that is greater than the individual parts.
Like I said, I want more. MORE of this, please!!!
Honeybush Haze from Amoda Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush & Rooibos
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tisane Description:
Apple Crumble with a hazelnut topping anyone? That’s definitely what this tea smells like. Green honeybush is the main ingredient and brings strong aromatics and a sweet apricot flavour to this blend. Combined with the dried apple this tea offers a lingering sweetness. And yes… there’s raisins in your tea.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
Not too long ago, Steepster decided to put it’s “Steepster Select” program on hiatus. For those of you who do not remember, the Steepster Select program was a monthly subscription, and once a month, subscribers would receive a box of three different teas, all three teas pertaining to a particular theme, like “Around the Clock” or “Migration”. I loved this program because not only was it about TEA but it also enabled me to try some new teas from companies I might not have tried before. Plus, it was a lot of fun to see what theme would be explored and which teas were selected for that theme. Sure, I tried several of the teas that they had sent over the course of the program (I think it lasted for about a year!) but, for the most part, I was able to try quite a few teas that I might not have otherwise tried … or even heard of!
Well, Steepster ended it’s program in August of this year, and I was sad. I wanted another program like this one! Recently, I heard about Amoda Tea, a brand new company that focuses on monthly subscriptions – very similar to what we were getting from Steepster Select! The prices are comparable too!
The one difference: Amoda is in Canada, so I was unable to get the first box as it was limited to Canadian subscribers only. But, for the second box – November’s Box! – subscriptions opened up to the United States. Yay!
The theme of the first box is “The Last Days of Autumn” and this Honeybush Haze is the first tea that I’m sampling from the box. This tisane is blend that was created by a Tea Sommelier and chosen for Amoda Tea based upon the personalities at Amoda Tea! That is exciting in itself, because it’s a chance to try a new tea from a new company.
And this is really, REALLY good. First of all, it smells amazing. It smells like freshly baked apple crumble – piping hot, right out of the oven. And that’s what it tastes like too!
The tisane base is green Honeybush blended with green rooibos. This brings a fruitier flavor with only hints of nutty tones to the cup, which allows for the hazelnut flavor to really shine through and not be masked by the nutty tones of the herbs. The fruitier tones of the herbs also enhances the apple-y flavor really nicely. The raisin notes are off in the background, but, it does add a nice sweetness to the cup.
Overall, this is very much like a fresh apple crumble in a teacup! All that’s missing is a scoop of vanilla ice cream! I’d say that this monthly subscription program from Amoda is off to a GREAT start!
Balché from Handmade Tea, part 2
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Handmade Tea
Tea Description:
The MVP of Balche is an earthy and smoky black tea from the Yunnan Province of China that finishes naturally with a touch of cocoa. It is then followed up with diced Guajillo chile peppers adding a sweet fruitiness and just a kiss of heat as they are only rated 2,500 to 5,000 on the Scoville scale. Finally, in traditional Mayan fashion we added a combination of Saigon Cinnamon and organic Cacao Nibs, not only to keep up with Mayan theme, but to compliment the base tea as well.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
Sorry it took me so long to get around to posting part 2 of this review! As I mentioned before, I had come down with a really bad bug, and everything got put off, including part 2 of this review! (Here is a link to Part 1 of this review)
I wanted to approach this review as I did with Murmur, which was Handmade Tea’s tea of the month for February of this year: Part 1 focusing on the blended tea as it was intended, and then a further examination of the components of each tea, including a tasting of the tea where I customized the flavor using the individual components.
Second Tasting
For this tasting, I am focusing on the Yunnan black tea base that Handmade Tea used in for the Balché blend. Handmade tea makes this easy to do because when you subscribe to their monthly service, you receive not only a large tin of their special blend of the month, but you also receive three smaller tins that include portions of the ingredients that go in to each blend. With the Balché blend, I received a full-size tin of the blended tea, as well as a small sample tin of the Yunnan black tea, a small sample tin of the diced Guajillo chili pepper, and a small sample tin which contained a combination of Saigon cinnamon and organic cacao nibs.
This is a very robust Yunnan tea! Yunnan typically possesses some peppery notes, and that is quite true of this Yunnan … in fact, I think this may be one of the most peppery Yunnan teas I’ve come across. In addition to the well-defined spiced notes, this tea is pleasantly earthy and full-flavored, with a lovely smoky tone. Often I find a strong smoky flavor to be a little 0ff-putting, but, this Yunnan isn’t. It has just the right amount of smoke, and the way the smoky notes meld with the spice and earth of this cup are really quite delightful.
This tea is more savory than sweet, but there is a hint of sweetness to this with a slight caramel-y note in the distance as well as a chocolate-y note that comes through toward the end of the sip.
Third Tasting
For this third tasting, I decided to customize the brew a little bit. I added a little bit more of the Guajillo chili pepper – but before I did this, I took out a small flake and tasted it on it’s own. Mild! And very flavorful. It has a warm, fruity taste to it, reminiscent of a childhood favorite of mine: Chili Saladitos. When I was young, I lived in Southern California, and I fell in love with Chili Saladitos. Now, these Gualjillos are not as salty as Saladitos, but, they have a similar fruit note with a little bit of heat. Actually, I think that the Saladitos might have been hotter than these Gualjillo flakes.
I also added a little more of the cinnamon (these are BIG chunks of Saigon Cinnamon, folks!) and the cacao nibs to the already blended Balché tea. I suppose for this third tasting, I could have also brewed up these ingredients as a tisane for a tasting, and I considered that, but, I do love the Yunnan base so much, that I just decided to amp up the flavor a bit on the Balché blend.
And that’s one thing that I’m really loving about the Handmade Tea blends – I love that I can totally customize the tea if I want, and I’m able to train my palate by tasting each of the individual ingredients on their own. I love the way this product is put together.
By brewing it this way, it has given me another way to explore these ingredients. The Gualjillo pepper is slightly warmer, but, still not hot, even with extra flakes in the brew. The addition of the pepper and a little more cinnamon does make the cup slightly spicier, but it is very slight. The extra cacao brings out the chocolate-y notes in the Yunnan a little more, and I notice that with the extra ingredients, the Yunnan seems a little less smoky … a little less earthy … and while I am enjoying this cup quite a bit, I think that the blend was just perfect the way that Caleb from Handmade Tea made it – no additional alterations needed! So, unlike with the Murmur, where the third tasting was my favorite… with this tea, my first tasting was my favorite (although, I could make an argument for the second tasting too. I really liked the Yunnan unblended!)