Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tisane Description:
What happens when you add a banana to your chai? You get this! Kind of. A spicy cup with a cocoa, banana, and cinnamon edge and a creamy coconut feel. Sweeten it up to take the edge off the spice.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
Yes, August has come and gone, and I’m now reviewing my first of the August teas from my Amoda Box. That’s because Amoda updated their website (and it looks fabulous, might I add!) and I wanted to wait until the new website was up and running before I started reviewing the teas from August.
It’s a rare thing when the first tea that I try from my monthly Amoda Tea Tasting Box is a tisane! But, this Jungle Monkey Chai Rooibos blend from Tea Xotics just sounded too yummy to not try immediately: a rooibos based masala spice blend, combined with chocolate, banana and coconut? Oh YUM!
And it is indeed yum!
The aroma of the blend is spicy … the cinnamon really pops out and grabs me. The chai is definitely a cinnamon-y chai, with the cinnamon serving as the strongest flavor in the masala blend. I also taste peppery notes, and hints of clove.
The coconut is the next flavor I notice … it adds a creamy texture and taste to the cup. The banana comes through next, and it’s a subtle banana note. The chocolate is there too, and I taste it … I just wish … I was tasting MORE chocolate. (Remember this chocoholic’s chocolate rule of thumb: some chocolate = good, more chocolate = better.)
The flavor of the rooibos comes through here too, which I found kind of surprising given all that’s going on in this chai blend. I expected the flavor of the rooibos to be buried beneath all the other flavor components. But, I taste the woody notes of the rooibos, and even that funky note of rooibos that I usually don’t really care for … but somehow … it works in this blend. I guess with the tropical notes of banana and coconut … that funkiness just sort of works.
Overall: this is a really tasty blend. I like the chocolate but I wish there was more of it. I like the banana and the coconut … and the spices. It just really … works together really very well.
This is the first tea that I’ve tried from Tea Xotics … and I’m really glad that Amoda Tea decided to make them their feature blender for the month of August, because I am really looking forward to what the other blends have in store for me!
Yunomi Monthly Mystery Tea Sampler’s Club: NaturaliTea #01 – Organic Handpicked Midori First Flush
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Yunomi
Tea Description:
2013 harvest from Naturalitea. Handpicked from a select number of the Kinezuka family and partners’ best fields at the very beginning of the shincha season this is the youngest tea leaf you can find.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Yunomi’s Monthly Mystery Tea Sampler’s Club here.
Taster’s Review:
I know that I’ve mentioned before just how much I love receiving a monthly mystery tea sampler’s club package from Yunomi every month. And this Organic Midori First Flush tea from NaturaliTea (if you’re looking on the website, this is the #01 tea from NaturaliTea) is an example of why I love receiving these teas. This is SO fresh. I absolutely love it when I can see and taste the freshness in a tea.
The color of the dry leaf is so vibrant and they are a dark, forest-y green. I can smell the vegetal quality of these leaves, it smells like something in between just-cut spring grass, freshly steamed vegetables and kelp. It has that aroma that is just ALIVE with vegetation.
And the flavor is equally as fresh tasting. It has a sweetness to it and a sharp bitter taste of a good quality Japanese green tea. The bitterness offers a really lovely, savory contrast to the sweetness of the young leafy taste. I like the balance of savory to sweet here … it is neither too sweet nor too bitter … it is just a pleasure to sip!
It has a light, brothy character to it … it just FEELS good when I drink it … I can feel it rejuvenate me as I sip. It tastes fresh and it refreshes the palate as it washes over the tongue. This tea … just speaks to me of springtime: from the taste of the young leaves of the spring harvest to the fresh fragrance and flavor. It is a very refreshing beverage!
Poppy Fields Tisane from Indie Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Tulsi & Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tisane Description:
Tastes like jujubes
Sweet aroma of berries, apple and chamomile. Slightly sweet on the tongue, lightly minty with a tart finish. This tea is full-bodied and rich. Sip this tea and it will calm your body and relax your mind. ahhhhh.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
So, I’m a bit behind on my Amoda Tea reviews! This Poppy Fields Tisane from Indie Tea came in my July Tea Tasting Box, but, I’m just now getting around to reviewing it. What can I say, when it comes to tisanes … I always seem to be reluctant to try it!
But this is one of the prettiest teas I’ve seen in a long time! Big flower buds of chamomile, poppy and rose. And BONUS: No Hibiscus! Yay!
I was excited to see Tulsi as one of the ingredients in this tea (here, it was called “holy basil”) because I have enjoyed the tisanes with Tulsi that I’ve tried. I like the herbaceous, slightly minty, slightly spicy taste that Tulsi brings to a tisane.
In this tisane, the Tulsi offers subtle hints of the minty basil tones which are especially noticeable in the finish. I’m noticing more of a peppery warmth during the sip from the Tulsi than the cooling mint taste. But I like the way the Tulsi comes through in this blend, because there is a strong fruity character to this cup, and the spice gives it some added interest and depth.
The description from Amoda Tea suggests that this tastes like Jujubes … and I don’t know that what I’m tasting is Jujubes. I’ll be honest and mention though, that I’ve not had Jujubes since I was young. They were never really a favorite candy of mine (I didn’t like the way they stuck to my teeth). But I did like their bright, fruity taste, and while this tisane does have a fruity taste to it, I can’t say that this reminds me of that candy.
But it is sweet with lots of fruit notes: apple, orange, and hints of lemon. I don’t really taste a lot of ‘berry’ as mentioned in the description by Amoda, but, I do notice the tartness that lingers in the aftertaste. Given the sheer number of flowers in this blend, I did expect it to taste more floral than it does. It does certainly present a floral note to the palate, but, it’s a smooth, subdued floral taste rather than the sharpness that I often associate with floral tones.
Then again, everything about this particular blend is very calm and relaxed. The flavor is gentle and mild. It is a really tasty tisane … certainly better than I expected it to be given my hesitancy to actually try it. I like the fruity overtones, I like that it doesn’t taste overly herbaceous or medicinal, and I like that there is a pleasant warm yet sweet taste to it … without adding sugar.
As I mentioned in my review of The Road To Hana (also from Indie Tea) – a tea that also came from my Amoda Tea Box for July – I have already tasted and reviewed the third tea that came in my box: Lover’s Lane. I was really happy to see that Amoda Tea focused in on Indie Tea, because they are a company that I really like. They are a fun company with a youthful vibe … I like the jovial attitude they give their teas!
So this tea review gets me all caught up with my July reviews for Amoda Tea … and a good thing too, because I have August’s box waiting for me! I can’t wait to try the teas in that box from their featured blender: Tea Xotics … a company I’ve not yet tried! Yay!
Organic Goddess Tisane from Shuswap Infusions
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tisane Description:
Strong hibiscus and cassis on the nose transforms to a delicious sweet blueberry and sour currant on the tongue. Sweet to start, tart to finish and herbaceous all around.
All organic ingredients: raspberry leaf, hibiscus, rosehip chips, dried currants, blueberries, natural flavour.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! Where did June go?
This is the last of the three teas/tisanes that I received in Amoda’s June Tea Tasting Box: Organic Goddess Tisane from Shushwap Infusions. After reading about this tisane on the Amoda website, I decided to follow their suggestion and ice the tea … so I hot-brewed it and stashed it in the fridge until it got nice and cold.
This tea was included in the Amoda box to celebrate the coming of Summer. I’m not exactly sure I see the connection yet – I mean, berries, yes those are summertime … maybe that’s it. I’ll reserve my final judgement until the tea cools and I’m sipping on some iced tea.
The dry leaf smells a bit like wine to me. Like a sweet, fruity wine. That gave me some hope for this one, unfortunately, no amount of hope could really … save this tisane.
Meh … I gotta be real, this one isn’t doing a whole lot to inspire flowery prose from me. I taste the berry notes, but mostly what I taste is hibiscus. It isn’t overly hibiscus-y, fortunately, because I didn’t steep it too long. It has a tart-sweet flavor and reminds me a bit of Kool Aid.
Not all that exciting really. It’s not horrible, and I’ll be finishing the pitcher of it that I brewed. It is light and thirst-quenching. But I do think that this could really benefit from … something. Perhaps the addition of some peppermint or spearmint … or even some cinnamon, ginger, or … something. It lacks “umph!” You know what I’m saying? It lacks that excitement factor. It lacks that something that makes me want to keep sipping it.
This is the first tisane that I find myself truly disappointed by from the Amoda Tea Boxes, and since I’ve been subscribed since November, I guess that’s pretty good.
Citrus Earl Grey Black Tea Blend from Naked Teas Galore
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tea Description:
There’s a whole lot of tang in this tea: orange peel, lemongrass, bergamot oil. The Ceylon (Sri Lankan) base tea can also have a tangy character. This is a smooth, medium-bodied cup. Obviously, the citrus in this tea is bold, but it’s not aggressive or bergamot-heavy.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn how to subscribe to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
This Citrus Earl Grey Black Tea Blend from Naked Teas Galore is the second of the three teas I received in this month’s Tea Tasting Box from Amoda Tea. I really do enjoy these boxes, and this month, they did things a little different. Instead of providing three different teas/tisanes from three different tea vendors, they chose just one vendor to focus on, and selected three different teas from them.
I kind of like this change … it gives me the opportunity to try not just one tea from a tea company, but, three! Let’s just hope that the company they choose will be a new-to-me company – like this month’s vendor, Naked Teas Galore.
I am very happy with this particular selection – Citrus Earl Grey. Of course, Bergamot is already a citrus, but Naked Teas Galore really zoomed in on the citrus notes by adding Lemongrass and Orange Peel. These additional citrus flavors soften the sometimes sharp bergamot flavor and create a sort of “medley” of citrus-y flavor … sort of like a citrus punch, if you can imagine that. The bergamot is still distinct, of course, but just … more mellow. Smoother. Sweeter! The orange peel and lemongrass do not offer a strong, specific flavor of their own in the brewed cup; instead, these ingredients contribute to the aforementioned “citrus punch” like taste.
The black tea is sort of a mellow-tasting black tea that sits off in the background, content to let the citrus-y flavors play. It is a solid black tea flavor, but it is definitely off in the background. It is not an aggressive flavor, but I think a stronger black tea flavor would have interrupted the citrus-y notes that I think Naked Teas Galore was trying to hone in on with this blend. It might be interesting to see how a stronger black tea base would have tasted here, but as it it, I find this to be a really tasty tea, perfect for one of those lazy afternoons, when you just want to sit and contemplate the joy of tea!