I have to admit I was scared to try this. I’ve never had a mojito, and I never liked rum when I did drink so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I brewed this into iced tea because it just seemed like it needed to be served cold. As soon as the warm water hit the sachet, I got a wonderful fruity smell that made me wish I was at the beach. I felt instantly safe and eager to try this. I added no sweetener, just brewed it into my iced tea container and chilled it overnight. When I had my first sip, I got a wonderful fruity citrus-y flavor, no hint of rum!
The ingredients have peppermint listed as a flavor, but I really didn’t get a strong peppermint flavor. Really, the pomegranate and lime kind of blended perfectly together, neither one standing out. This would be a wonderful drink to take to the beach, or to have on a warm summer picnic. It’s fruity, and very refreshing. I also don’t think it needs any additional sweetener.
I used one sachet for a pretty big pitcher of tea because this is highly caffeinated tea, and I’m doing my best to avoid caffeine. Even though I made this pretty diluted, it still had a strong flavor. I can see myself having this in the summer on those days when I do need a little extra energy.
I was reading some reviews on the website, and the consensus is that this tea gives that nice little boost of energy from the caffeine, without the crash that coffee can give you. If you like fruity and citrus-y teas, you might want to give this a try, and close your eyes and dream of the beach!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Zest Tea
Description
At Zest, we start every morning with a Mojito. This aromatic blend of young hyson green tea, peppermint, lime, and pomegranate will bring back memories of lounging on a beach, or maybe whatever memories you have left of college. Either way, our Pomegranate Mojito Green Tea is an amazingly refreshing blend, great for any time of day.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Enjoying A Pumpkin Tea. . . .Out of Season! #bluebirdteaco.
There is literally no “wrong” time of year for pumpkin spice. I will never let such trivialities come in the way of a delicious taste or a review thereof.
Feel free to pat me on the back for journalistic integrity. I boogey to the beat of my own drummer.
Go ahead. Incorporate this into your own life. Drink tea “out of season.” Wear white after labor day. Wear black in the summer. Have visible panty lines. Go to a water park in the winter. Celebrate Halloween with a Gothy holiday tree. Adopt a squirrel and wear it as a hat.
Just kidding. I was checking to see if you were paying attention.
This tea totally nails the buttery, creamy, slightly-spicy nature of pumpkin pie. There’s even a caramel note that I am going to declare as “crust.”
The sweet night be a little bit too strong for it to taste exactly like pumpkin pie, but the tea does still retain that spirit.The tea’s flavor has the warmth of a chai with additional sweet milky smoothness, even consumed black. (I drink almost all teas black.) There’s that playful spicy moxie here that I typically associate with chai.
This tea isn’t available at the moment because, well… it’s out of season. That’s really the only downside of reviewing things “whenever” — things disappear! But that’s all right: keep an eye on Bluebird. Those spunky kids are always releasing new goodies, and one like this might be in their fall lineup!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Bluebird Tea Co.
Description
This tea is not available right now but click below to see the new teas they have to offer.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sherlock Holmes Inspired Tea from First Edition Tea Co.
Sherlock Holmes is certainly a classic literary character. There are various renditions of him on the market and everyone has their own favorite. My personal favorite is the Benedict Cumberbatch Sherlock. Though, regardless of which Sherlock you know and like, we can all agree that he is a bit of a jerk. Brilliant and has his soft spots, but “rough around the edges” is a bit of an understatement when it comes to this classic character.
With that in mind, I would say Mr. Holmes and a Smokey English Breakfast seem like a fitting pairing. Rough around the edges with a hint of sweet, and it doesn’t hurt that the base is traditionally English. Plus, among other things, the lapsang can invoke memories of the character’s well-known smoking habit.
Just like Mr. Holmes and his personality, smokiness in tea is a harsh and polarizing flavor component. It can be off-putting for some but when done right, as it is here, it creates an interesting scent and flavor, like a campfire. It is a bit like tobacco in taste but not bitter in the slightest. There is also a sweetness here though, like a hint of honey that compliments the smoke quite nicely. It’s subtle but it’s there and it keeps this tea from being one-note, and though I don’t personally sweeten my teas, I could see this taking sweetener quite nicely.
As far as smokey teas go, this is a nice take on a classic and in my mind, it is quite well suited to the literary masterpiece that inspired it.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: First Edition Tea Co.
Description
A mysterious blend of traditional English Breakfast tea packed with plenty of pipe smoke, a hint of bergamot, nettle, and a surprising touch of honey sweetness. Perfect for sipping while lost in your mind palace. It’s elementary.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Green Jasmine Floral Tea from Grimoire Tea
I’ll be honest with you guys– I don’t know what Grimoire means. Or what Whiterun is. (Don’t take away my nerd card, please.) And frankly, I don’t even reach for green teas (or jasmines!) all that frequently. (I know. Stick with me, I promise.) So when I saw this one waiting for me in my sample stash, I was… dubious, to say the least. Never one to shy away from a cup of anything, however, I knew I had to give this one a try.
The jasmine, upon brewing, is the FIRST thing you smell– and I mean that in ALL CAPS. It is JASMINE! with an exclamation point. To say I was expecting to find that same flavor-ferocity in the sip is an understatement, but I was pleasantly surprised! The actual brew is a beautiful deep gold liquor, with a delightfully balanced jasmine flavor profile. I can’t say I’m picking up too much green in this cup, but the jasmine is spot-on– strong enough that you certainly don’t have to go hunting for flavor, but balanced enough that it’s not going to kick you tush-over-teakettle.
Also present? Stevia. I know this is a controversial ingredient, but I actually think it works really well here, friends. If you’re not partial to ANY sweet in your tea, I’d skip this one– but from what I can tell, I’m fairly certain the sweetness comes from the actual stevia leaf and not the signature artificial taste from the liquid. There are definitely some unaccounted-for green flakes in the dry leaf that would back me up on this one. That said, the sweetness from the stevia brings a nice rounding-out of flavors that make this tea more accessible for the jasmine-novice and infrequent-green-sipper like myself. Grimoire, you might be making a green/jasmine fan of me yet! (Now just help me fill that gap in my nerdery knowledge, and I’ll be good to go.)
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Grimoire Tea
Description
Strolling the marketplace from the central plains of Skyrim, a sweet floral green tea with a fresh taste calls home.
Ingredients:
Green Tea
Jasmine
Stevia
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Oolong +Sweetner in One Convenient Tea Bag. . . . #Embrew
I was immediately intrigued by this tea as soon as I saw it sitting in my sample box. I’d been hearing about Embrew from my fellow Sororitea Sisters for the last few weeks– they’re a new company, packaging loose leaf tea into bags with the sweetener already added. A far cry from my early tea drinking days, I don’t usually sweeten my teas now, but will occasionally when it feels like they need a little oomph (or for homemade tea lattes, because #treatyoself).
This particular brew, Creamy Honey Oolong, sounds right up my alley. Brewed, it’s a beautiful light gold liquor, with a distinct honey scent. And just like the name implies, I get it all in one sip– honey, cream, light and floral oolong. It’s a delightful cup!
As far as the sweetener-in-bag? It’s pretty cool, but I don’t find it revolutionary. I did notice that by the time I pulled my bag out of the water (it was in about 2 minutes so as not to oversteep), there were still noticeable honey granules that hadn’t dissolved. Kind of a bummer on the design, but it ended up working well regardless, as I think if this tea had been any sweeter, I’d have lost a lot of the flavor nuance. The leaves unfurled fairly well for being Oolong-in-a-bag, which was impressive. Final thoughts? Definitely a great option for on-the-go sipping, when you need to make a cuppa without all the hassle of perfectly concocting your drink, or if you’re not a fan of having to take multiple steps to brew + sweeten your loose leaf tea.
I’ve got a few more samples from Embrew calling my name, and after this one, I’m eager to see what else they can do with this neat little idea!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Embrew
Description
This green oolong has a natural subtle creaminess brought on by the unique cultivation that emphasizes the soft, milky quality. We’ve paired it with pure granulated honey to further bolster the rich sweetness.