Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tocha Tea
Tea Description:
The fragrance of purifying Osmanthus flowers is the perfect complement to the subtle sweetness of whole leaf black tea. Quench your thirst and revitalize your spirit with this smooth, full-bodied blend; ideal for kick-starting your morning or uplifting your afternoon.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
A few months back, I won a contest that Tocha Teas was having on their Instagram page. I was ecstatic! I didn’t know a whole lot about their teas, but just by the name alone, I couldn’t wait to try them. Morning Pick Me Up was one of the blends I was sent.
First lets start this off by saying Tocha offers their line up in tea sachets, not as a loose leaf tea. I rarely drink anything but loose leaf. There are times-I will admit-that a tea bag or sachet is just easier to steep than loose leaf. But these sachets are full of gorgeous looking tea blends. Especially this one!
Morning Pick Me Up is a blend of black tea and osmanthus flowers. Almost a floral black tea if you will. But this tea isn’t a dainty floral tea by any means. My container of this tea is just about empty and I can feel myself wanting to buy more!
Steeped like a black tea with the recommended parameters offered on the package, this tea yields a gorgeous dark liquor full of malty notes mingled with a sultry subtle sweetness that yields almost a floral hint now and again. Really well done and one that gives you that full-bodied experience you look for in a brilliant black tea blend. I’m quite surprised by the fact this tea is a tea sachet and not a flavor I’m getting from a loose leaf. These pyramid sachets are packed full of robust marvelous black tea flavor that sticks with you.
So what I’m trying to say is what a gorgeous way to start your morning or afternoon off right- I need to steep up another cuppa to finish off my day for sure!
Chocolate Covered Banana Honeybush from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
I was inspired to do this blend because one of my all-time favorite 52Teas blends from way, way back was Chelsea’s Chocolate Banana Rooibos. And as much as I loved that blend, there was always a part of me that lamented the fact that it was a red rooibos base and not long after Amethyst acquired 52Teas, I decided that I needed to “reinvent” that blend into either a Honeybush blend or a green rooibos blend. Ultimately, I decided I needed to first try Honeybush – but I do plan on trying a green rooibos blend eventually too.
Mmm! The naturally nutty-sweet flavor of the honeybush works nicely with the flavors of chocolate and banana. The overall flavor reminds me a bit of the frozen chocolate covered bananas that you might get at an amusement park – the kind that are sprinkled with chopped nuts before the chocolate has a chance to set. I get sweet, fruity notes of banana, the creamy, rich flavor of chocolate and a hint of nutty flavor from the honeybush.
Tasty!
organic ingredients: honeybush, freeze-dried bananas, cacao nibs, cacao shells, mini vegan chocolate chips and natural flavors.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Chocolate Covered Banana Honeybush. . . As much as I love my banana flavored teas, chocolate banana teas I seem to be more hesitant with. I am just not a huge chocolate fan, but I do find that I love the honeybush that 52Teas using as their base, so I had to try it. My first impression of the dry leaf was rich dark chocolate notes with a bright and vibrant banana flavor. Still hesitant, I prepped the tea up and took my first sip.
A rich decadent baked good flavor greeted me. A nutty almost cookie note with a lush dark chocolate hint here and there. Add in the fresh banana flavor, you have a tea that really pops. This is one of those decadent teas that are rich, simple, yet full in flavor. And I’m greedily gulping mine down. I can’t get enough. Since I only have a taster size of this tea, I think I’ll save the rest to try a cold brew. I can see how this could be an amazing treat on as an iced tea on a warm summer day.
This is one of those decadent banana teas that screams dessert tea. One that I hope to be enjoying for some time now. This tea is still available from 52Teas so I highly recommend checking it out! Chocolate Covered Banana Honeybush will be a tea I will be dreaming out!
Sweet Mirabelle from Fusion Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Fusion Teas
Tea Description:
Sweet Mirabelle is sweet indeed! This tea yields a fresh, fruity infusion that lingers on the palate. Like the yellow plum it’s named after, this Sweet Mirabelle Green Tea has a full, succulent flavor. Big pieces of dried mango adorn this blend and the flavor of the brewed tea is straightforward and honest: it’s all about the fruit!
Tasting Notes:
Plum, apricot, tropical candyPiquant notes of plum and mango create an exotic flavor with a tangy finish. An intoxicating sweetness infuses every sip. Enjoy the charms of this delightful blend for a dose of summer any time of year.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Sweet Mirabelle Green Tea received mixed reviews in my family last night. I have to say that my family loved it. I on the other hand wasn’t the biggest fan. Let me explain.
This vibrant green flavored tea is mango flavored with notes of a tropical feel. I filled my tea pot up with this lovely sweet smelling tea blend and started steeping. Waited about 4 minutes and poured myself, my hubby, and my stepson Casey, huge mug fulls.
After steeping, this tea smelled as sweet as it did as a dry leaf. As you can see from the picture, there are HUGE pieces of mango in the mix, which normally I would love. First sip in, I could hear my hubby and stepson loving the tea. I took a huge first sip myself and found that this tea was incredibly sweet. Overwhelmingly sweet to me unfortunately. Where the mango and tropical flavors are there and quite present. This tea almost needed a contrast from a different flavor ie maybe a vegetal green tea note- that would calm the sweetness down. I typically would love a tea like this, but as a hot tea, it just didn’t sit well with me.
Regardless, as a hot tea, this tea seemed to appeal to the masses in my family. My hubby and stepson greedily gulped this tea down in no time flat and would have accepted more if I would have put on another pot. I can see Sweet Mirabelle being a hit at parties or served at a gathering. This tea might be one of those blends that needs a cold brew to make the green tea notes pop. I have just enough left over to try that later this week!
Super Fancy Oolong from Solstice Tea Traders
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Solstice Tea Traders
Tea Description:
- Loose Leaf Oolong Tea Sampler-Solstice Tea Traders loose leaf oolong tea sampler pack, a selection of awesome oolongs, including both China Oolong, and Taiwan Oolong. Includes an incredibly array of Oolongs. Sure to please.
- Loose Leaf Oolong Tea Packed in 4oz Teas-Our Oolong tea sampler is packed in 4oz metal tea tins, each filled, sealed, and labeled..
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m a sucker for samplers. So when I had the opportunity to review a few samplers for Solstice Tea Traders, an online Amazon store, I was all over it. The first tin I grabbed out of the set was this one, the Super Fancy Oolong variety. I was pretty excited to try it.
This is really a no frills sort of sampler. In the sampler, you get 4 nice 1 oz tins full of different kinds of oolongs. None of them are exotic by any means, but this sampler is a great start. So far I’ve tried a few teas from Solstice Tea Traders and have been more than impressed by the taste, quality, and the value you get.
Super Fancy Oolong has a gorgeous look to it. I love looking at the longer dry leaf and how the white pieces really pop against the darker browns. The aroma I picked up from the dry leaf was that familiar oolong smell that I have grown to love.
I brewed this up with the help of my Breville One Touch and the oolong setting. Allowed the tea to steep for a few minutes and took my first sip. Simple, subtle, and fresh-this oolong delivers those familiar notes of a nutty underground with a sweetness from a stonefruit. I can pick up a very soft floral hint here and there- A lovely contrast to the nuttiness that greets you first.
This isn’t a new flavor by any means, but a solid tea to lean on when you want a flavor you can count on. So far, I’m impressed. I shared this tea with a few loved ones and the tea was greeted with smiles. I can see this sampler being a great one to introduce others to oolong teas.
Spiced Coffee From Handmade Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where To Start A New Subscription: Handmade Tea
Tea Description:
Spiced Coffee from Handmade Tea begins with a smooth and silky Chinese black tea as the base. The base tea has sweet vanilla-like notes. Costa Rican coffee beans are blended into the base adding rich coffee flavor without being overwhelming. Lastly, cinnamon chips are blended in for a warm and spicy flavor. Together these flavors work quite well together. The vanilla notes from the base tea plays nicely with the cinnamon and the bold coffee notes balance things out a bit.
Taster’s Review:
Spiced Coffee from Handmade Tea has been sitting in my stash for sometime. I know shame on me but coffee flavored teas are not my cuppa. I’ve tried several in the past and most of them are just meh.
Now let’s put some perspective on this tea. I’m a coffee drinker in the mornings. I start every morning off with 2 cups of coffee then I switch to tea for the rest of the day. So I like the taste of coffee, but I don’t exactly like the idea of mixing coffee and tea together. Those profiles to me really don’t match.
Which is why the fact that I loved this tea so much completely surprised me. This tea is the perfect combination of rich coffee notes followed by a brisk tea malty flavor sweetened by subtle vanilla cinnamon notes. A treat to say the least. The flavors are gentle and bold but on point each sip.
I don’t always like the flavors that I receive from my monthly subscription from Handmade Tea. To be honest, I’ve cancelled my subscription once, but I found that I really missed receiving a uniquely different tea each month. This is just one of the wonderful examples you can expect when you subscribe!