Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve tried quite a few different Tea of Life teas, and I’ve been happy with most that I’ve tried. At first, I thought that this Green Passion Fruit Tea was going to be an exception to that … but as I continue to sip, I find myself liking it more and more.
The first few sips were very delicately flavored, to the point of barely tasting passion fruit, but now that I’ve had more than a couple of sips, the flavor has really come to life.
The green tea is definitely the star of this show and is the strongest flavor I taste. It’s a light, refreshing green tea with soft vegetal notes and a smooth buttery taste. There’s no real discernible astringency to this tea, and absolutely no bitterness. It’s sweet and quite lovely.
At the start, the passion fruit is a very subtle taste. But I found that as I kept sipping, the passion fruit flavor intensified. This could be because either the tea is cooling more – sometimes cooler temperatures cause those flavors to pop! – or it could be because it just takes a few sips to get those flavors to develop on the palate. Either way, what started out as a really subtle note developed into a really nice passion fruit flavor!
Overall, I enjoyed this tea quite a bit. I didn’t think that was going to be the case after the first two or three sips … but as the flavors developed, so did my appreciation for it. Nice!
This one’s great iced!
Passion Fruit Mango Rooibos Blend from Tea of Life
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
There are times when I want something a little lighter and without caffeine. Those are the times that I turn to tisanes. Tisanes like this Passion Fruit Mango Rooibos Blend from Tea of Life that are naturally caffeine free and have a lighter body, something I can sip and enjoy without worrying whether it will keep me up all night.
And this has a really pleasing flavor. The passion fruit and mango flavors are vibrant. The flavor of the rooibos is subdued, but I do taste notes of the nutty flavor and the sweetness – but without that whacked weird flavor that I sometimes get from rooibos.
You know, that weird, off sort of flavor that kind of tastes like wood that’s been soaked in sour vinegar or something? Yeah … that flavor. I’m not getting that strange flavor with this tisane.
Instead, I get a pleasant, tropical fruit flavor with hints of a nutty sweetness in the background. It’s a sweet way to wind down after a long day.
I enjoyed this hot, but, I found myself distracted and left my teacup to cool, and when I returned to it, the tisane had gone cold. No worries! This tastes great cold too!
Ayurvedic De-Stress Tea from Tea of Life
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
About Tea of Life Ayurvedic Collection:
The word “Ayurveda” is derived from two words – “Ayus” meaning life and “Veda” meaning ‘knowledge’ or ‘science’. So the literal meaning of the word Ayurveda is ‘The Science of Life.’
Life or Ayus, according to Ayurveda, is a combination of senses, mind, body and soul. So Ayurveda does not just limit itself to the body or physical symptoms, but also provides comprehensive knowledge about spiritual, mental and emotional health.
The traditional healing system of Ayurveda is based on a theory of balance between the body (physical), the soul (spiritual) and the mind (psychological).
Ingredients:
Green Tea with Lemongrass, Gotukola, Ginger, Lavender Buds, Cumin Seed, Fennel.
Taster’s Review:
I don’t know that I was necessarily looking to “De-Stress” today, but I definitely wanted something that would help me unwind and relax without making me want to go and take a nap (like Chamomile would do!) so I decided I’d try this Ayurvedic De-Stress Tea from Tea of Life to help me calm down a little.
When I opened the individually wrapped package that held this tea bag, I could smell the cumin seed! I love cumin and because it’s not really a spice that you often find in tea blends, I’m happy when I do come across a tea blend that has cumin in it.
And I can really taste the cumin in the brewed tea. It is the strongest flavor that I notice in the cup, but, it doesn’t overwhelm the palate. I am also tasting the gotakola here, and together these two spices give the overall cup a very ‘curry-ish’ sort of flavor. I also taste notes of green tea and citrus, the peppery notes of ginger and a hint of licorice from the fennel. I don’t taste a lot of Lavender.
This is a very savory tea with the spices that have been used to craft this blend. The green tea adds a slight vegetal note and a buttery tone and texture, as well as a hint of sweetness that contrasts nicely with the overall savory flavor of this tea.
I enjoyed it, and I will say that I think it served its purpose as I feel not quite as wound up as I was before I started sipping on this tea. It’s not something I’d drink daily, but it is something I’d turn to – happily! – on a stressful day when I need something to get my mind back on track.
Rooibos Chocolate Vanilla from Tea for Life
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Tisane Description:
South African Red Bush or Rooibos Tea is a pure and natural herbal blend. Freshly harvested and finely chopped rooibos goes through a process of oxidation with the aid of the oxygen from the atmosphere and subsequently dried int he sun to produce a deep mahogany red cup of which is one of the most popular and healthy herbal drinks today.
“Tea of Life” is proud to introduce five New Naturally Caffeine Free Rooibos Teas combined with Dark Chocolate with delicious natural fruit and mint flavors for your enjoyment – all day and into the evening.
Taster’s Review:
These dark chocolate rooibos blends from Tea of Life are really good. The chocolate is rich and dark and there’s a good amount of chocolate flavor to the blend. I’m really enjoying this Rooibos Chocolate Vanilla blend – LOTS of chocolate flavor with a sweet, creamy vanilla undertone.
I taste hints of honeyed, nutty sweetness from the rooibos, but, I like that the flavor of the rooibos isn’t as pronounced as the dark chocolate notes and the notes of vanilla. Normally, I want the flavor of the “tea” to be the star of the cup, but, since this is rooibos and I’m not particularly a big rooibos fan, I like that I am only getting a little bit of the flavor of the rooibos.
Plus, we’re talking chocolate here, and when it comes to chocolate, more chocolate is always better. I really can’t think of any instance when that isn’t true. And this has a strong chocolate presence. The sweet notes of vanilla give this cup an almost “milk chocolate-y” sort of taste, and I like the way the two – chocolate and vanilla – meld together in this cup.
A really tasty cup.
Ayurvedic Immune Tea from Tea of Life
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
About Tea of Life Ayurvedic Collection:
The word “Ayurveda” is derived from two words – “Ayus” meaning life and “Veda” meaning ‘knowledge’ or ‘science’. So the literal meaning of the word Ayurveda is ‘The Science of Life.’
Life or Ayus, according to Ayurveda, is a combination of senses, mind, body and soul. So Ayurveda does not just limit itself to the body or physical symptoms, but also provides comprehensive knowledge about spiritual, mental and emotional health.
The traditional healing system of Ayurveda is based on a theory of balance between the body (physical), the soul (spiritual) and the mind (psychological).
Ingredients:
Green Tea with Ginger, Coriander, Pepper, Cumin Seed and Tumeric.
Taster’s Review:
When I got my package from Tea of Life, this super cool hexagon package of Ayurvedic teas was among the many teas that were included. The photo doesn’t really do this packaging justice – it’s really neat! There are six different Ayurvedic teas in this package: Stimulating, Slimming, Calming, Detox, Immune and Destress.
Since my husband is currently battling an awful cold and I don’t want to suffer with that same cold, I decided to dig into this hexagon and try the Ayurvedic Immune Tea from Tea of Life to see if it will help me avoid what seems to be an inevitable fate. Whenever anyone gets a cold in this house, I end up getting it too. So, here’s hoping that this will help me … if not avoid it all together, at least minimize my bout with it.
Right off the bat, one thing that I like about this, before I even brew it, is that it has real tea in it. It’s not a blend of herbs. Not that there’s anything wrong with a blend of herbs, but, I like tea. You might have noticed that.
The aroma of the dry tea reminds me of the fragrance I’d experience if I were walking into a restaurant that serves Indian Cuisine. I could smell the tumeric and the other spices. I didn’t get a lot of green tea essence from the aroma.
The brewed tea smells very much the same. A strong tumeric scent, with notes of ginger, cumin, coriander and pepper. I can smell notes of green tea – a light, fresh ‘vegetal’ note.
As far as “functional” teas go, this is really tasty. It reminds me a bit more of a spiced vegetable broth than it does a tea, but, I’m enjoying the flavor. If I’m going to be drinking this for the next few days (as I plan to do to help ~hopefully~ avoid the cold that my husband has right now), then I’m very pleased that the flavor is enjoyable.
While the spices are strong, this is not an “in your face” kind of tea. It doesn’t overwhelm my palate with lots of spice flavor. I can taste the green tea, and the spices keep time with the lightness of the green tea. That is to say that the spices don’t overpower the green tea – a balance has been achieved with this blend. A really good balance.
I consumed this straight up with no additions, and it was just fine like that, however, I think it would be really nice with a dollop of honey (and honey has the added benefit of antioxidants and every little bit helps when you’re trying to avoid a cold.) The sweetness of the honey would accentuate the spices nicely.