Well it’s that time of year again. Everyone is making resolutions and trying to recover from all the decadence of the holiday season. Diet and detox ads are everywhere and it seems as if this month’s TeaTaxi package is no exception. My monthly subscription envelope arrived with a whole variety of feel good blends focusing on health and wellness.
First thing I noticed was the vast amount of ingredients in this blend. For something meant to cleanse my body, it seems I am putting a whole lot into it. All natural ingredients but ones I normally would not seek out on my own, such as birch leaves, willow bark, etc. I also noticed a whole lot of natural sweeteners that I tend to avoid due to their aspartame-like aftertaste (I’m looking at you, Stevia and Licorice Root!). Nonetheless, I figured why not give it a try and see how detoxed I felt.
The scent of the brew was a sickly sweet odor. Atop the sweetness was also an earthy scent, perhaps from all the bark and leaves and grass in the mix. Tastewise, that sweetness is all there, leaving a cloying flavor as the sip ends. There is also a fair amount of lemon flavor which I wouldn’t mind on it’s own though it conflicts with everything else happening here. Also, that earthiness transfers over to the taste, though only slightly. I am supposed to be reminded of pine and the cool winter air but instead this has me thinking of pledge and artificial sweeteners. I really don’t think that was the type of clean feeling TeaTaxi was going for here.
Honestly, I didn’t have high hopes going into this between the murky water and the scent. To me it seemed more muddy then anything and I think that is attributed to the vast variety of ingredients in the mix. I think cleaning it up a bit and removing all the sweetening agents would improve this a great deal. As it is, I don’t think this is the tea for me and certainly don’t think its the detox I need from the holiday season. Luckily, I have 9 other feel good teas from TeaTaxi to try!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal Blend
Where to Buy: Tea Taxi
Description
This herbal mixture will remind you of the freshness and well-being experienced during long winter walks. The smell of pine filling your nostrils and the cool air in your lungs.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pop Goes Life! from TeaTaxi. . . . .
I am always excited for a flavored genmaicha. Now 52 Teas is normally where I find them but every so often they pop up at other companies too. This is Tea Taxi’s take on one and it is quite nice.
With this blend the genmaicha seems to be the focus. The main flavor is the roastiness of the popped rice. There is also an underlying note of cereal that I would attribute to the rice as well. The green tea base is really quite mellow but is contributing a slight vegetalness that compliments the roastiness. However, it conflicts slightly with the strawberry flavor – one that is true to the fruit and thus not too sweet but still. It is not as prominent as you would expect but instead provides just enough of its flavor to keep things interesting and unique.
Tea Taxi suggests having this blend while watching your favorite flick. Instead I am sipping on it while watching A Series of Unfortunate Events on Netflix. The two are actually pairing well together as the show is in very muted colors and this tea reflects that with its more subdued taste.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type :Flavored Green Tea
Where to Buy: Tea Taxi
Description
Sip this green tea while watching your favorite flick
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Let’s Go Nuts! from Tea Taxi . . . . .
A lot of tea companies provide nut based herbal blends. The most famous I can think of is Forever Nuts by DAVIDsTEA. I enjoyed that when I first tried it but quickly fell out of love with it. Unfortunately, so many other blends taste just the same. This is not like those blends. This tea is just so much better.
I prepared it as an eggnog latte today, mostly because I have a whole lot of eggnog to get through and a latte seemed like a perfect choice for such a rich tea. I topped it off with some chocolate curls and the result was a decadent dessert in a mug, a liquid peanut butter cup.
The tea itself is just so smooth but making it as a latte just upped the creaminess 100%. It is like someone took a spoon of smooth peanut butter and melted it down. Add to that the taste of the chocolate curls and it is like having a peanut butter ribbon running through a velvety hot chocolate.
For me this was a treat with breakfast but I can see this being used to satisfy cravings anytime of the day. And, since its caffeine free, it can be a perfect dessert even at bedtime!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Tea Taxi
Description
An infusion with an alluring fragrance and a satisfying taste reminiscent of sweet peanut butter!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Barbados Beach from Tea Taxi
Shortly after discovering Tea Taxi, I found out they were starting a monthly subscription program. Each month they send 10 tea samples, all selected to fit the particular theme chosen for that package. At just $7.45CAD per month (for 12 months, it is slightly more if you order for fewer months), I found myself signing up. Now I have a giant pile of Tea Taxi blends that just keeps growing as I am slowly making my way through the many different choices.
This particular blend is a green tea with cherry and pineapple. It brews up a bright yellow and the smell of fruit is strong. The base, though slightly vegetal, is rather timid in flavor. What stands out is the cherry. It is the star of the show and though it is quite sweet at the start of the sip, it has a tart zip at the end. The pineapple is not particularly noticeable but this tea does have a distinctively beach-type flavor to it and I think that is in large part a result of the pineapple in the leaf. At times, this can get a little cough syruppy because of the cherry but that is really quite fleeting and inoffensive.
All in all, this is a nice blend. Bright and flavorful with a lovely cherry quality to it. It screams summer and the beach, which provides a nice escape from the snowy Winter Wonderland that is Toronto right now. I don’t think I will be stocking this blend anytime soon since I just don’t drink green tea that often but I certainly would not turn down another cup.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Tea Taxi
Description
Come visit Barbados and have a sip of this exquisite blend! Barbados cherry, from the acerola tree, and pineapples will have you travel south to discover the most amazing beaches in the world!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Cranberry Glow from Tea Taxi- A Flavored Green Tea
In the summertime I was sitting in a document production class bored out of my mind. The teacher was useless and not teaching anything and I had already completed the exercise we were handed out. So, I was scrolling through my instagram feed. I came across a tea picture from a company called Tea Taxi. The tea sounded awesome so I decided to look the company up. Well 15 minutes and $75 later, I had an order on its way of almost 30 new teas.
When my package arrived in the mail, it didn’t take me long to realize that Tea Taxi is a Canadian company that specializes in flavored teas along the lines of the much better known DAVIDsTEA, though I would say Tea Taxi has more diverse/unique flavors with fewer artificial sweeteners and more fun packaging. And since I placed my first order, Tea Taxi has added sample sizes to their website and the option to sign up for a monthly tea subscription which makes trying their teas significantly easier.
This particular tea is one from my original order. I have had it hot before and remember it being lovely but today I was running out the door to a family event so I decided to ice it and take it to go. The ice had all melted by the time I got around to drinking this but that did nothing to take away from the tea. This has one of the best cranberry flavors that I have personally come across, both hot and iced. It is reminiscent of cranberry juice though not quite as tart. Instead, there is a bit of candy sweetness that comes from what I believe are rose petals and it blends seamlessly with the cranberry. The green tea base, for me, is almost entirely hidden which I prefer since green tea usually reminds me of grass and there is no place for that here. All in all, this is definitely a tea that surprised me. I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I do but it’s sweet juicy flavor (and smell) drew me in and it is one I have enjoyed revisiting multiple times.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Flavored Green Tea
Where to Buy: Tea Taxi
Description
Half sweet and half sour, cranberry is a delicious little berry that deserves to be the centre of attention! Its taste is deep and its colour, divine!