Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Chiang Rai Tea House
Tea Description:
Two excellent herbs, not only for their health benefits, but for their intense flavor and aroma, come together as the ideal hot beverage for when you feel under the weather. The spiciness of ginger, combined with the lemony taste of lemongrass, makes this a zesty combination that is guaranteed to make you feel good almost immediately! And, of course, both are organically grown.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not generally excited when it comes to trying a tisane. Oh, I like most tisanes alright but if given a choice between a tisane or something with Camellia Sinensis in it, I’m going to choose the tea every time.
But there are times when I reach for a tisane, particularly later in the day/evening when I want to reduce the amount of caffeine I’m consuming. And since it is evening now, I started sorting through my stash of teas and tisanes until I came across this Lemongrass & Ginger from Chiang Rai Tea House. I decided that this would be my caffeine free choice for this evening.
The aroma wafting from my teacup right now is intriguing. I smell very faint notes of citrus and notes of ginger, but I also smell a distinct note of pepper. Black pepper, to be precise. It smells as though someone had freshly ground some pepper in my teacup. Not a fragrance I expected from this tisane!
I don’t actually taste black pepper, but I definitely smell it. I smell it so distinctly that it gave me cause to check the ingredients:
Ingredients: 100% Organic Lemongrass and Organic Ginger.
No pepper. Now, granted, ginger does have a peppery note to it, but I usually taste more of a peppery note than smell it.
But as I said, I’m not tasting a strong peppery taste. What I taste is what the label promises: I taste lemongrass and I taste ginger. I like the way these two ingredients are balanced.
The ginger is warm and zesty. The ginger has not been overdone here – I don’t feel too much heat on my palate or in my throat as I drink it. It’s gently warming, but not hot or spicy.
The lemongrass is soft, sweet and delicately citrus-y. Not tart but there is a hint of tangy to this. It reminds me a bit of the lemon-lime taste you might experience if you were to be drinking a lemon-lime soda – but without the sugary sweetness. There is a smooth, lightly buttery/creamy flavor to it and I really enjoy how the lightly sweet, creamy citrus notes meld with the lively ginger notes.
The combination is a simple one: ginger and lemongrass. But it’s really tasty!
Papaya Mango Mate Herbal Tea from The Tea Guys
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea, Yerba Mate & Rooibos
Where to Buy: Tea Guys
Tea Description:
South American yerba mate makes the perfect base for this wonderfully tropical blend with sweet chopped papaya, apples, and refreshing lemongrass. The addition of green tea and organic rooibos helps to smooth the blend and create a healthful, antioxidant rich tea that is a wonderful way to re-balance anytime.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I look for an energy boost to get me through a challenging day at work, I usually bring with me a nice large jug of cold brewed tea. I absolutely love cold brewing. It’s the perfect lazyman’s way to prepare a nice cold beverage for the next day. I don’t have to double the leaf usually, and the results are almost always satisfying. All I have to do is dump some cold water over some leaves overnight and bam! Great results with little effort.
I like using tropical-themed teas for cold brewing, and Tea Guy’s Papaya Mango Mate certainly fits the bill. Smelling the dry leaf, there is something so nicely fruity about it. The papaya in this blend is most certainly the star. I have had plenty of other blends like this from Tea Guys, and I am sorry to let the cat out of the bag; most of their tropical/fruity teas smell the same. I wish the mango was much more present in this tea, I feel like the combination is really great and should not be forgotten when blending the tea. Looking at the dry leaf, I see a lot of flotsam that may only be 50% necessary. I see more blue corn flowers and safflower than I do yerba mate or green tea. While I do see plenty of lemongrass in this blend, I have had ones that have overwhelmed the loose with it, so see less of it is quite refreshing for a change.
What this tea promises in the dry leaf, it delivers in the cold brew! I get a herbaceous dry grassy note snuck into the body of the tea that alerts me to the Yorba. The tropical papaya shines through in both aroma and main flavor component. The lemongrass is leading lady, and lends a brightness to the tropical flavors. I must have been thirsty, because I gulped down the entire quart in my mason jar pretty quick without complaints. While I think that their Golden Grapefruit is a better iced tea, I would still recommend this tea for the cold-brew fanatic who needs a nice summer change up to their routine.
Chew-brew from Adagio Teas (Signature Blend)
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Red Rooibos/Mate
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Tea Description:
Warm and fuzzy or strong and bold? Either way Chewy always has your back.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
So lets start this off with saying I am a huge science fiction/fantasy/horror nerd. The horror genre is my favorite but after having kids you learn that watching a good ol fashioned movie like Halloween or Aliens doesn’t fit into your schedule. I learned to adjust and started watching more science fiction movies with my kids. My boys love Star Wars. Especially my nine year old. It does a mama proud when you hear your son arguing Star Wars with another adult. Telling them that the best three are 4,5,6 and naming them correctly. Heart Swells. . .Sigh.
Anyway. . .Today is May the 4th. So let me say to all “May the 4th Be With You”. I had this idea to do a Star Wars inspired tea and ran it by liberteas. Thought it might be fun. So I picked up a tea that I had in my stash for today. One of my favorite characters is Chewbacca. I mean, how can you not just fall in love with him? He is just awesome from the very first time you see him on screen. From the noises and the amazing job done by Peter Mayhew, this character steals the show.
The tea I picked for this awesome day was Chew-Brew by Adagio Teas. I am going 100% outside my comfort zone with this one. The artwork is just awesome so I couldn’t resist. This has the dreaded red rooibos in it. Ugh. But I knew that. Again, the artwork gets me every time with these fandom blends. Brewed this one up at work so I just used the water spout on the coffee, threw the tea in my teapot, brewed for 5 minutes and poured the brew over ice.
While this was brewing, you could smell the hazelnut and almond flavors. It was an almost overwhelming smell. Not bad, but just a bit much for me this morning. As I took my first sip, cringing and waiting for that first hint of red rooibos to overtake the cup, I was 100% surprised. I do not taste the red rooibos at all in this blend!!! How can that be?? I almost did a little dance at work but thought better of it.
As I continued to drink my iced tea, I picked up all of the nutty flavors listed. The almond, the hazelnut, and the mocha nut flavors. I do really enjoy Adagio’s Mocha Nut Mate. It has this rich roasted nutty flavor that I adore and I can pick it up in this and it is amazing iced. The honeybush hazelnut provides a creamy touch. This would be a nut lovers dream tea. The whole tea has a flavor profile of rich nuttiness that I can’t say I’ve had too many other times.
I can’t say that I would drink this one again even though I really enjoyed it. I am just not a huge hazelnut fan. The red rooibos almond must be a very small percentage of this blend. So for people like me that really don’t like it, there is still hope for us.
There really is only one way to end this review. . . . . May the 4th be with you. . . . . .
Lemon, Ginger & Ginseng Herbal Tisane from Rington’s Premium English Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Rington’s Premium English Teas
Tea Description:
Naturally caffeine free, the Lemon, Ginger & Ginseng Herbal Tea is a refreshing and invigorating infusion that balances the lemon and ginger flavours.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Do you ever go through that moment when – as you’re brewing a cup of tea – you think to yourself: what was I thinking, choosing this tea? I actually go through that sort of moment more than I care to admit to.
And I experienced that moment as I was brewing this Lemon, Ginger & Ginseng Herbal Tisane from Rington’s Premium English Teas. I mean, I like lemon and I like ginger and I actually enjoy the two together quite a bit. But ginseng? I think I’ve mentioned more than once here on this blog that I’m not a fan of it. So, what possessed me to grab this tea to try it?
I don’t know. But, now that it’s brewed, I might as well try it, right?
I brewed one bag in 6 ounces of hot water (195°F) for 5 minutes.
The aroma offers a strong lemony note with hints of ginger. I also detect an earthy ginseng aroma. Ugh.
Fortunately, the ginseng smells stronger than it tastes! Happy day!
The lemon is the strongest flavor of the cup and it’s bright and invigorating. It’s not overly tart, it’s more of a sweet lemon note with hints of tangy. But I’m not puckering here.
The ginger is somewhat subdued, it’s not an overly peppered flavor from the spice of the ginger. It’s warm enough to offer some contrast to the zesty flavor of the lemon but not so spicy that it distracts from the lemon. This cup is really all about the lemon!
I can also taste the slightest hint of a cinnamon-y flavor to this. It’s very slight and it complements the ginger in a very enjoyable way.
What I don’t taste a lot of – thankfully – is ginseng. Even when I attempt to focus on the ginseng flavor to determine how much of it I actually do taste, I don’t taste a lot. A slight earthiness – that’s it! And the earthy notes meld favorably with the earthy notes of the ginger and cinnamon.
It really is as I said earlier, this tea is really all about the lemon. This would be something nice to keep on hand for those times when you’re feeling a bit under the weather and want something lively to sip. It would go nicely with a dollop of honey and would be soothing on a sore throat.
It’d also be nice if you’re cold-brewing some basic black tea – add one of these tea bags in along with the black tea and you’ll have a pleasant lemony flavor to your iced tea.
Overall, I’m pleasantly surprised by this tea!
Hot Cross Bun Rooibos and Black Tea Blend By Bluebird Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black Tea & Rooibos Blend
Where to Buy: Bluebird Tea Co.
Tea Description:
Yes you heard us right, our Limited Edition Easter tea tastes of Hot Cross Buns!
At Easter time there are few things better than the aroma of currants, cinnamon and freshly baked buns wafting across the kitchen. When creating our Spring Collection we knew we had to pay homage to our favourite Easter treat, so here you have it – Hot Cross Bun tea! Don’t say we don’t treat you every now and again!
Ingredients: Rooibos, Ceylon black tea, Cinnamon, Hibiscus, Apple, Rosehip, Orange peel, Lapsang Souchong, Vanilla, Cranberry, Flavour.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Easter time has long since passed but holiday teas are forever. At least that is what my Hot Cross Bun craving is telling me right now. It’s the same with most holidays, I end up hoarding seasonal teas for those yearnings throughout the year that can only be fixed by tea. You want Halloween in Summer, there’s a tea for that. You want Christmas in the Spring, there is a tea for that too! Well now I want Easter. Perhaps because I didn’t actually manage to eat any Hot Cross Buns this year due to my strict diet (boo!).
Looking at the ingredients for this is inspiring, Rooibos and Ceylon and Lapsang Souchong…woah! That is one heck of a base for this blend.
In scent the orange is waxy and rather strong with some dark fruit (like raisin but not quite) bitter tones and a hint of cinnamon. It is Hot Cross Bun like but not completely, only missing the sweetness, but a good start so far.
The loose leaf appearance reminds me of Autumn, it’s rather dark and dry with mostly brown colours and a hint of red.
Sampled without milk or sweetener.
Steeped scent is sour, waxy and very orange. Also some warm cinnamon tones. Similar to the raw scent but actually nicer and more Bun like.
Flavour matches the scent rather well, the orange is waxy and dominant at first before the cinnamon kicks in and the whole flavour becomes toasty and extremely Hot Cross Bun like. The cranberries that smelled particularly sour in the raw scent now resemble raisins almost perfectly. The Lapsang Souchong offers it’s smoky flavour to be toasty and warm. It also has some sweetness which I mentioned it lacked previously in scent. Despite the archive of ingredients this is a nice strength, not too bitter nor strong and with enough flavour whilst remaining fairly light in clarity.
It is rather like a Hot Cross Bun, though there is one thing missing for me. Butter. I always have butter on my Bun whether it be toasted or plain. Though I must admit this is not a bad attempt at all, by any means.
So there we have it, Easter is available at the click of the kettle. It also helps to close your eyes and imagine those nostalgic holiday times.
Hot Cross Bun today, Candy Cane tomorrow. What a wonderful tea world we live in!
