Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Tisane
Where to Buy: DAVIDsTEA
Tea Description:
Whether you’re looking for an afternoon pick-me-up or a sweet treat on the go, nothing beats peanut butter and chocolate. Sweet, rich, salty and addictive, it’s a classic combo for a reason. And with this smooth and satisfying blend, you can indulge your sweet tooth anytime, guilt-free. With almonds, cocoa beans and chocolate chips, it tastes just like the real thing. And since it’s completely peanut free, you can take it with you everywhere. Want to take it to the next level? Try it as a latte with frothed chocolate milk. You heard it here first…
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
DAVIDsTEA’s Fall Collection has been out for a little while now, but I’m just getting the chance to try the new teas in it. To me, this is definitely the most interesting one they’ve come up with this year; and if it actually delivers on the flavour then I think it could be a really unique, interesting dessert tea staple for late night sugar cravings!
Like tends to happen every season, this is a seriously heavy tisane so if you’re picking any up for yourself keep that in mind and know that 50g probably isn’t going to stretch super far. It does smell really decadent though with really creamy chocolate notes and a sweet, creamy and powerful peanut aroma. All combined, it really creates a solid, easily comparable smell to Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. I have to wonder how they got the peanut to come across so clearly when there isn’t actually any peanut in the blend (just almond). Having had a few peanut teas, I can say that I’ve been really let down by ‘peanut’ flavoured things that use artificial flavours. My experience is that you need the real thing to get the flavour across. But this tisane could easily break that trend.
I’ve read that people find this weird hot, and it’s better cold (or as a latte) but I decided to make my mug hot because I actually thought that would be the best way to serve it and I think cold brewing a tisane so heavy would be a big waste of leaf. The smell is very rich and reminds me of extra creamy peanut butter: the kind that gets stuck to the roof of your mouth and you can still faintly taste like half an hour after finishing it.
The taste is surprisingly accurate; I’d say it’s more peanut than chocolate, but that the chocolate is very creamy and sweet. I think DAVIDsTEA really, really achieved what they set out to do with this blend. Now, that said, it does have a little bit of an oily mouthfeel, which is relatively inescapable when you’re using chocolate chips, and the flavor is a little bit thin. I can see people either really liking this one or finding it incredibly weird or disappointing. Personally, I didn’t realize quite how much I liked it until I had finished the mug and had the immediate urge to go resteep the leaves again, which I NEVER do with tisanes. My second mug was also pretty thin tasting, and didn’t pack much of a chocolate punch but the peanut notes were still really strong.
Again, I very much want to know how they got the peanut flavor accurate. I’m sure there are gonna be a lot of people with peanut allergies hoarding this…
Nakazen: Hibiscus Tea Herbal Tisane from Yunomi
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Yunomi
Tea Description:
Hibiscus tea bags are made with high quality roselle (a kind of Hibiscus) grown in the tropical region. Enjoy hot or as iced tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Hello tea friends, I do hope you are all well.
Recently I received an order from Yunomi of which they were kind to include this tisane as a free gift. While admittedly hibiscus is not something I would usually order it is nice to try something different. Plus I feel tisanes are something I should drink more of, going caffeine free every now and then sounds like a good idea.
They do offer this as two versions on their website: loose leaf and teabag. This is the teabag version.
The bags are a good quality thin polystyrene (very typical Japanese tea bag design). They are white and a little bit see through with 1/5 filled with small, chopped petals. As I sniff the bag I am met with a dry, sweet, tangy and herbal scent. Very hibiscus strong and herbal but also not overly thick.
Steeping: Popping one bag into boiling water for three minutes.
Colour is deep, deep red. Scent is floral, sweet yet sour and overall rather soft.
Flavour is stronger than the smell though it’s not as thick as I expected (or feared). The hibiscus is sweet with sour after tones and a touch of dryness, this leads to a herbal after taste. The sourness is actually rather minimal considering, likening this to sherbet. ie. More sweet than sour.
Half way down my mug I’m finding this to remain consistent with the first sip. The dryness is not increasing and nor is the herbal tang that tisanes tend to have.
Overall I thought this was nice, more pleasant tasting than I had imagined being generally a non hibiscus fan. This was of fair quality and strength which complimented the hibiscus. A simple tisane but a nice companion on this warm night.
Teatox from Fit Life Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Fit Life Tea Co.
Tea Description:
Say goodbye to weight gain, bloating and digestive stress. Two daily cups of Organic Teatox can help burn fat, stimulate weight loss, boost your immune system and cleanse your digestive system.
Our pyramid tea bag extracts maximum flavor to infuse more essential oils and flavor into your cup. Steeping releases purifying dynamic ingredients that can ease bloating and, together with proper diet and exercise, help promote weight loss.
Custom blended Organic Teatox has a ruby red color, sweet aroma and distinctive fruity taste. And zero calories.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Before I begin with this review, I just want to say that I’ve never had a tea help me loose weight. I’ve had some teas make me feel better, but I’ve never seen any evidence on the scale. I know there is a lot of controversy on weight loss teas and sometimes I’ve seen some pretty heated battles. So for this review,I want to keep things calm and easy going and we aren’t going to talk about the detoxing properties of the tea. I only had one tea bag to try as well so there really wouldn’t be much in the way of results. So let me tell you a bit about my experience with this tea.
What I liked about this tea is the convenience. They provide the tea in tea bags so I was able to prep this up with some boiling water without much fuss. 5 minutes later I am greeted with a gorgeous dark pink beverage waiting for me to try it. Inside the tea bag was a lot of dried hibiscus along with a few other odds and ends of ingredients. But primarily hibiscus.
First sip in and this is for those who really enjoy their hibiscus. I really only tasted the hibiscus and none of the other ingredients listed. The hibiscus dominated the cuppa. Now with saying that, I still enjoyed the flavor. This isn’t something I would reach for on a daily basis but I’m liking the flavor. The tartness is there but it isn’t as sharp as other hibiscus blends. This reminds me more of that sugar free Kool-Aid flavor or Crystal Light.
For my second cup, I added ice and had a nice refreshing hibiscus iced tea for after lunch. Again, tart but not overly so and I didn’t feel the need to add any sweeteners. I think this is a tea that does ask for a sweetener but I wanted to keep this plain.
My last thoughts on this- It was good but not something I would drink a lot of. If you are a hibiscus fan (like I said earlier), I think you may enjoy this one a bit more than me. I’m still happy I was able to try it. Been curious about this one for a bit.
Off to the next tea!
Blue Roses Tisane from Paper Box Goodies
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Paper Box Goodies
Tea Description:
A floral blend with Roses, and an exquisite blue flower from Thailand called the Butterfly Pea Flower, which gives a blue color to the tea, as well as a mild flavor of its own! If you’re a fan of floral, this one’s for you!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This may be my favorite offering yet from Paper Box Goodies. I have recently discovered butterfly pea flower teas. Not only are they sweet with slight floral notes, they turn the water blue. Bright blue! So fun!
Leslie @Paper Box Goodies created a beautiful slightly floral tea with hints of sweetness and a touch of lemon. Such a delicate tea and one that I’m really enjoying.
If you have read my reviews of Paper Box Goodies’s tea, you have already read about Leslie @ Paper Box Goodies’s attention to detail and how it isn’t wasted on me. Each tea bag has a hand written note on gorgeous paper that gives you the skinny on the tea and her recommendations for steeping it. Along with each tag is an adorable shrinky dink that she has created. I have yet to thrown one of those adorable shrinky dinks away. I’m saving them for a craft project! Her tea bags have completely impressed me and they are becoming a staple in my cupboard.
The tea bags that Leslie uses for her tea allow the tea drinker to see the ingredients in the tea. Her tea bags turn clear as soon as you submerge them in the water. So when I prepped this tea up with water at 212F, the bag became clear and I was able to see the beautiful assortment of ingredients and yes. . my water turned blue!!
I did let this cool for a moment and took my first sip. Sweet with a soft delicate lemon background and notes of floral singing in the background. Perfect. Simple yet providing you with vibrant flavors and an invigorating tea. This tea would be perfect for tea enthusiasts that may not think they like floral teas or for someone trying floral teas for the first time. The floral notes are so subtle but lend themselves to such a sweetness. I have now tried this tea both as a hot tea and an iced tea. The results were amazing both ways.
Another fantastic tea Leslie! I would love to see a tea like this served at a tea party. I could see this tea wowing the participants! Leslie-Keep up the good work!
Wai Tisane from PONOinfusions
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal/Fruit Tisane
Where to Buy: PONOinfusions
Tea Description:
Wai will refresh you with a tranquil infusion of herbs & botanicals, inspired by breathtaking waterfalls, streams, and fresh water pools, all preciously vital to life in Hawai’i. Made from certified organic and fair trade ingredients and caffeine-free, Wai immerses you in a marriage of mint & berry. Wai means fresh water in Hawaiian—a precious resource in Hawai’i’s fragile ecosystems.
To learn more about efforts to conserve wai and the native plants & animals who call Hawai’i’s wai home, such as the endangered pinapinao (Hawaiian damselfly) and the uluhe fern featured on this package, please visit the Native Flora & Fauna section of our website.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
PONOinfusions is a company I only very recently discovered. So far, I love everything about them from their use of organic and fair trade certified ingredients to the incorporation of Hawaiian ingredients in their blends, creative themes to their teas, incorporation of Hawaiian culture and most importantly the strong emphasis on the fauna and flora in Hawaii which are endangered or at risk. On each tin you can see some of these species highlighted in the packaging, and a portion of their sales go to support working to sustain and preserve Hawaii’s natural resources and plant and wildlife.
As described on their site, ‘pono’ means ‘the right thing to do’ and my first impression here is that Alex and Andrea are certainly doing their best to do that for Hawaii! I am very excited to get my first taste of one of their blends.
The tisane I’m trying today (and not all of the teas in their line are tisanes) is called “Wai” which means fresh water, and the feature fauna and flora on their package’s design are the Hawaiian damselfly and uluhe fern. As I taste this for the first time, I’m definitely keeping the intended ‘theme’ in mind and will be seeing how the flavour compares to it.
My first impression of the taste is that it’s very familiar in a really comforting way. Breaking down the flavours I can see why; a lot of the ingredients are ones I like a great deal individually and they’re working very well combined. The body of the flavour of comprised mostly of the mint in the blend. I know this uses both peppermint and spearmint, but the spearmint is definitely more of a dominant/concentrated flavour than the peppermint is. Layered under that is the raspberry. It’s not raspberry in a really obvious way; but a gentle, subtle soft hint of raspberry that provides contrast from the mint. The nettle leaf is a little earthy and unrefined, it seems to roll in and out of sips as a flavour that I’m noticing. Finally there’s a floral aspect that finishes the sip. It reminds me of a mild jasmine though as far as I’m aware there isn’t actually any jasmine or floral ingredients in the blend.
While none of these ingredients individually make me think of fresh water there’s something about the way they interact with each other that’s very calming and tranquil and reminds me of seafoam, and skinny dipping with friends in the middle of July as the sunsets. Additionally, I remember reading a poem not too long ago that compared the ocean to a womb, first and foremost giving life and that’s the kind of feeling I get from drinking this tea. I want warm waves to wash over and cradle me.
Overall, I really like the overall taste of this tisane but more importantly I love the way it makes me feel. I haven’t been this excited about a newly discovered company in a really long time, and I’m excited to hopefully try more of their blends (in particular I’m hoping I get to try Nahele) and I very, very much recommend checking out their website! Definitely a cool company, and I think they deserve a little more attention.