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.
24 Days of Tea Holiday Countdown – Day 21 from Teanzo 1856
We’re getting there! This 24 days has gone by so quickly – it’s already day 21! Can you believe it? This year is almost gone – a new one about to begin!
For today’s artistic inspiration, I sorted through some of my old photos online and I came across some altered dominoes that I created. I altered a bunch of dominoes (the back of the domino is a really neat surface to use as a canvas for artwork) and I turned them into little ornaments and sold them one year at the Christmas Bazaar in Ridgefield, WA. That was more years than I care to count at this point! Wow! I can’t believe how long ago that was.
Anyway, here is one of the dominoes that I altered. I drilled a hole in the domino to be able to add a jump ring and a loop to the domino, then I added the star and swirl design, painted it, and then I added some rhinestones to the piece for some extra sparkle. Then I protected the surface with a resin that adds a glass-like surface to it. The final piece was bright, sparkly and shiny – just the kind of thing you want for your holiday tree!
I sold a bunch of these things – back then, I was also selling tea and that was my primary purpose at the bazaar, I wanted to sell my teas but I decided that since I was paying for the booth, that I’d take full advantage of it and sell some other stuff too. I did pretty well, I managed to sell enough to pay for the cost of the booth plus buy a few holiday gifts for some of the more expensive people on my list. It was a day well spent.
Tranquil Spa Blend
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos (Green)
Where to Buy: Teanzo 1856
Tea Description:
Tranquil Spa Blend is a relaxing ginger mint orange herbal blend. Rejuvenation at its tastiest. We wanted to take you away to a spa with our teas, so we put together a brand new Spa Trio: Dream Spa Blend, Tranquil Spa Blend, and Bliss Spa Blend. Each of these is caffeine free and blended to perfection to give you a spa feeling and taste. Each of our spa blends comes in a green latch tin with 2 oz of tea. You can also purchase them as a Spa Trio. Add a little spa to your day!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Having already tried the Dream Spa Blend and the Bliss Spa Blend from the “Spa Trio” and really enjoying them, I was hopeful that I’d have a similar experience with this Tranquil Spa Blend. Then I read the ingredients and saw that eucalyptus was in the blend and I’m hopeful that the eucalyptus wouldn’t ruin this blend for me. Let’s keep our fingers crossed and go into it with an open mind!
To steep this tisane, I used my Kati tumbler. 12 ounces of water heated to 195°F, I poured the contents of the sampler pouch into the basket of the tumbler and then added the water. I steeped this for 6 minutes. Usually I would steep a tisane for a little longer but I was a little cautious this time with the eucalyptus.
Now it’s time for a sip!
OK, this isn’t bad! It’s actually quite tasty. Yes, I taste the eucalyptus, but, I am getting stronger notes of orange and ginger and the eucalyptus seems to enhance the ginger notes a little bit here. Rather than causing the whole cup to turn to a bitter, medicinal mess, it is actually enhancing the blend. That certainly is an unexpected turn of events!
The eucalyptus seems to soften the ginger a little bit. Ginger usually has a lot of peppery bite to it, but the eucalyptus has soften the blow of the ginger bite here. It’s still warm and ginger-y pleasant, but the ginger has a smoother flavor now.
I don’t taste a lot from the mint, but there is a background minty taste. I like the way that peeks through. The green rooibos is the perfect base because it adds a light, fruity sweetness to the cup.
Everything is balanced here. The orange is bright and juicy. The ginger is warm without being too spicy. The eucalyptus isn’t overpowering (yay!) and the mint is a soft, subtle flavor. It’s soothing without tasting medicinal. It all works with the ‘tranquil’ vibe that the name of this tea suggests.
A SURPRISINGLY good tisane. I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I am.
