Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where To Buy: The Persimmon Tree
Tea Description:
Our Vanilla Rooibos Chai tea features a delightful blend of masala chai spices, red rooibos and a hint of vanilla. Rooibos Vanilla Chai is naturally caffeine free, making it a perfect any-time tea. Much like its caffeinated cousin Masala Chai, this tea tastes delicious with milk and sugar.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
Well, as I’m writing this, it’s late at night. I’m a night owl. My husband works the swing shift (although his shift is about to change! This may change my sleeping habits.) Because of his odd hours, I stay up later to be awake when he arrives home so that I can fix him something to eat and maybe watch TV and spend a little time with him before heading to bed. Another bonus to staying up later – at least in the summer! – is that it’s cooler at night so I get to enjoy some cool temperatures rather than trying to battle the heat. It’s been a hot summer so far!
Anyway … when its later at night, I like to sip on something that’s caffeine free, so that’s the time that I typically reach for a tisane like this Vanilla Rooibos Chai blend from The Persimmon Tree. I can still enjoy a spicy-sweet treat in my teacup without having to worry that it’s going to keep me awake when I should be trying to catch some Zzz’s.
This smells awesome. It’s a medley of aromas: orange, cloves, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom. I can even smell the nutty sweetness of the rooibos, but I like that this is more of an understated scent, and the fragrance of the spices are prominent.
This is true of the flavor as well. Sure I taste the nutty, honeyed sweetness of the rooibos herb, but, it unifies with the spices and the orange to create a very seamless flavor that’s evoking thoughts of a spice cookie.
The spices are zesty. The ginger adds a real punch of spice along with the cinnamon. This is a warmer cinnamon, almost like a red-hot type of cinnamon flavor but without the overly cloying candied sweetness. The cardamom and cloves add a warm backdrop of spice and the vanilla softens the flavors just a little bit, giving the overall cup a lightly sweet, creamy tone.
I like the touch of orange to this – it really brightens the cup and perks up the flavors of the tisane. Everything comes together in a very pleasing way. It’s sweet, spicy and tasty. It’s reminiscent of the cooler days of the holiday season when yummy things are baking in the kitchen, and that’s a very welcome flavor to enjoy on this late evening.
Rose Mojito White Tea Blend from The Persimmon Tree
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where To Buy: The Persimmon Tree
Tea Description:
Featuring a beautiful blend of organic flower-scented white loose-leaf teas, wild roses, organic peppermint and seasonally selected botanicals; our Rose Mojito is refreshing and fragrant. This soothing infusion is a wonderful way to relax unwind after a long day.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea is so smooth, refreshing and tasty, that I nearly finished my first pot of it before I remembered that I need to write a review about it! So, I re-steeped the leaves and I’m thrilled to say that the second infusion is even BETTER than the first!
Everything about this beautiful blend is balanced. From the flavor of the sweet silver needle tea, to the soft notes of rose and the surprisingly subtle notes of peppermint. Everything is gentle and delicate. I like that I taste each of these notes, but, there isn’t a competition going on in my teacup. It all has the soft offerings of a white tea blend and the peppermint and rose stay in check.
It’s a crisp and refreshing tea. It is a cooling beverage, even when served hot. I feel invigorated as I sip it without feeling overstimulated. This would make a welcome tea on a warm summer evening (and right now, we’re getting a lot of those!) because it has a calming influence and yet it has a soft way about it that seems to replenish the body as I sip.
A really delicious cup of tea that smells as amazing as it tastes – and it tastes pretty darned amazing!
Masala Chai Blend from The Persimmon Tree
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where To Buy: The Persimmon Tree
Tea Description:
Our Masala Chai tea combines premium organic Assam black tea leaves with warming cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and other fragrant spices. This tea is finely balanced to create the perfect aromatic blend for you to enjoy black, or as it has been traditionally enjoyed, with milk and sugar.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s Chai Latte time! Mmm! While chai teas tend to be my autumnal go-to cuppa, I enjoy a good masala spiced chai blend any time of the year, and I’m really enjoying this Masala Chai Blend from The Persimmon Tree. It’s warm and spicy and dee-lish!
While the spices are strong in this blend, I like that I am having no trouble tasting the bold flavor of the Assam black tea base with this tea. It is a rich, malty Assam and the sweetness of the Assam is a nice contrast to the zesty spices. The tea is a little on the astringent side, so I would recommend steeping this for 3 to 3 1/2 minutes. I steeped it for 4 minutes and I’m finding it to be a little astringent. Not too bad, but I think a little less time to steep would still produce a flavorful result with less astringency.
The spices are comprised of the “usual suspects” – cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and ginger. I think that they’re nicely balanced here. I taste a good amount of cinnamon and cloves, but the peppery taste of the ginger and the warmth of the cardamom also are detectable.
This is delicious served straight up, although I would recommend a little sugar or honey to accentuate the spices. I have always been one who thinks that spices need a little sweet to bring out the best flavors in the spice. (Sugar and Spice makes everything nice.) But for a real treat, add a splash of warmed milk (almond milk is really good in chai!) The spices aren’t diminished by the addition, and the creaminess of the milk seems to elevate the drink to a whole other level.
Or you can make an iced drink by brewing the chai extra strong and then blending the cooled tea in a blender with some milk, honey and ice. Yum!
Earl Grey Heaven Black Tea from The Persimmon Tree
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where To Buy: The Persimmon Tree
Tea Description:
A delicious fusion of organic black loose-leaf tea leaves, fragrant oil of bergamot and a touch of French vanilla, this divine black tea will fill your room with an aroma most heavenly! This creamy Earl Grey tea is rich and robust with refreshing citrus notes that will awaken your senses and put a spring in your step.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
I brewed this tea before reading the above description, and as I was brewing it, I could tell it was an Earl Grey creme type tea. I could smell the vanilla with the bergamot as it was brewing – and it smelled so good!
And while it’s true that I do prefer a well-crafted Earl Grey over the creamy varieties of the bergamot infused tea, I do appreciate a really good Earl Grey creme now and then too. And this Earl Grey Heaven from The Persimmon Tree is a really good Earl Grey creme!
The strong bergamot notes are softened by sweet, creamy vanilla notes. The combination of the Italian orange and the French vanilla together create an almost “caramel-y” taste that is quite delectable.
The black tea base is a little on the mellow side, but, that’s alright. It provides a smooth, flavorful backdrop for the flavors of bergamot and vanilla but it’s not so mild that it becomes lost. It holds its own, but without being overly aggressive. It’s not bitter nor is it overly astringent, there’s nothing there that really detracts from the softly tangy-sweet combination of bergamot and vanilla cream.
A really nice Earl Grey creme – this Earl Grey Heaven from The Persimmon Tree. It makes a nice afternoon tea, or perhaps an indulgent morning cuppa!
French Vanilla Bean Black Tea from The Persimmon Tree
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where To Buy: The Persimmon Tree
Tea Description:
Whether you fancy hot or cold with a spoonful of honey or rock sugar, this French Vanilla Bean creamy tea is great either way. This tea offers an impeccably smooth blend of organic black loose-leaf tea and sweet vanilla bean flavor.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! I was excited to try this French Vanilla Bean Black Tea from The Persimmon Tree. I really love vanilla teas – the sweet, creamy notes of the vanilla meld beautifully with the camellia sinensis, and I find this to be particularly true with a black tea such as this one.
The black tea base is a robust and full-flavored black tea. It has some malty notes and a rich, earthy taste. The natural, caramel-y sweetness of the black tea together with the creamy sweetness of the vanilla is really yummy. It’s a very luxurious and cozy kind of flavor.
The tea has some dry, tingly astringency. I’d classify it as a medium astringency.
There are some almond slivers and coconut shreds in the blend, and I’m not sure if these ingredients are present to offer more visual interest to the dry leaf or if they’re there to provide additional flavor to the cup, but, I really don’t taste a lot of almond or coconut in this blend. If I slurp the cup to aerate it, I find that these flavors reveal themselves slightly, but neither the almond nor the coconut are really profound flavors to this blend.
And really, with a name like French Vanilla Bean – one really shouldn’t expect anything but a really rich vanilla flavor with a strong, flavorful black tea base, and that’s exactly what this tea delivers.
I’ve brewed this tea twice now, the first time I brewed it, I think I may have either added too much leaf ~or~ I steeped it a tad too long, because I found that it was not only astringent but a wee bit bitter. The second time I brewed it, I was careful to steep it for only 2 1/2 minutes and keep the leaf at just 1 heaping teaspoon, and this second cup was much better. Some teas are a little more persnickety than others, and this is one of those teas that it’s important to pay attention to the details to get the most out of your cup. And once you taste this tea – brewed properly – you realize it’s really worth the little bit more effort.
It’s a good one!