Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit/Herbal Tea
Where to Buy: Wise Owl Tea
Tea Description:
Our delicious Bamboo Leaf and nettle tea will leave you feeling refreshed, and conjure up images of the tropical island of Bali in the Indonesian archipelago. Long sugary beaches leading into hillsides terraced with Bamboo. The tall supple plants gently swaying in the coastal breeze. One sip and the Island of Bali is just around the corner This fabulous blend is a mild, sweet, green tea flavour.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
I haven’t had a lot of bamboo teas/tisanes during my time as a tea reviewer, and I’m finding myself a little surprised at just how much this Bali Bamboo Leaf Tisane from Wise Owl Tea tastes like green tea! It has that sweet, light, clean flavor of a pure green tea, although I’m finding this to be a wee bit sweeter. There is no bitterness here and no astringency.
The brewed liquid even LOOKS like a green tea, which had me zapping myself over to the website to check out the ingredients of this tisane again to make sure it wasn’t actually a green tea. Nope, this tisane contains only bamboo leaf and nettle. Of course, the addition of the nettle in this blend probably contributes to the “green tea” taste of it. Nettle tends to have a sweet, grassy taste – just like green tea.
This has a slight buttery tone to it, and that vegetative taste that falls somewhere in between freshly steamed veggies and sweet grass. It has a flavor that is reminding me of a Chinese Sencha, but it’s free of caffeine. It’s a pleasant cuppa and would make a great substitution for a green tea for someone who needs to refrain from consuming caffeine but still want to drink green tea. I don’t need to restrict my caffeine consumption and I’m still finding this lovely to drink. It is a tasty, refreshing beverage!
So far, I’ve been very impressed with the tisanes that I’ve tried from Wise Owl Tea. I’m hoping to try more from them in the future!
Organic Corsican Olive Leaf Tea from Wise Owl Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit/Herbal Tea
Where to Buy: Wise Owl Tea
Tea Description:
Organic Olive leaf is a natural antibiotic and antioxidant. Olive leaf can rejuvenate your energy and enhance your immune system, supports your cardio vascular system and promote general health and well-being.
Olive leaves give a wonderful golden amber colour and a mild sweetness. This blend includes the delightful hint of apple.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
I wasn’t too sure what to expect from this Organic Corsican Olive Leaf Tea from Wise Owl Tea. I can’t recall ever having tried an olive leaf tea (but that doesn’t mean that I’ve not tried it … just that I don’t remember). And when I opened the very cool tube canister (seriously, I love the canisters!) I was a little bewildered by the amount of tea that is in each silky pyramid sachet. There is less than a teaspoon of tea in each little sachet – could this be enough to make a satisfactory cup of tea?
I contemplated using more than one sachet, but, instead, I went with just one sachet so that I could give as accurate a review of what one sachet of tea is capable of. I poured eight ounces of near boiling water (I never use boiling water in herbal/fruit tisanes like this one), and steeped the cup for five minutes as per the instructions on the package.
And yes! There’s flavor to this cup! The texture is thin but silky, and I taste notes of apple and a tangy pineapple note in the background. I also taste a sweet flavor that is neither apple or pineapple, and this is what I’m thinking must be the olive leaf. It has a soft vegetal flavor that reminds me a bit of green tea – but not exactly like that.
It is as though I can taste the olive there, and I’m not sure that isn’t just my mind telling me that I’m drinking olive leaf tea and I should be tasting olive … or if that’s what I’m actually tasting.
It’s a different taste … but not an unpleasant one. On the contrary, I’m quite enjoying this olive leaf tea from Wise Owl. It’s a mellow tasting tea. I have heard that olive leaf tea can taste bitter if it’s steeped too long, so I was careful only to steep this for five minutes and I’m very pleased with the results, so I’d recommend not going over the five minutes to avoid the bitter flavor … unless you like that sort of thing.
Olive Leaf Tea is known for its health benefits, and if it tastes this good, I’m not opposed to drinking something that’s good for me. That’s why I drink tea – not for it’s health benefits – but that it tastes good. The health benefits are an added bonus. Just like with this Olive Leaf Tea! The health benefits are just a bonus to the tasty flavor.