alightningbug Send Message

Trying this one again and enjoying. I mixed it with some oolong and black tea. There is still an aroma that reminds me of bubble gum — fruity grapish bubble gum. Mixing it with the oolong and black tea brought some lovely tannins and florals to the fruit and gum flavors which pulled it out of the juice and candy realm for me. I could get used to this, but it’s still not my favorite.

I like the idea of this new tea from Teavana, but the actual tea is not my favorite. The “finest red wines” may have inspired this blend of fruit, vanilla and rooibos, and I get some notes of this kind with a few of the sips, but overall the aroma and taste reminds me more of grape bubble gum. If you get a craving for bubble gum or grape Kool-aid, then this may be the tea for you. I do get a fun blast-from-the-past while drinking it and I like grape, but I’m having a harder time with it in tea. I wonder if I could just add juice to some other tea to get a similar flavor. The color of this tea is really lovely, but to be truly wine-like, I think this blend would have benefitted from some of the more subtle, complex flavors found in wine like notes of chocolate, spices, florals and tannins. Opus Rouge Rooibos is mostly grape, so let’s just say it tastes like a very young wine. Maybe I’m being too hard on it because of the wine comparison. Hmm. I’ll see if my daughter likes it. Probably a good tea for kids. Maybe I’ll try it blended. Others may like it more than I do.

Crisp, tart, sweet taste. Hot or iced, I really like this one. Even though the ingredient list is lengthy the flavor isn’t at all muddy. Clean and refreshing, it reminds me of a hibiscus and rosehip herbal tisane I had years ago. But this one is even nicer as it’s balanced with a veritable fruit salad of berries, citrus, apples, and pineapple along with a hint of minty cool finish. Think minty garnish on a fruit salad not full-on flavor like a Mojito. While it’s a listed as a mate, I don’t really taste any mate and I’m hard pressed to find even pieces of mate in with the beautiful, large chunks of fruit. They are there, though. I think I felt a little pick-me-up from the mate, but it could have just been the tart flavor giving me that little burst of energy. I actually found a second steeping was not bad. It is different — not as tart and bright, but still pleasantly fruity. I blended it with a couple of oolongs so far and it held up nicely. Yummy!

A refreshing, fruity green tea. The orange, lime and tangerine oils are quite evident in fragrance, but the ingredient I most taste is lemongrass. That’s not a bad thing. The lemongrass is well complimented with citrus aromas, flavors, lemon myrtle and the green tea itself. The tiny golden osthmanthus flowers are visually lovely and complement the taste with a hint of light floral apricot. Yummy hot or iced. I’m looking forward to more of this one as the days get warmer!

One of my favorites! This tea is very similar to Teavana’s discontinued Iron Buddha Oolong. A greener oolong which lacks the roasted nuances of Iron Goddess of Mercy or Tae Guan Yin, but instead shines with a clean, refreshingly mossy floral depth. I most enjoy it steeped longer than the directions suggest which increases the astringency. Large deep green leaves edged with golden red and brown unfurl beautifully to fill the cup or strainer. Mixes wonderfully with light fruit tisanes and white teas and can be steeped multiple times.

This tea is a bit of a puzzlement. It takes on very different character just by changing a few variables. Use water that isn’t as hot (195 degrees) and this chai has a fruitier, lighter flavor. Use hotter water (208) with added sweetener and the taste & aroma morph into the chai liquid equivalent of Red Hot candy. There are large pieces of Indonesian Cinnamon stick (the thicker kind of cinnamon as opposed to the thinner Ceylon), so I’m not surprised by that flavor. And even if you leave out the cinnamon stick there’s a nice amount of cinnamon and spice permeating the brew with the cloves, ginger, cardamom, tulsi herb and beautiful pink peppercorns—I love their almost floral, peppery taste. But I’m stumped by the fruit flavor that I taste because there isn’t anything fruity in the ingredients. “Flavoring” is, however, listed. Coconut rasps, coconut and coconut fat are all listed as ingredients, yet there is scant little coconut flavor whatsoever. In fact the coconut rasps taste more like fruit with citrusy tropical notes. Go figure! So while I really enjoy the taste (and even the potential health benefits of tulsi), I wish I knew more about what exactly I was tasting. Strange but yummy.

I’d best describe the flavor of this tea as roasted earthiness with a hint of intriguing sweetness that tastes better than it smells (which is even more earthy). Brown rice similar to that found in Genmaicha along with soybeans and the subtle slow sweet flavor of natural licorice root (not to be confused with licorice candy) combine to create a brew reminiscent of a dish from my favorite Asian Take-out. Comfort food with sweet sauce! Added sweetener brings out additional toffee or caramel notes. I think this tisane has the potential to add depth to other teas and I’m looking forward to trying several combinations. The health benefits are compelling as dokudami is purported to have many. This is not a tea for everybody, but can be really enjoyable and deeply satisfying.

A really delicious combination of floral and fruit with neither overwhelming the other. Since actual orchids come in many fragrances—from oppressively floral to spicy or even no fragrance at all—it always irks me a bit when flavors or smells are described as “orchid.” I’ll forgive this one. I’m going to say that orchid in this case is floral without being specifically jasmine, rose or other easily recognized specific flower. It’s a lovely balance with a hint of tart sweetness from the fruit. There was a pleasant amount of astringency. Refreshing! Flavor was excellent through three infusions. I could definitely drink this on a regular basis.