Clover

This was one of the better blends from Clover, although still not great.

There’s a bit of a top note and finishing “funk” to it that I can best describe as stinky cheese or smelly feet – it probably should put me off more than it does, but I know it’s just the natural funk of the ashwagandha/valerian so it bothers me less. Still not appetizing though, y’know!?

Aside from that, the flavour is mostly lavender – a weighty/lofty lavender with some body and unctuousness to it though, versus something soft and delicate. I actually had to double check the ingredients too, because I felt like I was getting some hints of tasty, woodier cedar – but no cedar in the blend so not sure what the cause of that was.

Overall… it’s okay, but I wouldn’t seek it out.

Tomato in tea really doesn’t weird me out at this point, and I’ve even had Tomato Turmeric tea before so this is possibly one of the most “normal” seeming Clover blends to me – weird as that sounds…

It brews an actually very gorgeous colour – very bright red and inviting! The first thing I noticed about the taste was actually the cinnamon, but this was quickly followed be a very savory (yet just slightly sweet) flavour of tomato and then a lot of earthy, hot turmeric and ginger. Like, it’s VERY spicy and in a way the lingers a significant amount after each sip. I’m not really a customer for those types of intense spicy profiles, but I will say that I think it’s dynamic and interesting and the presence of such robust spices does seem to make the savory elements much more palatable to the average customer. Personally, I wish there was more tomato.

I think this is probably one of the better, if not the best, of the flavours – I would maybe actually drink it again and I would definitely have an interest of using it in cooking!

This was easily my least favourite of the Clover blends…

Something about the heavy use of chicory, a flavour I already dislike because of the off sour edge combined with such a distinct earthy roasted profile, mixed with cacophonous flavours of dark cocoa and tart/sour hibiscus was like a flavour assault to me – made worse by a very drying mouthfeel. Underlying ginseng/licorice root sweetness don’t help either.

I definitely don’t think I’d be able to make it through a full mug of this.

I know there are things going on in this tea other than just beets, like the rosemary, but it really, really just tastes like drinking a cup of earthy beet juice – very borscht like, but blander. I mean, as far as something as earthy as can be, it’s pretty clean and smoothing tasting – but I think you have to REALLY like beets to be into this one. I also didn’t love the licorice root sweetness in the finish.

That said… I would maybe cook with this!

This tastes… Pretty much exactly like what you would expect a broccoli tea to taste like.

Does anyone else remember when Numi had their savory tea line up? I just finished tasting through all of the teas from this company (sans the mushroom one because of allergies) and they remind me heavily of the Numi teas – but not quite as well balanced. Ignoring all the wellness claims, because that’s never the hook for me as a consumer, it’s just a lot of very bitter tasting vegetables with a hit of super herbaceous basil-y tulsi. I do like tulsi a lot, but I prefer it straight or paired with something to offset the savory elements. The broccoli, kale and other greens in this blend as just too much in that vein for me…