Shae Send Message

I made a big pitcher of this cold brewed a couple of weeks ago but never got around to posting a proper review. I will say that it was very refreshing and had citrus and floral notes that were quite nice. It didn’t taste like Mountain Dew but I’m okay with that. I’m having a cup hot now and there is a spiciness here that I didn’t notice in the cold brew. This is one I like much better cold, though it’s not bad hot either. Thanks, Nichole, for sharing!

I woke up this morning to the most beautiful day. The sun is out and the temp is in the 70s. It’s perfect. It will be hotter this afternoon (high 90s, I think), but at least for the morning I can pretend we are in the middle of fall.

This is another tea gift from Nichole! This is very minty but also very bitter. I seem to be having this bad luck with mint teas often. I’m afraid this one wasn’t for me. I’m glad to have tried it though!

This is probably one I should be trying iced first, but I usually do hot tea at work so that’s what I’m having. I definitely want to try this iced at some point though. The dry blend is mostly hibiscus from what I can tell, but there are also pieces of dried fruit and citrus peel. It smells very bright and sweet. I am picking up on the citrus more in the dry blend. The steeped liquid smells mostly of hibiscus. It is a deep berry red and has a definite tang to it.

I woke up with a headache this morning so I thought a good cup of mint tea might hit the spot and make me feel a little better. I’ve had this tea once before but I left it to steep far too long so it was incredibly bitter. Today’s cup is just a little bitter still, but it’s good. Certainly nothing remarkable or special.

The dominant aroma in the dry blend is the peach, but the ginger really comes through after steeping. This one is not bad, but I don’t like it nearly as much as my favorite peach black tea – Valley of the Heart’s Delight by Satori Teas – which has stone fruits and flowers.

Second Steep
8 ounces water + 200 degrees + 15 minutes

This second cup doesn’t appear to be steeping very well. It looks and smells watery and there are little particles floating around in the liquid. I can faintly smell the peach and the ginger. It’s relatively dark in color but still not as dark as the first infusion. The torn tea leaves have opened fully and the flower petals are now pale and translucent. The taste isn’t bad. It’s mostly ginger. Probably not worth a second steep.

I’ve had a yerba mate blend once before and I remember that I didn’t like it very much, but I’m actually pleasantly surprised by this one. The fragrance of the dry tea is an herbaceous mint. There are whole flower buds mixed in with the chopped mint leaves and woody rooibos. The liquid looks like that of a straight mint tea, maybe a little lighter, and the taste is mint as well. I can definitely feel the caffeine, even after just a couple of sips.

Second Steep
8 ounces water + 175 degrees + 5 minutes, 30 seconds

I’ve read online that mate can be re-steeped several times, but I’m not sure how well the rooibos and mint will hold up. There is still flavor here though the mint is lighter.

My husband tried this one and said that instead of triple berry green tea it tastes more like “1/2 Berry Green Tea”. I’m guessing that means the berry flavor isn’t very prominent. :)

We bought this in a little kitchen shop at an outlet mall near our house. They had some teas from The Republic of Tea but we grabbed this one since it’s a brand we’ve never tried. I guess maybe it wasn’t too popular because I can’t find any tea on the company’s website. They have coffee listed but it is being discontinued so I’m guessing that’s what happened with all their tea. It’s still well within its Best Before date though so it can’t be too old. At least, I hope it’s not.

The dry tea smells like blueberries and dried fruit, maybe figs. It’s definitely sweet and fruity. The liquid is a pale golden color. It still smells somewhat fruity, but I think my husband may be right – I can barely taste any fruit at all.

My husband really loves these Yogi teas, but so far I haven’t been much of a fan. We have several different varieties and since I made a silent promise to myself to try each of our teas at least once, I am finally breaking down and making myself a cup of this one. To make it sound a little more pleasant, I’m going to refer to this one as a detox tea, which I guess is essentially what it is. No worries – I don’t plan on going into detail here about its “detoxing” qualities, but I do want to comment on the flavor should anyone else want to try it at some point.

The color of the steeped tea is deep red with a green ring around the edge much like some of the Echinacea teas I’ve tried recently. I’m not sure what causes this, but it seems to happen often with the natural blends we have. This has many ingredients, possibly the tea in our cupboard with the most, but it smells mostly of mint. I hope that the licorice (which I know is in this mix because it’s in every Yogi tea) isn’t as offensive as usual. It’s just too much for me most times.

Thankfully, the taste is mostly mint as well. There’s a bit of spiciness on the end of the sip that could come from any of the several spices in this blend. There is also a slight bitter quality that mixes with the spice, as well as something herbaceous. Honestly, this is the best tasting Yogi tea I’ve come across. If it didn’t have the senna leaf, I could see myself drinking this often at night for a nice, minty bedtime tea.

I was so excited to open my Amoda box this month to see matcha! I’ve been wanting to try it for a while so it’s the first one I tore into. I have to say, it smells much more savory than I expected. It’s almost like seaweed or something you might find on a sushi platter. I pushed ahead though and made the matcha latte posted on Amoda’s website: milk, ice, vanilla, sifted matcha powder, and sugar syrup to sweeten. I accidentally put too much ice in my mason jar so when I shook to mix everything together the matcha mostly just stayed on top or floated around in small clumps. I ended up putting it in the fridge for a couple of hours to let the ice melt just a bit then I shook it again, strained out the ice, and stuck it back in the fridge for breakfast the next morning.

And here we are. I did have a couple of sips yesterday and it was very creamy but still quite savory so I’m not sure yet what I think. With the vanilla, it almost reminds me of the smell of tapioca pudding. It’s pretty close actually. The ice watered it down some before I strained which I think I appreciate. It still tastes a little powdery even after shaking, but the website did say that it would only suspend itself in the liquid so I’m guessing it never fully dissolves. I think this is something I could learn to enjoy but I’m not quite there yet.

This smells like real-deal, full-on cardamom. Wow, is it potent. I love cardamom and have actually been having some in my iced coffee these last couple of days so I was excited to find this one recently at the grocery store. I’ve been a fan of Numi’s teas for a while so I’m sure I will enjoy it.

The cardamom has really mellowed out after the steep. It’s just a touch bitter, but with added honey and cream this is an incredibly comforting cup. It’s very dark and rich. Just so good. Normally, I would try a second steep, but I wasn’t thinking and tossed the teabag. It might not have worked anyway, but I probably still would have tried it.