Citrus Spice White Iced Tea

When I opened my box of samples from Nature’s Tea, I wasn’t really sure when I was going to drink this one. It smells a lot like Rishi’s Pu-erh Ginger, which I associate with cooler weather and sore throats. It’s been warm out, and I wasn’t sick, so it just didn’t seem like something I would be in the mood for. And I hate drinking tea I don’t feel like drinking: it really ruins the experience for me and I wanted to give this sample my full attention!

Well, as (un)luck would have it, there’s some kind of bug going around and the bf and I are both getting sore throats. Hooray… not. Well, I guess it’s the perfect opportunity to try this out! In the bag the smell is all ginger, but brewed you can pick out the rosemary and lemon a bit more. I added honey to both of ours, since it’s good for your throat and it seems to go really well with lemon & ginger flavor profiles.

This tea packs a punch! The ginger adds some serious spice, though it doesn’t overwhelm the cup. The rosemary is really strong as well, bringing to mind another Rishi tea—Bergamont Sage! It adds an interesting savory quality, which I always enjoy. The lemon is also there, though it takes a backseat to the rosemary/ginger combo. Of course you can taste the white tea too, not too much but enough to keep this from tasting like a straight-up tisane and more like actual tea.

It’s an interesting flavor profile—perhaps not one I’d reach for every day, but great for sore throats, lazy days and cold weather! The little sheet I got from them mentions that this is actually meant to be tried iced, so I am interested to see how that works as well. I’m guessing the lemon would be a lot stronger that way, so I plan on doing a cold brew soon to see what other flavors I can bring out of this blend.

I hot-brewed this and let it cool instead of cold-brewing it. I’m still not particularly keen on cold-brewing loose leaf because of the messiness factor. One of these days I’ll get over that. But for now, I’ll enjoy this hot-brewed!

And it is quite nice. I took a few sips of it while it was still hot, just to see what it was like, and I enjoyed it hot too, but, I do think this tea really excels as an iced tea. Hot, it tastes a bit like something you’d want to drink if you’re feeling under the weather … the spices are warming and soothing, and the citrus brightens the cup.

But as an iced tea … the flavors just come together in a totally different way. The spices taste … savory! This is not at all what I expected from this tea … when I read “spice tea” I think CHAI. But this is not a chai! The spices come together in a deliciously savory way which is so refreshing and unique for the palate that expects a sweet-spicy-hot flavor from a spiced tea.

I think I’m going to try this in my Steep & Go and see how it fairs… I’m really liking this!

This is the first iced tea I’ve made! Basically because Nature’s Tea Leaf was kind enough to send me samples and this one is supposed to be iced. I just brewed it normally and stuck in the fridge for a while. That probably wasn’t the right way to do it! But it seems like I wouldn’t get much flavor if I just steep a tea with cold water. I love the rosemary in this one! It’s very savory and reminded me of Thanksgiving or something! Otherwise, it was very bitter. I’m not sure from what… maybe the lemon? Ginger isn’t really my thing either. I know what the white peony tea should taste like, since I’ve had Teavivre’s, but I couldn’t tell this was a white peony tea upon tasting it.

I decided to also try it as a hot tea with fresh leaves, since I might not be giving it a fair review as an iced tea. I like it better hot! It isn’t bitter at all, like it was when it was cold. The rosemary tasted better (or stronger?) in the iced tea, but while sipping it hot, it was like I was drinking soup! Fun. That’s not something that usually happens when I’m drinking a tea! I’d say the rosemary is the strongest flavor here. This tea is okay, the rosemary definitely helps it, but again, I might not be brewing it right.

Naturestealeaf.com sent me this coupon to share with anyone on Steepster for 10% off an order before 10/31: STEEPTY10OFF

I cold-brewed this, probably for ~8-10 hours, instead of steeping hot and pouring over ice as it says on the pouch. Sadly I don’t have the capability to create ice!
Thanks to Nature’s Tea Leaf for the sample of this!

It’s okay. I’m not a big ginger person, so that’s a bit of a negative for me. I get some of the orange more in the orange rind flavor than anything. There’s a little bit of sweet fuzziness from the bai mudan.

It’s not really my thing, but it’s okay.

This is another tea from the tea box!

The liquid is a very pale yellow, and there’s not much in the way of smell. A slight hint of something herbal, but that’s about it. The taste is unique. It comes in waves. First, it’s the peony, then a mix of lemon and ginger, and finally the rosemary. The rosemary lingers on the tongue, so the next sip is a peony/rosemary flavor which is actually really nice. I can’t say that all of the flavors meld together, but it’s still an enjoyable tea.

I doubt that I would ever order this one, but it was definitely a fun tea to try. It’s also made me curious about white iced teas. I’d love to try more of those!

All the samples I’ve gotten lately that I haven’t chosen are things I likely would never choose of my own accord.

I don’t care for savory herbs or spices in a tea especially not one I’m going to drink cold. But this actually works for me. I think the steeping time might be a bit too long because there’s a little bit of bitterness. I went with 5 minutes and the package says 5-7. At the same time I don’t think it gives the herbal side of this tea enough time to come out.

Mostly it tastes like white peony though, with a touch of lemon and a vague herby taste. That is totally fine by me, herbs like rosemary are hard for me to handle dried let alone in tea, so I’m glad it’s not super apparent.

This probably isn’t something I would ever buy myself for the time being, but I can see it being somewhat helpful with allergies in warmer months because it’s definitely good iced. I got flowers again at Trader Joe’s yesterday and set myself off sneezing, so I had to leave them at my boyfriend’s until tomorrow and hope I’ll be fine then.

Cold-brewed overnight, 4 tsp tea (came out to 10g) for 20oz water.

Color: light yellow/olive, slightly opaque. Scent: not much, because it’s cold, but gingery! Maybe a little lemon too. Taste: Wow that’s spicy. Herb-spice, not pepper-spice. I decided to add some honey to this because I was finding the rosemary and ginger pretty overwhelming; with honey, everything is smoothed out a bit and I can taste more of the lemon. This is very tangy and refreshing; the word “tonic” comes to mind. I haven’t had rosemary in beverages often, so that’s really standing out to me.
The white tea is completely overwhelmed by the spices, at least with the way I brewed it; their website recommends steeping hot then pouring over ice. Maybe I’ll try that next time.

Overall, this is very refreshing and tastes like it’s good for you :) I’d drink it on a hot day, or if I had an upset stomach. This is going on my list of “teas to drink when sick”

Another tea from Michelle’s swap we did just before Christmas. Wow was that lovely Steepsterite generous, I still haven’t made it through her collection! Seriously, I’m never doing 2 swaps at once again, its given me too many things to try and I’m not sure I’ll ever get through it all! Yep, exaggeration of course…

Anywho, the lovely other half did my tea pickings for today, and he suggested this one. I’ve just brewed it up in my Timolino at work, and even though this is meant to be an iced tea, its quite tasty. I can detect each of the spices included (the ginger, rosemary and lemon), as well as a hint of the white base. Its a very easy to drink tea hot, and is going perfectly with our cool yet sunny day.

If you have some of this in your cupboard try it warm, its quite tasty.

From the EU TTB

Today’s work cold-brew. I used approximately 1 tbsp of leaf in just under 2 litres of water, and left it in the fridge overnight for around 9 hours. The resulting liquor is a pale gold, with a mild gingery scent.

To taste, this is just about as I expected. There’s a mild initial lemon flavour, which is quite sour in the way of lemon zest, but thankfully not too overpowering. The ginger emerges in the mid sip and adds a pleasing spicy warmth which lingers at the back of the throat. Even though I’m drinking this cold, the ginger makes this one seem very appropriate for a chilly early autumn day like today. It’s somehow warming and comforting. The white tea base is pretty perfect, adding just a touch of hay-like sweetness while letting the flavouring shine. This’ll probably be one of my last cold brews this year, so I’m pleased to be ending on a positive vibe. This is definitely one I’d consider purchasing in the future.