Vampire’s Kiss Tea from Herbal Alchemy Teahouse

herbal alchemy logoTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Herbal Alchemy Teahouse

Tea Description:

This black tea has everything in which to woo an unsuspecting pallet – roses, chocolate, damiana and rich spices, but like every vampire’s kiss this tea is blood red and has a tiny bite…of cayenne red pepper.

Learn more about this tea here.

Learn more about the MidWest Tea Fest here.

Taster’s Review:

This Vampire’s Kiss Tea from Herbal Alchemy Teahouse is the third of the teas that were sent to me by the organizers of the MidWest Tea Fest:  Herbal Alchemy Teahouse is one of the featured vendors at the festival!   After a quick glance at the list of scheduled vendors at the festival, it makes me wish that I was able to attend!  It looks like it’s going to be an awesome tea fest!!!

This blend is a combination of black tea, rose, chocolate and spices.  The tea brews up to be a dark, burgundy red – like a blood red color which makes me wonder if there’s hibiscus in this?  I didn’t see a full ingredient list, so I’m not sure, but if I were to wager a guess, I’d say that there’s either hibiscus or something ‘beet’ in this blend because of the color.

It doesn’t taste strongly of hibiscus, but I do get a slightly thick texture that I would normally experience from hibiscus.  That could also be from beet.  And because of the spicy notes, I’m not detecting anything that’s obviously tart from hibiscus or obviously sweet from the beet, so I’m not really sure what’s supplying the strong color, but I’m suspecting hibiscus because the flavor tastes more like hibiscus to me than it does beet.

So what do I taste?  I taste chocolate.  But it doesn’t taste like a creamy, rich kind of chocolate flavor, it tastes more like cocoa powder that’s been added to a spiced herbal tisane.  Or like cacao nibs/shells that have been added to a spiced herbal tisane.

I taste the spice!  The spices build gradually, staring out rather delicate, but after a few sips, I’m getting a warm burning sensation toward the back of my palate.

I also taste an odd, herb-y sort of flavor that I can’t really describe except to say it tastes sort of medicinal, but not in an unpleasant way.  It tastes like an herbal tea and as I continue to sip, I’m tasting more hibiscus-like flavors too.

But, I’m not complaining because the cocoa and the spice play with these hibiscus-like notes in such a way that it tastes more ‘berry like’ than it does the tart, syrupy flavor that I usually dislike from hibiscus.  It’s odd, it’s different, but somehow, it works!

midwestteafestMy biggest complaint about this tea?  I don’t taste much black tea flavor.  I’m getting a strong presence of the other flavors here, but the black tea seems almost non-existent.  I like that the chocolate is strong, I like that I taste notes of rose and even that hint of spicy cayenne pepper that builds on the palate.  I like that warmth from the spices.  I’m just wishing I had more black tea flavor here.

This seems a lot more like an herbal tisane to me than a black tea.  It’s good, though.  If you’re one who enjoys spicy drinks, this is something worth exploring!

And don’t forget about the Midwest Tea Fest!  If you’re going to be in the Kansas City, Missouri area on June 6th – you should definitely visit!  And if you can make the trip, GO!  It’s a great opportunity for tea lovers to get more information about the beverage they adore and an excellent way for those who are new to tea to learn more!

Xingyang Silk Road Spice from Verdant Tea

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Pu-erh

Where to Buy:  Verdant Tea

Tea Description:

Xingyang Workshop produces some of the cleanest and most sparkling  shu pu’er we have tried.  The 2008 shu nuggets are just calling to be made into a juicy and cooling blend.  The spearmint and peppermint provide a crisp edge and refreshing flavor that brings out the sparkling texture of the tea.  The cinnamon and fennel extend the sweetness and bring it out into the long aftertaste.

Learn more about this blend here.

Taster’s Review:

At this point, I’ve tried quite a few different teas from Verdant Tea.  They’ve become one of my favorite sources for high-quality, pure teas because, put simply, they have some of the very best pure (unflavored, unblended) teas that I’ve tried.

But I’ve not tried very many of their blends, so I was excited with this opportunity to try one of the blends that has received rave reviews on Steepster.

The picture above suggests to me that this tea is a stunner iced, so I’ve been allowing this first infusion to cool to “cold” temperature before tasting.  It doesn’t take long at all since I’ve poured this into a very small teacup… and now that it has cooled, I must say that this is really very good!

The initial flavors are minty, with a back note of fennel.  The cinnamon together with the fennel create a sort of spicy licorice-y taste … it’s a sweet and exotic kind of flavor that is very enjoyable, especially as it melds with the crisp, cool minty flavors of spearmint and peppermint.

At first, it was difficult to discern the Puerh, but, as I focus, I could taste it in the background.  And as I near the end of my teacup (time for another infusion!) the earthy flavors of the Puerh are emerging.  I expect that the next infusion will be earthier than this first infusion.

Yes!  This infusion brewed to a darker color, looking much more like a cup of Pu-erh (and tasting more like it too!)  It is this infusion where I find these flavors starting to swirl together in a very harmonious fashion.  It no longer is an “initially minty, with back notes of fennel and cinnamon and pu-erh in the background” kind of cup.  This is minty, yes, and fennel-y, and cinnamon-y too.  But these flavors are much more in step with one another.  It’s become a remarkably smooth tea with notes of mint and fennel and cinnamon.  It’s like it’s become very unified – one tea with many flavors, the whole has become better than the individual parts with this unification.

That is to say that while these flavors are distinctive, they seem to be playing as a part of the whole cup here.  Truly an Alchemy blend – where all these flavors that might otherwise be ordinary have come together to create a truly extraordinary taste.

This tea keeps getting more delicious with each infusion, too.  Just when I think it can’t get better, I infuse it again, and it does get better!  Smoother, richer, more harmonious.  It was with the third and fourth infusion that I began to notice a background note of cocoa!   The aftertaste is cool and crisp and minty, and together with the tones of cocoa, it’s almost like an exotic chocolate mint.

I love how my palate is begging me for more of this tea … it’s that good!