Coastal Wonderland from Beach House Teas. . .

 

Keeping up with my birthday trend today, I thought it would be fun to share a review one of my Sisters wrote about a newer company to The SororiTea Sisters. . Beach House Teas.

Beach House Teas is a company based and founded on the love for sourcing locally and from those locally sourced items-creating amazing artisan small batch teas.  To learn more about their story click here or read the review below.  The love they have for the teas they create is noticeable in every delicious sip you take.    ~CuppaGeek

 

Some teas make you want to curl up under a blanket. Some teas demand that you ice them and serve them, punch-style, at a rockin’ summer pool party. Some teas totally defy all sense of place, bucking tradition left and right. This tea is totally one of them.

When I think of a winter tea, I think cozy. I think ‘best served with milk and sugar, adding to those five extra pounds of necessary winter padding’. I think of snow, and cold. I definitely don’t think of the coast.

And yet! This tea is not only the perfect winter cuppa, what with its hearty red rooibos and spicy cinnamon– but it’s just as fresh and fruity as it is warm and comforting. Boasting bright flavors like orange peel, juniper berries, cranberries, and hibiscus, this tea’s got it all. It does taste predominantly of red rooibos to me, but that stereotypical medicinal taste is well-tempered by the additions to the point that I can’t even really tell it’s there.

This tea was naturally sweet from the stevia leaf in the dry mix, and does best served just as it is. I will say that for as unique and tasty as this tea was, I almost wished for more of those interesting and uniquely blended flavors to come through. But for a tea that defies all stereotypical seasonal tropes, it’s worthy of a sip for sure. And it’ll be in equally good company with your Santa hat as it will your beach ball!


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Rooibos
Where to Buy:  Beach House Teas
Description

This limited edition holiday blend, Coastal Wonderland is 100% organic loose leaf artisan tea. It captures the sweet flavor and rich crimson color of local Long Beach Washington Peninsula cranberries and blended with red rooibos, juniper berries, and orange peels to bring you in the holiday spirit. With undertones of chickory and hibiscus and a kick of cinnamon, you’ll be surprised by the smooth and calming twist of chamomile.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Tropical Sunshine Herbal Blend from Simple Loose Leaf

Tropical-Sunshine-HerbalTisane Information:

Leaf Type:  Rooibos

Where to Buy:  Simple Loose Leaf

Tea Description:

Tropical Sunshine is an explosion of flavor amongst a rich backdrop of organic rooibos. With cardamom, red peppercorn, lemon grass, cornflowers, cinnamon chips, orange peel, cranberries, apples, papaya and grapefruit flavor, this elaborate tisane is as unforgettable on the palate as it is beautiful to behold. Outstanding both hot and iced.

Cardamom, Red Peppercorn, Lemongrass, Organic South African Rooibos, Cornflowers, Cinnamon Chips, Orange Peel, Cranberries, Apples, Papaya Flavor, Grapefruit Flavor

Learn more about this tisane here.

Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Selection Club subscription program here.

Taster’s Review:

This tisane has a lot going on!  And while it may have a lot of ingredients, they all seem to work together in a very tasty way.  It is fruity, sweet, tart, and warmly spiced, and I love the contrast in flavors.

What I’m liking best about this particular tisane is that this is more like a medley of flavors rather than a focus on one or two.  The different components of this blend work together to create a seamless, unified taste that isn’t really distinctly one flavor or another, but more of a combined effort of all the flavors into one unique taste.

Notes of subtle spice are there from the cinnamon and cardamom.  These two spices offer a mellow, gentle warmth that accentuates the nutty flavor of the rooibos and the citrus notes of grapefruit, lemongrass, and orange.

The rooibos is not a strong flavor, but there are some nutty tones.  The papaya offers some sweetness, as does the apple, while the cranberry offers a light tartness that plays well with the citrus-y flavors.

It’s a harmonious blend of spices and fruit with hints of nutty sweetness.  A really tasty cup – this is the kind of rooibos blend that I tend to appreciate most, where the rooibos doesn’t present a strong flavor profile, instead it becomes part of a combined flavor.

A really tasty herbal that’s naturally caffeine free, it tastes great hot, but I like it even better iced!

Don’t forget to check out Simple Loose Leaf’s Selection Club subscription.  I received five different teas every month!  It’s an awesome deal!  And if you want an even better deal use the coupon code SISTERSELECTION25 when you subscribe to this club and receive a 25% discount when you sign up for the Selection Club!  This discount is applicable only to the monthly Selection Club subscription and not the retail selection of teas.

Holiday Crumb Cake Tea from The Tea and Spice Exchange

Holiday Crumb CakeTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where To Buy:  The Tea and Spice Exchange

Tea Description:

Come home to the Holidays! Indulge and wrap your senses around this cozy cup of tea. Orange,raspberry, ginger, and cinnamon combined with black tea creates a flavor worth celebrating! Contains Black Tea, Orange Peels, Ginger, Cinnamon, Raspberry Leaves,Cranberries, Safflowers, Natural Cranberry and Chestnut Flavors.Learn more about this blend here.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

This is one of three teas that I received in my holiday stocking.  Granted, I had to buy these teas myself to stuff in my own stocking, but, my husband DID take me to The Tea and Spice Exchange knowing full well that I had teas on my shopping list, including this Holiday Crumb Cake flavored black tea.

What can I say?  I’m a sucker for limited edition teas!  I think this has something to do with the fact that I’d categorize myself as a “taster” … I like to try teas, but, I rarely find a tea that I’d want to drink every day.  I might like a tea … even love it, but, there are so many teas out there to try, and who knows what I might discover next!  There have been some teas that I have enjoyed enough to want to keep stocked in my cupboard … but this is a rare occurrence.

This tea is really good!  It’s a really tasty spin on the classic cranberry orange cinnamon holiday blend.  The addition of chestnut flavors gives this tea a real cake-y kind of taste:  warm, nutty, and sweet.  The cranberry is tart and offers a nice contrast to the sweeter flavors.  The cinnamon gives the tea the delicious warmth of spice, and the orange – as well as the raspberry leaves! – give this tea a burst of brightness.  It’s a really nicely rounded cup of tea.

And what I like best here is that the black tea is not overwhelmed by all that’s going on.  It is a sturdy black tea, robust, and even has a hint of smoke to it, which sort of plays to the idea of crumb cake … that browned crumb topping that tastes of caramelized sugars.  There is some astringency to this tea, I’d classify it as a moderate to medium amount of astringency – nothing overwhelming.

A very enjoyable blend – around for just a limited time!

Plum Proud Tea from White August Tea Company

Tea Type: Black Tea

Where To Buy: White August Tea Company

Product Description:

Black tea delightfully married with French plums, cranberries, and raspberries then kissed with just a touch of strawberry essence. The refreshing tea was made to be iced. A lightly fruity way to quench your thirst.

 

Tasters Review:

I’ll admit it…I’m Plum Happy!  For those of you have read many of my past reviews – you may recall my love for plum started when I was a toddler thanks to my Grandmother as did my love of Tea!  She was a remarkable woman!

This tea makes me happy and would make any Tea Company Proud!!!

Here’s why…
It’s a good flavored black tea and the Plum is the first flavor that grabs your attention…but the cranberry isn’t too far behind…nor are the Raspberries…and HECK…you can even taste the strawberry essence!   This is VERY tasty and the flavors all play nice with each other!

AND this is the perfect amount of fruit in a black tea!  It tastes true and it’s terrific!  I LOVE that no hibiscus was used in this!  It proves a great fruit flavored tea can be done without it!

This is almost wine-like…both in aroma and in taste. I sampled the first half of this cup hot and LOVED it and drank the 2nd half of the cup cold and LOVE it just as much.   The more I sip the more in love I fall!