Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Numi Organic Tea
Tea Description:
Layers of steamed spinach greens give way to the mouthwatering fullness of this savory brew. The citrus notes of Numi’s Dry Desert Lime tickle the roof of your mouth as coriander teases your taste buds. Dill, chive and decaf green tea are the perfect finish to this wellrounded, yet complex, blend.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
I received a sample of this Spinach Chive Savory Tea from Numi Organic Tea in my September Goodies Box, and I was very excited to try it because I have been wanting to try these savory teas from Numi ever since I learned about them.
When I tore into the package, I could smell the onion-y chive right away! The aroma of the other ingredients are milder, but I could smell the vegetative notes of both the green tea and the spinach, as well as well as a hint of citrus. The brewed tea smells very much like the dry tea, although the liquid has a softer fragrance than the dry leaf.
This is an unusual but tasty tea. It’s a bit thinner than I would like it to be, I think it would be better if the green tea were not decaffeinated. I think that the tea would be more satisfyingly “round” if it had not undergone the decaffeination process.
As it is, though, I like that I taste the chive, the spinach, the coriander and the lime. I don’t taste a lot of green tea here, but then I think that the vegetative notes of the chive and the spinach probably meld with the green tea to produce a more united vegetal taste. The chive stands out more distinctly than the green tea and the spinach, but even so, the hint of onion-like flavor is very mellow.
Overall, it’s a very mild and tasty beverage … I like this savory experience. It’s definitely different!
Jasmine Green Decaffeinated Tea from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Decaf)
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
New formulation for our Jasmine Decaf Green Tea! The jasmine notes are perfumy and full floral. You cannot believe you are drinking decaf!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh yeah, I was definitely skeptical when it came to this Jasmine Green Decaffeinated Tea from Culinary Teas. I am immediately leery of a decaffeinated tea as it is, because I’ve had a bad experience or two with some really bad decaffeinated tea. Not recently … it was quite some time ago, before I even started writing tea reviews, but, those experiences stuck with me and now every time I encounter a decaffeinated tea, I’m skeptical … and that’s putting it mildly.
And then to think that this is a Jasmine decaffeinated tea … I worried that I’d end up tasting that horrible chemical-y decaf taste plus perfume-y, soapy jasmine oil or something …that’s the horror that was dancing in my head like some mad krumper. But, this is not at all chemical-y from the decaf … nor is it perfume-ish or soapy from the jasmine … this is really nice.
The green tea flavor is delicate and vegetative. I like that I taste the green tea – it doesn’t taste washed out from the CO2 process (decaffeinating process), it still possesses a very nice green tea flavor, and it has a good, fresh taste to it. The dry leaf almost looked like a Japanese Sencha to me, and in reading the information provided by Culinary Teas, it would seem that this is the case. I found this very interesting, since jasmine teas are typically a Chinese tea.
A really nice decaffeinated jasmine green! Really nice, indeed!
Mango Green Tea (Decaffeinated) from Spice & Tea Exchange
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Decaffeinated)
Where to Buy: Spice & Tea Exchange
Tea Description:
Chinese green tea leaves are combined with flowers & natural mango for a nice fruity flavor. This is a naturally decaffeinated green tea that is great hot or iced. Contains: organic green tea, safflower & marigold petals, natural mango and citrus pieces & flavoring.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
From the moment that I took a sip, there was something a little different about this. I could tell it was decaffeinated, although I did not put my finger on that right away. It wasn’t until I read the above description that I said “ah… that’s it, it’s decaffeinated.”
That’s not to say that it tastes bad. It doesn’t even have the chemical-y taste that some decaffeinated teas have, nor is it terribly thin the way some decaffeinated teas can be. It is slightly thinner than a typical Chinese green, but, it is not an obvious thinness.
But I do notice a slight metallic twinge toward the end of the sip, a twinge that lingers into the aftertaste. It isn’t a disturbing twinge, but it’s there, and it tells me that this is, indeed, a decaffeinated green.
It is still a tasty tea, though. The green tea is sweet and vegetative, and the mango has a sweet, tropical flavor that evokes thoughts of warm summer breezes which is kind of a nice thought as it is very cold outside! I like the level of flavor here, it isn’t strong or artificial tasting, it tastes like real mango. I can also taste a very subtle note of citrus, which brightens the cup, but I think it also accentuates the metallic tone.
A tasty decaffeinated tea, nice for when you’ve had more than enough caffeine for one day but you’re not ready to switch to a caffeine free tisane, a decaffeinated tea like this one makes a nice alternative.
Jasmine Green Decaf Tea from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Decaffeinated)
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
New formulation for our Jasmine Decaf Green Tea! The jasmine notes are perfumy and full floral. You cannot believe you are drinking decaf!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I constantly find myself surprised when I taste a decaffeinated tea and really enjoy it the way I am with this Jasmine Green Decaf Tea. You see, I had way too many decaffeinated teas (years ago!) that ended up tasting icky and chemical-ish which were not only unpleasant to drink but would also impart a rather disagreeable aftertaste that seemed to linger way too long.
But, I’m not experiencing those unwelcome flavors with this tea! This tastes sweet, luscious, and quite lovely! I do adore jasmine tea, and this tea offers me a fantastic way to enjoy it later in the evening when I’d rather not have so much caffeine in my system.
The green tea tastes delicious, slightly creamy and very smooth. It is difficult to discern that this is actually a decaffeinated tea, and had I not made the pot of tea myself, I wouldn’t have guessed it. It does taste only slightly “thinner” than a caffeinated Sencha would taste … but the differences between this and a caffeinated green tea are so minute that I really have to focus to notice them.
And the jasmine tastes very nice. It is not overdone so there’s none of that soapy taste to this. Just gently sweet, beautiful jasmine.
A really brilliant decaffeinated green tea, this Jasmine Green Decaf.
PRODUCT REVIEW: Chai Cola from Natural Brew
Product Information:
Product: Chai Cola – a bottled, micro-brewed soft drink from Natural Brew.
Where to Buy: New Seasons Market or where Natural Brew products are sold.
Product Description:
Chai is the Hindi word for “tea,” a centuries-old beverage often mixed with a complex blend of spices. By using only the finest natural ingredients, Natural Brew® Chai Cola offers a spicy, aromatic pleasure accompanied by a unique and refreshing taste.
Learn more about Chai Cola here.
Taster’s Review:
As some of you may be aware, I’m not only a tea fanatic, but somewhat of a foodie too. I write about my foodie adventures on another blog, and I even subscribe to the Foodzie monthly tasting box. Every month, we choose from three different boxes with different themes. In February, I selected the Valentine’s Box which was loaded with chocolate goodies (did I mention that I’m also a chocoholic?), but there was one product in another box that really piqued my interest: Chai Cola. Since that time, I’ve been on a mission to find some Chai Cola so that I could try it.
I don’t know if the Chai Cola that was in the February “Movie Night” box was from Natural Brew, but, when I found a four-pack of this cola in New Seasons yesterday, I had to have some! And while I don’t drink cola or soda on a regular basis (you may have noticed that I drink a lot of tea instead), I really like what I’m tasting here!
This has a totally different taste from most commercial sodas on the market today. It actually tastes as though it was made with care, rather than mass produced, a result, perhaps, of the micro-brew process. As a result, I find that this is a beverage with more flavor, and less of a syrupy sweet concoction that inundates the palate with sweetness rather than anything of substance.
It is sweet, of course (sweetened with cane juice), but after the first couple of sips, I find that the spices of the chai really start to come alive, and help offset the sweetness of the beverage. I taste hints of ginger, a little cinnamon and even some clove in there! It doesn’t taste overly spicy, but it has a gentle spiced tone that contrasts pleasantly with the sweetness of the cola.
And then there is the tea! I was actually surprised to read in the ingredients list that it is a decaffeinated tea that they use, I suppose that the “cola” part of this already has caffeine in it and the caffeine of the tea might have been too much? I don’t know what their thinking was when selecting the tea. But that being said, it doesn’t taste like a decaffeinated beverage, nor do I get a chemical-y taste from the decaffeinated tea … but I do taste tea. Of all the flavors that I do taste here, the tea is perhaps the mildest of them, but I can definitely taste it.
Overall, I find this to be a very delicious cola … I still prefer tea, but, for a soda … this is definitely my cup of tea!