Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush & Rooibos
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tisane Description:
Apple Crumble with a hazelnut topping anyone? That’s definitely what this tea smells like. Green honeybush is the main ingredient and brings strong aromatics and a sweet apricot flavour to this blend. Combined with the dried apple this tea offers a lingering sweetness. And yes… there’s raisins in your tea.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
Not too long ago, Steepster decided to put it’s “Steepster Select” program on hiatus. For those of you who do not remember, the Steepster Select program was a monthly subscription, and once a month, subscribers would receive a box of three different teas, all three teas pertaining to a particular theme, like “Around the Clock” or “Migration”. I loved this program because not only was it about TEA but it also enabled me to try some new teas from companies I might not have tried before. Plus, it was a lot of fun to see what theme would be explored and which teas were selected for that theme. Sure, I tried several of the teas that they had sent over the course of the program (I think it lasted for about a year!) but, for the most part, I was able to try quite a few teas that I might not have otherwise tried … or even heard of!
Well, Steepster ended it’s program in August of this year, and I was sad. I wanted another program like this one! Recently, I heard about Amoda Tea, a brand new company that focuses on monthly subscriptions – very similar to what we were getting from Steepster Select! The prices are comparable too!
The one difference: Amoda is in Canada, so I was unable to get the first box as it was limited to Canadian subscribers only. But, for the second box – November’s Box! – subscriptions opened up to the United States. Yay!
The theme of the first box is “The Last Days of Autumn” and this Honeybush Haze is the first tea that I’m sampling from the box. This tisane is blend that was created by a Tea Sommelier and chosen for Amoda Tea based upon the personalities at Amoda Tea! That is exciting in itself, because it’s a chance to try a new tea from a new company.
And this is really, REALLY good. First of all, it smells amazing. It smells like freshly baked apple crumble – piping hot, right out of the oven. And that’s what it tastes like too!
The tisane base is green Honeybush blended with green rooibos. This brings a fruitier flavor with only hints of nutty tones to the cup, which allows for the hazelnut flavor to really shine through and not be masked by the nutty tones of the herbs. The fruitier tones of the herbs also enhances the apple-y flavor really nicely. The raisin notes are off in the background, but, it does add a nice sweetness to the cup.
Overall, this is very much like a fresh apple crumble in a teacup! All that’s missing is a scoop of vanilla ice cream! I’d say that this monthly subscription program from Amoda is off to a GREAT start!
Vanilla Haze from Tea, Oh!
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea, Oh!
Product Description:
Get lost in this sweet, nutty hazelnut vanilla tea.
Taster’s Review:
This is nice!
The black tea base is brisk and strong. Its assertive flavor does not get lost amid the flavors of vanilla and hazelnut – this is definitely TEA!
The vanilla flavor is creamy and smooth and helps to curb some of the sharper edges to the black tea. The hazelnut tastes nutty and slightly sweet and is really delicious with the vanilla. There is also a background note that is slightly earthy to this cup.
This is a tea that you want to keep an eye on while brewing as it can become bitter if over steeped. I steeped it for 2 minutes 45 seconds and I can taste hints of bitterness; fortunately it is not off-putting. However, I think that a longer steep time would have resulted in a rather bitter cup.
Vanilla Haze from Tea, Oh! is so lovely and complex! A very contemplative cup – one that you want to brew on one of those “take it easy” kind of afternoons so that you can just sit and enjoy all the pleasures this tea has to offer. Particularly nice with a drizzle of honey and a splash of milk to bring out the creamier aspects of this cup. YUM!
