Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Yerba Maté
Where to Buy: Kally Tea
Tisane Description:
Organic unflavored Yerba Mate’. Our other Mate’ offerings are of a flavored variety. We felt that unflavored would be an excellent addition to our line.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s been a while since I’ve had a pure, unflavored green Yerba Maté, so this Organic variety from Kally Tea is a welcome and inspired change from what I’ve been drinking. Not that I haven’t been enjoying what I’ve been drinking, but, sometimes it’s nice to change things up a bit.
I really don’t drink Yerba Maté all that often, maybe once every couple of weeks at the most, but that’s not because I don’t like it – I enjoy it. I suppose that the truth is that there are a lot of amazing teas and tisanes out there for me to try and … just not enough time (or bladder endurance) to drink them all!
This is a really nice green Yerba Maté. It tastes fresh and I can feel it begin to invigorate me as I sip it … I was a little sleepy before I prepared this cup of tea, and now, I can feel my eyes opening and my body feeling energized and ready to go! Yerba Maté always has this affect on me. It’s got that eye-opening ability that coffee has, but without the nauseating feeling that I get a few hours after I drink a cup of coffee. I get the best of both worlds with Yerba Maté.
And this organic green Yerba Maté from Kally Tea has a really nice flavor too. Sweet, vegetative, and earthy … but, unlike some Yerba Maté that I’ve tried, it doesn’t taste too earthy or vegetal. It has a smooth, delicious flavor. I don’t know if the difference here is that this is an organic offering or what the difference is, but I like what I’m tasting with this one.
Another awesome offering from Kally Tea’s new organic teas!
Organic Ceylon FBOP Black Tea from Kally Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Kally Tea
Tea Description:
This offering of Organic black tea is from the country of Sri Lanka.
Previously known as “Ceylon” until 1972 when the country’s name was changed officially to Sri Lanka. So in the tea industry most tea from this island country is warmly regarded as a “Ceylon” tea.This excellent organic broken leaf black tea is of the grade FBOP.
The definition of this particular grade (FBOP) stands for “Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe” In the tea industry when this grade is placed on a tea it describes that the tea consists of large leaves, generally picked in the second or third flush, (flowery) and the leaves are courser and broken with some tips.The tea brews a light colored liquor. This is a delightful and refreshing organic black tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but when I am given a pure black Ceylon to sample and consider for a review, I’m not always as enthusiastic as I might be with other teas. I attribute this “automatic response” to the fact that I used to blend and flavor my own unique tea blends, and Ceylon was often the tea that I used to flavor tea because it has such an even tone and a mellow demeanor. It is a smooth, delicious tea, but, it’s so “predictable” … making it a good choice to use when flavoring tea because you can count on the results of your flavoring and/or blending efforts. However, this tends to give Ceylon teas a somewhat “boring” reputation.
But, I am not finding this Organic Ceylon FBOP Black Tea from Kally Tea to be boring at all! It has a rich and a surprisingly robust flavor, quite contrary to what I expected to taste when I poured this tea into my teacup. It has a brisk, uplifting flavor and a somewhat earthy aroma (not in an off-putting way, though, more like a warm, comforting fragrance.) It’s a medium-bodied tea that starts out sweet with a somewhat woody flavor, and it gradually transcends into other layers of flavor. I taste hints of flower and there is a citrus-y tone toward the finish. There is some astringency to this, but I wouldn’t say that it is overly so.
The dry leaf is a finer chop than I expected from an FBOP … so, you want to use a little less leaf when you measure it into your brewing device. Also, because of the finer leaf, you’ll want a smaller mesh for straining. But these small details are worth it, because you’ll be rewarded with a tasty cup of tea that tastes great with milk and honey, if you like them in your tea. It’s also good straight up.
Organic Earl Grey Black Tea from Kally Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Kally Tea
Tea Description:
We’ve created this special blend of organic black teas, and bergamot. This blend differs from our other Earl Grey #1 offering. A much mellower blend of ingredients but with the same characteristic Earl Grey flavoring we all love.
Wonderful hot or iced!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
From the moment I opened the pouch of this Organic Earl Grey Black Tea from Kally Tea … there was no mistaking that this was an Earl Grey tea! The bergamot aroma is strong with this one. I also noticed the bergamot is *different* with this Earl Grey selection as well, offering more of a floral bergamot than I’ve noticed in other recent Earl Grey tea experiences.
The brewed tea has a slightly softer fragrance than the dry leaf, but it is still very definitely bergamot: bold, citrus-y with notes of flower.
This is a very flavorful Earl Grey! The black tea is robust and rich, with a nicely round, smooth flavor. A deliciously full-flavored black tea base! The bergamot is a tart, citrus-y taste with a distinct flowery note. This is a more floral bergamot. Perhaps I am noticing more of the floral tones in this bergamot because it’s an organic flavoring? Or perhaps it’s a combination of the organic flavoring plus the organic tea and how these two ingredients play with one another.
It’s a sharp note, but – thankfully! – not quite what I’d call perfume-y or soap-like. There’s nothing wrong with a sharp bergamot tone … in fact, some of the best Earl Grey teas that I’ve tasted have a sharpness to them. And this has distinct floral tones but it maintains an enjoyable taste. For the record, soap-like and/or perfume-y tastes are not enjoyable. On the contrary, it’s what I’d call off-putting. This tea, on the other hand, is not at all off-putting. In fact, it’s really quite wonderful … just the right amount of sharp floral tones and snappy sweet-tart citrus-y notes to offer an appealing contrast for the palate.
I’ve been really pleased with Kally Tea’s organic line! These are some very flavorful teas … certainly worth exploring.
Organic Monk’s Blend from Kally Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Kally Tea
Tea Description:
A calming, yet invigorating blend of organic Darjeeling, Keemun, Nilgiri, and Assam teas. Inspired by Tibetan Monk’s devotion on Buddhist meditation and mental and physical calm state. A wonderful tea any time of the day. The brewed cup is a wonderful deep crimson red.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Recently, Kally Tea introduced a new line of organic teas to their already impressive collection. I was very excited to try some of these new teas from them! This Organic Monk’s Blend is the first that I’m going to sample.
And this is really good! It’s quite different than I expected from a tea called Monk’s Blend. Most of the Monk’s Blend teas that I’ve tasted have been a flavored black tea blend – specifically, most of the Monk’s Blends I’ve encountered have been flavored with grenadine and vanilla notes to give it a very sweet and creamy kind of taste. That’s not what this is at all!
Instead, this is a blend of four black teas: Nilgiri, Darjeeling, Keemun and Assam. This combination creates a really nicely balanced cup that is a little bit of everything. What I mean by that is that there is no one characteristic that describes this tea entirely. It has little bits of different qualities: earthy, sweet, woodsy, floral, smoky, fruity and malty. It isn’t bitter (although I’d be careful to avoid oversteeping this) and what little astringency there is to this is even smoother than in a typical black tea blend.
From the very first sip, I noticed how well-rounded it tastes. It is a full-flavored tea, and it has a very satisfying flavor. It is robust yet smooth, so it would make a good afternoon tea – it is soft enough around the edges – this isn’t what I’d call an edgy or aggressive tea. However, it is good and strong and invigorating … so it will give you that jump you need for those mornings when you’d rather stay tucked in bed, but you’ve gotta get going.
I am very pleased with this unique take on a Monk’s Blend … and I love that it’s ORGANIC!
Caramel Cocoa Loco Tea Blend from Kally Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea & Rooibos
Where to Buy: Kally Tea
Tea Description:
We’re loco for Caramel Cocoa Loco! Guess we couldn’t decide what direction to go to with this one! Japanese green tea, Chinese green tea, Organic Rooibos, all mixed with a little roasted cocoa beans, hand crafted chewy caramel, and to top it all off, a little toasted sweet brown rice. Woo-Hoo!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I first read about this tea, I thought that this would be a tea that I’d prefer served hot … because usually I find that chocolate-y teas are tastier hot than chilled. However, I drank about a half a cup of this hot, and then it cooled off, and I’m finding that I like this one better when it’s cool! This Caramel Cocoa Loco Tea Blend from Kally Teas makes a really tasty and unique iced tea!
When the tea was hot, I didn’t get quite as much chocolate-y flavor as I would have liked (I rarely get as much chocolate flavor as I would like to … but that’s another issue all together!) but as the tea cooled, the chocolate-y tones really POP. As a cold drink, I can taste the chocolate very distinctly, and the caramel notes come through quite nicely as well.
I don’t taste a whole lot of green tea here, though. Oh, the green tea is there, certainly, and I do taste it. But I taste more of the nutty rooibos than I do the sweet, vegetative notes of green tea. The nutty tones of the rooibos seem a natural fit with the caramel and cocoa notes.
I also taste the “genmai” from the genmaicha, and I like the way the roasty-toasty taste enhances the chocolate and caramel notes, and it may be the toasted rice that highlights the natural nutty notes of the rooibos. Ordinarily, I’d be wanting less rooibos taste … but here it’s working for me. These components work very well together to create a very luscious taste.
Overall, a very enjoyable tea … but this is one that I prefer iced versus hot. A tasty, sweet refresher!