ImmorTaliTea from Cup of Love

Black Tea, Orange Pieces, Blackberry Leaves, Safflower Petals, Lemon Balm Leaves, Strawberry Pieces, Calendula Petals, Sunflower Petals, Elderberry Pieces, Raisin Bits, Hibiscus Peals, Apple Pieces, Rosehip Bits, Passion Fruit Pieces, Kiwi Pieces, Raspberry Pieces, Rose Petals, Cornflower Petals, & Peppermint are the ingredients that went into ImmorTaliTea from Cup of Love.  Therefore a LOT of time and effort went into this flavor combination!

It has a nice balance of fruity, spicy, mint, sweet, and sour!  The black tea base is NOT over the top darker than dark or stronger than strong but it leaves enough room for the other ingredients to come out and play!  I mean take a look at the FRUIT in this tea!  Orange, Strawberry, Elderberry, Raisin, Apple, Passion Fruit, Kiwi,  and Raspberry!  YUM!

Then for the herbal side of things you will notice in both aroma and taste the Blackberry Leaves, Lemon Balm, and Peppermint!  Refreshing!

Let’s NOT forget the the floral side of things…Safflower, Calendula, Sunflower, Rose, and Cornflower.  Fine and Fragrant!

But the amazement doesn’t stop there!  There is the tart of the Hibiscus and Rosehip Bits that tickle your taste buds, too!  There is a LOT going on but each and ever ingredient plays its part here!

I prefer this one cold but it’s pretty tasty hot, too!  ImmorTaliTea from Cup is one of those teas that will certainly keep you guessing!

 


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Cup of Love
Description:

Black Tea, Orange Pieces, Blackberry Leaves, Safflower Petals, Lemon Balm Leaves, Strawberry Pieces, Calendula

Petals, Sunflower Petals, Elderberry Pieces, Raisin Bits, Hibiscus Peals, Apple Pieces, Rosehip Bits, Passion Fruit

Pieces, Kiwi Pieces, Raspberry Pieces, Rose Petals, Cornflower Petals, & Peppermint

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Tomato Lime Cocktail Herbal Tea from Teavana

TomatoLime CocktailTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Herbal Tisane

Where to Buy: Teavana

Tea Description:

Well-balanced sweet and savory blend of tomato, lime, hibiscus, carrot and celery with a hint of chili heat finish.  A modern twist on the brunch classic, this Bloody Mary inspired herbal tea is garden fresh and fabulously flavorful. Rich and sweet sun dried tomato, celery, beetroot, carrot, apple, plum and raisins get a quiet-heat and citrus kick from pieces of chili, lime, orange and cinnamon in this haute tea that is fashionably and refreshingly cool.

Ingredients:Apple pieces, tomato pieces, hibiscus blossoms, raisins, beetroot pieces, cinnamon, carrot pieces, natural and artificial flavoring, orange pieces, lime pieces, rose blossom leaves, plum pieces (plum, rice flour), celery pieces, chili pieces

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I know there area a lot of different opinions when it comes to Teavana.  My general feelings are that I think they tend to cater to the fruitier and tarty/sweet flavored tastes more than anything.  I have found most of the teas I have tried from Teavana to be TOO sweet and/or tarty for my liking but that hasn’t stopped me from trying some of their offerings at least once.  I think the reason they are over flavored and sweet or tarty is because they over use Hibiscus which is something I don’t like.  I’m not a big Hibiscus fan, overall.

Having said that…I wanted to try their Tomato Lime Cocktail Herbal Tea just because it sounded interesting.  Again, I think they used too much hibiscus.  BUT…looking around that…here’s what I thought about this tea from Teavana…it wasn’t bad.  The aroma – once infused – was a combination of tomato soup and hibiscus.  The color was a deep purple.

I don’t know if I would agree with the product description saying that this blend of flavors was well balanced due to the high tart flavor it has but I appreciate the ingredients they did use in this otherwise.  Up front you can certainly taste the apple, tomato, and hibiscus.  2nd sip I noticed the carrot, orange, lime, and celery.  It was the end sips that I noticed the plum/raisin notes.  And in the after taste the chili and cinnamon were present.

I’m thinking they used the beetroot to enhance the color and not-so-much the flavor.  And I have no idea why they added rose blossom leaves in there…maybe for the look of the dry blend to the eye, maybe.

I wasn’t happy with this when I was sipping on it SUPER HOT…only because of my dislike of Hibiscus…it was just way too tart for a hot tea (for me).  After letting it cool for about 7 minutes I enjoyed it much better.  I also think at a little warmer than ‘luke warm’ makes this cup fairly tasty!  Overall – I think this was a good flavor attempt and offering by Teavana.  I did like that hint of spicy kick at the end of the sip, too.  I liked that it didn’t get too out of hand – as well.  The company did do several things RIGHT with this combination of flavors – I just wish they would pull back on that hibiscus!

I’m fairly certain that another company could use less hibiscus and pair it with a black tea base or maybe even a green and create something really amazing!  But if you are into really unique flavors and offerings and want to try something off the wall – try this one!

 

Rooibos Vanilla Chai from The Persimmon Tree

Tea Type: Rooibos

Where To Buy: The Persimmon Tree

Product Description:

A delightful blend of masala chai spices, red rooibos and a hint of vanilla. Great with milk and/or sugar, and naturally caffeine free for an anytime treat.
Origin

Origin: South Africa (Rooibos)

Ingredients: Organic Rooibos Tea, Vanilla Flavoring, Ginger Pieces, Cinnamon Pieces, Cardamom, Clove, Orange Pieces

Characteristics:Bold, Organic, Caffeine-Free

Flavors: Spicy, Sweet

Direct Link to this tea in their shop:
http://www.persimmontreetea.com/rooibos-vanilla-chai-tea.html

Tasters Review:

The ingredients are large and bold and it infuses to a lighter brown.  I enjoy this one both hot and cold!  This has a WONDERFUL Vanilla aroma with a buttery hint followed by an array of spices.

The taste is remarkable.   It’s sweet and there is spice but I think more sweet than spice. The vanilla is wonderfully intense and creamy-sweet.  The orange comes out to play the more it cools.

This is one awesome offering from Persimmon Tree Tea Company!

Holiday Fruit & Spice Blend from Mark T. Wendell

Tea Type: Black Tea

Where To Buy: Mark T. Wendell

Product Description:

A blend of select black tea leaves with orange pieces, bits of cranberry, ginger and cinnamon. A winter season favorite that is now available year-round.

Tasters Review:

 

I know Anne already reviewed this one about 2 weeks ago but I figured since the timing is right – being the holidays and all – and because this exceeded my expectations – I thought I would write about it as well!

Holiday Fruit & Spice Blend from Mark T. Wendell is better than I thought it would be!   Sure, it smells just like you assume it would but this is a tasty flavored black tea…juicy cran and the spices are just-right!  The draw for me on this one – is that the spices seemed to have been Taylor-made just for me!  Okay…maybe not…JUST FOR ME…but the spice is done nicely and not over the top and the cranberry flavors are exceptional!