Green Mint from Chi Whole Leaf

Green MintTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green

Where to Buy:  Chi Whole Leaf

Tea Description:

A cleansing blend of Chinese Green Tea, Mint Leaves, Indian Eucalyptus and Milk Thistle Seed from Bulgaria.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Thanks again to Will at Chi Whole Leaf for the samples!

I’ve decided I’m going to review 3/5 here on the blog, though all five will be reviewed on my Steepster account. If you’re interested in learning about the 2/5 I’m not reviewing on this blog here they are: Ginger Chai & Chamomile. I had a few biases going into those tastings, which is why I’m leaving them out on this blog.

This was one of the samples I was pretty stoked about; I really like eucalyptus (if I could be reborn as an animal it’d probably be either a Sloth or a Koala) and the pairing of eucalyptus, mint, and green tea makes me think of a day of being pampered at a Spa or hot spring; cool, refreshing and very stress relieving.

Normally I think this is a blend I’d have opted to try cold, but since I’ve made the other three blends I’ve tried hot I did the same with this one just to have some consistency. I thought dry this smelled pretty minty, but as I was tasting it the green tea base was actually the strongest flavour with both the eucalyptus and the mint providing a refreshing, cooling aftertaste. It was very pleasant and did have a calming “Spa” sort of affect. However I personally didn’t feel totally satisfied with the flavour either; I liked the level of grassy, vegetal green tea notes but I really craved a stronger more “menthol” feeling mint notes, and a touch more eucalpytus. I think both were a little light handed for what they could have been.

That said; I enjoyed the blend and I did feel like my hope of a refreshing hot spring-esque tea was met. And again, I can’t stress enough how much I really like the convenience of these powdered teas; it’s a huge part of why I’m so drawn to matcha as well. But unlike the flavoured matchas I enjoy, these ones a more nuanced and layered instead of fairly monotone flavours!

If nothing else, I’m a big fan of the concept.

Thé Vert à la Menthe Nanah (Spearmint Green Tea) by Kusmi

SpearmintKusmiTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green

Where to Buy:  Kusmi

Tea Description:

Nana mint is the mint used for teas in the Middle East and North Africa. Its refreshing taste makes Spearmint green tea perfect for after a meal.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

The first thing I noticed about this one is how wonderful it smells – fresh, strong, sweet spearmint, right from the get go! I prefer spearmint to peppermint in general, but spearmint teas seem relatively scarce in comparison, so I’m pleased to have found this one from Kusmi. The dry leaf is very dark green and tightly rolled. There’s no indication on the tin of the variety of green tea this is, but I would guess Gunpowder from looking at the leaves alone. I could be wrong, but that’s my educated guess. For my cup, I used 1 tsp of leaf, and gave it 2 minutes in water cooled to around 180 degrees. The resulting liquor is a golden yellow, and smells primarily of spearmint with an underlying hint of green tea.

To taste, this one reminds me a bit of chewing gum, or softmints. It has the same intense initial sweet mint flavour, which lingers decently into the aftertaste. Spearmint is pretty much all I’m getting from this one, so it comes across fairly one note, but if spearmint is what you’re looking for, then it’s certainly what you’ll get. I had thought I’d be able to taste the green tea base a little more, but it remains firmly in the background. There’s the tiniest hint of it right at the end of the sip, but in a blind tasting you could tell me this was a pure spearmint tea and I’d probably be none the wiser.

As a fan of spearmint, I really like this one. It’s sweet, clean-tasting, and refreshing, and makes for a very pleasant cup on a warm summer afternoon. I imagine it’d also work well cold brewed, which is something I’ll have to try in the coming weeks. It’s not as punchy as peppermint in terms of flavour, and it lacks the intensely cooling effect that mint sometimes has, so this tea is just the thing if you like your mint a little softer and more gentle. This is a wonderful offering from Kusmi, and well worth a look this summer if you’re in the market for a mint green tea.

Coconut Ice Tisane from DAVIDsTEA

Coconut IceTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Herbal/Tisane, Honeybush

Where to Buy: DAVIDsTEA

Tea Description:

We all know the feeling. Sometimes, you just need a little something sweet. And creamy.And fresh. You know, the perfect rich and frosty summer treat. Lucky for us, we’ve got this tea – a refreshingly decadent blend of honeybush, coconut and cocoa shells. Rich, smooth and totally addictive, it tastes just like a scoop of coconut ice cream. Want to take it to the next level? Try it as an iced latte. It’s the answer to any summer craving. (MK Kosher).

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

This is part three of a five part review of the DAVIDsTEA Summer Collection.

Ah DAVIDsTEA, your love of coconut is so predictable. I’m pretty sure no one was surprised by the inclusion of an obviously coconut focused blend this season. What did surprise me, however, was the classification of this tea. It’s got honeybush listed as the first ingredient which to me says that it’s the ingredient in the largest quantity and yet this is still listed as a herbal/tisane and not classed as a rooibos/honeybush blend? That confuses me a lot. I’d really like a break down of the thought process that took place here.

Also surprisingly, I had the perfect excuse to do a cold brew for this one and instead I found myself brewing it up as a hot tea! It was alright; the most dominant flavor was the honeybush which again begs the question ‘why did you class this as a herbal!?” but it was pretty equally matched by the strong flavour of both fresh coconut and toasted coconut. I actually did expect a little more coconut flavor because DT had the biggest excuse to go all out here, but I’m happy with the level that’s present. Yummy! It definitely reminds me of coconut ice, minus the ice part. But the crisp, fresh flavor is really well conveyed.

Also, COCOA SHELLS! I’m really happy that DT hopped on board with the love of cocoa shells here because they do such a better job at conveying a smooth chocolate flavour than chocolate chips would have done; plus no oily chocolate goop! Their use here was definitely a smart decision, though I did find the flavour mild in comparison to everything else going on and I don’t know if the blend would have been lacking had chocolate not been included at all. I think they contribute more to the aroma than the taste itself.

I liked this one; probably would have liked it better cold but I wanted to switch things up a bit and be less predictable with my preparation. I’m sure I’ll happily finish off the rest of my trial sample though I do doubt I’ll pick more up afterwards because while this was tasty I just don’t think it was different enough to warrant a need for me. Coconut lover will be all over this one, though. I’m sure it’s gonna do really well.

Serenity Now Herbal from DAVIDsTEA

Serenity NowTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Herbal/Tisane

Where to Buy: DAVIDsTEA

Tea Description:

So maybe you burned dinner. Maybe the dishwasher broke. Again. Maybe you just forgot to hit “save.” Life is full of stressful surprises. But lucky for us, life is also full of tea. And this oh-so-soothing blend is a guaranteed one-way ticket to your happy place. It’s got serene strawberries, harmonious hibiscus and restful rosehips, all in a base of low-key lavender. So get that kettle started and brace yourself for the rush of calm. Bring it on, life. We got this.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Serenity Now is the April ‘Tea of the Month’ from DAVIDsTEA.

Despite really liking the tea’s description (except for the part that called hibiscus ‘harmonious’ – that part is a total fib) I was very skeptical about this blend; I don’t much care for lavender myself, and I couldn’t see it going well with the strawberry, blueberry or other fruity things in the blend either. However, the quince was certainly an intriguing aspect; I’ve only had one other Quince tea but I really, really enjoyed it. As well, I do quite like the pairing of strawberry and spearmint! So despite reservations, it was worth a go.

I purchased this one in store as a Tea To Go; I decided on iced because the associate I asked said that hot was better for relaxing to/brought out the lavender more and iced was more refreshing and fruity. I actually initially didn’t really taste the lavender at all; my first few sips were almost entirely strawberry with a bit of a crisper spearmint backdrop. Hints of blueberry were present as well. The rosehips/hibiscus in this are pretty toned down; I think they just contributed a very slight tartness that blended in near seamlessly with the natural tang of the strawberry. Sadly, I didn’t pick up on the quince at all which is probably what I was most excited about.

About half way through drinking this one I sort of couldn’t help but burp a little bit? Something wasn’t sitting quite right with me and it resulted in this weird hiccup/reflux sort of cross. And that’s when I started to taste the lavender. Every time I’d ‘hiccup’ I get this flood of gnarly lavender flavour in my mouth. Very strong; borderline perfume-y. So, I’d take another sip to get my the taste out of my mouth – and then like thirty seconds later it’d hit me again and I’d get that nasty lavender breath. Repeated the cycle until the tea was gone – and then a few minutes later I was fine again.

Overall; this was better than anticipated for sure – I thought that the strawberry in particular was well executed, and the spearmint pairing definitely made for a light, fun fruity treat. It wasn’t “in your face” juicy – just a nice, softer and very refreshing drink like the associate I spoke to had described. I’d be interested in trying this one again to see if the same reflux type thing happened again – if it’s something caused by the lavender and going to be a regular occurrence when I drink this tea, then that definitely negatively impacts how I view this one (that lavender breath was NASTY), but if it was a one time deal then I think I could maybe get behind this one a bit better because the floral aspects were pretty in check, hiccups aside.

Cantaloupe & Berries Green Tea from Southern Boy Teas

SBT-GREEN-Cantaloupe-and-BerriesTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green

Where to Buy: Southern Boy Teas

Tea Description:

This super refreshing and delicious iced tea will definitely get you in the mood for spring. We’ve blended our sweet organic Chinese sencha fannings green tea with organic cantaloupe, strawberry, blackberry and blueberry flavors. Be warned, this will disappear out of your fridge really fast!

Learn more about this tea here.

Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.

Taster’s Review:

I love cantaloupe.  At family gatherings, my mom and I fight over the last piece on the fruit plate.  My sons will yell at me if I come home from the grocery store without one.  Thank goodness my grandpa is a farmer.  He supplies us with the most amazing fresh cantaloupe (and other fruits and vegetables) throughout the summer months.  He is 80 years old and still goes out in the fields and hand picks everything while drinking his coffee from the thermos. Even in the crazy hot days of summer!

This tea reminds me of him and hanging out with him in the fields during summer break.  Brings back so many fantastic memories of my childhood.  I love it when a tea gives you what I call “Warm Fuzzies” and takes you back to happy times.

I didn’t brew this up per the packaging.  Since I am the only one that drinks tea in my house, I break the larger pouch into smaller tea bags so I can enjoy them on the go or at my office.  I’ve tried to brew up a pitcher all at once, but I wasn’t able to drink the tea fast enough.  This way works for me and from what I can tell, it doesn’t affect the outcome of the tea at all.

This is a perfect spring/summer tea.  The cantaloupe flavor is the first that hits your taste buds.  The green tea gives the tea a rich buttery feel.  You can taste it more after you’ve had a sip or two, adding in a slight grassy note.  Very slight.  Its more of an after thought.  I’m not picking up any of the berries or even a hint of them.  Which is fine with me.  I’m good with an iced cantaloupe green tea.  Overall, I really dig this one.  I wish I could taste more of the berries and I’m hoping additional steeps will bring those flavors out.