Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Just.Organic.Tea
Tisane Description:
Our blend of spring fruits and flowers combine the first pink roses, vibrant magenta hibiscus, blue and white cornflowers, and a sprinkling of blueberries, in a base of pure organic green rooibos. Tastes great hot or iced. Naturally caffeine free.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Just.Organic.Tea’s Kickstarter Fundraising Campaign here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve never really made any big secret of the fact that I’m not a big fan of hibiscus in tisane blends. If it’s steeped too long, hibiscus can brew to a thick, syrupy liquid. If there’s too much hibiscus in a blend, the result can be a very tart beverage and I don’t care for drinks that make me pucker. So, I wasn’t all that excited to see hibiscus in this blend.
But, I brewed it with care and hoped that there wouldn’t be too much hibiscus in it. Having really enjoyed Just.Organic.Tea.’s Orange Spice Black Tea and appreciating their skillful blending of that tea, I hoped that just as much skill was put into the blending of this Just a Taste of Spring blend.
This is alright.
There are things that I like about it, and there are things that I’d change about it if I could. For example, I like the green rooibos in this. It adds a fresh, light flavor to the cup and the natural sweetness of the rooibos softens the tarty notes of the hibiscus.
There is a bit more hibiscus in this than I’d like there to be (but let’s face it, I’d rather there be no hibiscus in it). But on the plus side, it doesn’t have a thick, syrupy texture (I only steeped it for 6 minutes, which is probably one factor to the lighter texture).
I love the juicy blueberry taste to this. Sweet and a little tart – and the hibiscus does emphasize this tartness a bit – I like the blueberry flavor. I find myself wishing I could taste more of the rose. As it is, the hibiscus seems to mask the sweet floral notes and I am missing those.
Overall, it’s not a bad blend. It’s not my favorite, and as I said, there are things that I’d change about it if I could. I liked it alright … didn’t love it. On the other hand, my youngest daughter loved it! She’s a blueberry lover, and she loved the tart, tingly flavor of this tisane.
If you’re able to, please consider contributing to Just.Organic.Tea’s Fundraising Campaign on Kickstarter. With your help, this new tea company can get up and running!
Laos Black Tea #05 from Steepster
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Steepster Select
Tea Description:
A black teas from Laos with this quality of manufacture is almost unheard of. Our dedicated producer has thrown convention out the window and began making teas that rival India and China. This rolled, jet black tea with golden buds is a sure sign Laos is on its way.
Taster’s Review:
When I first opened the packet of this Laos Black Tea #05 from Steepster and smelled the contents, I found myself bewildered by the fragrance. It was a scent that was totally unfamiliar to me, especially in the world of tea. Usually a black tea smells “earthy” or “leathery” or even “fruity” or “floral.” But this tea smelled like none of those things!
On Steepster, one of the tasting notes suggested a “tomato” fragrance, and while I don’t know that what I smelled was that of tomato … I do certainly agree that it smells different.
The flavor is also quite different from any black tea that I’ve had, although there are some familiar notes to this as well. This has a richness to it, although I find the body to be somewhat lighter than the typical black tea. It is sweet (like honey!) and there are some delicious malty tones to this. I also taste earthy notes with whispers of smoke.
And, yes, these are all notes that in other black teas … but it’s just the way these particular flavors come together in this particular tea that makes it different. It’s malty and rich, but it is lighter than other black teas that are known for malty, rich flavors like an Assam or a Fujian black.
It’s an easy to sip tea … something I’d be happy to drink again.
Nantou Four Seasons Oolong Tea from In Pursuit of Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: In Pursuit of Tea
Tea Description:
This tea is made from a cultivar that can be harvested year-round- Si Ji Chun, which means four seasons like spring. It’s grown in Ming Jian Township in mountainous Nantou County, Taiwan. The mature leaves are lightly oxidized and rolled into ball shapes; as they open through multiple infusions, a sweet flavor and lush, orchidlike aroma is released.
Read other Steepster thoughts on this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The aroma of the dry leaf of this Nantou Four Seasons Oolong Tea from In Pursuit of Tea is sweet with notes of flower and distant hints of vegetation.
I prepared this tea the same way I would approach most Oolong teas: in my gaiwan, using short steeps following a quick rinse (15 seconds). I combined the first two infusions for the first cup, and the third and fourth infusions were combined for the second cup, and so on. I managed to get eight delicious infusions this way (four cups). I probably could have gotten more, but, I was satisfied after my four cups of this tea. More than satisfied because this is a seriously delicious Oolong!
My first sip, I noticed a creaminess and a slight floral tone. Then I began to notice more complexity to the cup. The creaminess was somewhere between a buttery taste and texture and a sweet cream taste. Very smooth and very yummy. The floral tones are soft in this first cup. By mid-cup, I started to pick up on faint fruit-like notes. I also noticed some of the vegetal tones in the distant background. Toward the end of this cup, I picked up on a note that I can only think to describe as vanilla-esque! This, together with the sweet cream/buttery notes is quite delectable … decadent even!
Subsequent infusions began to “unlock” the floral tones just a bit more. The creaminess began to wane by the third cup, which was still creamy, but much less so than the first two cups. While I noticed some vegetative notes throughout the time I spent with this tea, they were always quite distant. For those who tend to shy away from the greener Oolong teas because they don’t care for the vegetal tones of these types of Oolong, I think this Nantou Four Seasons would be a good one for you to try.
In the third cup, I started to pick up on more of a nutty tone. The fruit-like notes never really came forward enough for me to be able to discern what kind of fruit I was tasting … it remained “fruit-like” but indistinct.
This is an excellent Four Seasons Oolong – one of the nicest that I’ve tried. And I don’t think I would have had this experience if it wasn’t for Steepster Select! It’s a great way to explore the world of tea. And if you’d like to try what December had to offer, I am currently selling my second sample packages of the December Steepster Select. You can check out the listing here.