I admit that I love getting tea subscription boxes. Who doesn’t like getting monthly packages with new teas to try? Recently I had the opportunity to try out the Tea Sparrow tea box. Tea Sparrow samples hundreds of teas each month to select blends that they feel will inspire their customers. This means that each month you are guaranteed a whole new selection of tea blends to try. The box comes with 4 teas. I was eager to try them all however since Chai is my favorite tea blend I of course went with that first.
The Masala Chai they sent is the classic blend of ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom with the addition of ginger liquid and cinnamon liquid. All the ingredients are organic.
I steeped the tea per the package directions (1 tbsp per 10oz of water using boiling water, let step 4 minutes).
I really loved this blend. It is a mellow chai, the spices are not intense or stand out on their own, rather it is a light mingling of flavor. I especially love these types of chai for an afternoon cuppa when I want a little pick me up but don’t want anything too intense.
I am eager to try the other teas in my box and look forward to my next month’s teas!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy : Tea Sparrow
Description
Did you know that ‘chai’ means ‘tea’? It’s Masala Chai that means ‘spice tea’ – or ‘chai tea’ as some Westerners like to call it. Except wait, that’s ‘Tea Tea.’ Never mind, just drink it!
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Organic Blueberry Black/Tea Sparrow
Organic Blueberry Black by Tea Sparrow is a blueberry black tea (shocking!) comprised of organic black tea, organic dried blueberries, organic blackberry leaves, and certified organic blueberry flavor.
I have had this tea once before, cold steeped in lemonade. That time, the drink tasted mostly of lemonade but had a bit of a blue candy sweetness added in. Like those gummy sharks that are meant to be blueberry but mostly just taste sweet.
This time I made the tea as a plain hot brew, letting 1.5 teaspoons of leaves steep in 10 ounces of 200F water for 3 minutes. The hot tea definitely tastes a lot more like blueberry than the tea lemonade. However, it is not like the fruit so much. It also isn’t much like blueberry gummies. Instead, I would say this tastes similar to blueberry pie filling as it has the blueberry essence with a whole lot of rich sweetness as well. The base tea gives this a thickness that compliments that gooey filling flavor, but it can also be a little brisk at times (for my tastes, at least).
I was surprised at how this captured blueberry flavor, even if it wasn’t quite true to the berry. Tea Sparrow has mostly been a lot of misses and though the brew of this cold steeped in lemonade wasn’t bad, it didn’t really scream blueberry to me. This hot tea is definitely blueberry-inspired and it is a nice dessert-like treat.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea Sparrow
Description
Tea Sparrow is a tea subscription service. Check out the site below.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Lavender Cream/Tea Sparrow. . . .
When it comes to lattes, there are two different types of tea that tend to work best: Chai and Earl Greys (London Fogs, anyone?!). I have found that any variation of these kinds of tea tend to take to the latte method beautifully, whether that be plain or flavored versions or even just heavily spiced teas inspired by Chai. I usually reach for the spiced teas/chai blends but today I went for something different: Lavender Cream by Tea Sparrow.
Lavender Cream is an Earl Grey black tea made with lavender petals, vanilla pieces, lavender extract, and vanilla extract. The ingredients leave me torn since I love vanilla in teas and I really don’t love lavender and it is that lavender that has had me putting off trying this tea for months.
The tea smells delightful, both dry and after steeping thanks to the bergamot. Unfortunately that lovely scent does not translate to the taste of the tea which I am not loving. It is creamy but then a soapy taste takes over. I blame the lavender for that one. There is also an underlying astringency that Earl Grey teas often have, though here it is tampered by the milk.
Many people love this type of tea and for those people, this may be a nice blend to try. However, for me, the lavender was a deal breaker. It is always nice to try something new but I am happy with the one latte.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea Sparrow
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Organic Fruit Jam from Tea Sparrow. . . .
When it comes to getting me gifts, my friends and family often turn to one of two things: mugs or tea subscriptions. One such subscription that I received as my Secret Santa gift this past holiday season was several months of tea from Tea Sparrow. If I am being honest, as someone who loves really out there flavors, I have been underwhelmed by the more basic options I’ve been receiving.
With that said, this Organic Fruit Jam tea did catch my eye. It has the usual fruit tea ingredients such as apples, hibiscus, rosehips, and strawberries but it also has more exciting flavors like barley malt, cream extract, etc.
I made this iced in light of the potential for tartness thanks to the hibiscus and rosehips. Unfortunately, despite the unique ingredients, this tastes a lot like many of the other fruit tisanes I have had before, tart and with a vague fruitiness. It also has a sharp tart note atop the rest of the tartness that hits the back of your mouth near the end of the sip. Alas there is nothing here that says “jam” to me.
I also brewed this hot and intended to try it that way to compare it with the iced tea but life got in the way and the mug cooled before I got to it. However, the hot brewed tea which has then cooled is smoother than the iced tea. It also is a bit less tart than the iced tea which makes more room for a muddled fruit flavor to come through. Still not a “jam” tea to me but this cup is definitely closer to that desired flavor than the iced tea given there is more sweetness here.
Ultimately, I just feel like I’ve had this tea time and time again. The hibiscus/rosehip tartness is overwhelming with a generic fruitiness taking a back seat. The unique ingredients that intrigued me in the first place add nothing or if they do, their addition is drowned out. It’s not bad per se but it just doesn’t stand out at all in a world filled with tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Tisane
Where to Buy: Tea Sparrow
Description
With your Tea Sparrow subscription, you’ll receive 4 select loose-leaf teas each month: one black, one green, one rooibos and one herbal tea. You can expect about 35 cups of tea per month: more than enough to spread the love or completely hoard for yourself.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Winter Almond Rooibos from Tea Sparrow. . . . .
Well…it’s Winter. It took a while to get here in the snow belt…but I’m NOT complaining! I found it fitting to review Winter Almond Rooibos from Tea Sparrow to get into the wintery spirit.
Winter Almond Rooibos is an herbal tisane that is full of aroma and flavor! I didn’t see any dairy in the list of ingredients so I thought I would try it. Ingredients listed were Redbush Tea, Almond Pieces, Chocolate Pieces (that were made up of sugar, cocoa powder/mass, almond flavor, and sunflower blossoms.
I was expecting this to be an almond and chocolate flavored red rooibos but it ended up being more than that. It was much like a Chocolate Almond Cookie in a cup! It was delicious! The Red Rooibos wasn’t as stereotypical as you think it would be which leads me to believe the amount of almond and chocolate flavoring was pretty top notch!
This was part of the December Tea Sparrow teas that were shipped. I’m VERY excited and grateful I was able to try it. If you are into non-dairy dessert teas and tisanes this is one I would keep an eye out for next time it’s available! It’s sure to please!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Tea Sparrrow
Description
Find out more about all Tea Sparrow has to offer below!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
