Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Tulsi
Where to Buy: Happy Earth Tea
Tisane Description:
This tea is beam of golden sunlight . It is a vitalizing blend of holy basil and ginger, fragrant with spicy, floral and sweet notes. The pungency of the ginger blends with spicy-floral nature of the basil for an invigorating cup.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I chose to drink this after consuming some rather spicy, homemade chili (I do love my chili!) in the hopes that it would help soothe my tummy after such a spicy meal. Yes, I do love my spice, but, I often suffer for it afterward (heartburn!) and while there are many over the counter products that help with such problems, rather than turning to something like that, I prefer to take the more natural approach, and choose a tisane with ginger (or peppermint) to help with the problem.
And as I chose to compose this review a few hours later, I can say with complete confidence that this tea certainly helped in the stomach discomfort area. I did not have any heartburn last night, and my tummy felt very calm and soothed … it even felt as though it had been lovingly comforted, which I realize sounds kind of weird, but I don’t know how else to describe it, other than to say I didn’t feel anything that remotely suggested that I would suffer from heartburn.
There is a whole lot of ginger to this tisane … so if you’re one who doesn’t care for ginger, I can’t say that this would be the right tisane for you. But, I do like the way the Tulsi sort of softens the peppery bite of the ginger. Yes, there is still a lot of warming, peppery ginger to it, but, the gentle touch of Tulsi smooths out the ginger just enough to make it easier to drink than a pure ginger infusion would be.
The Tulsi gives a slightly earthy, herbaceous taste to the cup, while the ginger tastes, well, like ginger. Spicy! A hint of mint is in the background … like the mint taste you’d get from basil. On Steepster, I described the contrast between the Tulsi and the Ginger as a sort of good cop/bad cop kind of action on my taste buds. The Tulsi is gentle and mild, while the ginger is spicy and strong. But both are soothing in their own way.
I like this a lot more than I thought I would. It would be nice to have this on hand for the times I need some gingery comfort and relief.
Awake from Bird’s Eye Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Yerba Maté & Tulsi
Where to Buy: Bird’s Eye Tea
Tisane Description:
This energizing blend will brighten your mornings! This is a really fun blend that I hope will invigorate and keep you focused during this cool dark season we are entering.
Ingredients: Yerba mate, Tulsi, Bacopa (brahmi), Spearmint, and Currant
To learn more about this tisane, click here.
To learn more about subscribing to Bird’s Eye Tea, click here.
Taster’s Review:
I had a hard time waking up this morning. I just didn’t want to. I was all warm and snuggled in my bed, so comfortable … but I had to get up. Too many things to do today!
This is exactly the kind of tisane that I need on a day like this. Awake from Bird’s Eye Tea is a Yerba Maté blend that was included in their November subscription box.
Yerba Maté – as many of you probably already know – is super-charged with caffeine for an eye-opening experience, but, what I like about this tisane isn’t the earthy/vegetal taste of the Maté (although I don’t dislike that), I’m liking the hint of mint that I taste from spearmint and tulsi – it isn’t a strong MINTY taste, but it is a nice touch. I find mint to be an invigorating taste, and tulsi has a sort of calming effect … which allows me to become alert but not jittery.
I don’t have much experience with brahmi … in fact, I cant tell you with certainty that I’ve ever had this herb in a tea … or in anything else, for that matter. The Bird’s Eye Tea Newsletter for November says that brahmi is an adaptogenic herb, which is supposed to help the body adapt to stress.
OK, so what I’m deriving from that is that this tisane helps you wake up and face the day, stress free! Heck yeah! I certainly could use a little of that!
My one complaint about this tisane is that I wish I could taste more of the currant. I taste the mint, I taste the herbaceous, earthy flavor of the Maté (and of course the other herbs contribute to this herbaceous note as well), but I don’t really taste a whole lot of berry, except in the aftertaste. Not even in the immediate aftertaste, but, after I’ve finished the sip, about a minute or so afterward, then I notice a hint of berry flavor come through – just a wee hint of tingly, tart-yet-sweet currant. I like that … but I’d like there to be a little more.
Overall, though, I found this to be a very enjoyable herbal tisane. It is energizing, as I am just over the halfway point with my cup here, and I am already feeling invigorated. A really pleasant blend – I’m really liking Bird’s Eye Tea!
Tulsi Green Tea from Happy Earth Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea & Tulsi
Where to Buy: Happy Earth Tea
Tea Description:
This is a delicious and soothing blend of Indian green tea and Tulsi, also known as holy basil. The sweet, spicy and floral notes of the basil overlay the mellow astringency of green tea to produce an unexpectedly calming result. A few sharp notes – almost peppery – will be felt at the start, but it rounds off to an undertone of fresh straw that fuses nicely with the rest.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a tasty blend that seems to be primarily focused on the combination of tulsi leaves (this blend uses three different varietals of the herb), rather than the green tea, as I found myself noticing more tulsi than green tea in the dry loose leaf blend before I infused the tea, and tasting more of the tulsi than green tea post infusion.
Not a complaint really – just an observation. The tulsi provides a pleasant herbaceous note that is warm and zesty, with a hint of sweetness and a cooling sensation that is almost mint-like. It gives this drinker a sense of calm as I drink the tea, and as I’ve been dealing with a bit of a cough these last couple of days, I find it rather soothing to the throat as well. (It’s allergy time!)
The green tea flavor seems to be only barely there. It is most noticeable in the texture of the tea, providing a slight broth/soup like consistency to the brew. It is also noticeable in the astringency, which is light but develops as I continue to sip.
I would have liked the green tea to be a bit more prominent in this, I think, but, overall, I found this to be a very enjoyable cup of tea. It is a very gentle, calming and soothing tea to drink. I drank it later in the evening and I found that it didn’t stimulate me the way most green teas would, instead, the tulsi started working toward instilling a sense of relaxation. I liked that quite a bit.
Laoshan Apothecary Green Tea from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green / Tulsi blend
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tea Description:
The goal of the blend is to bring out the complexity of texture that Laoshan green exhibits while allowing the flavors of spring and of Laoshan itself to come through. We used cardamom and coriander as complex texture building blocks that draw out the aftertaste and make the mouth water. These additions are fortified with Holy Basil and peppermint to keep the crisp flavor and sweetness.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was really excited to try this tea – I had been hearing so many good things about it on Steepster! Plus, I really love cardamom and coriander, and I love that this blend focuses on these two spices as well as their Laoshan Green Tea from this past spring’s harvest. This tea seemed to have all the makings for a real winner of a blend.
The aroma is amazing. With my first deep inhale, I picked up the unmistakeable notes of coriander. My brain also was telling me “cardamom” although I thought I was just trying to think of coriander and cardamom popped out … then I smelled again and YES… that’s cardamom alright! Then I started to notice subtle hints of peppery mint … is that tulsi? Yes, indeed. And once the olfactory nerves moved past the tulsi I was also able to discern the peppermint. All these wonderful fragrances together with a very subtle leafy green note, smelling very much like the air in spring-time when all the new green growth is sprouting up all around me. Very fresh and lively!
I wondered if the spices would overwhelm the Laoshan Green Tea, though, because they smell so strong in the dry leaf … but David at Verdant Tea mixed this blend skillfully and with great attention to achieving balance. This tastes and feels very nicely rounded on the palate, offering hints of pepper, citrus, mint and vegetative green notes, but without one flavor overpowering another.
The first few sips, I tasted the green tea – front and center! And that’s just the way it should be. This is a green tea blend … not a spice blend with green tea. It is sweet and creamy, with hints of creaminess – maybe somewhere between fresh cream and butter – and notes of whole grain. It is a great base to use with the spices that were chosen for this blend.
The coriander is probably the most immediately recognized spice, but the cardamom comes in just after that. They provide warmth in the form of a peppery tone – this is more of a savory pepper than a spicy-hot one though – and I think that it has enough of a subtly about it that even those who tend to shy away from “spicy” blends could enjoy this … this is not a chai!
About mid-cup, I start to notice the crisp, minty tones of the tulsi and peppermint. These are very subtle, and I like how they were added to the blend – not with a heavy hand, but with a plan to utilize these herbs as accentuating components rather than the main event. Instead of tasting strongly of mint – it tastes crisp, zesty, cool… very fresh and exhilarating, without overpowering the cup.
This is very refreshing iced, too. It’s almost a completely different tea! The mint is much more prominent in the cooled version, but the peppery tones of the spices are also there, offering accents to the mint. I’d describe it as a new twist – or perhaps a twisted new version – of a Moroccan Mint. And it’s a very nice twist indeed!
Climber’s High from The Tea Spot
Please Note: Check below for special savings on this tea!
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Yerba Maté, Black Tea, Green Tea, White Tea, Pu-erh & Tulsi PLUS Spice Melangé
Where to Buy: The Tea Spot
Tea Description:
A super-charged blend of teas, spices and herbs formulated to provide a refreshing daily lift for people with active, high-energy lifestyles. Climber’s High is a high-powered way to increase your intake of beneficial antioxidants such as flavonoids and catechins, as well as a host of healthy vitamins, trace minerals, beneficial phyto-constituents, and caffeine. It was originally conceived to assist people in adjusting to higher altitudes. This spiced yerba mate chai tea is both good for you and a pleasure to drink.
Learn more about this Yerba Mate Chai here.
Taster’s Review:
This blend has got a WHOLE lot going on!
When I first opened the package, I noticed a pleasant smell that was sweet and a little spicy, smelling a bit like a gently spiced chai. And one quick glance at the ingredient list suggests that this could easily be categorized as a chai (well, yeah, all tea is technically chai, but, I’m talking about what we here in North America think of when we think “chai”) so, I categorized it as chai.
The brewed tea smells a little earthy, slightly vegetative, but still possesses a certain spicy tone – a bit different than that of the dry leaf, but, it still smells warm, sweet, and a little spicy.
Wow! OK, so yeah, this DOES have a lot going on, but, somehow, it all comes together to offer a pleasant tasting blend. I don’t really taste each of the specific tea types here, I just taste a medley of different flavors that I’d associate with the different leaf types.
For example, I taste the earthy, vegetative taste of Yerba Maté, and I would attribute some of that earthiness to the Pu-erh as well. It tastes rich and smooth like a black tea, but it has a light, almost creamy/airy texture and flavor that I’d attribute to the white and green teas. I taste hints of mint and basil that I attribute to the peppermint and Tulsi. And yes, I taste the warmth of the spices, and the sweet, creamy finish that I attribute to the vanilla.
I wouldn’t say that I taste specifically any one of these ingredients, instead, I taste the combination of them all. I taste hints of sweet licorice, I taste the sweet warmth of the cinnamon and little peppery kick from the ginger and pepper. I don’t know that I taste any one ingredient more than the others, they all seem to come together in such a way to provide a very solid taste without one overpowering the others. Some might seem a little lost along the way but at the same time I can’t say that this blend would be the same without any one of these ingredients.
And while there are a lot of flavors to explore here, I am really enjoying the challenge and the journey this tea offers. It is warm and energizing, just the kind of cup I want on those mornings when I need a little motivation.
I like it!
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