Tea Type: Black Tea/Yerba Mate Blend
Where To Buy: Design A Tea
Product Description:
Ingredients: Koslanda-Dimbulla blend (Sri Lanka), Roasted Yerba Mate, Cinnamon, Ginger, Cardamom, Black Pepper, Cloves, Natural Vanilla/Pineapple flavoring.
Tasters Review:
Well, I like the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and I like Pirate Booty so when I tried Pirate Tea from Design A Tea I was happy to say I liked that, too! Actually I more than liked it…I’ll admit…I LOVED it!
It smells like Pineapple and chai more pineapple than chai…I, personally, LOVED this about it! This tea infuses really dark and really fast!
The taste is AWESOME!! I can safely say this is my FAVORITE Chai to date!! The flavoring is wonderful! The spices are mixed in nicely underneath.
Pirate Tea from Design A Tea is the complete package if you are on teas that favor pineapple! And a nice, true, delicious pineapple – not that artificial tasting stuff!
China Seduction from Design a Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Design a Tea
Company Description:
This is a smooth based earthy tea (Pu-erh). The after taste is what jumped out for me… or maybe it was the rose and chocolate story. If you like subtle hints of rose and chocolate then you have to try this one.
Taster’s Review:
I tasted this before I read the ingredients. I had thought this was a chocolate and rose flavored black tea… I didn’t realize until I read the ingredients that it is actually Pu-erh!
I am telling you this because this doesn’t taste like most Pu-erh that I’ve tasted – it doesn’t have that overwhelmingly earthy flavor. (this is a good thing!) This is an amazing blend with a remarkably deep, rich flavor. It’s awesome!
The chocolate notes seamlessly meld with the earthy tones to create a deep, savory yet sweet cocoa experience. It doesn’t taste like the sweet, candy-bar chocolate you’d find in a grocery store. It tastes more like the rich decadent chocolate you’d find from a gourmet chocolatier.
The rose notes are subtle. They add a pleasant floral note with just a hint of sharpness. And as I sit here sipping this, it occurs to me that it is the rose notes that highlight some of the earthy tones of this tea. The ingredients work very well with one another to enhance the overall qualities of this tea.
I don’t think that this would be the right tea for someone who is looking for a strong Pu-erh flavor – but if you are someone who doesn’t think you like Pu-erh (or knows you do not) – this is the perfect blend to start out on the right path towards a harmonious relationship with Pu-erh.
This is the BEST flavored Pu-erh I’ve yet to taste. It’s absolutely delightful!
Passion Fruit Black Tea from Design A Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Design a Tea
Company Description:
Koslanda – Dimbulla blend from Sri Lanka with all natural flavoring
Taster’s Review:
This is a simple yet really tasty blend from Design A Tea. The passion fruit flavor is sweet and sumptuous. The flavors taste natural and almost nectar-like. It’s deliciously tropical.
The black tea base is a mellow black tea blend – not particularly stout or robust, but I don’t think that is what is needed here. A stronger tea would interfere with the balance of flavors. As it is, this blend allows me to taste the even-toned black tea and the sweet flavor of the fruit. And I like it!
I enjoyed this tea immensely as both a hot tea and an iced tea. It is refreshing and … I don’t know what it is about this tea. Maybe it’s the tropical essence, or the mellow black tea base, or a combination of the two, or maybe it’s something else entirely. But there is SOMETHING about this tea that has a very tranquil and calming effect. It’s very nice!
If you visit the website for Design A Tea, you won’t find this tea readily available as a signature blend. However, you can order this blend by designing it. They let you design your own samples, too!
Renaissance from Design A Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Design a Tea
Company Description:
A whimsical touch of Blueberry and woodsy Nutmeg flavoring mixed with an ORGANIC Oolong earthy base from Taiwan.
Taster’s Review:
Renaissance is one of the “Signature Blends” offered by Design A Tea. And it is delightful! The complexity of the Oolong tea and the sweet-tart flavor of the blueberry, together with a dash of nutmeg creates a uniquely wonderful taste.
The base is a Formosa Oolong base – which is one of my particular favorite types of Oolong tea. It has a pleasant mouthfeel – silky but not too thick. I love the fuzzy peach-like tones of a Formosa Oolong, and that fruity character blends well with the blueberry and the earthy, nutty taste of the nutmeg.
The blueberry tastes fresh and sweet – it’s a very authentic blueberry taste. There is a berry-ish tingle that hits the tip of the tongue – a little tart… but not too much. But it is the nutmeg is what really makes this tea unique. The nutmeg isn’t strong at first, but the flavor develops as I continue to drink the tea.
This has to be one of the best blueberry blends I’ve ever tasted. I love the addition of the nutmeg, and as I continue to sip, I find myself adoring it even more. It adds such a beautiful depth of flavor, and it reminds me a little bit of a baked blueberry confection – blueberry cobbler, perhaps? This is especially true when this tea is served hot with just a sprinkling of sugar (brown sugar would be especially nice to expound on that cobbler taste).
However you choose to serve this tea, I have to say that the yum factor is extremely high here. Yummy, yummy, yummy!
Cranberry Apple from Design a Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Design a Tea
Company Description:
Editor’s Note: This was a custom blend sample from Design a Tea. If you’d like to try it, you can order your own sample here… just select rooibos as your base, and the flavors of cranberry and apple, and tell ‘em the SororiTEA Sisters sent you! ~Liberteas
Taster’s Review:
Mmmmmm… this is a very tasty flavored rooibos tea. The apple and cranberry combination is traditionally very autumnal, but, this tea tastes fresh and lively – and one that I’d be happy to enjoy year round!
The flavor is sweet – I’m not getting a whole lot of tartness that I expected from the cranberry… there is a slight tangy note, but nothing that I’d call sour or even tart. Since I’m not a particular fan of a strong tartness or sour tasting teas – I’m quite enjoying the lack of it in this tisane.
The apple essence is smooth and sweet tasting. It actually tastes a bit like apple juice with a little something extra… not quite one of the cran-apple juice, but, more like an apple-cranberry juice, if you know what I mean.
Overall, this is a very tasty rooibos blend. It is not readily available on the Design a Tea website as a signature blend, however, if it is one that you’d like to try, you can order two free samples and you can choose this combination if you’d like… or get creative and concoct your own tea blend (simply pay $1.00 for shipping, and you’ll receive 2 samples of your choice and a $2.00 off coupon for your next order).
If you do decide to create your own blend – and I hope you do! – please stop by and leave me a comment and let me know what you’ve tried… I love to hear your tasty ideas!