I don’t know what’s going on with my tastebuds lately but the spicier the tea, the better it tastes to me. I used to pass over ginger teas all the time because I just wasn’t a fan. Now, I’m searching high and low for ginger and even black pepper tea blends. Just can’t get enough of them.
Which is why Ginger Chili Tisane really fit what my taste buds were craving. Plus the fact that this blend has green rooibos in it, just makes this tea that more inviting.
Ginger Chili Tisane is a mix of green rooibos, ginger, lemon peel, rosemary, cloves, and chili flakes. So interesting and unique and as a side note, a blend that is organic. I’m so happy this blend has green rooibos as its base instead of red rooibos. Red rooibos is really the only tea that I just have trouble trying or enjoying. But green rooibos and I are the best of buds!
I brewed up this tea with water prepped at 212F and allowed to steep for 5 minutes. For my first experience with this tea, I wanted to stay on the side of safe. The instructions actually call for a 5-7 minute steep. I think next time I enjoy this tea, I’ll go with the full blow 7 minutes or even a cold brew!
The first experience of this tea is one of wonderment. The green rooibos provides and lays down a heavy rich honey flavor that is quite smooth. The ginger and chili add in that spice that isn’t overwhelming by any means. I actually wish the ginger and chili were a bit stronger which is easily remedied by a stronger steep I’m thinking. The cloves bring in that familiar chai feel while the rosemary contrasts the sweet honey by a touch of a savory note. I’m left with the feeling that if I would have added in another scoop or even allowed the tea to steep a few more minutes, if that lingering spice that is described on the website wouldn’t have been more noticeable.
All in all, just delicious. Sweet and spicy for sure but more on the milder spice. But again, the spice may increase with a longer steep. I would love to add in a touch of black pepper to this tea to see if those spices don’t kick it up to the level of craving even more!
For my first experience with Arbor Teas, I’m impressed. It seems (and I know I’ve said this before) that you find yourself in a rut, drinking the same kind of tea again, and again. Ginger Chili Tisane definitely brings in flavors to shake up your tastebuds!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Arbor Teas
Description
We are extremely excited to offer this *hot* new organic herbal tea. Naturally caffeine-free, this loose leaf tisane packs a punch! With an herbaceous nose of rosemary, citrus, and ginger, its aroma reminds of a fragrant cocktail. But, once it is consumed you’ll be surprised by the warming and lingering heat! The liquor starts off mellow and sweet and then WHAM — the chili sets in to become the predominant flavor and you are not drinking a simple herbal tea, but along for a spicy, hot thrilling ride! Add a little honey to create a sweet and spicy organic tea concoction.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Maharaja Chai and Samurai Chai Blend from Teavana. . . . .
If you’re anything like me, your friends and family know you love your tea– and have been gifting accordingly this Christmas. In a recent office secret santa swap, I hit the total tea jackpot– a brand new gravity (gravi-tea– heee :)) steeper for my desk at work, and a GIGANTIC tin of this chai blend from Teavana. Score!
Now, early on in my tea-drinking years, Teavana was an initial fave, but in the last few years as I’ve discovered amazing small-batch companies and other small businesses that I love to patronize, I don’t really shop at this iconic mall tea shop anymore. That being said, I know they’re a beloved staple for so many tea drinkers, so I was pumped to get to try one of their more popular blends this holiday season through the generosity of a work friend.
First things first: does this dry leaf ever have the SCENT! It is perhaps the strongest spice from dry leaf that I’ve ever had. Super present are the scents of anise and cardamom, which jump right out to me in the brewed cup as well. This is lovely with some cream, no sweetener needed (unless you like your chai syrupy). My only complaint is that this blend is SO heavy on the spice that I can’t taste any of the tea leaf in my cup– which is supposedly a blend of mate, oolong, and green rooibos. I’d love for this to taste more distinctly tea-ified rather than just being so strong on the spices, but if you’re a fan of spiced chai like I am, this one will hit all the notes of a good chai for you. And deliciously warming for the wintertime, to boot!
Nicely done on this blend, Teavana.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong/Mate blend
Where to Buy: Teavana
Description
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
On the 2nd Day of Christmas 52Teas Sent To Me (Spoilers!). . . .
Today is the 2nd day of Christmas if you are following along with your own 12 Days of Christmas. I’m quite excited to see what tea we have in store for us today after yesterday’s delicious flavored green tea. So as I’m typing this I’m scratching off the label and today’s tea is. . .
Cranberry Soda Green Rooibos
I’m sorry but I feel that we need to announce that in a bigger way. For the 2nd Day of Christmas promotion in the 52Teas holiday pack. . .the tea of the day is
Cranberry Soda Green Rooibos!!!
So as you can probably tell, I’m exited about this tea. I’m a huge fan of green rooibos even tho its relative red rooibos are arch enemies. Green Rooibos just adds a gorgeous honey flavor that I’ve come to adore and love. So when I see a flavored one, I get a bit giddy.
This tea was again stunning. Gorgeous pops of green and red (or maybe a cranberry color-ha!) throughout the dry leaf. The dry leaf aroma was amazingly sweet and I couldn’t wait for my water to prep and the tea to finish brewing. Like the tea from yesterday, I ended up devouring this entire pouch in no time at all.
This tea had notes of a creaminess that I fell in love with right away. The creaminess reminded you of a cream soda, which is where I’m thinking the inspiration for this tea came from. The lovely cranberry tartness really mingled well with the honey flavors of the green rooibos. That underlying creaminess really drove this tea to something special. I could and did drink this tea for hours and hours. I infuse the tea leaves until they couldn’t give any more.
Cranberry Soda Green Rooibos is one of those tea that I will also crave more of and will never be able to get enough. Hopefully this will be a re blended because I need tons of this tea. This would be a perfect after dinner tea or I’m sure an dynamite cold brew. I could even see this tea being mixed with maybe a touch of an adult beverage and you’ve got yourself the makings of an fabulous cocktail.
What I’m really trying to say is this tea was tasty and I would like more.
Please see below for the official description of this tea. Click here to read all of 52Teas Mad Tea Musings!
Here it is, the 2nd day of our Christmas tea countdown! Today’s tea is a new tea that I crafted especially for this box. I wanted to have at least a couple of caffeine free teas for our advent box, so I decided to create a green rooibos based tea with a flavor that’s inspired by the sodas that find their way onto supermarket shelves this time of year . . .
Crisp Cranberry Soda Green Rooibos!
Tea Description: My inspiration behind this tea was the cranberry flavored lemon-lime soft drinks that come out around Thanksgiving. I thought that the best base for such a tea would be a green rooibos because it has a light, sparkling kind of taste to it naturally, and the light fruitiness of the rooibos would enhance the fruity flavors that I’d be adding to it.
Then I added lots of cranberries to the blend and some natural flavors to create a soda like taste.
Really nice! Light and crisp and refreshing!
organic ingredients: green rooibos, cranberries and natural flavors.
The flavor of this tea is really quite lovely! So light and crisp, with the cranberry notes weaving their way in and out and lingering in the aftertaste. It reminds me very much of it’s inspiration – the cranberry flavored lemon-lime soft drink – because if you taste one of those, you’ll find that the cranberry tartness doesn’t slap you upside the head. It’s a light, sweet yet pleasantly tart flavor – just like the soda itself. This is really nice – bright and uplifting. And it’s naturally caffeine-free so it’s something you can enjoy any time of day!
It’s sweet but not too sweet – with a really nice level of tartness to it (at least for me as I’m not a big fan of tart). The first few sips were light in flavor but now that I’ve taken a few sips, I pick up on more of the lemon-lime notes as well as a really lovely cranberry note.
I’m pleased with how this turned out!
To brew: use about 1 1/2 teaspoons to 12 ounces of hot water (because this is green rooibos, I set my thermostat on my Breville to 190°F) and let it steep for 8 minutes. Because this is rooibos, you can let it steep longer without worry of bitterness – very few tannins in rooibos! So you can let this steep for 10 minutes or beyond!
After finished steeping, strain and let cool for 5 – 10 minutes and enjoy! A teensy bit of sugar will help enhance the ‘soda’ experience of this tea, but it’s also quite delicious without the sugar!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Flavored Herbal/Green Rooibos Blend
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea will be available in very limited quantities beginning December 28th at 52Teas!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Holiday Tea Alert! Snickerdoodle from Simpson and Vail
Snickerdoodle from Simpson & Vail was a sweet, simple blend, perfect as the weather gets cooler. The tea has true cinnamon-stick flavor– not at all like cinnamon candy– definitely the cinnamon flavor of baked goods. The warm, spice flavor goes well with the gentle dry grass and honey notes of the green rooibos. Let me put the emphasis on “green” rooibos. Unlike red rooibos, which can have a tendency to get a little medicine-like, or cloying, the green rooibos always stays smooth, sweet, and mellow, so feel free to brew this gentle decaf cinnamon blend as long as you like.
In fact, I had to brew a much stronger cup to get beyond the simple, warm cinnamon notes and find more nutty, vanilla-cookie flavors. Don’t skimp on the leaf amount or brew time with this blend: steep it strong for the best Snickerdoodle flavors.
It’s no secret that I love teas with lots of bold spices like ginger and cloves, but I do realize these are not everyone’s favorite flavors. If you want something comforting and festive, but without all the overdone pomp and circumstance of a holiday chai, Snickerdoodle might just be the perfect tea for you.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal/Green Rooibos
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Description:
When we were kids Jim came home from elementary school with some recipes his teacher had given him (perhaps for an upcoming bake sale). I’ll never forget the day our Mom made a batch of Snickerdoodle cookies. They were an instant favorite in our house! The recipe was lost for awhile and we would continually ask Mom for “those lovely cinnamon cookies”. You never saw four happier kids than when she found the recipe again.
If you are a cinnamon lover then this Rooibos blend is for you! When you open the bag, the aroma of cinnamon cookie happily greets you. The brewed cup is amber colored with the taste of fresh baked snickerdoodle cookies. The sweet cinnamon taste lingers deliciously on the tongue.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Harbor Time Tea from Steepers Artisan Teas
Harbor Time Tea from Steepers Artisan Teas had me do a double take. WHY? Because of the wonderfully green ingredients! This tea contains: Peppermint, Green Rooibos, Hawthorn Leaf, Spearmint, Blackberry Leaf. Everything is all natural and pleasant to all the senses!
Another Green Rooibos!? YAY! Green Rooibos finally seems to be stepping up and facing the Red Rooibos! I felt for too long that Green has been hanging out in the background while the Red had all the fun! Harbor Time Tea from Steepers Artisan Teas has just enough Green Rooibos to make everything work in this blend of flavors! The peppermint/spearmint is the REAL rock star! It’s the loudest aroma and flavor in this mix! Lucky for me – I’m a true minty-nut!
I would like to do a quick shout out to the Hawthorn Leaf and Blackberry Leaf that is also being used in this Green Rooibos Tisane! I have been seeing more and more Blackberry Leaves being used and I think that is pretty exciting! Hawthorn Leaf I usually see in heavy herbal tisanes. Harbor Time Tea from Steepers Artisan Teas is minty, herbally, and has a speck of underlying sweetness! It’s a REAL KEEPER!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal/Green Rooibos
Where to Buy: Steepers Artisan Teas
Description
Exclusively blended for the beautiful harbor view in Gig Harbor, WA. HARBOR TIME TEA is a perfect minty herbal tea for relaxing in the moment.
Ingredients: Peppermint, Green Rooibos, Hawthorn Leaf, Spearmint, Blackberry Leaf.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
