Ginger Fresh from Herbal Republic

Ginger Diagram from Wikipedia

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Herbal

Where to Buy:  Herbal Republic

Product Description:

A great ginger tea that’s an original ayurveda blend.

Contains lemongrass, ginger, citrus peels, liquorice, peppermint and pepper.

Taster’s Review:

This is a tea that scared me a little at first.  I love all the ingredients individually, and I love many of them in blends, but having tried at least one licorice and peppermint blend that I didn’t like (and, in fairness, I should mention that there is at least one that I can recall that I did enjoy), seeing that these two ingredients were on the list worried me a little.  I mean, I love licorice.  I love peppermint.  But together in one tisane?  I was skeptical.

The flavors here are all so very assertive, and yet the cup itself is not off-putting or overwhelming.  It is a strong yet tasty tisane.  I think that it is the assertiveness of the ingredients that really makes this flavor combination work!  I think that if there was an ingredient here that was a little less than assertive, it would be overwhelmed.  As it is, the flavors here are bright, strong and vibrant.

The ginger is the first flavor I taste, and I don’t know if that is because it’s the first flavor that I expect.  The ginger is nicely accented with the black pepper, and these two warm ingredients really spice things up nicely here.  The lemongrass seems to soften the edge of the ginger, giving the cup a sweet and somewhat creamy taste.  The citrus peels seem to enhance the lemon-y taste of the lemongrass just enough to make this a very pleasing, citrus-y tasting tisane.

Because of the strength of the ginger, citrus and black pepper, the licorice and peppermint don’t really have much of a chance to come off as repellent (and that is a VERY good thing!)  Instead, they act as highlight flavors, offering just enough of their distinctively zesty flavor to the cup when needed without overwhelming the balance of the cup.

This is a tisane I enjoyed much more than I thought I would.  It is smooth but with a lively, zippy flavor that really grabs my attention.  It is delicious and sweet and quite soothing after a spicy meal (I had some rather spicy tacos tonight!)  I am finding that this cup is just what I needed after that!

Ginger Fresh from Herbal Republic

Tea Type: Herbal

Where To Buy: Herbal Republic

Product Description:

A great ginger tea that’s an original ayurveda blend.
Contains ginger, citrus peels, liquorice, peppermint and pepper.

Tasters Review:

Ginger.  Where to start!?  Ginger and I have a back and forth sort of relationship!  Some call me Ginger because of my Red Hair…and that’s fine, I suppose.  I LOVE Ginger in most foods.  Ginger in teas and tisanes!?  Well, that’s where it seems to get complicated!

Most of the Ginger Flavored Teas and Tisanes I have had aren’t really on my LOVE or even my LIKE list.  It seems most of the flavoring is overdone and/or cancel out the other flavors in the blend or mixture.  Sometimes it tastes too herbally or chemically or just spicy or peppery and nothing else!  So, yeah…I guess you can call me PICKY when it comes to Ginger-Type Teas and Tisanes!

Having said that…

Every assumption and thought I had holding me back from having a cup I am now completely throwing out the window! This was a complete surprise and in a good way! It proved me wrong in every way and I certainly don’t mind being proved wrong if the end result is a tasty tea/tisane!

I was so worried this was going to be TOO Gingery for me…it wasn’t…

The Lemongrass totally evened that out…both the lemon grass AND the ginger are gentle yet flavorful and pair well together! I wouldn’t change the ratio any…it’s good the way it is!

I can’t really smell the licorice but I can taste it a little bit and with the licorice and the pepper pairing they also work nicely together and are subtle…again, thanks to the lemongrass.

I can smell the peppermint but the taste of the peppermint really isn’t the flavor in the forefront…it’s just enough to be there – in comparison I would say a little less than the licorice. Maybe moreso in the aftertaste.

This is very different yet quite good and I am so pleased it’s NOT ‘run of the mill’ and even more so excited that it’s more than just ginger!

Earl Grey Blue Star from Herbal Republic

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Herbal Republic

Company Description:

Contains black tea, blue cornflowers and bergamot extract.

Soothing blend of selected darjeeling, blue cornflowers and bergamot extract.

Taster’s Review:

As I’ve stated on Steepster, this is a masculine Earl Grey.  While I think that Earl Grey should probably be masculine, because it is named after Earl Grey… and yet some Earl Grey teas that I’ve tried (and I’ve tried quite a few!) come off a bit flowery and are a bit more feminine than the name would suggest.

But, not this tea.  This is why I would call a masculine Earl Grey – and tastes the way I would expect an Earl Grey to taste:  fresh, bright, bold and daring!

I think it’s the Darjeeling tea.  The muscatel qualities of the Darjeeling meld together quite nicely with the bergamot, and give it a different flavor than a typical Earl Grey.  Bergamot, as many of you probably already know, is a fruit – an Italian orange, to be precise.  And while it does offer a citrus-y punch to Earl Grey blends, it also has a somewhat flowery note to it that often gives Earl Grey teas a somewhat feminine flavor… or at the very least, a more androgynous flavor.

But the muscatel of the Darjeeling – that slightly woodsy, musky note – seems to unite with the bergamot to offset some of the more flowery tones to the fruit, and allow the distinctive citrus flavors to shine through.  The result is a taste that is brisk and pungent:  very pleasant with a slightly sharp edge and not at all floral.

This Earl Grey is delicious and refreshingly different.  I prefer it hot (as I do with most Darjeeling teas) but it is also quite good chilled, although the flavors are a bit softer in the cold tea.  It is good without sweetener; however, if you choose to ice it, I do recommend adding a little sweetener to give the flavors a little more gusto.   A very good Earl Grey!