With a name like Summer Lovin, this has got to be brewed as an iced tea. I brewed this tea with hot water at double strength, and poured it over ice. I took a sip while brewing the tea hot, and was surprised to get hit with a wave of out-of-season nostalgia. Cinnamon and citrus always remind me of wintertime spices, and brewed warm, this tea almost seems like an orange chai.
On paper, hibiscus and cinnamon sound like weird bedfellows, but the combination turns out to be well-balanced, both hot and iced. While hibiscus is an overbearing herb, there are undertones of lemon and rose, to give some variety to the taste. Sweet licorice root and earthy cinnamon tame the hibiscus, and keep it from getting too tart.
This would be a great tea for showing off in a sangria or summertime fruit punch. It brews up a luscious ruby color, and looks amazing in any glass pitcher: vibrant red against snowy, white ice cubes and contrasting fruit slices.
Pick up a bag of this blend before the heat of summer takes you by surprise!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: becauseURpriceless Etsy Shop
Description:
This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Orange & Papaya from Tea-Shirt Teas. . . .
I’ve been in a green tea mood lately, tasting all the flavors and mix-ins that go best with those lighter tea leaves. It was the perfect day to try Orange and Papaya from Tea Shirt Teas.
I was immediately impressed by the delicious scent of the tea in the dry leaf. It was amazingly fruity, and hard to resist smelling the dry leaves in my mug while I waited for the water to boil. The leaves themselves are all dressed up for the occasion, with big chunks of dried papaya and orange slices mixed in among the green tea.
Along with the papaya is a hefty dose of lemongrass, but despite all the lemongrass in the dry leaf, the brewed blend tastes most strongly of orange and papaya. A hint of mango comes out at the back of each sip. It all makes for a vibrant cup of citrus and green that can’t help but jazz up your afternoon.
This blend is sweet and fruity enough to love it hot or iced, and either way the luscious fruit flavors were super satisfying and thirst-quenching. Though I tried the blend both hot and iced, with all these tropical flavors, this blend is absolutely calling out to be the next pitcher of iced tea in your fridge. Drinking it cold, the fruit makes the tea almost candy-sweet, like a more mature fruit punch.
This is a great blend for when you need to brighten your day and imagine yourself in a sunny grove of tropical fruit.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tea Shirt
Description:
Ingredients: green tea (60%), lemon grass, apple pieces, freeze-dried apple pieces, orange slices, mango flakes, papaya flakes, flavouring.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Green Tea Mango from Story Of My Tea. . .
This tea comes with a delightful “HELLO!” on the packaging. A tall thin envelope complete with a greeting from the tea itself: “Hello, I am the most delicious and energizing Green Tea Mango iced tea you will ever taste!” Well tea, if you are excited, I guess I am too!
The conversation doesn’t stop there though. This tea goes on to say “People say I am *Smooth *Sweet * Tropical. I contain caffeine. I am made of Chinese grown sencha, mango flavor and sunflower blossoms”. So that was pretty informative.
I opened the package and to my surprise, this was one large tea bag made for pitcher brewing. But how do I steep this pitcher of tea? Well, the tea had an answer to that question right on the package: “Cold Steep (Simple & Smooth) – Toss me in a quart of water and refrigerate for about 4 – 6 hours. or Hot Steep (Quick & bright) – Steep me in half a quart of hot water (170F for 3 – 4 minutes). Then add another half a quart of ice cubes.” Well thanks again, tea…you are so helpful! I went with the cold steep method and as soon as the water hit the teabag, the scent of mango filled the air. I left this for 5 and a half hours for no other reason than I forgot about it.
Sipping on it now, I will say the tea might actually live up to its promise of being the “most delicious Green Tea Mango iced tea”. This tastes just like 7D Dried Mangoes. Super sweet and deliciously fruity. The green tea base, as promised, is smooth and thus hangs out in the background, contributing the slightest bit of grassiness. It really is quite good and I doubt I will have any problems finishing off the pitcher.
So this was certainly a great introduction to Story of My Tea. The packaging was a lot of fun and the pitcher sized teabag is so simple to brew. Plus, the company delivers on flavor as well! What else can a girl ask for?
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Story of My Tea
Description
The sencha base in this tea, creates a refreshing, sweet and smooth iced tea. The aroma of fresh mangos rises from the steeped tea. It brings out tropical vibes and beach days. This tea is incredible iced and amazing hot.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Anything but Basic – Louisa May Alcott from Simpson and Vail
There is nothing better than sharing a hot cuppa with hot ladies. Wait, did that came out wrong? I mean strong, independent, educated ladies. Yeah, that’s who I’d have tea parties with! So, I invited two amazing students from my “Women’s Contributions to Science” class for a tea party. And, what better tea to drink than one inspired by the author of Little Women, Louisa May Alcott.
Simpson and Vail created fandom teas for several authors, and this green blend has a soft spice scent with the dried apple bits – is it nutmeg that it reminds us of? Pine? As we brew up this pumpkin pie colored treat, we bring up recent TED talks, STEM, swiping right… Hey, just because we love Autumn doesn’t make us totally basic! And neither is this literary tea – it’s good for multiple infusions and it builds flavor as you drink it. There is a midweight mouthfeel, and a certain sweetness from the Rose that lingers into the aftertaste.
It’s a heartwarming blend, and we have high spirits for the coming equinox, including brainstorming for Halloween costumes. If our Louisa May tea was alive today, we picture her costumed as T.Swift in a flannel, and this tea is the perfect embodiment of that. Now if you’ll pardon me, I’ve been inspired to go crochet a scarf for some eligible but aloof bachelor.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Description:
Early in Little Women, while visiting a sick Laurie, Jo says that her sister Meg’s blancmange is made “very nicely.” Later, her own attempt turns out “lumpy” and accompanied by strawberries that were “not as ripe as they looked.” Our blend follows Meg’s example and is almost, as Laurie says, “too pretty to [drink].” Combining almond and strawberry flavors, this blend brews to a delicious tea that is fruity and aromatic. It manages to be both sweet and light thanks to the Chunmee green tea base and the gentle floral notes added by the rose petals.
Ingredients: Green tea, apple pieces, flavoring, strawberry pieces and rose petals.
Certified Kosher
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Chocolate Earth from Story of My Tea. . . . .
I travel a lot to Texas with my kiddo, so when I saw a Houston-based tea company, I knew I had to learn more. This Kickstarter-founded company, called Story of my Tea, recently offered two of their new Hello! pre-measured iced teas for free (just pay S&H) ….. an iced teaser, if you will 😉
I’m familiar with cold brewing tea bags, but what really got me about this company was the awesome variety of blends. I chose Rhubarb Oolong and Chocolate Earth (a puerh and white tea blend) as my free samples.
First off, their packaging is really clever. The back of the sealed foil packet has clear steeping instructions for both hot and cold steeping (has anyone noticed a taste difference between these styles?). Then there’s a QR code you can just scan which shows you much, much more about using each blend with food pairings.
Inside is an enormous 5×3(ish) inch unbleached bag of cocoa-scented leaves. I can’t see clearly the percentage mix of white and fermented tea (or other flavorings).
I noticed that the wet puerh leaves didn’t expand and fill the satchel the way the oolong bag did after brewing, but I was still grateful for that extra room because 1) I am relieved there’s enough room for the leaves to expand and release all their flavor and 2) this ENORMOUS bag means I can now brew four big cups at a time instead of just one!
My first infusion was copper and the second, longer steep became a mahogany color, exactly the same colors as an aging penny. The liquor smelled of a molassesy s’more.
Sipping it… well, you know how silk invites you to run your hand along the cool, soft fabric? Chocolate Earth feels exactly like that in your mouth. Buttery smooth, it excites first as cocoa and moves to all taste buds, then lingers sweetly for just a moment with a vanilla bourbon.
I have an affirmation board near my tea cupboard that literally reminds me “I HAVE ENOUGH TEA” , but somehow it did not deter me from this purchase Ha. It also has a list of what teas I want to buy when my cupboard stops overflowing. Anyhow, on the list was Numi’s chocolate Puerh, (which I discovered in my first Zen Tea Bar box and absolutely loved), But now that line has been replaced with Story of My tea’s Hello! Chocolate Earth – – it’s THAT awesome.
Here’s the scoop!
Tea Type: Puerh
Where to Buy: Story of My Tea
Description:
This tea has the milky and caramel notes of the white tea, is extremely smooth and very aromatic. Is great iced as a dessert or after a summer BBQ.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!