Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos & Honeybush
Where to Buy: Tea Forté
Product Description:
The sunny scent of fresh picked citrus complemented by the comfort and taste of ginger with a lingering finish of the topics.
Taster’s Review:
I was a little worried about steeping this single steep in my KATI tumbler for fear that the thin, needle-like leaves of the rooibos would filter through the mesh infuser basket. But I am happy to report that no rooibos leaves (or any other particles) managed to fall through the basket! Yay!
Prior to infusing this tisane, I could smell the lime and kiwi very prominently, with mere hints of ginger lingering in the background. It was a little surprising, actually, as ginger tends to be a very aggressive spice that often overthrows the other ingredients in a tisane blend. And while I do enjoy ginger, I am glad that I could smell the lime and especially the kiwi here.
The aroma that I’m experiencing after brewing is slightly medicinal. I can still smell the citrus notes, and a softer note of kiwi. While it does smell slightly medicinal (sort of like eucalyptus), it isn’t exactly off-putting – but it does give me cause to approach it somewhat apprehensively.
This is tasty! The lime and kiwi are prominent in the flavor, as is the ginger. It is only mildly peppery, and it is a very pleasing contrast to the sweet kiwi flavor and the tangy lime. The combination of the honeybush and the rooibos provides a nice background – one that is nutty and slightly sweet. It melds well with the other flavors of the cup.
Another winner from the Herbal Retreat Collection from Tea Forté!
Iced Tea Series II (Tropical Fruit Series) from 52Teas, Part 1: Kiwi Flavored Black Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
About This Iced Tea Series:
After the success of our first Iced tea series, we’re going for round two. This time, all of the teas are tropical fruit flavors! We’ve also increased the amount of tea in each package to make sure you get a good solid gallon of iced tea out of each pack.
Here are FIVE unique iced tea blends we’ve created from high quality Nilgiri CTC teas. These are uber fine teas, so they are not as pretty as our whole leaf teas, but they steep up a bold, rich, flavorful iced tea. We’ve packaged them in approximately 1.2oz. pouches, which is just enough for one gallon of iced tea (more if you re-steep) so you can just rip them open, dump them out and steep. No measuring required!
Taster’s Review:
I really enjoyed the last iced tea series from 52Teas so I was confident that I’d enjoy this set of five teas as well. This series even has a theme: tropical fruit.
The first thing that you’ll notice about these tea is that it looks different from a typical loose leaf tea. This is a very fine cut black tea … almost resembling tiny granules. And if you’ve had teas from 52Teas in the past, you’ll also notice that this tea looks different from other 52Teas blends in another way – it doesn’t have big chunks of fruit or other additives in the blend.
But that doesn’t mean that these teas skimp on flavor. The flavor is very well-defined in this tea. The kiwi notes are so juicy and delicious. When describing the flavor of kiwi, people often compare it to a banana, a strawberry and/or a pineapple, because the kiwi fruit possesses notes that are similar to each of these. I can especially taste the banana notes here – in fact, when I first opened the package I could smell banana and I had to double check the label to see if I hadn’t accidentally opened a package of banana tea by mistake.
The black tea base is delicious. It is brisk and there are hints of malt. It is astringent, but not overly so. Brewed properly, there is no bitterness to this tea, just a beautiful, lightly sweet, crisp taste that highlights the flavor of the kiwi fruit very well.
This has been a very hot summer so far – but the heat becomes bearable when I have a glass of delicious iced tea.
Nirvana from American Tea Room
Tea Type: Green Tea
Where To Buy: American Tea Room
Product Description:
A heavenly blend of Japanese Sencha, rose petals, berries. figs and kiwi. This green tea is light in caffeine. Nirvana is the perfect tea for inner reflection
Tasters Review:
With a name Nirvana…how can I resist trying this tea!?
First, I HAVE to tell you that the added fruit bits are HUGE and this aroma is awesome! There was a LARGE berry in my strainer…while I was infusing this and I was VERY attempted to eat it after I was done infusing the tea. So-much-so that I twittered about the temptation and American Tea Room quickly responded that they were dried fruits within the mix and absolutely ok to snack on! I’ll admit I was even more tempted to gnaw on it but refrained.
This is a nice Sencha but the fruit really adds to everything and I’m so thankful for NO Hibiscus in this loose leaf mix! Thank YOU American Tea Room for NOT adding Hibiscus to this fruity tea!
YUM! This is a nice fruity green! YUM!
Kiwi Lemon Oolong from Shanti Tea
Tea Type: Oolong
Where To Buy: Shanti Tea
Product Description:
(Since this is a BRAND NEW TEA – there is not an official product description on their website yet so I will post more information on their company as a whole…)
Shanti Tea was founded in 2009 by my wife and I, students in Naturopathic Medicine and Architecture. Our vision is to combine something we love (tea, of course), with the ideals that shape our daily lives: health, sustainability, and social consciousness. We fill a very particular niche in the Canadian tea market, as we provide only the most fairly traded, the most sustainably grown, the healthiest, and the most delicious tea you’ve ever tasted – As a result, we are often the only supplier of organic, biodynamic, and Fair Trade Certified varieties of specialty tea on the Canadian market.
Every single one of our teas are certified organic by our suppliers and by the producing countries, and meet the strict requirements for USDA Organic, EcoCert (Canada), and European Certification Bodies. We do not sell any non-organic teas.
Most of our teas are Fair Trade Certified by Transfair Canada.
Tasters Review:
As I stated above – this is a brand new flavored oolong from Shanti and I am super excited about it!
At first sniff – dry – right out of the package…my first reaction was…”OH! It’s Lemon Pledge”…but wait there’s more! I can smell the Kiwi too! How lovely, I thought to myself! It’s very lemon and quite kiwi!
Kiwi Lemon Oolong from Shanti Tea infuses quite dark for an oolong but I really like the color!
The taste is refreshing and juicy! Lemon and Kiwi – of course! It’s a pure delight! I really like Kiwi Lemon Oolong from Shanti and it’s a very flavorful – flavored Oolong! Keep an eye on their website for availability!
Blueberry Kiwi White Tea from Boston Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Boston Tea Co.
Company Description:
Tender as the touch of a loving hand, this delicate Chinese white tea soothes your weary soul with the sweet juiciness of blueberries and kiwi and the gentle scent of meadow-grown malva flower petals. Brew some inner-peace and drink up a good-for-you cup!
Taster’s Review:
The dry leaf smells of fresh fruit – berries and melon! – with a hint of flower and a leafy/herbal-y scent. The brewed liquor presents a slightly different smell – it becomes more of a blending of the fruit, flower and leaf, but, it is still very lovely. Before taking a sip, I first inhale deeply so that I can enjoy the fragrance before I enjoy the taste.
With such a delightfully aromatic tea one might think this would be an abundantly flavored cup – to the point of being overwhelming. But this is not the case with this tea.
This is a light-bodied white tea. The base is crisp with a tender sweetness and a fresh taste. And the flavors of this tea are in harmony with the delicate yet complex flavors of the white tea.
Blueberry is the most prominent fruit essence here, but, I like that I can also taste the kiwi flavor here too. Kiwi has always tasted like a cross between a strawberry and a melon to me, and that is what I taste here, together with a sweet-tart taste of authentic blueberry flavor.
I enjoyed my first cup of this tea as a hot tea, but, I found that it was even tastier when served iced. There is something so incredibly refreshing about this blend – the natural sweetness, the balance of fruit flavors, and the light, clean essence of the white tea – that makes it a perfect candidate for iced tea!