Key Lime Ceylon from Fusion Teas

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Black

Where to Buy:  Fusion Teas

Tea Description:

Transport yourself to warm, summer days with the next best thing to a slice of key lime pie. This is a pleasing and healthful black tea blend of lime leaves, lime juice, lime pieces, and sweet candied pineapple. Delicious hot or cold.

Ingredients:organic black tea, black tea, pineapple, natural flavors, lemon peel, lime leaves, stevia, lime juice, lime bits

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Normally when I have a tea with lime flavors in it I end up with an off putting after taste, but that is not the case with this tea from Fusion Teas. To be honest I had lowered expectations for this tea because of that.

Instead what we have is a bright cheery cup of cake like lime goodness. Yes I do realize it is Key Lime PIE blend but to me there is a creaminess I always associate with cake rather than pie but it does have a creamy pie flavor to it.

When you let it cool … oh the real party begins! The flavors just pop and I even detect a slight whipped cream flavor!

I feel that Fusion Teas has really done well with mastering a lime blend that does not leave that funny flavor lingering on my taste buds causing me to make the pucker ick face!

Another issue I often have with blends using stevia is that the sweetness is over done – again not in this blend! Fusion Teas also masterfully blended this so that the sweetening agent does not take over.

The added kick of pineapple may be the key to this wonderful tropical feel. It adds a delicate but not cloying sweetness that is so nice. It is truly refreshing! I will be taking what is left of my sample from my SororiTea Sister Anne, and doing a cold brew.

I plan to stock up on this for summer, while the cold winter months are incoming in my area, it is nice to have something fruity to remind us of the sweet summer sun.

That is what this tea is – sweet summer sunlight, in a cup.

Yum!

Cinnamon Lemon Bai Mu Dan from 52Teas

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  White

Where to Buy:  52Teas

Tea Description:

Here’s our premium bai mu dan white tea blended with cinnamon, lemon myrtle, lemon balm, lemon verbena, lemongrass, lemon peel and natural flavors. Pucker up for some deliciousness!

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

WOW!  The combination of cinnamon and lemon may seem ordinary but the flavor of this tea is anything but ordinary!

The lemon flavors are so complex in this – it’s not like a squeeze of fresh lemon, it’s like a squeeze of fresh lemon, plus some lemon zest, plus some liquefied lemon curd all in one.  It isn’t as pucker-y as I expected it to be, instead, the lemon notes are rather smooth, lightly sweet, with only hints of tartness.  It tastes more like the flavor of a lemon-head candy than the flavor you’d get if you were to suck on a wedge of lemon:  sweet, almost candy-like, and very enjoyable.

The cinnamon is not as pronounced as I expected either.  Instead, it is well-balanced with the lemon-y flavors.  It doesn’t overwhelm the cup or come off as too spicy.  It is a warm cinnamon taste that complements the citrus notes:  the cinnamon curbs the sour flavor of the lemon just enough while the lemon softens the spicy blow of the cinnamon.  It is a very lovely marriage of flavors.

And I am happy to report that the Bai Mu Dan isn’t lost in all this wonderful flavor.  The white tea offers a light, fresh flavor.  I taste notes of hay and a sweetness that melds beautifully with the buttery notes of the lemongrass in the blend.

As I write this, I see that there are still 7 pouches of this tea left!  So, I wouldn’t be surprised if people were less than excited by the seemingly ordinary offering of a cinnamon and lemon flavored white tea.

Well, it’s time to get excited, because this tea is way better than I expected it to be.  Don’t get me wrong, I expected it to be delicious (I can’t really recall any time when 52Teas has left me dissatisfied) but, I didn’t think it’d knock my socks off the way it has.  The flavor is sweet and comforting; this is one of those teas that is perfect to cozy up to after a long, hard day!

I love this.

Lemolicious Ecuadorian Guayusa from 52Teas

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Guayusa

Where to Buy:  52Teas

Product Description:

I was debating what sort of blend we should create with this new ingredient [Guayusa], and Sheri kept insisting it needed to be a lemon blend. I thought lemon was kind of plain, but it did sound good. The problem I saw was that as bold as the guayusa is, it would take some serious doing to convince it to take on any other flavors. But that’s just what we did: I pulled out all the stops to give this bold guayusa a nice gentle (but noticeable) lemon nudge. We added lemon myrtle, lemon balm, lemongrass, lemon verbena, lemon peel and some sun-dried lemon slices along with natural lemon flavors.

Taster’s Review:

I’ve had this blend for quite a while now (and unfortunately it has long since sold out and is no longer available from 52Teas), it managed to get itself hidden in my stash and as I was sorting through my collection of teas the other day I came across it and decided I must start drinking it!

And I’m glad I did rediscover this Guayusa blend because it really is tasty.  As Guayusa is a rather bold tasting tisane anyway, it is not surprising that it is the strongest flavor of this cup.  The citrus-y lemon notes are there, but they are subtle … until you get to the aftertaste and it is in the aftertaste when the lemon really seems to grab me.  It never becomes a pucker-y type of lemon taste – it isn’t sour – but it is tart and that is what I experience in the aftertaste.  A tickle-y, tingly lemon-y taste coming to life on my palate.

But throughout the sip, the lemon is subdued and sweet, adding just a little lemon-y twist to the unique flavor of the Guayusa, which is somewhat similar to Yerba Maté but without the bitterness of Maté.  It is slightly vegetative, and a little earthy.  It is incredibly smooth.  There is no astringency to it.

Guayusa is a stimulating drink and I find that it has the same effects on me as coffee … with one notable difference:  I don’t get sick a couple of hours later when I drink Guayusa.  I get the boost of alertness without the sick effects afterward.  That’s a win-win in my book!

Wild Grey Green Tea from ESP Emporium

Tea Type: Green Tea

Where To Buy: ESP Emporium

Product Description:

Earl Grey is the most popular flavored tea. This classic has been known for ages as a black tea, and green tea lovers have long waited for the Sencha variation. But now, your waiting has come to an end. We introduced this blend very successfully some years ago. Our exquisite Sencha base was flavored with high-quality bergamot flavor and richly decorated with lemon peel and orange blossoms. Earl Grey friends can now finally discover green tea – and vice versa.

Tasters Review:

Wild Grey Green Tea from ESP Emporium smells like a gentle lemon/orange green tea mix.  It’s a more gentle flavored green, too. I can taste the green tea first then the orange and then the lemon jumps thru and it’s followed by a floral taste and then manages it’s way back to green tea type taste.  Now that I have taken you on the taste journey of this tea – I would like to say that this is a very satisfying but not overly done (or loud) green!

I was very happy with this cup!  I have tried several ESP Teas and am very impressed with the offerings as well as their customer service!  They think outside of the bag and I really like that!

Chocolate Earl Grey (TE13) from Upton Tea Imports

Tea Type: Black Tea

Where To Buy: Upton Tea Imports

Product Description:

Description:
A premium black tea combining the popular tastes of bergamot and chocolate with a hint of lemon. Decorated with flower petals and lemon peel for a delightful presentation.

Ingredients:
black tea, chocolate pieces (sugar, cocoa, soy lecithin), cacao beans, lemongrass, lemon peel, corn flowers, jasmine flowers, sunflower blossoms, natural & artificial flavor
Origin:
Germany

Tasters Review:

My wonderful SororiTEA Sister Anne (AKA LiberTEAs) sent me some of this a while back and I thought I would officially add it to our blog as one of our reviews.

It’s been a while since I posted a review about an Earl Grey and I don’t think I have ever reviewed an Upton Tea on SororiTEA Sisters yet…so I figured I would check two items off of my Tea Review Bucket List today!

Chocolate Earl Grey from Upton Tea Imports – first and foremost – smells AMAZING!  It’s pure chocolate and Earl Grey just like would would think – or HOPED – it would smell!  This sort of takes me back to my obsession with Orange Chocolate as well!  Ahhhh!

The aroma changes completely after infusion is complete. It’s still pleasant but not as awesome…I guess you could say.  Don’t get me wrong – the aroma is still YUMMY but I can’t pick out each flavor like before. This doesn’t bother me too much because this often happens with flavored teas – as you know.

This infuses very dark brown and has a bit of cloudiness to it…I am assuming from the sugary-chocolate bits.

The taste is different but very good. I would say I can taste the cocoa type taste first then it quickly changes into a chocolate…so almost first being hot cocoa taste but then more of a chocolate bar taste. From there you can taste the black tea but then quickly changes into more of a bergamot and chocolate type taste. It ends more of a chocolaty-black tea flavored taste. Thru-out the entire sip it’s very smooth and the flavor changes intrigue me.

This is the first cup in a long time I have had to think about it with each sip (more than just a few sips, that is).  This one kept my attention going strong the entire time.

As it cools at room temp for a few minutes I can taste a chocolate-woodsy-black tea type taste for the after taste more. This certainly isn’t a bad thing (in my book).

Anne told me to try a 2nd infusion with this one and I never pass up a 2nd infusion especially on a great cuppa! So for the 2nd Infusion…it smells like a gentle earl grey and cream.

The taste is still very smooth with a bit of sugary-ness to it and orange, floral, and cocoa hints hiding underneath.

This is a great infusion. Still a lovely tea overall…a nice treat!

Chocolate Earl Grey from Upton is an ADVENTURE in a cup!  A great way to start or end the day!  Wonderful!