Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Tea Horse
Tea Description:
An antioxidant rich white tea blended with herbs for a citrusy immune boost.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I am not a big fan of Echinacea, but I realize that it is a helpful herb, especially when feeling under the weather. So, I like to find teas with Echinacea that I can drink and actually enjoy. Something that doesn’t taste overly herbaceous or medicinal, something that isn’t off-putting.
This tea fills the bill! I don’t know if it’s because there isn’t very much of the Echinacea or if it’s because the combination of the ingredients melds together in a very pleasing way, but I’m inclined to believe that it’s because of the combination of ingredients. The lemongrass and lemon verbena offer a soft, smooth lemon-y taste that is sweet with a slight tingly tart note. Together with the white tea, it tastes creamy and is a bit reminiscent of the flavor of a lemon curd.
Overall, I find the cup to be a very pleasant experience – soft, sweet goodness, hints of spice (think white pepper), with prominent citrus and creamy, buttery notes. A deliciously different tea that helps support a healthy immune system. Sounds great to me!
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!
Bertha Palmer Centennial Tea from Local Coffee & Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Local Coffee & Tea
Product Description:
A soothing herbal rooibos with licorice root, fennel, peppermint and lemon verbena. Naturally caffeine-free.
When Mrs. Potter Palmer (Bertha Honoré Palmer), the well-travelled and powerful Chicago socialite, first set eyes on Sarasota in 1910, she proclaimed ‘Here is heaven at last’.
She soon owned 80,000 acres of what is now Sarasota County, operated a successful ranch, and made her graceful winter home and gardens at The Oaks on Historic Spanish Point.
Sarasota County celebrates the 2010 centennial of her arrival and honors the significant impact Mrs. Palmer made on our culturally rich and prosperous community. Please join us in raising a cuppa Bertha Palmer Centennial Tea to this incredible woman!
For more information about events throughout the year, visit www.BerthaPalmerAlive.com
Taster’s Review:
I love licorice and I like peppermint, but I don’t always like the two flavors together. Sometimes it works for me while others it does not. With this tisane, it works very nicely!
The rooibos base offers a hint of nutty/woody flavor, but, it iss barely distinguishable in the midst of the stronger flavors of licorice, fennel and peppermint. The lemon verbena is a soft citrus-y flavor that sits in the background and softens some of the sharper qualities of the other ingredients.
The licorice, fennel and peppermint are the dominant flavors here, but as I said before the lemon verbena softens them somewhat, making this combination very palatable. It starts off with a sweet licorice-y taste, followed by the taste of crisp peppermint. The bright, lemony note arrives right before the finish and leaves a cool minty/citrus-y aftertaste.
I like this best when served hot with a drizzle of agave nectar, but it’s not bad iced either. This is a tasty, soothing and very relaxing tisane. Nice!
Zest Energizing Tea from Teaquilibrium
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Yerba Maté
Where to Buy: Teaquilibrium
Product Description:
Teaquilibrium’s Energizing Sport Tea contains yerba mate, a South American herb known for its plethora of health benefits. A study of yerba mate at The Pasteur Institute and the Paris Scientific society in 1964 concluded that mate contains “practically all of the vitamins necessary to sustain life.” Mate is also a natural source of caffeine, theobromine (dark chocolate’s euphoric stimulant) and theophylline (tea’s soothing stimulant) which stimulate the central nervous system to create calm energy and mental clarity.
Yerba Mate fuels your muscles and nourishes your body with 15 amino acids, 24 vitamins and minerals including Vitamins A, C, E, B1, B2, Niacin (B3), B5, B Complex. Natural phytochemicals stimulate your immune system and boost your metabolism.
Taster’s Review:
OK, when I first saw the name of this tea, I was immediately reminded of “the other” Zest (you know, the bar of soap?)
But I’d much rather use THIS Zest as my “eye-opener” – and it certainly does do just that. The lemon-y flavor is bright and clean… and shall I say it? Zesty! The delicious, lemon-y flavor curbs the earthy notes of the yerba maté. This is not overly earthy or grassy tasting, it is quite smooth for a yerba maté, which sometimes can come off as a little bitter. I’m not getting that with this cup at all!
The lemon-y flavor is not incredibly tart, although there is a faint, tangy note at the finish that lingers a little bit with a tingly sensation on the tongue. This is something that is almost barely noticeable unless you’re focusing on it, though. Mostly what I get from the lemon is a smooth, sweet citrus-y taste that reminds me a bit of lemon curd.
The yerba maté is a green maté (that is, it isn’t roasted), so it has a fresher taste to it which is very fitting with the whole concept of “Zest.” This tastes fresh and bright and lively! It is certainly enough to get you going even on those days when you feel sort of sluggish. This will help rid you of those “sleepyzzz!”
I like to steep this energizing drink in a vessel that I can keep the leaves continually steeping as I sip… so I am using my Libre Mug. I put the loose leaf into the main chamber, and then add the hot water and allow it to steep for five minutes, then I screw on the filter lid and the filter lid strains the tisane as I sip it. Since yerba maté lacks the tannins of tea leaves, it doesn’t get bitter from lengthy brew times – it just gets more flavorful!
I like this!