Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Coffee Leaf Tea
Where to Buy: Wize Monkey
Tea Description:
Juicy mangoes all up in your boca.
Stay tuned for the official release of our mango flavour.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
You might remember back in November when I reviewed the Armando’s Original Blend Coffee Leaf Tea from Wize Monkey. I enjoyed that ‘tea’ – it was different from anything else that I had tried but similar in taste to Guayusa.
Well, the guys at Wize Monkey sent me some more samples to try, and this is the first one I’m trying: Mango Party Coffee Leaf Tea. The website says that this flavor is “coming soon” and I’m not sure exactly what that means, but if the idea of mango flavored coffee leaf tea intrigues you, keep your eye on the website for when it becomes available.
This is a bagged ‘tea’ but I appreciated that the bag is an unbleached bag and there’s plenty of room for leaf expansion. I put a bag in my teacup and added 8 ounces of water heated to 195°F. Then I let it steep for 4 minutes.
Wow! Mango!
The mango flavor is very prominent and I really like the way it marries with the flavor of the coffee leaf. It has a deliciously juicy, fruity flavor and the coffee leaf has a buttery flavor that I didn’t really pick up on when I tried the original coffee leaf tea in November. I think that the mango brings out the very best in the coffee leaf!
The overall flavor is smooth, buttery and MANGO! Really nice! This is something I’d be happy to drink again and again! Two thumbs up!
Mango Sticky Rice Green Tea from Ette Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Ette Tea
Tea Description:
Mango Sticky Rice is a blend of genmaicha, black tea, roasted barley, mango dices & candied coconut. Very much inspired by the Thai local dessert, the tea brews like a platter of roasted glutinous rice with the coconut and mango coming in towards the finish on the palette.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Mango Sticky Rice green tea from the Singaporean tea company Ette tea hits the nail on the head. I have not had a tea this interesting in a long while. The aroma of the dry leaf is underwhelming, but once you dunk those deep dark emerald leaves, teeny tiny toasted rice kernels, and the stray mango or coconut piece in water, something wickedly good this way comes. The aroma of the steeped leaf is also deceiving, but I must plough through! I still smelled normal genmaicha. Sigh. How could I have let my hopes up when I was feeling a bit betrayed? But then, I took my first sip. And was transported back in time.
I am sitting at a kitchen table, my nose barely peeking over the tabletop. It is a blistering hot summer evening. I must be what, 6? 5? My mother is stirring chunks of irregularly cut mangoes into a pot of rice, sweetened with coconut milk and plenty of sugar. I am absently chewing on the skin of one of her slashed mangoes, trying to suck out all the mango goodness. I wait patiently for her to finish, chomping on my mango skins and gnawing on the massive, surfboard pit. When my mother places a small bowl of mango sticky rice that she learned how to make from her mother, I eagerly grab a spoon and begin to devour all the sweet, fruity, coconutty goodness. I could lick a bowl clean in a matter of seconds.
To me, compliments could not be higher. This tea is so spot on with it’s sticky rice-ness, it’s light hint of mango, and coconut, that I am taken back in time. You know a tea is good by it’s time travelling qualities! I love how straightforward it is. I can pick out each flavor easily and distinctly. The name tells you what you’re going to get, nothing mysterious. But the only mystery to me is, “How did they make this tea so good?”
Papaya Mango Mate Herbal Tea from The Tea Guys
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea, Yerba Mate & Rooibos
Where to Buy: Tea Guys
Tea Description:
South American yerba mate makes the perfect base for this wonderfully tropical blend with sweet chopped papaya, apples, and refreshing lemongrass. The addition of green tea and organic rooibos helps to smooth the blend and create a healthful, antioxidant rich tea that is a wonderful way to re-balance anytime.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I look for an energy boost to get me through a challenging day at work, I usually bring with me a nice large jug of cold brewed tea. I absolutely love cold brewing. It’s the perfect lazyman’s way to prepare a nice cold beverage for the next day. I don’t have to double the leaf usually, and the results are almost always satisfying. All I have to do is dump some cold water over some leaves overnight and bam! Great results with little effort.
I like using tropical-themed teas for cold brewing, and Tea Guy’s Papaya Mango Mate certainly fits the bill. Smelling the dry leaf, there is something so nicely fruity about it. The papaya in this blend is most certainly the star. I have had plenty of other blends like this from Tea Guys, and I am sorry to let the cat out of the bag; most of their tropical/fruity teas smell the same. I wish the mango was much more present in this tea, I feel like the combination is really great and should not be forgotten when blending the tea. Looking at the dry leaf, I see a lot of flotsam that may only be 50% necessary. I see more blue corn flowers and safflower than I do yerba mate or green tea. While I do see plenty of lemongrass in this blend, I have had ones that have overwhelmed the loose with it, so see less of it is quite refreshing for a change.
What this tea promises in the dry leaf, it delivers in the cold brew! I get a herbaceous dry grassy note snuck into the body of the tea that alerts me to the Yorba. The tropical papaya shines through in both aroma and main flavor component. The lemongrass is leading lady, and lends a brightness to the tropical flavors. I must have been thirsty, because I gulped down the entire quart in my mason jar pretty quick without complaints. While I think that their Golden Grapefruit is a better iced tea, I would still recommend this tea for the cold-brew fanatic who needs a nice summer change up to their routine.
Tropical Green Tea from Octavia Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Tea Description:
This tea is so much more than what “tropical” might conjure in your mind. There’s sweet tropical flavours for sure, but there’s also an amazing floral character that envelopes the entire tea, a fun citrus finish that blends well with the vegetal notes of the green tea. So hard to describe, you should probably just try it.
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It seems to me that most tea companies out there that offer flavored tea selections offer a ‘tropical’ flavored tea. Some might offer a tropical flavored black tea, some might offer a tropical flavored white tea, and some might offer a tropical flavored green tea. But it seems to be a very popular flavor profile.
And these tropical flavored teas may be a little different from one another. They might have any flavor combination of coconut, pineapple, mango, papaya, banana or passion fruit – or other ‘tropical’ fruit. The name ‘tropical’ leaves the door open very wide for interpretation.
But even though the base might be different and the fruit combination different, it seems to me that most of the tropical flavored teas that I’ve tried in the past (and I’ve sampled quite a few in my years as a tea reviewer!) … well, most of them blend together into a very abstract sort of painting that represents the many different tropical fruit flavored teas that I’ve tasted. Not many of them really stand out as a memorable tropical fruit flavored tea, not many of them really step forward in my memory as one that is uniquely different from the crowd.
Until now.
This. This Tropical Green tea from Octavia is deliciously different. Uniquely different. Memorably different!
It’s the grapefruit! The grapefruit adds a really lovely note to this tea that is quite unlike any other tropical fruit flavored tea that I can remember.
The passion fruit and mango are two sweet fruit flavors and they are beautifully contrasted by the tart and slightly bitter notes of grapefruit. The grapefruit adds a bright element to the cup that really perks up the flavors and keeps the tea from tasting like your average, every day tropical tea offering that you’ll find from other tea companies.
Not to say that those tropical teas are not tasty – I enjoyed most of what I tried. But this one is on another level. And the grapefruit has made all the difference.
I don’t taste much of a floral note from the rose, but that’s alright. The rose can be there just to beautify the blend and make it visually interesting. I’m alright with that. Because the grapefruit makes this tea a delightful tasting tea that it doesn’t need anything else. There is a tantalizing sweetness from the passion fruit and mango and there is appealing contrast from the grapefruit. Perfection!
I’ve enjoyed the other teas that I’ve tried from January’s box from Amoda, but this tea elevated the box from really good to GREAT! Have you subscribed to Amoda yet? If not, why not? What are you waiting for?
Mountain of Mango from Inca Tea
Tea Type:
Fruit Tisane
Where To Buy:
Inca Tea
Product Description:
Mango has always been a favorite fruit of the founder so he decided to add a little twist to the original blend. Its a refreshing blend of mango, sweet herbs, and citrus flavors.
Mango, Purple Corn, Hibiscus Petals, Natural Flavors, Rose Hip Peel and Apple.
Click HERE to learn more about Purple Corn.
Tasters Review:
I have to say upfront I wasn’t overly thrilled about trying this. Two reasons – one – because of the hibiscus…and – two – it’s a fruit tisane. But once I tasted it – my mouth was shut REAL FAST! Here’s why…
Upon steeping this sachet in my hot water – I was excited to see the color form to purple and then change to a wine color. BUT…was it because of the hibiscus or was it because of the purple corn? The jury is still out. The aroma of the post-steeped tisane was a pleasant one. It was was certainly mango!
I feared this tisane would be too hibiscus-intense. I was afraid that it would be way too sweet and tart…but it wasn’t. It was an eye-opening tisane experience that is for sure – but in a good way! It was tasty both hot and cold. The hibiscus that I usually dread was done quite well in this blend of fruit and petals. The apple spoke well with the mango but the mango took front stage, thankfully! As for the purple corn – I’m not sure if it contributed to the over all flavor of this tisane – but just knowing it was there – and knowing the health benefits of Purple Corn was a definite PLUS.
I have to give credit where credit is due – this one really surprised me! The flavors were nicely done and all worked well together! Now I won’t be as hesitant to try the other tisane offerings from Inca Tea.
