Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tay Tea
Tisane Description:
This Thai inspired chai is bursting with flavor. Red vanilla rooibos tea provides the base for this infusion mixed with lemon grass, cinnamon, cardamom and ginger.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I really love autumn and one of the main reasons for that is because as I’ve said before, hot tea just tastes better when it’s chilly outside. When that chill of autumn nips the air, it just feels better to hold a steaming cup of hot tea in my hand to warm me up. And no blend of tea does that better than a chai blend.
To brew this Tuk Tuk Chai from Tay Tea, I used my Kati Tumbler and measured out a heaping bamboo scoop of the tisane into the basket. I generally use some extra leaf when I’m brewing a chai blend because I like my chai blends strong. If I’m going to go latte with a chai, I add a scoop and a half of leaf, but since I didn’t want to go latte with this particular blend, I just used a heaping scoop. The rest of the parameters go like this: 195°F for 10 minutes. Remember, with rooibos, you can steep it extra long without worry that it will get bitter!
This chai blend has an interesting combination of flavors. The rooibos base has a honey-like flavor with earthy/nutty undertones and these flavors accentuate the earthiness of the spices in this blend nicely. The cinnamon, cardamom and ginger add a pleasant warmth that is well balanced. I’m tasting each of the spices without one overpowering the rest. The lemongrass adds a bright splash of flavor to the cup. And the vanilla softens the edges and adds a delectable sweet and creamy note.
It’s sweet and spicy, earthy and bright. It has a very satisfying warmth to it. It’s something that would be a nice, uplifting drink in the morning and a wonderfully cozy beverage for later at night. And because it’s naturally caffeine free, it’s something you can drink at any hour without worry that it will keep you up all night.
Oh Canada! Rooibos Blend from David’s Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos & Honeybush
Where to Buy: David’s Tea
Tisane Description:
Looking for a taste of Canada? Try this red rooibos tea. It’s sweetened with (what else?) maple syrup and sprinkled with delicious maple leaf candies. Plus it’s 100% diplomatic (well, caffeine-free) and tastes great in both our official languages. With green rooibos, honeybush, caramel and toffee bits to shake things up. A truly authentic Canadian experience.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The brewed tisane smells scrumptious! It smells like a pancake breakfast and it’s making my mouth water!
To steep: I used my Kati Tumbler and added 1 1/2 bamboo scoops to the basket of the tumbler. Then I added 195°F water to the tumbler and allowed the tisane to steep for 10 minutes.
And it tastes a little bit like a pancake breakfast too. The nutty notes from the rooibos and honeybush add a “pancakey” like flavor to the rich maple-y notes of the flavoring. The toffee and caramel notes enhance the sweetness (this is a very sweet pancake breakfast, mmm-kay?)
But really, even though I’m getting notes of rooibos, honeybush, toffee and caramel, this tisane is really about the maple! Sweet, delicious maple. Not like the weird corn syrup with maple flavoring. This has a real maple-y flavor to it. It’s sweet and luscious!
If you’re a fan of maple, this is a tisane you should try. It has a very dessert-y quality (obviously) so it would make a tasty low-cal/non-fat substitute for dessert or a great treat for the sweet tooth late night craving! And it’s naturally caffeine free!
Rooibos Ginger Peach Tisane from Tea of Life
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Tisane Description:
Pronounced “roy-boss” and means “red bush” in Afrkaans, studies have shown this tea is comparable to green tea in the amounts of EGCG it contains. Rooibos is totally pure and natural. It contains no colorants or preservatives.
And Rooibos tastes divine! It is less bitter than most teas.
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m making more of an effort to drink more tisanes in the evening. Until recently, I would continue drinking Camellia Sinensis teas well into the evening, up to just a couple of hours before I go to bed. And I’ve come to realize that it does affect my ability to fall asleep. So, when it starts getting close to bedtime, I’ve been turning to caffeine free drinks like rooibos and honeybush, and on the nights when I know I need to catch some zzz … I even have a chamomile tea. I’ve noticed a difference with my sleeping patterns now that I’m drinking more tisane later in the evening.
Tonight, I wanted something soothing on my tummy, so I reached for this Rooibos Ginger Peach from Tea of Life. I like that it’s sweet from the peach notes and the honeyed, nutty flavors of the rooibos, but there’s just enough of a zesty kick from the ginger to give the cup some contrasting flavor.
The ginger isn’t an overpowering flavor. It starts out rather subtle. The first couple of sips, I could barely taste the ginger. But as I continued to sip, the ginger flavor began to develop, and now there is a gentle heat at the back of the palate. I feel the warmth of the ginger but it’s not too hot.
And the sweetness of the peach curbs the zing of the ginger. Ginger and peach are a classic flavor combination and they really complement each other well in this tisane.
The rooibos is sweet, slightly earthy and nutty but I like that the drink doesn’t taste too strongly of rooibos, which is not my favorite flavor. The natural honey-like sweetness melds quite nicely with the peach and ginger notes.
Overall, a pleasant cup to enjoy later in the day.
Red-Tailed Hawk Black Tea Blend from Damn Fine Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Damn Fine Tea
Tea Description:
The shrill cry you hear when you see a bird of prey onscreen is almost always that of a Red-Tailed Hawk. It is this cry that, when heard while alone and in the wilderness, reminds you that you are indeed alone and in the wilderness.
The Red-Tailed Hawk is a blend of bright, delicious teas from the mountains of India.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is another tea that I purchased along with the Spring Keemun on the 4th of July (free shipping day!) It was the only other tea that Damn Fine Tea currently offers that I’ve not yet tried, and I’ve been wanting to.
The brewing parameters on the Damn Fine Tea website suggest brewing this less than 3 minutes for a “smooth, fragrant brew,” and a little longer for more briskness. My first pot of this tea, I brewed for 2 1/2 minutes in my Breville One-Touch, and that made for a brisk cuppa. For my second pot of tea, I decided to drop the steep time to 2 minutes to see how this changed the flavor.
The two minute steep time produced a pot that was much more to my liking. I still enjoyed the 2 1/2 minute pot of tea, but the 2 minute pot of tea was as promised: smooth and fragrant.
The description of this tea on the Damn Fine Tea website does not go into detail about what teas are used to craft this blend, only that it is a blend of “delicious teas from the mountains of India.” If I had to guess, I would say that there is probably some Assam in this blend given the tannic tones I experienced with the 2 1/2 minute pot of tea. (Don’t let that scare you off, though, as I mentioned before, just cut back on the steep time and you’ll have a really smooth, delicious pot of tea.)
This is a well-rounded blend: full-bodied and richly flavored. It has a nice malty tone to it with a delicious caramel undertone. Beyond a rich, earthy flavor, I notice hints of fruit in the distance. It’s a robust cup of tea, but when steeped for 2 minutes in my Breville One-Touch, it’s not overly astringent nor is it bitter. I wouldn’t even call it tannic at this point. It’s just … really, really tasty!
It makes for a lovely breakfast tea. It’s got some gusto to it and it makes a great tea for dipping biscotti or perhaps some cookies that you might have purchased at the bakery, thinking they were going to be soft cookies, only they turned out to be crunchy and hard. These types of cookies work out well for dipping into tea, and this tea seems to have improved the flavor of “toothsome” cookies.
And of course, I must mention the packaging of this tea. The label is GORGEOUS! This is a tea that I would have purchased for the tin alone, but I’m very happy to have a great tasting tea inside the beautifully labeled tin. And of course, Andrews & Dunham have included a “free gift” with this tea: a round coaster that matches the tin. Maybe not the most clever of gifts, but I personally love it because the artwork on this tin is so beautiful … I love having a coaster to match!
Rooibos Spiced Chai Tisane from Davidson’s Organics
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Davidson’s Organics
Tisane Description:
Rooibos (“red tea”) is harvested from shrubs grown in the high elevations of the cape regions of South Africa. Rooibos has a full-bodied, rounded character, a slight sweetness, and blends well with green tea, black tea, other herbs and spices. Enjoy this red tea based chai with just the right hint of sweetness and spices. Delicious with milk and sweetener. High in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, Rooibos is well-known for its numerous health benefits and calming effects. And it’s completely caffeine-free!
Learn more about this chai here.
Taster’s Review:
As I’m writing this review, it’s rather late in the evening. A little too late to indulge in something caffeinated. Caffeine in tea doesn’t usually overstimulate me but, I am still cautious once it is past a certain hour, because I don’t want to take a chance that I’ll be kept up from drinking too much caffeine. So I decided to try one of my caffeine-free choices, and this Rooibos Spiced Chai is what I grabbed.
Hmm … it’s alright. Not the best rooibos chai blends that I’ve tried. I’m finding it to be just a wee bit thin, not just in body but also in spiced flavor. I taste cinnamon and cloves, but I didn’t taste any other spice notes, and I guess that’s because the ingredients only list cloves and cinnamon. I don’t really consider that to be a chai … but OK. For me to think “chai” I want some peppery spices, perhaps some black pepper or ginger. Some cardamom would be nice too.
But overall, it’s not a bad tasting rooibos chai. It has a nice, honey-esque flavor to it, and the nutty flavor of the rooibos seems to accentuate the warm spice notes of the cinnamon and the cloves. I like the way the earthiness of the spice plays with the natural earthiness of the rooibos. It’s a pleasant, warm and cozy type of blend, and I found it helped to calm and relax me, which is what I want this time of night.
I don’t know if I’d buy this again. It’s not something I’d put on my must have list nor would I make it a staple of my tea cupboard. But it’s tasty.