Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Trail Lodge Tea
Tea Description:
After a lot of sampling and mixing various teas, we have come up with our very own “house” blend (or maybe I should say “Lodge” blend). The most inspiring places I have ever visited is the Rocky Mountain National Park and the High Country of Yosemite. The mountain springs and lakes were sparkling and the views were magnificent and serene. Visiting these places filled me with tranquility. We can’t often get away to places like this, but you can relax with a simple cup of tea that hopefully can bring some tranquility in your life. That is the inspiration for High Country Tea. It has a clear brisk taste, great for ice teas. The Yunnan gives it a smooth, creamy taste that is perfect for a latte. This tea is a mixture of three Fair trade certified black teas and has a medium body and several golden tips. It is the perfect tea to keep on hand since it is so versatile.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have tried a few teas from Trail Lodge Tea and have enjoyed what I’ve tried, so when they contacted me recently to try some of their new blends, I was only too happy to do so!
I’m liking what I’m tasting with this tea. It is a really nice, well-balanced blend. It has a certain ruggedness to it, something that would serve one well as a first tea of the day – it’s robust and even a little bit hefty. But, it isn’t too heavy, it has a certain, crisp, brisk lightness to it too, which makes it a nice choice for afternoon sipping as well. It’s especially nice served hot when it’s chilly and windy outside (like it is right at this very moment). It’s got a that cozy factor to it that I need right now!
This is a blend of three teas – Ceylon, Yunnan, and I suspect possibly Assam? There is a rich malty character to this that makes me think Assam … but it could also be a Nilgiri, because I’m not tasting that typical bitter note that I sometimes get with an Assam. Either way, it’s a pleasantly rich and smooth tea, with notes of malt, hints of a peppery backdrop and it is crisp and vibrant. Invigorating!
And as smooth and rich as it is, I also suspect that the evenness of the flavor here would make this an excellent iced tea too (it’s just a little too cold for iced tea for me though!) It would hold up well to the additions of milk and sugar if you want a sweet latte, but, I’m liking it just fine served straight with no additions. (When served iced, I’d try this with a little bit of mint, I think that the crispness of the mint would accent the brisk tones of the tea quite nicely).
An excellent tea from Trail Lodge Tea – I’m really happy I got to try it!
Orange Danish from Trail Lodge Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Trail Lodge Tea
Tea Description:
You’ll feel like you visited the bakery when you taste this tea! The vibrant green tea leaves are joined with the sweet taste of orange, almond, and spice to taste like an orange danish.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yum! I’m loving this tea.
It has a very bright and sunny orange-y kind of flavor to it, but I can totally taste the “danish” connection too. There is this sort of nutty, buttery, pastry-like taste to it, very rich and almost creamy, that provides that danish-y type flavor.
I like the mellowness to this cup as well. Even with the bright flavor of orange, there is sort of a calmness to this cup, very sweet and gentle. It would make a great dessert tea, or a mid-day cup for those times when you want something a little bit sweet that won’t weigh you down or cause you to feel sluggish.
The taste of the green tea is not as distinguishable as I normally would like it to be, however, I think that the way the flavors all sort of meld together into a seamless taste works out well. While the green tea is not as sharp or distinct as it could be, instead, it becomes sort of soft and buttery, providing a nice background for the pastry flavor. It all comes together in a very unified way, and it’s quite enjoyable.
Cheers!
Rooibos Tiramisu from Trail Lodge Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Trail Lodge Tea
Tisane Description:
Have desert in a cup! This rooibos tea combines the flavors of chocolate, caramel, and hazelnuts.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve tried a few tiramisu flavored teas and tisanes, I even attempted to capture the flavor of tiramisu in a tea at one point. This tisane comes the closest to tiramisu … at least of all the ones that I’ve tried … including my own attempts!
I taste the coffee notes, and it melds harmoniously with the flavor of the hazelnuts, to give it a roasty-toasty, nutty kind of undertone to complement the flavor of the rich chocolate and sweet caramel. All the components of this blend marry very well, to create a very unified flavor that tastes like tiramisu. It doesn’t taste like “deconstructed” tiramisu … it tastes like tiramisu that you might indulge in at an Italian restaurant.
The overall flavor is creamy, sweet, and decadent. Really luscious! It makes a perfect dessert tisane that you can enjoy any time of day because it’s *almost* caffeine free. I say “almost” because I’m not really sure how much caffeine the coffee beans add to this, but, I can say that I don’t feel it over-stimulating me … it feels very comforting, actually, in much the same way as chocolate and caramel comforts me.
This is oh-so-delicious! I’d recommend this one to even those who usually dislike rooibos, because I don’t taste a strong “rooibos” flavor, and what little I do taste seems to meld with the nutty tones of this tisane so well that it doesn’t really stand out. An excellent dessert tisane!
Mexican Wolf Chai from Trail Lodge Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Trail Lodge Tea
Tea Description:
This is a Mexican twist on Chai. It contains vanilla and chocolate, and if you add milk to your cup of tea, it will be just like drinking a cup of Mexican hot chocolate. Ingredients: Fair Trade CertifiedTM black tea, cinnamon, ginger, clove, chocolate, cardamom, vanilla, and mint.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow!
This is one of those chai blends that I sip and elicit an audible response, something like mmmmm~! but with more rapaciousness to it, so I think that the name of this chai – Mexican Wolf Chai – seems a very appropriate name.
The spices are warm but this is not what I’d call a strongly spiced chai. It isn’t exactly a gently warm chai blend either, it’s somewhere happily in between. Warm and delicious, with an emphasis on the cinnamon which I think is actually necessary to this blend, since it is a “Mexican” chocolate chai… and anyone who has enjoyed a Mexican hot chocolate before is familiar with the cinnamon-y taste to it. This blend is vaguely similar to a delicious Mexican hot chocolate thanks to the addition of the chocolate to this blend, and I am really enjoying the chocolate-y notes to this.
But this is not really a strongly chocolate blend, so this isn’t something I’d really recommend to a chocoholic in search of a chocolate fix, this chai wouldn’t satisfy that need. But, it is one that I’d recommend to those looking for a unique twist on chai, because this is definitely one of the more unique blends I’ve tried in a long time.
What makes it really unique is the addition of mint to the blend. Mint flavor can sometimes be a little bit aggressive and overpower a tea, but that doesn’t happen here, it is nicely balanced to offer a hint of mint flavor that complements the chocolate notes nicely as well as highlights some of the spices quite well. To bring it all together, there is a touch of vanilla that gives it a smooth, creamy-sweet taste that negates the need for milk or cream to make this a latte. This is very “latte-ish” on its own, without those additions. I would, however, recommend a little pinch of sugar (I chose turbinado sugar for this), as it does bring out some of the subtle notes of this chai, particularly the spice.
This is a remarkable chai blend – definitely worth keeping on the shelf for the times when you want something warm and comforting and satisfyingly sweet to sip!