Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Herbal Blend’

SpecialTea Brew is an online outfit out of my neck of the woods – the Pacific Northwest (of the U.S.). According to their origin story, the op was inspired by tea with a grandmother. This is the third “tea with grandma” foundation tale I’d heard, and – you know what? – it works on me every damn time. I never had tea with my grandparents, so I feel like I missed out on something growing up. Perhaps my tea exploration would’ve begun sooner had I a “tea with grandma” story of my very own. But I digress.

Their Mountain Berry herbal blend consisted of hibiscus, rosehips, orange peel, cornflowers, and blueberries. The last bit, they did NOT skimp on. There were big, plump pieces in the medley; same with the rosehips. Usually, freeze-dried fruit additives are small or cut-up in blends like this. Not so here.  My only nitpick was the fragrance; it was dry and tart, usually a sign of too much hibiscus. However, there was a citrusy follow-up thanks to the many chunks of orange peel present.

Brewing instructions per the vendor site recommended a four-to-five-minute steep in 208F water – 1.5 tsp. per cup. I did about a tablespoon in 8oz. for the full five. It was a berry blend, so naturally it could take a lot of infused abuse.

The liquor brewed up cherry red – as is to be expected from anything with hibiscus. The nose was, oddly enough, mostly berry and citrus – hibiscus tartness was a distant second. There seemed to be sweetness to the scent as well. Hibiscus did rear its red-tart head in the taste, dominating the forefront, although I welcomed it. The fruity aspects picked up right after, and the flavor lingered to a rind-like finish. Other than the blunt introduction, I rather liked this blend. I’m certain that the best way to have it would be sweetened and/or iced. On its own, though, it holds up well enough.

You can purchase the Mountain Berry directly from the SpecialTea Brew website.

Ah, the pleasure of a good smelling tea. Often the dry leaves, as-of-yet un-infused, reveal a lot about the tea that is to come. The spicy and sweet notes of the dry leaves of this herbal tisane blend in an attractive melody that promises a deep and possibly heavy drink.

Utilising a Tea Forte Café Cup, I steeped this pyramid infuser for four minutes using just-boiled water. Smelling the infusion, it is clear that cinnamon is definitely what lends much of the spiciness to this tea’s aroma. However, with the first sip, it becomes immediately evident that cinnamon is not all that is in Tea Forte’s Flora. The sweetness of liquorice root melds with the explosion of flavour from the hibiscus in this blend. The hibiscus adds a lot of body to this tisane and sweeps through one’s mouth, filling it with flavour.

A re-steep of this herbal blend offers a much weaker version of the first cup, but with the same balance of flavours. This is one blend that is worth trying and might make a tasty chilled drink as well. I would give Flora an 83/100 on my personal enjoyment scale.

You can purchase the Flora directly from the Tea Forte website.

7 minute brew time with boiling water

Very pretty blend. Green and yellow “grass” like cuttings are sprinkled throughout this lemony blend.

Champagne colored brew.

Lemon grass is the dominant flavor. This blend would be great added to another tea for that just right lemon addition.

As I neared the end of my cup, I noticed the astringency of this herbal blend, which makes me really think that using this as a mix in with another tea would really be the best use for this one.

Overall, a good lemony cup of herbal tea.

You can purchase the Lemonade directly from the Shanti Tea website.

Organic herbal blend, caffeine free.

5 Minute infusion reveals a medium brown brew.

The package is really neat, a silk pyramid filled with cacao, cinnamon, fennel, licorice root, cardamom, ginger, cloves, black pepper. After the 5 minutes, the silk pyramid is full except for just a teeny bit of space at the tippy top of the pyramid. What I really like about Tea Forte is the attention to detail, the pyramid is like a work of art with a cute little green leaf that wraps delicately over the rim of my favorite tea cup.

Smell after brew time is of cinnamon and chocolate (like a really nice expensive chocolate).

First sip revealed a hot cocoa taste with melted chocolate inside. This tea would make a great dessert tea and an even better before bed kind of drink.

Rich and yummy, a dieters dream come true… all the taste of chocolate with zero calories!

This is definitely going on my shopping list, good job Tea Forte.

You can purchase Tea Forte Coco Truffle Tea directly from their website, and in various high-end establishments around the world.

Caffeine free herbal blend with Saskatoon berries, apple pieces, peach pieces, raspberry pieces, strawberry pieces, linden flowers, cranberries, cherries, orange peel

The sweetness for this blend is spot on. No complaints here.

The tartness meter was definitely tipped in the almost too much range. As I drank this tea, I grew used to the tartness and actually enjoyed this tea very much.

A great blend of fruits and berries that can be enjoyed hot or cold at all hours of the day.

You can purchase the Canadian Berries directly from the TeaFrog website.