Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘lemongrass tea’

When I opened this golden package, I smelled the spice notes of the turmeric, citrus from lemon grass and the exotic warmth of ginger. The golden colour of turmeric is amazing, like a brilliant yellow autumn leaf. The texture of this tea consists of bits of ground ginger and shredded fibres of licorice and lemongrass. It all smells so clean and wonderful, not powdery. It is true that our eyes and nose must be entreated before we will eat or drink. In this case this all certified organic herbal tea works overtime!

I met the Rishi folks at the Toronto Coffee and Tea Show in September 2010 and they were interested to know about my review of their tea as it was a bit of a departure for them. Rishi Teas are well known for their excellence and are well-deserved award winners.

I went to the Rishi web site for instructions on how to steep this herbal tea. The sample was 6.2 grams, exactly 1 tablespoon, perfect for the recommended steep using 8 oz. boiling water and a 4-5 minutes wait. I realized that I would need a tea pot that would be able to sit on a heated source for at least 5 minutes to maximize the benefits. I chose my trusty glass teapot so I could see the colour and keep the liquor warm with a tea light. I poured off a golden brew and smelled the lively ginger and lemon grass notes. Rishi claims that ginger and turmeric are an ancient Ayurvedic formula for longevity, stamina and balanced circulation. Modern research confirms these benefits.

My first sip proved what I expected – the spicy fire of the ginger, the flavour of the lemon grass, the sweetness of licorice and the smooth fullness in the mouth from the turmeric. This tea is expertly blended with a fascinating balance between all flavours. Strain well and remember to swallow all the last bits of turmeric that settles in the bottom of the cup.

I would love to serve this healthy cocktail to accompany a meal with Indian food, as a digestive after a meal, as a health toddy for those with colds or flu, or as a tonic for those suffering from inflammatory issues such as arthritis or bursitis or sinus problems…

The cost of this herbal blend seems a bit high when using 1 tablespoon per 8 oz cup. However, this organic tea taken daily will surely stimulate the body’s energy and will provide healthy benefits if taken consistently. I do recommend this tea for that reason.

You can purchase the Turmeric Ginger directly from the Rishi Tea website.

Today I’m reviewing to herbal teas from Mighty Leaf and I’m excited because they are one of the few companies I know of who offer high quality in sachets.  Perfect to have in a pinch if I’ve forgotten my finum because they tea pouches are large enough to let the tea infuse properly. 

Opening the package and I can immediately tell that I’m going to love this tea.  The citrus smell is intoxicating.  It has Egyptian chamomile in it and the flowers are whole and appear to be really fresh.  There’s no dust in the pouch at all, just pretty bits of herbs and fruit.

Steeping it at 205 F for the full five minutes because I want to get every golden bit of the tisane infused.  The color was immediately a light yellow then finally went to a nice golden orange.  Love the way rosehip warms up the color of a brew.  Can smell all of the other herbs now and they are balancing out the citrus perfectly.

Yeah! It tastes as good as it looks and smells, I was right, this is a great blend.  I can feel my heart rate slowing, the days stress leaving me…  Would it be insane for me to let this tea pouch dry out and use it as a sachet in my lingerie drawer?  hmmm… yes, it smells that good.

Now on to the African Nectar.  Rooibos is a friend of mine, we go back a long way and she’s never let me down.  This tea pouch fine enough to contain the rooibos, helps that it’s a higher grade so the needles are longer.  Blends looks like it’s mostly rooibos, with bits of the other ingredients.  Can see the marigold in it, which is good (I have a ton of marigold at home and add it to most of my teas, just to up the health benefits of my teas).

This blend has so much of a citrus scent that I can barely smell the rooibos, expecting that will change when I stop analyzing the pouch and add water to it…

Steeping this one the same as I did the Chamomile Citrus, boiling water for five minutes.  The rooibos is darker wet so now I can see the other herbs as well as the stems.  Excellent leaf to stem ratio though, Mighty Leaf did not disappoint.  It’s infused to a nice dark, reddish brown and it smells divine.  The rose and hibiscus are now dominating the scent and the citrus smell is completely gone.

It tastes like rooibos but I think the rose is killing it, bit too flowery, almost perfumey.  Letting it cool.  The pouches are completely biodegradible and they literally look like the sachets that girls use to scent lingerie (do guys do that too?).  Tea has cooled now and it still has that rose taste, fantastic if you like flowers in your tea, not working for me though.  Still a really good quality tea though, impressive.

You can purchase the Chamomile Citrus directly from the Mighty Leaf Tea website.

Today I’m reviewing to herbal teas from Mighty Leaf and I’m excited because they are one of the few companies I know of who offer high quality in sachets.  Perfect to have in a pinch if I’ve forgotten my finum because they tea pouches are large enough to let the tea infuse properly.

Opening the package and I can immediately tell that I’m going to love this tea.  The citrus smell is intoxicating.  It has Egyptian chamomile in it and the flowers are whole and appear to be really fresh.  There’s no dust in the pouch at all, just pretty bits of herbs and fruit.

Steeping it at 205 F for the full five minutes because I want to get every golden bit of the tisane infused.  The color was immediately a light yellow then finally went to a nice golden orange.  Love the way rosehip warms up the color of a brew.  Can smell all of the other herbs now and they are balancing out the citrus perfectly.

Yeah! It tastes as good as it looks and smells, I was right, this is a great blend.  I can feel my heart rate slowing, the days stress leaving me…  Would it be insane for me to let this tea pouch dry out and use it as a sachet in my lingerie drawer?  hmmm… yes, it smells that good.

Now on to the African Nectar.  Rooibos is a friend of mine, we go back a long way and she’s never let me down.  This tea pouch fine enough to contain the rooibos, helps that it’s a higher grade so the needles are longer.  Blends looks like it’s mostly rooibos, with bits of the other ingredients.  Can see the marigold in it, which is good (I have a ton of marigold at home and add it to most of my teas, just to up the health benefits of my teas).

This blend has so much of a citrus scent that I can barely smell the rooibos, expecting that will change when I stop analyzing the pouch and add water to it…

Steeping this one the same as I did the Chamomile Citrus, boiling water for five minutes.  The rooibos is darker wet so now I can see the other herbs as well as the stems.  Excellent leaf to stem ratio though, Mighty Leaf did not disappoint.  It’s infused to a nice dark, reddish brown and it smells divine.  The rose and hibiscus are now dominating the scent and the citrus smell is completely gone.

It tastes like rooibos but I think the rose is killing it, bit too flowery, almost perfumey.  Letting it cool.  The pouches are completely biodegradible and they literally look like the sachets that girls use to scent lingerie (do guys do that too?).  Tea has cooled now and it still has that rose taste, fantastic if you like flowers in your tea, not working for me though.  Still a really good quality tea though, impressive.

You can purchase the Chamomile Citrus and African Nectar directly from the Mighty Leaf Tea website.

I was told to cut out caffeine for a bit so I went to Teafrog looking for some rooibos decaf amusement and they came through for me with three tisane recommendations. Grabbed them all because I’m self indulgent that way (tea is my only real vise, I swear).

Sitting here looking at the Kalahari Flavored Rooibos and smiling. Teafrog teas are always so pretty (pretty in a gender neutral, men who drink tea are hot, kind of way). The rooibos is a nice red color, looks really fresh, need to ask but it looks like super grade. Don’t have to read the ingredient list to see what’s in this blend. Blue cornflowers mixed with lemongrass and rooibos. The leaves smell almost chocolaty, maybe vanilla, but with something else going on. Really can’t work out what to compare the scent to, mystery blend here.

Steeped it for 6 minutes in boiling water and now I’m waiting for the dark amber tisane to cool. The scent hit me right away but I still can’t make out what it is or whether or not I like it. Still kind of chocolaty but with a grassy hint that’s overwhelming it. Okay weird taste, wonder if the cornflower is throwing my palate off. Tossed.

Brewed some more, steeped it for less time (4 minutes) and the ‘grassy’ taste is gone but I’m still not liking this blend. Quality ingredients that I’ve grown to expect from this tea company so I guess it’s down to personal taste…

You can purchase the Kalahari Flavoured Rooibos Tea directly from the TeaFrog website.

African Summer is a very pleasant herbal tisane from Red Leaf Tea it is a blend of Honeybush, Lemongrass, Lemon Myrtle, Rose Hips, Eucalyptus, Hibiscus, Safflower, and Marigolds. I was intrigued by the description on Red Leaf’s website: “The beguilingly hot climate of the African Serengeti serves as the inspiration for African Summer tea, with its unique combination of herbs that are known for their healing and nourishing properties. Its main ingredient is honey bush-which is related to rooibos-and additional vitamins and minerals are provided by eucalyptus, hibiscus, safflower, and marigolds. African Summer also contains citrus and rosehips that help boost your immune system.”

The loose leaf is a pleasing earthy mix of color – fresh greens of lemongrass, myrtle and eucalyptus, mellow brown and yellow honeybush leaf, safflower and marigold and bright splashes of hibiscus and rose hip. The lemongrass seems to be predominant in the blend and the citrus scent comes through before and after brewing.

I was surprised at how dark the brewed tea was with nice red tones – certainly a family resemblance with rooibos. The flavor, not surprisingly, was mild and mostly lemony with the honeybush hinting sweetness and the floral notes contributing a bit of tang. Happily I didn’t notice a strong enough eucalyptus flavor to remind me of a cough drop. Overall African Summer is a pleasing cup of tea; very refreshing, and according to the Red Leaf people – good for you too!

Red Leaf is currently shipping orders of more than $40 for free and also have a promotion running – “Buy 4 Teas get 1 FREE / Buy 7 Teas get 2 FREE”.

You can purchase Red Leaf Tea Rooibos Africana directly from their website.