Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Orange Juice’

My general aversion to bananas goes back to one greasy teenage summer schlepping banana splits at the Dairy Queen; I’d come home with fiber under my nails and reeking of overripe peels. (To this day, I won’t eat one raw—playing the “it’s a texture thing” card.) Thus, you’ll understand why I approached this tea with a bit of caution.

The first thing that struck me was how pretty this tea is. Heavy on the chamomile flowers, it would be pretty in a potpourri jar. (If you’re a fan of Adagio’s Foxtrot, it’s similar in character, minus the peppermint.) A test sniff didn’t turn me off; didn’t seem too heavy on the banana, so I gave it a go–about a teaspoon per cup, an approximate boil, an approximate five minutes, and …

…wow! The chamomile, banana, and coconut work really nicely together–you can’t really taste where one ends and the other begins. It’s difficult to pick out the other goodies individually, but they blend to make a really pretty red cup of herbal sweetness.

I downed half of my first test batch to prime myself for mowing the lawn; then iced down the rest to reward myself for doing so. Of course, the tea lost a little bit of strength on ice, but that can be remedied next time by upping the steeping strength. I can see Banana Dulce as a base for some add-ins–maybe orange juice or pineapple juice–for some nice, cool summer sipping.

You can purchase the Banana Dulce directly from the Art of Tea website.

This rooibos blend from Tea Frog Tea is well named – I LOVE this tea!! According to Tea Frog: “Our most popular Rooibos blend, the Love blend is an aromatic delight that you will not be able to resist! This tea is so good, we sample it at every show, and sell out at every show! The scent and flavor are simply to die for!”. The ingredients are listed as Rooibos, Safflower, Sunflower, Calendula Flower, Roses, Cornflower and Orange Peel.

The loose tea is a striking combination of colors; red rooibos leaf and rose petals, pieces of orange peel and sunny yellow calendula flowers, contrasting with vivid cornflower blue. Even before brewing the aroma is heavenly – the familiar sweetness of rooibos with strong orange notes, and although it isn’t listed as an ingredient there is a hint of vanilla.

Following Tea Frog’s guidelines of 1 teaspoon per cup and steeping for 5 minutes resulted in a rich rooibos red (how’s that for alliteration?) cup of tea losing none of its delicious aroma in the process. The taste didn’t disappoint and the combination of flavors is just right – sweet but not sugary sweet with a refreshing taste of citrus. I was able to get a second brewing with a milder but still pleasant flavor.

I haven’t tried yet, but I’m sure that this blend would lend itself to an excellent iced tea – mixed 50/50 with either lemonade or orange juice and float some fresh flower petals on the surface for presentation – yummy!! With the weather getting cooler I’m more inclined to drink my tea hot but as soon as winter is over and the summer returns I will definitely give it a try.

You can purchase TeaFrog Love Flavoured Rooibos directly from their website.