This scent of the un-brewed tea is amazing. I almost want to eat it straight. Or pack my pillow full of it and smell it all night long as I sleep. It’s AMAZING. It’s full of sweetness and floral-ness and is just made of yum.

And while the flavor of the tea is good, it’s not as good as the smell. It’s got a very light, very floral flavor. I love roses and rosewater candy, and this tea reminds me a lot of rosewater candy. Another element I like is the green rooibos. This is the first time I’d had the chance to try green rooibos. And I think I like it a LOT. I have to admit, I’m not a fan of red rooibos. It tends to taste like dirt and sawdust to me. There are blends I like that contain it, but it’s mostly in their ability to cover the dirty-sawdustness of the rooibos flavor. But this tea has such a light flavor, trying to get it to cover any other flavors would be like trying to completely cover a Cadillac with a Kleenex. This green rooibos adds the sweetness and base notes without the sawdust flavor of the red. It really makes me want to try other green rooibos teas.

Overall, I like this tea; it has a lot of elements I very much appreciate. But I wanted more out of it, based on the aroma.

You can purchase the Xaouen directly from the 52teas website.

Teafrog has brought a lot of really unique blends to the table so I shouldn’t be surprised by this one. But still, Mango and yogurt? Hmm…

It’s a curious mix, can definitely smell the yogurt – reminds me of the yogurt covered raisins that always leave me with a twinge of ‘guilty pleasure’ after I eat them. Can smell all of the different fruits in this blend but the mango is definitely the most bold. Curious too is the fact that I have all the ingredients in my cupboard (except the yogurt) and it never occurred to me to blend them. Thinking this would make a fantastic snack, straight out of the bag.

Steeped it for five minutes and it’s a beautiful shade of mango (is mango a color, can someone check their Crayolas?). It’s an orangey peach color, if that helps. Oh, and it’s delicious, really tangy and tart at the same time. Must be the yogurt giving me the tart side of it, apple in the blend is helping it too. This is really good and I will need to order some more. It’s a fun tisane that holds it’s own but I’d imagine it would also be fantastic to add to other teas as well. I’ve got some Silver Needle that could use a little zest….

Oh and just so you know, it does make for a satisfying nibble, straight out of the bag.

You can purchase the Mango And Yogurt directly from the TeaFrog website.

I was extremely curious to try Wild Orange Pu-erh, when I saw the photo of dried tea leaves stuffed in an orange on the Chicago Tea Garden website. The vendor generously sells samples for $3 (including shipping); so I could not resist a purchase. And, I was surprised when I opened the sample package to see a tea leaf stuffed miniature orange, similar to the photo. According to the vendor, the tea-oranges were obtained in China and then aged in U.S. pu-erh caves for over 5 years. As expected, the orange peel was showing its age with a withered, dried look. If you are looking for a novelty gift for the tea-lover in your life, this is definitely one option.

As I measured out the tea, unlike some lower quality pu-erhs, no fishy flavors were noted. Following the vendor’s detailed instructions (which were printed on handy cards), I steeped the tea briefly for 30 seconds and added a piece of dried orange peel. I was surprised by the resulting brew, which was not a brown liquor typically seen for pu-erhs; instead, the tea brews to a pale orange color. The flavor has a very slight earthy flavor but certainly not as potent as a typical pu’erh. The taste can be described as smooth, light, and mellow. The subtle citrus note in the background is not tart and is surprisingly sweet, so this tea does not require sugar to balance any tartness from the citrus. Although this tea is mild, it can hold up to multiple infusions. To bring out the earthy pu’erh flavors, I experimented with longer steeping times (up to 4 minutes). The resulting brew was more typical of standard pu’erhs but then the lightness of the orange flavor was not as noticeable.

As this is a light and fragrant brew, I highly recommend this tea for pu-erh beginners. Also, why not check out Chicago Tea Garden’s website? With $3 samples, it is affordable to sample their other offerings.

You can purchase the Wild Orange Pu-erh directly from the Chicago Tea Garden website.

Had to order a sample of this tisane because the name and the ingredients intrigued me. Teafrog description: “A delightfully refreshing non-caffeinated tea with and aroma both sweet and subtle. A subtle fruity taste leads to a nutty finish in this unique flavored blend”.

Now their description is accurate but this tea is so much more than that. It truly is ‘love’ flavored, like holding hands and dancing in the rain (thanks for that moment, Vittorio). Yes, I’m a romantic but hear me out. This blend let me escape for a few minutes just like you do when you get a hug. Not the kind of hug you give your aunt to thank her for the amazing socks she got you for your birthday, the kind of hug that you get from your partner when you’re having a ‘meh’ day. When there are no words spoken, no ‘tell me why you feel ‘meh”, just a look then that hug. (Yes, I know that ‘meh’ isn’t in the Oxford dictionary – yet – but it’s more descriptive to me than ‘blah’). Anyway the tea, the love, the soft flowery scent, the warmth of the rooibos, it truly is an experience.

I know you may be thinking that’s it’s impossible to have instant (seven minutes brewing – close to instant) love in a bag (just add water) but I promise you that, if you just close your eyes while you sip and think about that hug, you will feel it.

You can purchase the Rooibos Love directly from the TeaFrog 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.

“Luscious, succulent raspberries highlight this ruby red hibiscus flower infusion. Pleasantly tart and extraordinarily sweet.”

Well, that about says it all! Tea Forte has become one of my favorite go-to tea companies for robust tasting teas. So far, they have not disappointed on any of the teas I have tried, and this one is no exception.

The second I put the unique (and quite neat!) pyramid shaped tea bag into the water, a bloom of red spread throughout the water, so deeply red I had to check myself for cuts! Then the scent hit me, and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was a raspberry tea I was about to indulge in.

Forget the ingredients list, this is purely raspberry, through and through. A tangy, mildly sweet taste of raspberries straight off the vine filled my mouth at the first sip, and lingered long after I licked every drop out of the cup! If you are not a raspberry fan, then this is not for you, as there is no doubt this is all raspberry, and nothing but the raspberry!

There is not much more to say, other than, again, Tea Forte delivers. I do have to say, that it is a little high in the price range for the bagged tea, so go loose if you are going to purchase it directly from Tea Forte. For my money, this is one I would actually consider stocking the cupboard with, as I can imagine that as an iced tea, it would be just as good as it is a hot tea, and a perfect refreshing drink for a hot summers day.

You can purchase Tea Forte Raspberry Nectar directly from their website.

From Adagio Teas Bengal Green Chai is an eastern fusion blend of green tea from China and a traditional mix of chai spices from India. It is described by Adagio as ” Our smooth China green tea with a chakra warming spice combination. Its natural sweetness and fiery kick will bring you back to center, no matter how polarized you’ve become. OOMMMMM OOMMMMM”

The loose tea presents very well, long leaves of green pekoe tea, lots of cloves, big chunks of cardamom pods, cinnamon bark, ginger root and orange peel; once brewed it makes a cup of tea that is a nice amber color. The aroma of the tea is rich and spicy and stays with the tea even after it is brewed.

I found the flavor of the cloves to be the most pronounced, almost a little too strong, but the ginger, cinnamon and cardamom worked nicely together as an underlying flavor. Overall, I liked the tea but I think that the mildness of the green pekoe was overpowered by the spices. I often add milk and sugar to a traditional black chai blend but I found that this tea isn’t robust enough to hold up to the addition of milk and sugar without losing too much of it’s color and taste.

I followed Adagio’s suggested brewing instructions of two heaping teaspoons per 6 oz cup – 3 min at about 180 degrees. This actually seemed like a lot of tea required to make a cup but I guess it has to do with the loose mix of big leaves and spice pieces – the more tea you use the more likely it is to get a consistent proportion of cloves, ginger, cinnamon and cardamom.

You can purchase Adagio Bengal Green Chai directly from their website.

I love the look of this tea with it’s definite bits of floral, lilac and orange peel. The pale greens and yellows accented by hints of mauve and black. This is a tea I consider a standard in my tea cupboard and one I reach for often when a standard black just isn’t what I am looking for. Steeped for 3 minutes at 180, this has a mild, subtle fragrance, with definite citrus tone, orange and lemons. It’s a loose tea, so a tablespoon in your infuser is perfect. I often use the same leaves to brew 3 – 4 times with the same citrus undertones; they simply get lighter with each additional brewing.

The flavor is soft, comforting, with the whisper of citrus aftertaste and none of the chalkiness you can sometimes encounter. There are many reasons I drink tea, and since I’m Canadian, often it’s for warmth. This is a perfect warming up choice, which I think deserves a strong 8 / 10.

You can purchase Rishi Tea Citron Oolong directly from their website.

Chamomile Citrus is a Mighty Leaf signature blend of rosehips, orange peel, Egyptian chamomile, lemongrass, lemon myrtle, nana mint, hibiscus flowers and various other flowers and flavors that are only identified as “citrus” and/or “natural” (it always makes me wonder when there is only a vague reference to ingredients). Mighty Leaf describes it as “a refreshing infusion perfected to curl up with and savor by the sip…”.

I find that people either love Chamomile Tea or they don’t like it at all. Personally, I love a good cup of Egyptian Chamomile. I love the subtle taste it has and how it smells softly of strawberry. Chamomile grew wild in the neighborhood that I lived in as a child and I can remember crushing the flowers between my fingers to release their scent; happy memories recalled are likely the reason that I find Chamomile so relaxing and enjoyable. I also like all things citrus so based on the name and description I was really looking forward to trying this tea.

I steeped it for 5 minutes and the resulting tea was a nice light gold color. I really wanted to like this tea but I have to say that I was disappointed. I found that the simplicity of Chamomile was overwhelmed by all of the fruits, herbs, flowers, and “flavors”. All of the citrus tones from the orange peel, lemongrass, lemon myrtle, and citrus flowers seemed to result in a too sweet combination – it almost tasted sugary to me. I guess that the rosehip, mint and hibiscus were meant to balance this sweetness but I just didn’t like the taste.

The sample that I tried was in a bag from Mighty Leaf that they call their “Tea Pouch”. It’s a very nice presentation which looks like a hand stitched square of semi-opaque silk that allows you to see the tea inside. The Chamomile Citrus is visually lovely with green, orange and red tones and unbrewed it smells just as good as it looks.

You can purchase Mightly Leaf Chamomile Citrus directly from their website.