Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Sip’

Ah, this tea smells tasty. The aroma of the dried leaf is very fruity, if also a bit floral. There are some spicy tones as well. It would appear the mixture is composed of rooibos, rose petals, and perhaps some dried citrus, among other things.

For my first infusions, I steeped a teaspoon and a half of this for five minutes in a cup of just-boiled water. The Shanti Tea website does not give many details regarding this tea, but judging by the fact that it has rooibos, I decided on the tea measurement and steep times. The steeped cup smells of sweet fruit, with big hints of apricot and citrus of some sort. The impression of the first sip is…subdued. Quite a bit of lemon and orange flavours, but not a lot else that stands out. More sips bring out the rooibos and mixed fruit flavours. They blend quite well, and the tea makes for a pleasant evening cuppa.

On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate this tea a 68/100.

You can purchase the African Carnival directly from the Shanti Tea 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.

Dry smell is nice and minty.

A 4 minute brew time yields a light straw colored brew.

My first sip leaves me screaming, “where is the mint?”

This is blasphemy. The Moroccan mint police need to called! Someone stole the mint out of this blend!

The dry smell was to die for, the brewed up tea was a total failure.

I was greatly disappointed with this sample.

You can purchase the Moroccan Mint directly from the SpecialTea Brew website.

As I peered into the sample bag, I was struck at the beauty of this blend. It needs to be stored in a glass container just to admire the tapestry of colors. Think miniature potpourri.

The smell of the dry leaves reminds me of spearmint gum.

7 minute brew with boiling water

Burgundy colored brew

The first sip is sweet and minty. I really enjoyed this cup of tea. Sweet, but not too sweet. The mint is nicely balanced with the other flavors.

You can purchase the PITTA BALANCE directly from the Shanti Tea website.

Mmm, rooibos, orange peels, almonds, cardamom, and coriander…this sounds like a delicious tea in the making! When I first opened the package, it was definitely the almond scents that struck my nose first. Then came sweet, slightly juicy undertones. In preparing this tea, I utilised a two-cup teapot, 1 tablespoon of TeaFrog Gingerbread Orange Rooibos (two times the recommended 1.5 teaspoon per cup), and freshly boiled water.

Pouring the water over the mixture, the dominant smell wafting up in the steam was actually orange. I felt this was a good sign, since the name of the tea is Gingerbread _Orange_. The recommended five minutes past, I removed the infuser, taking a moment to eyeball the tea. I could easily pick out the cardamom, coriander, and orange bits in amongst the rooibos. I was not too sure about where the almond was, but I knew I had smelled it earlier…oh, there are a couple of pieces. Whew. My nose has not deceived me.

I take my first sip. Hmmm, I can definitely taste the cardamom. It is coming through quite dominantly. I take another sip, and another, and finish off the first cup. My thoughts so far run somewhere along the line of it tastes spicy, as gingerbread does, but yet…this tea has not so far reminded me of gingerbread. The spiciness of the flavour is quickly followed by tasty orange, and then some almond-esque undertones. Not having fully felt that I understand this tea and all that it has to offer, I pour myself a second cup.

The deep orange-red, nearly rust, colour of this tea is quite pretty. As I sip this second cup, it seems that it follows much like the first. However, I am now beginning to follow the connection of the flavour of this tea to the flavour of gingerbread. This connection is especially prominent in the aftertaste, which is quite pleasant. I finish off the pot with a new outlook on this tea.

I think this tea would be a great treat any time of the day. I drank it in the morning and really enjoyed the experience, but I can see it being a lovely evening tea as well. If you are interested in this tea, I would definitely recommend trying some. I would rate it an 85/100 on my personal enjoyment scale.

You can purchase the Gingerbread Orange directly from the TeaFrog website.