Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Sip’

This review is on one of the coffee substitutes on the market – Ersatz Coffee. First of all, what does Ersatz mean? I can only guess that the makers of this were going by the German translation of the word which is “substitute” or “replacement” because in other languages such as Russian and English the meaning is less favourable. In Russian it means “artificial” and in English the term often implies that the substitution is of unsatisfactory or inferior quality (not as good as the real thing). It does not have this connotation in German. (Source: Wikipedia).

Steeping instructions are to steep bag in 8 ounce cup of hot water for 3-5 minutes. Ersatz Coffee is made of roasted rice, roasted peas, and roasted chicory. When I poured in the hot water, I could definitely smell the roasted rice, however after steeping it for 5 minutes and removing the bag the nose on the Ersatz was not very appetizing. It smelled of burnt rice. I took a sip and yes, definitely burnt. I could understand the coffee aspect of it; it has that boldness of coffee but is very flavourful, and myself being in the process of cutting out coffee completely, this would be good for me.

I cut open the bag and could see that some of the contents inside had turned black. It would have been nice to try this not burnt because I like nutty and roasted flavours but the burnt taste was too overwhelming. I may give it another try another day.

You can purchase the Ersatz directly from the The Coffee Trade Company website.

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.