It's All About The Leaf

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.

I’ve decided over the last little while I really have to expand my tastes for white teas. I’ve never been a huge fan of herbal teas, most of them upsetting my stomach slightly, but the whites tend to be different. Not as strong, or medicinal, more soothing and refreshing, this one delivers.

First let me say that I love Tea Forte. There is something about the packaging that truly appeals to me, like little presents wrapped in silk. The triangular shape tea bags are unlike any other tea on the market that I am aware of. Could be that the shape maximizes the brewing process or it’s simply a marketing genius, either way, I like it. At the top of the triangle is a little wired leaf that allows you to neatly hang the tea bag on the side of your mug, eliminating the need for a spoon.

I brewed this particular bag 3 times, each time at 180 degrees for approx. 4 minutes. It has a wonderful aroma. The sweetness of pear with a slight undertone of ginger. It was perfect timing for a tasting of this flavor as I had a little upset tummy from thanksgiving festivities and ginger has soothing properties. Surprisingly the first cup was very sweet, far too sweet for my liking. I add nothing to my white teas, preferring to savor the full flavor. It wasn’t until the 3rd brewing did I really begin to enjoy this one, the sweetness drastically abating. This would make an excellent iced tea on a hot summer day, and once we are back in summer months, I will give that a try. I think the reason I gave this particular tea 3 chances is simply because Tea Forte is a favorite of mine, but I have to say, this isn’t a tea that will have space on my shelf. I’ve given it a 6.5/10.

You can purchase Tea forte white ginger pear 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.