Holy giant rose-buds Batman!

That’s the first thing I see when I opened the tin – these large, well-formed rose buds that haven’t lost their colour or their scent – proving that they’re relatively fresh. They’re so big that at first the tea seems to be all roses – but that’s mostly because the other components are so much finer – green rooibos, curled little tea leaves, and small fruit bits. The tea does smell like roses, but it’s roses with something rich, fruity, and tropical-ish mixed in with it – a very appealing scent in my opinion, I could just sit here sniffing the tin.

The rose isn’t over-powering in the tea, though I think it’s very much the star of the show. I’ve never had plain green rooibos, so I’m not quite sure what it’s supposed to taste like as opposed to red rooibos, but I can tell you that I’m not getting any of the woody-earthy flavour that I usually associate with rooibos teas. What I can taste is that exotic, sweet flavour from the mango pieces and a tiny bit of a citrus zing. Despite the white silver needles and the jasmine pearl this tea is supposedly decaffeinated, though it doesn’t have that thin, watery taste characteristic of many decaf blends. Of course, apart from a few hints here and there of jasmine (mostly hidden by the rose) I’m not really tasting much actual tea at all! So it’s more like a herbal infusion, which is fine by me, I need a better selection of ‘nighttime’ teas in my cupboard.

It’s an interesting mix and maybe it’s the rose, but drinking it makes me a feel a bit girly – in a good way. I don’t think I’ve ever some across a blend with a flavour combination like this, and it’s perhaps a little ‘busy’ but it’s great for someone like me who enjoys a bit of variety now and then.

I gave this a Steepster rating of 81/100

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

Sitting down to review a couple of teas from Kalahari Tea, one from their Energy Tea line and the other from their Chocolatte Red (Rooibos) line. Both teas are bagged but I’m open minded and I have had high quality teas that happened to be prebagged in the past (usually tear them open so I can watch the leaves dance freely -yes, I’m easily amused).

I’ve been wanting to try this tea for awhile and am thrilled to have some in my hands now. The description on the packaging sounds so uplifting- “Ruby Grapefruit White Tea – Fatigue Fighting Brew”.

Opened the packet and studied it a few minutes before deciding against opening the bag. From an outside look, all I could make out was a lot of monochromatic dust, not even any pretty bits of grapefruit. Weird. Checked the ingredients list again and I’d apparently missed the word ‘flavor’ that falls after ‘Natural Grapefruit’. Now I’m not sure what ‘flavor’ means exactly (natural chemical agent number 12321?) but whatever the flavor is, it sure has a nice citrus smell so I’m going to pretend that I think that means they squeezed some grapefruit pulp around the Bai Mu Dan. I love white tea but (obviously) couldn’t discern the quality from an ‘outside of the bag’ look, though I can say that I’ve never seen white tea dust before…

Anyway it really did smell nice so I steeped it for four minutes, anxious for the energy boost. The brew color was really dark compared to other white teas I’ve had (back to the ingredient list), must be the Eleuthro Root darkening things. It held the citrus smell but it wasn’t a ‘crisp’ smell like I’d hoped it would be and it didn’t make me feel energized hmmm. Inhaled the deepest smell I could, still hoping for the citrus zing, but it was flat. It tasted really watery, unsubstantial, zero complexity, but I fought the urge to toss it and let it sit for a few minutes – maybe it just needed to cool.

Right, letting it cool was a horrid idea. I went from zeroness to a chemical aftertaste that lasted through three glasses of milk before I could shake it. From meh to bleh…

Note: we could not find a link to purchase this on the website, but you can see the packaging for the tea here.

Starting my day with a taste of India, closing my eyes, allowing myself to be taken away to northern India with this charming, malty, CTC Assam from 52teas.

It’s called RadioactiviTEA and rightly so because it provides just enough of a jolt to get me going without the crash that I get from coffee. Steeped for five minutes with a fresh pot of boiling water (from cold) , and a couple of Stevia leaves to sweeten it. It’s a smooth and comforting tea with that zing that makes it just right for breakfast or to pick you up from a late afternoon lull.

The aroma is strong and inviting, the aftertaste is mellow and satisfying. This blend has never gone bitter (even when I’ve forgotten it was brewing, yes, my mind wanders some mornings), and it’s always had my coffee loving friends asking for more. You can add a touch of cream to it if you prefer but, to get the most health benefits from it, just a bit of Stevia will do. This isn’t a tea that I would suggest putting honey in, it’s malty enough on it’s own.

Sit back, clear the sleep from your eyes, and savour this amber brew.

You can purchase 52teas RadioactiviTEA directly from their website.