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Oct 31

Orange Cranberry from Simpson & Vail

Flavored Tea,Herbal Tisanes,Simpson & Vail,Tea Review 11:00 pm | No Comments

Orange Cranberry from Simpson & VailThis was an unexpected pleasure, perfect for a chilly autumn night.  Our regular readers know that I’m not a huge fan of hibiscus and rosehip blends.  I’m just not, and I honestly don’t know many people who actually do, which make the fact that they are so often produced by tea companies a complete mystery, at least to me.

This tea is one of the rare exceptions, it’s actually quite delicious if (and this part is absolutely crucial) you do not over-brew it.  Simpson & Vail recommend a 5 minute steep, which is normally speaking a standard steep time for herbal blends, but is way too much for this sweetly tart blend of flavors.  I would recommend no longer than a 3 minute steep time with one heaping tsp of the blend to 12 oz of hot water.  Be sure to remove the steeped infusion after you are finished steeping so that it doesn’t make the tea overly tart or bitter.

Simpson & Vail describes this tea as:

Winter winds are howling and pure white snow is swirling around your feet. And what would the winter holidays be without fruits like oranges and cranberries. They fill stockings, decorate trees, are scented with spices and baked in pies and bread! This Organic Orange-Cranberry herbal blend brings together these mouth watering tastes.

A fruity blend of organic rosehips, organic orange peel, organic hibiscus and natural flavors.

Brew tea at 212º – steep for 5 minutes.   Caffeine Free.

Certified Kosher & Certified Organic

The perfect word to describe this infusion is “tangy”.  It’s a beautifully balanced blend of sweetness and tartness, with very authentic orange and cranberry flavors.  This is a very refreshing fruit tisane which is yummy served hot on cold autumn and winter days, however it also makes a most fabulous iced tea in the summertime as well, so this is a good one to keep on hand year-round.

And while I recommend a touch of sugar to balance out the flavors a bit, you can completely cut the sugar out for a caffeine-free herbal tea that is great for before bedtime, or as a children’s tea.



The Tea Guru
The Tea Guru
http://www.teareviewblog.com


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Oct 31

Gina Amaretta from TeaGschwendner

Black Tea,Flavored Tea,Tea Review,TeaGschwendner 4:00 pm | No Comments

Gina Amaretta from TeaGschwendnerI haven’t tried a lot of teas from TeaGschwendner, but, those that I have tried have been delicious.

This one is no exception.  The Amaretto flavor is sweet, nutty and has just a hint of bitterness that really enhances the overall experience of this tea.

The black tea tastes bright and robust, but is not so strong that it overwhelms the delicate notes of the amaretto flavoring.  There is a light astringency that arrives in the finish.  It is not so much a drying astringency as it is a cleansing astringency.  After the sip the palate feels refreshed and invigorated… and eager for another sip!

The flavoring is sweet, but not too sweet.  The bitterness in the tea is not a “this tea has been steeped too long and is undrinkable” kind of bitterness, but a soft, savory bitterness that counters the sweetness just enough.  The result is a very luxurious, relaxing cuppa!

TeaGschwendner describes this blend as

The heavy aroma and bittersweet flavor of Amaretto blend perfectly with this Indian black tea to create a delicious drink you are sure to fall in love with.

Ingredients: Black tea from India, shredded almonds and flavor.

I first fell in love with Amaretto a few years ago when I was gifted with a canister of Amaretto flavored sugar.  It was absolutely wonderful and became a favorite addition to my unflavored teas.  I was so sad when I had finished the canister of sugar, and I was unable to order more because the small company that made it has since gone out of business.  This tea reminds me of that wonderful sugar.

And while this tea does have a light sweetness to it, I do recommend adding just a pinch of sugar (I prefer raw sugar), or a drizzle of agave nectar.  It enhances the overall sweetness of the Amaretto.

This is truly a wonderful tea experience!



liber-teas
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http://hungryinportland.com


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Oct 31

Pumpkin Spice Black Tea from Simpson & Vail

Black Tea,Flavored Tea,Simpson & Vail,Tea Review 8:00 am | No Comments

Pumpkin Black Tea from Simpson & VailA Happy Halloween and Samhain to our readers!  The Tea Review Blog starts this autumnal holiday with a fitting tea from Simpson & Vail, their Pumpkin Spice Black Tea.  This seasonal favorite is a classic way to celebrate your holiday.  Although Simpson & Vail’s description of this tea is vague at best, it starts with a rather smooth yet slightly astringent black tea base.  My guess would have to be Ceylon.

The spice flavoring is most prominent and you taste cinnamon and clove very strongly.  There are other subtle spice nuances here, perhaps a hint of nutmeg?  However they are subtle enough that I can’t immediately identify them.

The pumpkin flavor is faint but present.  It is a thicker, sweeter flavor than the spices and rounds out the blend very well with it’s harvest-like aroma and presence.

Simpson & Vail describes this tea as:

Pumpkin Spice flavored black tea. Brew tea at 212º – steep for 3 minutes.

The flavors and tea have a very tenuous balance at best, so take care not to overbrew this one.  If you brew it for too long, or in too hot of water, it quickly becomes tart and brassy, so keep an eye on your brew time and temp here!  If you brew it correctly, you will have a delicious fall tea that is a wonderful Halloween treat!

Best enjoyed with a touch of sugar or sweetener to help bring out the pumpkin flavor.  Good with or without a light dash of milk, and appropriate for anytime of day!Happy Halloween from The Tea Review Blog!



The Tea Guru
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Oct 30

Earl Grey from Tea Forté

Black Tea,earl grey,Flavored Tea,Tea Forté,Tea Review 11:00 pm | No Comments

Welcome to our ongoing feature at The Tea Review Blog, Earl Grey of the Week! Almost every tea company offers their own version of an Earl Grey tea. Enjoy our Earl Grey of the Week feature where we highlight an Earl Grey tea each and every week on Saturday evenings at 11 pm CST. This week we feature an Earl Grey from Tea Forté!Earl Grey of the WeekEarl Grey from Tea Forté

As an Earl Grey enthusiast, I’m always eager to try one that I’ve never tried before.  So I was very happy when I received this Earl Grey from Tea Forté!

It seems that almost every tea company out there has their own unique take on Earl Grey, and Tea Forté is no exception.  What makes this Earl Grey unique is not only the Assam tea, but also the utilization of bergamot AND orange flavorings.  This one is also organic – which gets a big PLUS in my book.

By combining the bergamot with orange (of course, I know that bergamot is an orange, but, it is certainly a distinctly unique orange), the citrus notes are enhanced while the pungent flowery notes of the bergamot are more subdued.  The flavor of the bergamot is still distinctive, although it is not as sharp as some Earl Grey teas are.  It is a very pleasing difference.

As I indicated before, the black tea base is an Assam tea, and this offers a delicious, malty flavor to the cup.  The black tea tastes rich and vibrant.  It has a very pleasant depth to it with that baked note that I find so appealing about an Assam.  It is an enjoyable, vigorous Assam – making this an excellent morning tea as well as a gratifying afternoon cup.

Tea Forté describes this tea as

Rich organic Indian Assam black tea with natural bergamot and orange flavors. Pure, classic Earl Grey from the finest organic ingredients.

Ingredients:  organic Indian Assam black tea, natural orange flavor, natural bergamot flavor, organic cornflower blossoms

One word of caution, this is a tea that should not be brewed too long.  I brewed my first cup for almost four minutes and found it to be too bitter (the bitterness can be softened with the addition of milk).  My second cup brewed at just three minutes turned out perfect.

This is an Earl Grey that tastes delightful with or without sweetener (the sweetener will bring out some of the lovely floral notes), and even though I personally prefer my Earl Grey teas without milk, this one does take it well.

Having tried both the loose leaf and tea pyramid versions of this Earl Grey tea, I can say that they are both fantastically rich and satisfying.  I highly recommend this one to all Earl Grey enthusiasts out there.  Absolutely delicious!



liber-teas
liber-teas
http://hungryinportland.com


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Oct 30

Sambucca (Licorice Spice) from Chado Tea

Black Tea,Chado Tea,Flavored Tea,Tea Review 4:00 pm | No Comments

  • Type Of leaves: Black Tea
  • Name Of Tea: Sambucca (Licorice Spice)
  • Available From: Chado Tea

Sambucca/Licorice Spice from Chado TeaThis is AWESOME!

I have never tried Sambuca before, and since I’m not big on alcoholic beverages, I probably won’t try to seek it out to try it.  Why bother?  I’m quite content with this tea!

It has such a pleasant licorice flavor, but with a delicious difference.  There is a light spice to it that I can only describe as slightly warm, maybe even a little peppery.  This touch of spice really enhances the licorice flavor.

The black tea base is robust and smooth.  There is a fair amount of astringency that is slightly drying.  The tea is not bitter, and in this blend, it seems to create a seamless flavor with the anise and licorice.   This is absolutely one of the best licorice flavored teas I’ve encountered yet!

Chado Tea describes this blend as

Black tea with licorice root and anise.

I enjoyed this tea hot with just a tiny drizzle of honey and this brought out some of the lighter spice notes which are really quite pleasant, so I do recommend this addition.  It does possess a pleasant sweetness without the sweetener, but, I think it’s better with it.

If you like licorice, you really MUST try this tea!  If you’re uncertain about buying a large quantity, do what I did, and buy samples!  Chado Tea offers really reasonably priced samples of their teas.  The samples are a generous size for the price, and shipping is prompt!   You can’t go wrong!



liber-teas
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http://hungryinportland.com


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Oct 30

Cherry Cola Honeybush from 52Teas

52 Teas,Flavored Tea,Herbal Tisanes,Tea Review 8:00 am | 2 Comments

  • Type Of leaves: Honeybush
  • Name Of Tea: Cherry Cola Honeybush
  • Available From: Zoomdweebies | 52Teas

Cherry Cola Honeybush from 52TeasThis blend smells absolutely amazing.  It reminds me of a cherry cola – but not the kind that you can buy in a can.  It reminds me of a cherry cola from an old fashioned soda fountain shop.  The smell is sweet and very cherry-ish… and it’s making my mouth water!

Having tried one or two of 52Teas soda blends in the past, I was confident that they would be able to recreate that bubbly cola taste.  And this blend does not disappoint.

I know it might be hard to believe, but, it actually tastes like a carbonated beverage!  It has an almost effervescent quality to it.

The flavors of this blend are really delicious.  It is sweet and tastes like maraschino cherries and cola.   The honeybush base lends a little bit of its own sweetness to the blend, but I don’t get much of the woodsy/nutty taste from the honeybush.  I can taste faint notes of the honeybush, but what I taste most is cherry cola!

52Teas aka My Sweet Honeybush describes this blend as

Guilt-free natural cherry cola flavors effervesce (Okay, so there are no actual bubbles, but it sure tastes like it) through our sweet red honeybush.

At the moment, I am drinking this tisane hot, and it is very good this way.  But, as I had this pouch of tea through some of the warmest months of the summer, I also have tasted it iced and it’s absolutely spectacular!  It is just as refreshing as an ice-cold cola, but without all the sweetener and without that sticky, caramel-y film over the teeth (one of the reasons why I don’t drink cola very often!)

I found this recipe on the 52Teas website.  I haven’t tried it, but I think this tea would be make a delightful Tea Soda:

How to make a TEA SODA
This is how we make them at Zoomdweebie’s

* Brew about 1/3 cup of strong flavored tea like our Cherry Vanilla Cola flavored Black Tea.
* Disolve 1/2 cup sugar into tea.
* Allow to cool or pour over ice.
* Finish with about eight ounces of carbonated water or “sparkling water”.
* Stir and enjoy!

If you go to the 52Teas website looking for this tea, you’ll need to go to the My Sweet Honeybush blends which can be found easily by clicking on the “in stock” drop down menu.

This is one of my favorite honeybush blends.  I like to add just a little bit of raw sugar to the tea to enhance the flavors just a little bit, but it is quite sweet so taste it before you sweeten it.  Even with the little bit of sugar that I add, it is still far less than in a can of soda… making this the perfect alternative to those who love soda pop but want to reduce their sugar intake, and don’t care for the taste of diet or sugar free soda.



liber-teas
liber-teas
http://hungryinportland.com


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Oct 29

Strawberry Passion Tea from Village Tea

Flavored Tea,Tea Review,Village Tea,White Tea 11:00 pm | No Comments

Strawberry Passion Tea from Village TeaThis tea is so enjoyable on this kind of day!  The weather has been blustery and cold and hinting toward rain, and not that I dislike those days (I LOVE days like this!) … but somehow, when it’s cold and rainy, I find myself wishing for the warmth of summer just a little.  Likewise, when it’s hot and sunny, I long for the cooler weather of autumn.

This tea reminds me of the early days of summer, before it gets too terribly hot, when the strawberries come in to season.  And while I can still sometimes find strawberries in some stores, the flavor of those berries just don’t match the kind of flavor that I can get from those luscious berries in the late spring and early summer.

Village Tea has managed to nail that sweet berry flavor in this white tea blend. It is sweet with only a very soft berry-esque tartness.  It tastes like those sweet, little wild berries that you can sometimes find in the roadside markets in the early summer – fresh, sweet, and delicious!

The strawberry flavor is strong here but not overpowering.  I can still taste the light, exhilarating taste of the white tea.  The white tea is clean and fresh in flavor, with no bitterness or astringency.  Just sweet and tranquil.

Village Tea describes this blend as

Ingredients: Chinese white tea, flavor, strawberry pieces

Health Benefits: antioxidant rich, heart health support, immune system support, cold and flu fighter

There’s a real passion in our Strawberry Passion White Tea.  It’s also a Village Tea Company favorite and tastes great cold.  Rich and intense, this white tea marries full leaf-and-bud Chinese Bai Mu Dan (white tea) with flavorful and fragrant strawberries to enhance the naturally mild sweetness of white tea. Our Strawberry Seduction White Tea is a sultry way to wind down a long day or to get one started. Indulge yourself with this decadent white tea.

Even though this IS a white tea blend and is naturally more delicate than a green or black tea blend, it is not so delicate that the flavors become lost during the cooling process.  That is to say that this tea would make a fabulous iced tea if the weather were permissive of iced tea enjoyment.

Right here and now, the weather certainly isn’t “iced tea weather,” however, I am quite enjoying this hot.  It has plenty of natural sweetness to it so it really doesn’t need sweetener, but, if you wish to sweeten, drizzle with a little honey… the result is so delightful!

I have tried a couple of teas from Village Tea – and I must say that I’m quite impressed with their offerings!  I look forward to trying more from them.



liber-teas
liber-teas
http://hungryinportland.com


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