Chai Spice

Made by Stash

Flavor:  This tea does not have an overpowering spice taste, like some chais, but it is fully flavored.  It is a good tea for someone who isn't quite sure yet whether they like the chai taste or not, but it is strong enough to actually have something there, and seems fairly accurate to the taste of traditional homemade chai.  Although cinnamon is on the ingredients list, the cinnamon taste is not evident in the tea.

Suggested Additions:  Indian chai traditionally is made by simmering the tea in a half water, half milk mixture and then lightly sweetened (or heavily, depending on your tastes).  If you want to try traditional, go with that method, but I personally find it to be faster just to pour water over the tea bag and add milk and sugar after it is done steeping.

Ingredients:  Black tea, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, clove, and natural flavors of cinnamon, clove, and cardamom.

Purpose:  As stated, this is a good tea for the non-pro-chai-drinker.  Don't serve this to an Indian unless they are really only in it for the caffeine, which you will get since it is a black tea.

Woman's Raspberry Leaf

Sorry for the delay in posting new teas.  I've been drinking them, just not writing about them.  I'll try to get back on top of things.  This tea is called Woman's Raspberry Leaf tea by Yogi.

Flavor:  This tea has no astringent qualities to its flavor.  The flavor is present, but it is not too sweet, too earthy, too "green," or too tannic.  It is somewhat earthy and maybe a little nutty, and has been described as a good non-caffeinated substitute for a morning breakfast tea.

Suggested Additions:  I added a little bit of sugar since I drank it in the morning and my blood sugar tends to need a little boost then.  I would love to experiment next time with treating it like a robust morning breakfast tea and add milk with sugar.  Also, I left a travel mug of it in the car one day, and I have to say that it is just as tasty cold as it is hot, and a longer steep time does not harm the taste at all.

Ingredients:  Nothing but organic raspberry leaf.

Purpose:  I agree with the suggestion that this makes a wonderful morning tea when caffeine is not an option but you still want something warm and cozy when you wake up.  In herbal medicine, this tea is often used for women to nourish the reproductive system and ease menstrual discomforts.  Herbalists also consider it a supportive herb to use during pregnancy.  No need to give you a TMI moment, but I will certainly say that I've seen enough evidence (in just two brewings) of this tea working in my body that I will be using it frequently when I feel the need to nourish my reproductive system.

Bonus:  The yogi wisdom of the day that is printed on the tea tag says, "The beauty in you is your spirit."

Mayan Cocoa Spice

Made by Yogi, Mayan Cocoa Spice is said to be "tantalizingly rich and enlivening."

Flavor:  The first taste that pops out is chocolate.  It is definitely very chocolatey.  The aftertaste is somewhat brown and "earthy."  It has a deep flavor, with a very faint bitterness.  I did not taste the burn of a spice, but the earthy sense of spice was there.

Suggested Additions:  Milk and sugar.  The addition of the sugar seems to bring out the flavor of the cinnamon a bit more but I still find it is lacking in the "spice" category.  I'd love to add some chili pepper to see what happens.  The milk gives it that familiar hot chocolate flavor without the creamy coating on the back of the throat that you know you love when drinking hot chocolate.

Ingredients:  Cocoa shells, cinnamon, chicory, natural chocolate flavor, cardamom, natural cocoa flavor, cocoa powder, stevia, ginger, natural vanilla flavor, clove, black pepper, natural cinnamon oil, natural cardamom oil, natural ginger oil.

Purpose:  I would suggest to drink this tea on days when you feel a bit under the weather and don't want all that extra creaminess in the back of your throat from drinking hot chocolate.  Otherwise, just drink hot chocolate.  I think it would also be a good tea to try mixed with a tea bag of black tea for some caffeinated energy.  Plain black tea pairs well with milk and sugar as well so it would not be a problem to prepare them both together.  Personally, I'll probably be using this tea for the comfort it gives me.

Bonus:  Yogi puts inspirational quotes on all their tea tags.  Here are the most recent two I've seen:  "Greatness is measured by your gifts, not your possessions" and "Wisdom becomes knowledge when it is personal experience."

Raspberry Tea

This tea is made by Bentley's; its full name is Bentley's Pure Ceylon Tea Raspberry Tea.

Flavor:  Ceylon has a very light flavor which gives any Ceylon tea a unique taste.  The berry flavor is present, although I feel that there are better berry flavors out there in the tea world.  I also feel that this is not Bentley's best tea either.

Suggested Additions:  Honey makes the berry flavor more prominent, however it also provides a "heavy" taste that hides the light Ceylon flavor.  I would not suggest adding milk to this tea at all.

Ingredients:  Unknown, as they are not listed on the bag, and the box was a wooden tea caddy with no ingredients listed anywhere.

Purpose:  A light tea, good to use in place of an after-lunch dessert.  Although this doesn't seem to be a glowing review, I did enjoy the tea and would drink it again.  A possible option for next time would be to brew it and ice it (good for the summer, maybe with a sprig of mint).

Jasmine Blossom Green Tea

This one is made by Stash.

Flavor:  This tea has quite a bit of a "green" taste, somewhat like drinking spinach water, but with a more palatable flavor than how I just described it.  The jasmine blossom really makes it much lighter and not so heavy as regular green tea can sometimes be.

Suggested Additions:  I added one sugar packet of white sugar (I was in a restaurant).  I also paired it with a coconut sorbet I was having for dessert.  The creamy sweetness of the coconut was a beautiful contrast to the flowery lightness of the jasmine and the slightly bitter taste of the green tea.  It was delicious.  Another good suggestion for jasmine green tea (taught to me by a coworker at the coffee shop where I used to be employed) is a spoonful of raw sugar and a tiny splash of milk or half-and-half.  You would think milk would not go well with green tea, but for some reason it is fine with jasmine green tea.  I'm not entirely sure I would add milk to a Japanese-restaurant-green-tea though.

Ingredients: Jasmine green tea, jasmine blossoms

Purpose:  Through my meal at the restaurant, I had a simple water with my appetizer and dinner.  It was a nice restaurant with a waitstaff who had nothing better to do (Wednesday night, kinda slow), so every possible need we could think of was met immediately.  So the dessert and tea were an elegant way to end a great meal.