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.

Red Raspberry

This herbal tea is made by Bigelow and is non-caffeinated.

Flavor:  At first, it has a tart flavor, almost like some roses are so heavily fragranced that you can nearly taste them.  That tartness quickly disappears into a more neutral taste like a light fruit.  Lastly, there is a light and sweet aftertaste.  The tea is not sweet, but the taste is.

Suggested Additions:  I don't feel it needs anything, I like it how it is, but for the sake of experimenting, I added one half a spoonful of honey.  The honey seemed to mask a bit of the flavor, which I didn't think it needed.  However, if you are sensitive to sour tastes, honey or another sweetener would help neutralize that effect and would be a good thing for you to add to your tea.

Ingredients:  Hibiscus, rose hips, apples, elderberries, natural and artificial raspberry flavors

Purpose:  A friend said, "I'm gonna make some tea" and I thought that sounded so great that I made some as well.  I like that it has no caffeine, but am a little disappointed that there is also no raspberry in it, only the flavor of raspberry.  Still, it is a good tea, and I think it would be excellent lightly sweetened and then iced for the summer.

Earl Grey

My first thought was, "Earl Grey is so common; everyone knows what it tastes like, why bother reviewing this one?"  But when I tasted it, I was brought back to a trip I took to England one summer, during which I discovered my love for tea.  This tea is made by Bigelow, and if you prepare it exactly the way I describe, you will taste the flavors I enjoyed every morning while visiting England.

Flavor:  Earl Grey has a light flavor- not as heavy as a traditional breakfast tea.  Its distinctive taste comes from oil of bergamot, which comes from a tree in the citrus family.  Its a difficult flavor to describe, but if I hadn't looked it up, I never would have guessed by taste that bergamot was related to citrus.  The flavor seems somewhat nutty with a hint at flowers.  Bigelow's version of Earl Grey has a pleasant and light bergamot taste which is not too over-powering, yet not too light.

Suggested Additions:  The people in England who introduced me to tea always served it with two heaping spoonsful of sugar and enough milk to create a light tan-coffee color.  If you do it exactly this way, you will taste the flavor that started my exploration of teas.  If you want to vary the taste a bit, try alternative types of sweeteners, or use cream, half-and-half, soy milk, almond milk, or other non-dairy creamer.  Some people just drink it black.  There are so many ways to drink Earl Grey that I cannot list them all here.  I have also had it iced, and that is refreshing on a hot summer morning.

Ingredients:  The box is missing, and the bag does not contain an ingredients list.  My guess would be:  black tea, oil of bergamot, some sort of soy lecithin-based preservative to maintain freshness.

EDIT:  A quick search online has turned up an ingredients list:  black tea, natural oil of bergamot.

Purpose:  Earl Grey is one of my favorite teas, so my reason for drinking it would be out of habit on days when I need a strong amount of caffeine.  Also for those days when I get nostalgic about my visit to England.

Note:  My hosts served me in England with a heavily sweetened tea, and usually when I prepare my own tea, I use much less sweetener than the way I was taught.  When I served a friend of mine, I used one not-heaping spoonful of sugar, and this person still found it to be unusually sweet.  Remember that additions to tea should be based on your own personal preferences and not how you are "supposed" to do it.

Rooibos Earl Grey

This Earl Grey is made by the Puerto Rico Importing Co.  Just to clarify on this one:  I started writing this post back in May and things got away from me and I wasn't able to finish the post.  Now I have re-brewed myself a cup of the tea, but in that time, this loose leaf tea has been stored near a very strongly scented tea.  I have a feeling the flavor may be influenced by this other tea, so I will be relying more on my initial observations back in May.

Flavor:  This one has a deep, sweet, earthy taste, with the sophisticated (and well-known) flavor of Earl Grey.  It tastes like the color red meets British royals.  (I swear this blog is sometimes more of an outlet for my descriptive literary skills than anything else.)  There is a faintly spicy taste, but it isn't like anything I've ever tasted before.

Suggested Additions:  I always like my Earl Grey with a spoonful of white sugar and a splash of milk, so that is what I added to it today.  I think that although that was good, raw sugar might be better suited to the taste of the Rooibos and next time I think I'd like to try that instead.

Ingredients:  Unknown.  When you walk into the Puerto Rico Importing Co. store, the walls are lined with huge cans upon cans of loose leaf tea.  You tell them how much you want, and they scoop it into a generic bag for you, with no ingredients list.  The center of the room is filled with burlap sack upon burlap sack of coffee beans.  It is quite a fun place to visit.  (If I had to guess on ingredients, I'd say Rooibos tea, and oil of bergamot.)

Purpose:  This tea has a unique taste, and it is caffeine free.  So if you love Earl Grey but don't want the caffeine or the chemicals used to decaffeinate, try this one, which has neither.  Its not organic though so I can't be completely sure it has no chemicals at all.

Peach Tea

This "pure Ceylon tea" is made by Bentley's Finest.

Flavor:  The initial taste of this tea is somewhat sour, with a green herby taste, and without any bitterness of the caffeine from the tea.  The smell of peach is stronger than the taste of peach.  Its not a very pleasant tea on its own.  I would definitely recommend a sweetener.

Suggested Additions:  Because this tea is so light on the taste of the peach, I can't recommend adding lemon to it, because it would completely overpower the delicate flavor.  Today, to mix things up a little, I went with raw sugar.  I feel that the raw sugar adds to the delicate flavor in addition to making it a bit sweeter.  I don't think honey or agave nectar are quite delicate enough to be added to this tea.  If you don't have raw sugar, white would make it sweeter, without adding to the flavor at all.

Ingredients:  There are none listed on the bag, or in the fancy tea caddy that came as a Christmas gift.  A search online for Bentley's tea revealed that it might be a sub-company of the Boston Tea Company, but I could not find an ingredients list.  It tastes like it might be green or white tea, but I can't be sure.

Purpose:  I don't see a reason to drink this tea.  It may provide caffeine, but since I don't know the ingredients, I don't know how much caffeine I'm getting.  The flavor, toward the end of the cup, finally reaches a full peach flavor, but that is only if you leave the bag in the water the whole time.  Most people take the bag out before the end of the cup.

Quietly Chamomile

Quietly Chamomile is made by Lipton.

Flavor:  There is a hint of citrus and a sort of "pine tree" taste that I noticed first.  Chamomile is a flower, and that light flowery taste is also evident.  Overall, it has a very herby green taste, but that is not unpleasant.

Suggested Additions:  I think the honey-lemon route would be a good choice.  Honey is also flowery and since there is a citrus taste in the tea already, those additions would enhance the flavor.  I was in a rush to enjoy this tea with my breakfast though, so I went with what was quick and easy- a level spoonful of white sugar.

Ingredients:  I have long ago lost the box and kept this tea in the tea caddy, so I thought I would not be able to get the ingredients, but thanks to Lipton, all their ingredients are listed online!  Chamomile flowers, orange peel, rosehips, hibiscus flowers, allspice, licorice root, natural flavor, soy lecithin

Purpose:  Usually, chamomile is used to decrease stress and relax the body and mind.  My mom swears a cup of it will put her right to sleep.  I don't find I fall asleep from it, but I was not in the mood today for a caffeinated tea so I thought I'd go with this old classic.

Vanilla Chai Tea- REPOST

Note- I am reposting this review because I reviewed the tea in my head today, not realizing I'd already written about it, and I would like to note some differences I observed.  Here it is below, with today's comments written in green.


Again with the Chai Tea redundancy. (Read this entry http://forgetthedinoftheworld.blogspot.com/2010/10/chai-tea.html for an explanation.) Anyway Vanilla Chai Tea is made by Bigelow.

Flavor: This tea starts out with a slightly sour but pleasant taste, a bit of the tannic "tea" taste, and a heavy aftertaste on the vanilla.  I don't really notice much of the spices that are usually found in the flavor of a traditional chai.  This tea has a slight flavor of vanilla, is mild, and has a medium tea taste. It is not too strong, and it reminds me of the Vanilla Chai mix we used at Nordstrom when I worked in the Espresso Bar.

Suggested Additions: One spoonful of sugar since chai is meant to be sweet traditionally.  Also a bit of milk to lighten the "tea" taste if you want. I used soy milk and for some reason it has clumped up so I have some floaters. Oh well, it still tastes good.  Today I used whole milk, because I am trying to gain a few pounds and have increased my caloric intake.  I feel that the whole milk provides a more solid, hearty feel to the tea, and seems to help the traditional chai spices come through.  Also, the faintly sour, almost lemony taste is nearly gone after the addition of the milk.

Ingredients: Black tea, spices, natural and artificial flavors (soy lecithin).

Purpose: This tea is good for someone who enjoys chai but finds that traditional chai is a bit too strong or complex for their tastes.

Energizing

I'm not entirely sure of the name of this tea, but I went with the words written in the largest font on the tea bag.  The company is Teekane ("tee-kah-neh"), and the title of the tea appears to be "Herbal Wellness Tea Energizing, Caffeinated Passionfruit Mango Flavor."

Flavor:  Initially, I got the taste of the mango, with a hint of the cooling sweetness of passionfruit as an aftertaste.  As time went by, the taste of the passionfruit got stronger.  However, at no point did I taste the "tart" flavor that real passionfruit has.  I believe that is a good thing, because although I like that taste when I'm eating real passionfruit, I don't know that it would necessarily lend itself well to a tea.  The taste of the caffeine is pleasantly hidden among the tropical flavors, and I detected none of that bitter caffeine taste.

Suggested Additions:  I added a bit more sugar than usual, since I was in the mood for something more closely resembling a fruit juice.  I probably should not have drunk tea at all, but should have just poured myself a glass of orange juice.  But the tea was warm, and I was cold.  It worked out, in the end, but flavor-wise it did not need all that sugar.  If you like a fruity flavor, try a spoonful of white or raw sugar.  For a more complex taste (spicy-fruity), add a spoonful of honey.

Ingredients:  Green tea, sweet blackberry leaves, lemongrass, Siberian ginseng, natural mango flavor, natural passionfruit flavor (contains soy lecithin), green mate, ginko leaf, spearmint.

Purpose:  The caffeine was an added bonus this morning, but I drank this tea today because it was warm and I needed a way to get some sugar into my body.  I am not sure why, but there are some days when I just wake up feeling the intense need to increase my blood sugar.  I hope this does not mean I will be prone to diabetes later on in my years.  Also a pleasant surprise- when I checked the ingredients and found it was green tea and not black tea.  I had assumed since it said "caffeinated" in large print on the box, that meant "big time caffeinated" with black tea, but it is actually green tea.  This is a bonus for me because I often feel that green tea is easier on my body and keeps me alert through the day without feeling the "sudden rush" of energy that I get from coffee or black tea.

Tea for Colds

This one is made by Good Earth, although I haven't seen it in the stores for a while. I am not sure they make it anymore.

Flavor: It has a very mild flavor similar to the previous tea, Breathe Deep. However, it is not nearly as strong as that. The aftertaste is a bit minty, and it is much stronger than the minty flavor of Breathe Deep.

Suggested Additions: This tea has a hint of sweetness already, so no sweetener is needed, although the wrapper suggests honey, if desired. Lemon might be soothing if you are drinking the tea because of a cold and have a sore throat.

Ingredients: Active ingredient- Menthol, 10 mg per cup (a natural component of peppermint oil). Herbal ingredients- Meadowsweet flower, wild thyme, licorice, plantain leaf, dehydrated juice of echinacea herb, elder flower, peppermint flavor (contains oil of peppermint)

Purpose: It says it right there in the name of the tea. Drink this when you have a cold, or when you just feel like you want some minty comfort. Personally, I am drinking lots of hot tea this evening to ease my symptoms just long enough for me to get through the evening. When I finish everything I need to do, if my symptoms are still giving me troubles, I will take some medicine, but all I have is for night time relief so I know it is going to knock me out.

Breathe Deep

This is a medicinal tea from Yogi.

Flavor: The first thing that hit me was "Wow, that's a sweet tea!" And that was just tea and water, nothing added. Besides the sweetness, there is a barky, earthy taste. Cinnamon has a spicy flavor followed by a sort of earthy, brown flavor. This tea has that second cinnamon taste, without any spiciness at all. There is also just a hint of a minty taste as well.

Suggested Additions: On the bag there is this suggestion: "Add a teaspoon or two of honey to support the body's expectoration process." I was going to follow the suggestion until I tasted the tea. I think honey would just make it all a little too sweet for my liking.

Ingredients: Licorice root, eucalyptus, basil, ginger, cinnamon, thyme, elecampane root, peppermint, cardamom seed, mullein leaf, natural licorice flavor.

Purpose: I just came back from a trip over the mountains. The changes in elevation, combined with an odd New Year's thaw, and a weekend in a house with just a hint of mustiness has my sinuses all confused. I can't stop coughing, which is not my body's usual way of expressing allergy symptoms. So I thought a tea to help me breathe would be appropriate. I felt a difference the moment I opened the tea bag, before even pouring the water. It was not exactly that my sinuses cleared up right away, but a peaceful calming feeling came over me, which helped stopped some of the spasm and itch I was feeling in my lungs.