Author: Michelle

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Seven Sisters Tea’s Southern Belle

Southern Belle by Seven Sisters Tea
Fruit Infusion / Flavoured
$3.50 for 50g

First Impressions

I’m on a Canadian tea company kick this week for my third in a row! Southern Belle is from Seven Sisters Tea and it’s a fruit tisane. This tea came in a sealed, resealable silver foil pouch. This is obviously a sample packet since the tea comes in 50g increments. The blend itself has a very strong fruity aroma to it, and I can mostly smell the citrus and hibiscus in this blend.

Southern Belle consists of: apple, hibiscus, rosehip, orange, and natural flavouring. All of the ingredients, aside from the flavouring, are visible.

Preparation

Seven Sisters Tea recommends steeping for 5 to 6 minutes, with no mention of temperature. I opted to go with 100°C (212°F) water, which is a common temperature for herbal blends, for 6 minutes. If steeping for iced tea, Seven Sisters Tea recommends refrigeration overnight (I would recommend cold steeping).

If you’re ever in doubt about how long to steep a tea for or what temperature of water to use, you can refer to my steeping guide.

First Taste

Southern Belle steeps to a deep, dark red – thanks to the hibiscus. The aroma of the tea is a nice fruity blend, I can detect some citrus notes. The flavour is tart and sweet, I found it to have the nice subtle sweetness of apple flavour while the citrus is still very present throughout. The hibiscus definitely makes its presence known thanks to the colour and tartness.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Southern Belle and found the colour and the flavour to be really weak compared to the initial steep. I think Southern Belle is good for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Seven Sisters Tea’s Southern Belle. I thought that the flavour was really nice, and the colour was just amazing thanks to the hibiscus. If you’re a fan of iced tea, this is definitely a good option for having iced/cold. I think the fruity flavours are pleasant and it really makes you pucker up thanks to the tartness. If you’re not a huge fan of hibiscus, you may want to add some sweetener to it or take a pass on this one since you can’t really avoid it.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

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New Moon Tea Co’s Relax and Renew Tea

Relax and Renew Tea by New Moon Tea Co
Herbal Infusion / Straight
$12.98 for 24g

First Impressions

I can’t remember when I got this tea, I’m pretty sure that I received this tea as a gift and it got lost in my stash because I don’t remember having bought this one – and I am aware that New Moon Tea Co’s packaging and logo has changed since this one was made. That said, properly stored tea and herbal tisanes do keep well provided they are stored properly and in sealed containers! Relax and Renew Tea came in a kraft paper pouch that is plastic lined and resealable.

All of the ingredients in Relax and Renew Tea are very much visible. This blend consists of organic: chamomile, lavender, lemon balm, and cornflower petals. The first thing I really smelled was the lavender. I had to really focus to smell the lemon balm because the lavender was just that strong. It does make me want to relax though, I think lavender has that effect on a lot of people.

Preparation

New Moon Tea Co recommends steeping Relax and Renew Tea for 5 to 6 minutes, with no temperature listed. I opted to go with 100°C (212°F) water, which is a common temperature for herbal blends, for 6 minutes.

If you’re ever in doubt about how long to steep a tea for or what temperature of water to use, you can refer to my steeping guide.

First Taste

Relax and Renew Tea steeps to a clear golden yellow. The primary aroma that I get from this herbal infusion is the lavender, which is not a surprise considering that it’s the strongest aroma in the dry leaf as well. On first taste, I have to say it’s incredibly floral – the lavender flavour is strong compared to the rest of the ingredients. I found it to be very relaxing though, it makes me think of other lavender scent things and the calming effect that I get from the scent in general. I don’t really taste the chamomile though, which is a shame because I really enjoy chamomile, and I find the lemon balm is mostly present in the tail end of each sip.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Relax and Renew Tea again and found that it was quite weak compared to the initial steep. The lavender is still the predominant flavour. I found that chamomile was still lost in the blend.

My Overall Impression

I thought that New Moon Tea Co’s Relax and Renew Tea was just okay. If you’re a fan of lavender, I think you’d really enjoy this blend. The lavender is very strong and it lends itself to a very floral cup of herbal tea. That said, if you’re hoping to get more of the chamomile or lemon balm, those flavours aren’t strong enough to overcome the lavender. I found that the lavender was a bit strong for me, which is why I’m not rating it higher. I think I would like it more if the chamomile or lemon balm played a stronger role in balancing out the lavender.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

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Lemon Lily’s Caramel Apple & Honey

Caramel Apple & Honey by Lemon Lily
Black Tea / Flavoured
$10.00 for 50g

Lemon Lily’s Caramel Apple & Honey came to me as part of The Sugared Teacup’s October themed subscription box.

First Impressions

When I first saw the name Caramel Apple & Honey, I was intrigued. I love the idea of the classic carnival treat, but I never liked eating them because there’s always way more apple than caramel – the ratio is just off! Give me more caramel, I say! Caramel Apple & Honey comes in a familiar white, matte resealable foil bag with the label on the front that tells me everything that I need to know about the tea. The tea itself is covered in palm sugar, it’s super visible and pretty much everywhere (especially coating the apple pieces). The aroma of the tea is primarily that of the black tea base and the bee pollen, which gives it a honey fragrance. I feel like the bee pollen is stronger than the apple, so I can’t really smell the apple pieces.

Caramel Apple & Honey consists of organic: black tea, apples, palm sugar, and bee pollen. All of the ingredients are fairly visible, the bee pollen is a different colour than I’m used to. I buy locally harvested bee pollen to take during allergy season for my seasonal allergies – if you buy bee pollen that is local to you, you’ll find it comes in different colours as well because it’s dependent on the type of pollen in your area.

Preparation

Lemon Lily recommends steeping Caramel Apple & Honey in 200°F (93°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. My initial steep was for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Caramel Apple & Honey steeps to a slightly cloudy brown colour. I believe part of the cloudiness is due to the addition of bee pollen, I’m pretty familiar with the other ingredients and most of them don’t make tea cloudy. The aroma of Caramel Apple & Honey is primarily that of the bee pollen, honeyed sweetness. I don’t really smell the apple, which is not too surprising considering I couldn’t smell it in the dry leaf either. The flavour of Caramel Apple & Honey does have more honey/bee pollen flavour in comparison to the apple, but I do get a hint of the fruity apple goodness in my cup. I do wish that the apple was stronger though, to better remind me of a caramel apple.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Caramel Apple & Honey and found that it didn’t resteep well, I couldn’t really taste the bee pollen/honey flavour. I would say that Caramel Apple & Honey is good for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I thought that Lemon Lily’s Caramel Apple & Honey was just okay. I found it almost ironic that the tea is the polar opposite of an actual caramel apple – one has more apple than caramel! That said, I really like the idea of drinking teas with bee pollen in it, and as we get closer to allergy season, I’m going to have to put this idea into the back of my mind. I want to get a bit more creative with my bee pollen intake since I don’t really enjoy the dry, powdery texture of it when it’s not mixed in with something (I sprinkled it into my yoghurt last year!) and dissolving it into my tea sounds perfectly doable! The one thing that I think would improve Caramel Apple & Honey would be more apple pieces to boost up the apple flavour – just a little somethin’ somethin’ to make it live up to its name and expectations.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.