Category: Review

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TLS’s Trim Tea

Trim Tea by TLS
Black Tea / Flavoured
$39.95USD for 30g (30 packets)

Jason (@teawithchu) has provided me with TLS’s Trim Tea for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

I received a 3 day supply of Trim Tea, which is a tea product by TLS. As per the product page, Trim Tea consists of black tea extract, and extract from Irvingia gabonensis (African Mango). If you look on the Wikipedia page for Irvingia gabonensis, it’s been used a lot in weight loss programs. Because I only received a 3 day supply, the purpose of this review is for me to try it out and review it based on taste – and not to see if it actually helps me to lose weight.

Each day’s supply comes prepackaged/portioned out, which is handy. Trim Tea is a dark, blackish-brown powder. It’s a very fine powder and it barely has a noticeable smell to it. I was expecting a little something, since it has black tea and mango in it, but I didn’t notice a smell.

I’m not a primary health care provider, or a researcher in weight-loss, so I can’t speak to the science behind how Trim Tea works. It’s always a good idea to make sure that your primary health care provider is aware that you’re engaging in any sort of weight loss program so that you can stay healthy and do it safely.

Preparation

TLS recommends combining 1 packet of Trim Tea with water, hot or cold. They also suggest, if you’re consuming this for weight loss reasons, to take it 30-60 minutes prior to a meal. Because I’m reviewing this on taste and not weight-loss effectiveness, I mixed it with hot water (93°C/200°F) and had it mid-morning.

First Taste

Trim Tea mixes to a very dark reddish-brown. It smells a bit like a pu’erh, which was surprising given the ingredients in this blend. On first sip, I found that it was slightly bitter. There’s a mild sweetness at the end of each sip, but it has a very earthy flavour to it. Trim Tea doesn’t taste like either black tea or mango, but it has a flavour that really does taste like pu’erh. TLS addresses the fact that if you think it tastes a little bitter, you should add a bit more water to dilute it (or, if you’re adventurous, you could always take it like a shot).

A Second Cup?

Because Trim Tea is a powder, there was nothing to resteep as it all mixed into the water.

My Overall Impression

I liked TLS’s Trim Tea. I’m personally not in the market for a weight-loss program right now, but I found the flavour to be palatable. There was a slight bitterness with Trim Tea, but there was that sweetness at the end of each tea that makes it easy to drink. Trim Tea has a great earthiness that reminds me a lot of pu’erh instead of a black tea. If you’re a fan of pu’erh teas, you might want to give Trim Tea a try. Like a good pu’erh, this one can go down easy since it has the sweetness at the tail end of each sip. If you’re looking to buy Trim Tea, it’s available online!

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T By Daniel’s When Harry Met Meghan

When Harry Met Meghan by T By Daniel
Black Tea / Flavoured
$11.00 for 50g

T by Daniel’s When Harry Met Meghan came to me as part of The Sugared Teacup’s April themed subscription box.

First Impressions

There’s something whimsical and fun about T By Daniel’s packaging – I think it has a lot to do with the bright colours and the bow tie. After all, bow ties are cool (any Doctor Who fans in the audience?). When Harry Met Meghan is my first exposure to a blend by T By Daniel, which is a Ontario-based tea company. Clearly named for the upcoming royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (and for 1989’s When Harry Met Sally), this tea came to me in a resealable foil pouch. The tea itself has a beautiful aroma and straight up smells like chocolate and strawberries. Not sure what the actual royal couple smells like, but the classic pairing of chocolate and strawberries smell divine.

When Harry Met Meghan consists of: Ceylon orange pekoe black tea, chocolate pieces, dried strawberries, safflowers, pink sugar, purple sprinkles, silver dragees, and natural flavours. I could definitely see all of the ingredients at one point or another. Love the fun sprinkles and dragees throughout!

Preparation

There weren’t any steeping instructions on the packaging, or on the online product page. I opted to do an initial steep of When Harry Met Meghan at 100°C (212°F) for 4 minutes.

First Taste

When Harry Met Meghan steeps to a slightly cloudy golden brown. There’s a bit of an oil slick across the surface, which can be attributed to the oils found in the chocolate, sprinkles, and dragees. The aroma from the steeped tea reminds me of chocolate and strawberries. Surprisingly, the flavour of the tea also consists of chocolate and strawberries.

I find it can be rare to find a tea that contains chocolate where the flavour actually holds up after the tea has been steeped. All of the ingredients that could dissolve in hot water had, so I was pleasantly surprised that the tea actually tastes like chocolate. The strawberry flavour also comes across well, I suspect part of the ‘natural flavours’ may be strawberry to amp it up a bit. There’s a sweetness to it that almost seems a bit much, and that’s coming from someone who really enjoys her sweets. I think it could have done without some of the sprinkles or dragees because I suspect the chocolate and dried strawberries might have enough sweetness on their own.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped When Harry Met Meghan twice. The first resteep wasn’t too bad, the chocolate and strawberry flavours were still pleasant, but it was less sweet (and that made it more enjoyable). The second resteep was kind of bland in comparison, and I couldn’t tasted the strawberry anymore. I would say that When Harry Met Meghan is good for one more steep.

My Overall Impression

I liked T By Daniel’s When Harry Met Meghan. I think the name is funny/punny and it’s a fun tea for anyone who likes chocolate teas, fruit teas, or royal shenanigans. I’m not usually a fan of teas with chocolate, but I found that this one did really well with maintaining the chocolate flavours throughout while balancing well with the strawberries. That said, I think the sprinkles/sugar made it just a touch too sweet for me. If you’re a fan of sweet teas, I think you’d really enjoy this one as-is, it’s definitely a black tea blend that doesn’t require any extra sweetener.

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Wize Monkey’s Jasmine

Jasmine by Wize Monkey
Herbal Tisane / Flavoured
$10.49 for 35g (15 sachets)

Wize Monkey has provided me with Jasmine for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

Jasmine from Wize Monkey came to me in individually wrapped sachet form. I still love the cute monkey logo (can’t get over how cute it is). Each pyramid sachet contained the coffee leaf tea. I found the aroma of the Jasmine sachet to be quite floral. It reminded me a lot of a jasmine green tea (surprised?), with just a hint of the coffee leaf tea in the background.

Jasmine consists of arabica leaves and natural jasmine flavour, so the only ingredient I could see was the dried arabica leaves. I wish that instead of jasmine flavouring, they used jasmine flowers instead – just for the added flavour and the aesthetics.

Preparation

Wize Monkey recommends steeping Jasmine in 95°C (203°F) for as long as you want. My initial steep of Jasmine was for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Jasmine steeps to a beautiful golden orange. The aroma that wafts up from the steeped tisane reminds me a lot jasmine green tea. The floral notes are quite strong and have a presence behind it. On first sip, the first thing that I notice is the floral sweetness from the jasmine flavouring. The coffee leaf base is overwhelmed by the jasmine flavouring, so most of what I get is the floral flavours. There’s almost a honeyed sweetness to it, but not cloyingly so.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Jasmine twice. I found the first resteep to be remarkably similar to the first, with the same bright floral notes. The second resteep lacked a considerable amount of jasmine flavour to it, so I would say that Jasmine is good for one more steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Wize Monkey’s Jasmine. I really quite enjoyed the fact that Jasmine reminded me so much of a jasmine green tea, with the added bonus that it didn’t get bitter or astringent from being oversteeped. As I’d mentioned in a previous Wize Monkey review, the company makes it a point to state that their coffee leaf base doesn’t get bitter if it’s steeped for a long time. This is such a nice feature, because despite the fact that I love jasmine green teas, all of them can be sensitive to being oversteeped and the last thing I ever want to drink is a bitter cup of regret. Jasmine would be an excellent alternative to a jasmine green tea if you’re constantly forgetting your steeping cup of tea somewhere.

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