Posts

Posted on

Bye Herbs’ Tealicious

Tealicious by Bye Herbs
Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
€8.90 for 50g

Bye Herbs has provided me with Tealicious for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

Tealicious is described as being a 100% organic Slovenian herbal tea. It came to me in a resealable kraft paper pouch, I do love it when tea comes in simplistic and clean packaging that still provides me with all the information that I need to know. This organic herbal infusion has a beautiful minty aroma to it, but there’s also some floral notes mixed in with it. I like that the mint isn’t completely overwhelming the other ingredients in the dry blend because I like being able to pick out the other ingredients.

Tealicious consists of: nettle, rosehip, mint, melissa, elderberry, linden, thyme, sunflower and cornflower blossoms and all of the ingredients are from organic farming, as per the packaging. If you’re unfamiliar with the melissa plant, it’s also known as lemon balm in North America.

There’s some fine print on the packaging that states that the herbal infusion is not medicinal. Because it is an herbal product, and some medications can have interactions with medications, I would strongly recommend talking to your primary care physician or pharmacist about herbal supplements and drug interactions. Better safe than sorry!

Preparation

Bye Herbs recommends steeping Tealicious in boiling water for 10 minutes, and suggests that you can drink this tea up to three times a day. I steeped Tealicious in 100°C (212°F) water for a full 10 minutes.

First Taste

After the ten minute steep, Tealicious steeps to a very warm golden honey colour. The aroma that wafts up from this tea is primarily minty and floral, I really like that the mint doesn’t overwhelm the other ingredients. On first taste, I primarily get some rose and floral notes, followed by a minty fresh flavour. Tealicious leaves quite the refreshing aftertaste in my mouth after I swallow the herbal infusion, not quite the intensity that you’d find after brushing your teeth, but it’s still pretty noticeable. It’s a pleasant aftertaste, that’s for sure.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Tealicious and found that it didn’t do so great. The colour wasn’t as intense as the initial steep, and most of the flavours weren’t as present in the resteep. I think that the 10 minute steep time leeched most of the aromas and flavours from the ingredients and pretty much exhausted the flowers and herbs.

My Overall Impression

I liked Bye Herb’s Tealicious. I found the aroma to be inviting and pleasant, with a nice flavour to it. I really enjoyed the fact that the mint didn’t overpower the other ingredients and that the floral ingredients were able to shine through since mint is often such a strong flavour. I wish some of the floral notes had been a touch stronger, but it was still a nice cup of tisane. That said, I found the refreshing minty aftertaste to this herbal infusion to be quite enjoyable, and made for a nice finish at the end of each sip.

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

Posted on

Teatourist’s Crushes & Blushes Collection

Crushes & Blushes Collection (February 2018) by Teatourist
£11-15 for 1 box, plus shipping (+£3-5 per box)

Teatourist has provided me with the Crushes & Blushes Collection for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

I was super excited to receive the Crushes & Blushes Collection from Teatourist. Part of this box also included the announcement that they’re launching the Build-A-Box option on their website. It’s super neat for those who want to choose their own teas instead of getting one of the curated collections. You get to pick any six teas from Teatourist’s extensive catalogue of teas, and then they’ll package it all together and send it to you. No word yet on how much this will cost. I personally love getting the curated boxes, because a lot of the teas I get are ones that I probably wouldn’t pick for myself, but love getting the opportunity to try. So if you’re into surprises, the subscription box might be a great choice for you – but if you want to choose your own due to allergies or just personal preference, that’s an option! You could even gift a Build-A-Box to someone and put all that though and effort into a personalized tea box.

Now onto the Crushes & Blushes Collection! This box has a selection of six tea tasters: two herbal infusions, one white tea, one black tea, one rooibos, and one green tea. I’ll be sharing my thoughts on all six of them: Whole Rose Buds from The Tea Makers of London (herbal infusion), North Jetty Beach by Beach House Teas (herbal infusion), Sparkling White by Hoogly Tea (white tea), Honey Red Jade Tea by Golden Tea Leaf (black tea), Raspberry & Rhubarb by The Tea Experience (rooibos), and Cheeky Charlie by The Kettle Shed (green tea). Continue reading “Teatourist’s Crushes & Blushes Collection”

Posted on

California Tea House’s Imperial Gyokuro Genmaicha

Imperial Gyokuro Genmaicha by California Tea House
Green Tea / Flavoured
$13.00USD for 4oz

California Tea House has provided me with Imperial Gyokuro Genmaicha for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

I love a good genmaicha – for those who aren’t in the know, genmaicha is a green tea with toasted rice. California Tea House has a little twist on this traditional Japanese green tea by using a higher quality green tea in the blend, they’ve used gyokuro (a high quality sencha) instead of sencha or bancha. Imperial Gyokuro Genmaicha came to me in a resealable foil bag that has a clear plastic side so I can see all of the tea. The aroma from the dry leaf is primarily nutty, the toasted rice is quite fragrant!

Imperial Gyokuro Genmaicha consists of gyokuro green tea and toasted rice.

Preparation

California Tea House recommends steeping Imperial Gyokuro Genmaicha in 180°F (82°C) water for 3-4 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep in 175°F (79°C) for 2 minutes.

First Taste

Imperial Gyokuro Genmaicha steeps to a pale yellow, the aroma that comes off from the tea is primarily that of the toasted rice. I found the tea to be pleasantly sweet, with a hint of nuttiness and just a touch of vegetal goodness that reminds me a lot of gailan (Chinese broccoli). It’s a very pleasant green tea – there’s a smoothness to the tea that makes for a nice mouthfeel, and there’s zero bitterness at the temperature and length of time that I opted to steep this green tea for.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Imperial Gyokuro Genmaicha a total of four times (five steeps total), and I increased the steeping time by 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I found that the colour deepened for the first two resteeps, and started to get paler for the last two resteeps. The flavours intensified as the colour of the steeped tea darkened. The nutty sweetness from the toasted rice remained present throughout all of the steeps and the tea remained smooth.

My Overall Impression

I loved California Tea House’s Imperial Gyokuro Genmaicha. I found this twist on a classic Japanese green tea to be quite pleasant. I really enjoyed the nuttiness and sweetness that I found in the flavour profile, and it resteeped well. The vegetal flavour of gailan was a nice surprise, and it was provided a nice savoury green tea base to go with the toasted rice, which made it quite tasty.

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