Tag: Herbal/Fruit Infusion

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Celestial Seasonings’s Country Peach Passion

Country Peach Passion by Celestial Seasonings
Fruit Infusion / Flavoured
$3.49USD for 41g (20 tea bags)

First Impressions

I picked up the Fruit Tea Sampler a while back and sort of forgot that I had it (why do I keep doing that?), so decided when I rediscovered it in my tea stash that I should give it a try. This sampler consists of five fruit infusions, each of which will be getting their own review so I can properly give attention to each one.

The first of which is Country Peach Passion, which came with 3 tea bags packaged in a thick foil wrapper to keep the tea fresh. The tea bags are simple square bags, with no string. The aroma of the dry leaf is peachy with a hint of floral notes in the background.

Country Peach Passion consists of: orange peel rosehips, hawthorn, chamomile, natural peach flavour with other natural flavours, blackberry leaves, hibiscus, peaches, citric acid and paprika (for colour),

Preparation

Celestial Seasonings recommends pouring freshly boiled water (100°C/212°F) water over 1 tea bag and to steep for 4 to 6 minutes. For iced tea, it recommends using 2 tea bags and 1 cup of boiling water, and then adding 1 cup of cold water and to chill.

I followed the hot tea recommendations and steeped Country Peach Passion for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Country Peach Passion is a slightly cloudy orange colour. The aroma is a blend of peach and orange. The flavour however, doesn’t quite match up with what I was expecting. It’s a curious blend of citrus, chamomile, a hint of peach, and something that reminds me of pineapple. It’s not as sweet as I expected with all the fruity ingredients, but it does have a nice fruit punch flavour to it. I do wish that the peach itself was stronger.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Country Peach Passion but found the flavour to be lacking in comparison to the initial steep. I would recommend Country Peach Passion for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I thought that Celestial Seasonings’s Country Peach Passion was just okay. While I found the flavour to be pleasant, it just doesn’t screamed ‘peach’ tea (or tisane!) to me. I wish that the peachy flavour was stronger overall, although I did enjoy the citrus and pineapple-y flavours in the tisane. I think it would be pleasant iced (I did enjoy it hot!), I just wish that it tasted the way that it smelled to me.

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Tea By C’s Rose Buds

Rose Buds by Tea By C
Herbal Infusion / Straight
$10.00USD for 1oz

Tea By C has provided me with Rose Buds for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

Rose Buds came to me in a now-familiar kraft paper pouch from Tea By C. It came with an information card that includes the health benefits, tasting notes, steeping guide, as well as the information about flower anatomy on the back (definitely takes me back to my biology undergrad days!). The tisane itself solely consists of rose buds, which I think is well reflected in the name.

Rose Buds is an herbal tisane, consisting of rose buds from France. It’s naturally caffeine-free, which makes for a nice any-time-of-day drink. The rose buds themselves are lightly pink and pretty delicate looking. The aroma is all roses, which shouldn’t be that big of a surprise.

Preparation

Tea By C recommends steeping Rose Buds in boiling water (100°C/212°F) for 1 to 2 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep for 90 seconds.

First Taste

Rose Buds steeps to a pale yellow. The aroma is definitely roses throughout. On first taste, I taste both sweetness, and the rose floral notes. It’s not as heavily perfume-like as I had expected, which I think has a lot to do with the steeping time. It has a very soothing aroma to it, which I appreciated when I had it as a post-dinner drink.

A Second Cup?

Tea By C suggests that Rose Buds can been steeped 1 to 2 times. I attempted a second resteep, and opted to steep it for 3 minutes. I found that the flavour was fairly close to the initial steep, but it was just a touch weaker. I would recommend doing at least one more steep with Rose Buds to get all that rose flavour.

My Overall Impression

I loved Tea By C’s Rose Buds. I really enjoyed the overall experience of this tisane – from admiring the dry buds to smelling the steeped tisane to the first taste. The surprise for me was the fact that it didn’t remind me of potpourri when I was drinking it, which is always a potential hazard when it comes to flower-dominate tisanes. I loved that Rose Buds handled being resteeped once and the flavour wasn’t too far off from the initial steep.

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Djamoekoe’s Tropical Island

Tropical Island by Djamoekoe
Green Tea / Flavoured
Rp 65,000 for 25g

First Impressions

Tropical Island was a gift from a friend who made a trip to Indonesia – I’ve been quite blessed by friends who get the opportunities to go travelling around the world (and think about me when they’re away!). Tropical Island came in a kraft paper pouch with a clear plastic window, the tea inside is in a plastic pouch that’s resealable.

The aroma of the dry leaf is strong of lemongrass and ginger – with lots of spicy notes. The ingredients in Tropical Island are: green tea, pandan, lemongrass, ginger, and young coconut flakes.

Preparation

Djamoekoe recommends steeping Tropical Island in boiling water (100°C/212°F) water and to allow it to simmer for 5 minutes. I steeped Tropical Island for 5 minutes in a teapot.

First Taste

Tropical Island steeps to a golden yellow colour. The aroma of the steeped tea is strongly of lemongrass and ginger. The flavour of the tea is sweet and spicy – I can taste lemongrass, ginger, with some nice floral notes and mild grassy notes in the background. I was impressed that the green tea didn’t end up being oversteeped with the tea being steeped in boiled water for 5 minutes.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Tropical Island twice – adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. The colour became more golden yellow, and the flavour of the lemongrass and ginger got stronger. It’s very pleasant and it has a nice spiced flavour.

My Overall Impression

I loved Djamoekoe’s Tropical Island. The flavour of the lemongrass and ginger really make it, and the sweetness of the tea is nice – I can’t tell if it’s from the pandan or the young coconut flakes, but it’s really enjoyable. While Djamoekoe suggests using honey or sugar, I don’t think it really needs it because of the natural sweetness in the blend. I did like having it iced though, the spice notes from the ginger really shine through and I think this could be cold steeped quite nicely as well.

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