Oteas’s Strawberry and Cream

Strawberry and Cream by Oteas
Fruit Infusion / Flavoured
$6.95 for 30g (12 sachets)

Oteas has provided me with Strawberry and Cream for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

The first thing I noticed after removing the shrink wrap plastic from the box of Strawberry and Cream is the aroma. There is such a rich and strong strawberry aroma from the dry leaf – it’s very inviting and it reminds me of the smell of strawberry and cream ice cream. I can smell the strawberry and hibiscus, which is nice.

Strawberry and Cream comes portioned into tea sachets – which are biodegradable, as per Oteas. Strawberry and Cream consists of: hibiscus, apple pieces, rose hip peels, orange peels, strawberry pieces, and natural flavouring. I don’t really smell the orange or apple, but I think that’s because the strawberry and hibiscus are so strong in comparison (perhaps the natural flavouring is also strawberry?).

Preparation

Oteas recommends steeping Strawberry and Cream in 100°C (212°F) water for 5 to 10 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions and steeped for 7½ minutes.

First Taste

Strawberry and Cream steeps to a very bright pink colour, very quickly. The aroma from the steeped tisane is very much like the dry leaf – strawberry and cream ice cream, but the hibiscus is more fragrant so there’s a nice floral overtone to the fragrance of the overall cup. I found that Strawberry and Cream has a nice sweetness, a good amount of strawberry flavour, with some tartness that I’m attributing to the hibiscus.

I had this both hot and iced, and while it’s really good hot, I liked it better iced. The level of fruitiness lends itself well to be a summertime treat and I would even recommend mixing it with a bit of lemonade to make it even more summery.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Strawberry and Cream, but I think I sapped out all the flavour in the initial steep. I would recommend steeping Strawberry and Cream just the initial time – so make it a good one!

My Overall Impression

I loved Oteas’s Strawberry and Cream. I think it has a great strawberry flavour and really tastes like the name suggests. I would highly suggest having this tea iced (perhaps cold steeped?) and if you wanted to put it over the top, add some lemonade for a great summer drink! The flavour is great and I think it’d be great to pair with a picnic or barbecue party.

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Ahista Tea’s Om

Om by Ahista Tea
Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
$14.99 for 100g

Ahista Tea has provided me with Om for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

I recently tried Om, which came in portioned tea sachets. The aroma of the dry leaf is primarily lavender with hints of lemongrass and chamomile. It smells really inviting and and floral, which is pleasant and makes me think a lot of summer. The idea of the name Om make me think it’s a spa day tea, which is helped along with the soothing aroma of the chamomile.

Om consists of chamomile, lemongrass, rose petals, lavender, and lemon verbena. Surprisingly, I don’t really smell the rose petals – which I often find to be a heavily fragrant ingredient.

Preparation

Ahista Tea recommends steeping Om in 90-100°C (194-212°F) water for 5 minutes. I opted to steep in 100°C (212°F) water for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Om steeps to a light orange. It has a strong floral aroma to it. On first taste, I find that it is quite floral. It’s a bit strong on initial taste. I find that I can taste the lemongrass in Om, but the lavender and rose are the strongest flavours in this blend. I found it a bit too perfumey for me, the floral notes come off strong – which is great if you’re a fan of that!

I wound up cutting this with some lemonade (a 1:1 ratio of steeped Om with lemonade that was sweetened with honey) and found that it helped temper the floral notes a lot and made it quite pleasant.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Om once, and found that it didn’t do that great being resteeped. It is an herbal infusion, so I’m not surprised at all.

My Overall Impression

I liked Ahista Tea’s Om. I found it to be too floral for my tastes when I tried it straight – I found it to be very strong with the lavender and rose flavours. However, it does take nicely to being mixed with lemonade, which made for it to be a great iced lemonade blend, which made me really appreciate the floral notes in this flowery blend.

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Oteas’s Lemongrass, Ginger & Cinnamon

Lemongrass, Ginger & Cinnamon by Oteas
Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
$6.95 for 30g (12 sachets)

Oteas has provided me with Lemongrass, Ginger & Cinnamon for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

Lemongrass, Ginger & Cinnamon come in pyramid tea sachets, that are in a bag that’s inside of a box. As mentioned in previous Oteas reviews where the tea comes in sachets, the bags are biodegradable – which I think is so awesome. As a fair disclaimer, I haven’t tried composting one of the sachets – I live in a condo, so I can’t really keep a compost bin on the balcony (I’m sure strata would say something!) so the sachets (and tea leaves) end up in the green waste bins.

The aroma of Lemongrass, Ginger & Cinnamon is primarily that of ginger and lemongrass, with hints of cloves and cinnamon in the background. The dry leaf looks amazingly beautiful with the flower petals throughout. Lemongrass, Ginger & Cinnamon consists of: lemongrass, ginger pieces, cinnamon, fennel, licorice root, pineapple granules, orange peels, basil, spearmint leaves, pimienta triturada, tangerine orange granules, cloves, osmanthus flowers, pink pepper, pink cornflowers. Oteas mentions that people with hypertension should “avoid excessive consumption” of products with licorice root.

Preparation

Oteas recommends steeping Lemongrass, Ginger & Cinnamon in 100°C (212°F) water for 8 to 10 minutes. My initial steep was for 10 minutes.

First Taste

Lemongrass, Ginger & Cinnamon steeps to a beautiful golden yellow-orange colour. The aroma of this herbal blend is primarily lemongrass and ginger, I find the cinnamon has a hard time being strong with those other more powerful, fragrant ingredients. There is a gentle sweetness with this blend and I can taste the lemongrass and ginger, with light flavours of the cinnamon at the end of each sip. There’s an almost fruity quality in the sweetness, which may be coming from the pineapple and tangerine.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Lemongrass, Ginger & Cinnamon, but I found the flavour to be lacking in comparison to the initial steep. I would recommend steeping Lemongrass, Ginger & Cinnamon just the one time.

My Overall Impression

I loved Oteas’s Lemongrass, Ginger & Cinnamon. I found the flavour to be quite good, although I do wish that the cinnamon had been more prominent, but it had some tough competition. The sweetness in the blend is nice, and I felt that it helped temper down the ginger, which normally adds a spiciness to things. I had this blend hot, and found it to be pleasant – I think it would be nice as an iced tea or cold steeped, since the ginger would add some heat in the flavour.

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