Tag: Herbal/Fruit Infusion

Moroccan Mint Tea by Oteas
Herbal Infusion / Straight
$6.95 for 24g (12 sachets)

Oteas has provided me with Moroccan Mint Tea for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

Moroccan Mint Tea has a very strong minty aroma – and that’s without me even removing the plastic wrap from the cardboard box! Once I peeled off the shrink wrap, I was welcomed with a strong mint aroma to breathe in, which is really quite pleasant. This minty tea comes in tea sachets that are biodegradable – which is awesome! I can definitely seem some nice big pieces of mint leaves in the sachet, which is always a treat to see in a sachet product.

Preparation

Oteas recommends steeping Moroccan Mint Tea in 100°C (212°F) water for 5 to 8 minutes. Because this is a tisane, I opted to do an initial steep of Moroccan Mint Tea for 8 minutes.

First Taste

Moroccan Mint Tea steeps to a brownish orange, with the most inviting mint aroma. The flavour is undoubtedly mint, I found it to be bright, refreshing, and sweet from the natural mint flavour. Traditionally, Moroccan mint tea is made with green tea (typically Chinese in origin), with mint leaves and sugar. This tea sachet is straight Moroccan mint, which makes it naturally caffeine free. If you want the more traditional option, you can always pair it with a green tea (Gunpowder would be preferred) and sugar. I found that the Moroccan Mint Tea had a lot of natural sweetness to it, which made it quite palatable – but as a person with a sweet tooth, I can see why adding sugar to a int infusion would also be delicious.

A Second Cup?

As Moroccan Mint Tea is a tisane, I found that a resteep of the same leaves yielded a weak cup of tea compared to the initial steep. I would recommend steeping it for the full recommended 8 minutes and sticking to just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Oteas’s Moroccan Mint Tea. As the weather warms up, I’ve been really enjoying ‘cooler’ drinks – and even though I had Moroccan Mint Tea as a hot beverage, I found that the refreshing nature of the mint to be quite cooling. The flavour of the Moroccan mint is delicious, and I can see it being both delicious hot and iced but I really enjoyed it hot and think that others would like it this way as well. If you’re looking to make this mint tea a bit more in the traditional manner, I would pair it with a Chinese Gunpowder green tea and some sugar (and steep in a silver teapot!).

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Berry Blend by Oteas
Fruit Infusion / Flavoured
$6.95 for 30g (12 tea sachets)

Oteas has provided me with Berry Blend for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

Preparation

Oteas recommends steeping Berry Blend in 100°C (212°F) water for 5 to 10 minutes. I did an initial steep of Berry Blend for 7 minutes.

First Taste

Berry Blend steeps to a beautiful dark pink colour – it’s actually pretty close to what colour my hair is currently. There’s a really bright and fresh berry aroma from it. On first taste, I notice that Berry Blend has a really sweet, fruity/berry flavour to it. There is a tartness to it, which isn’t surprising because this fruit infusion has hibiscus in it and that generally gives drinks a pink colour and tart flavour. It is tasty though, and would make for an excellent iced tea.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Berry Blend, but found that the flavours and colour were not quite where I wanted it to be in comparison to the initial steep. I would recommend Berry Blend for just one steep (and have it iced!).

My Overall Impression

I loved Oteas’s Berry Blend. With he weather warming up, I’m really enjoying more teas and tisanes that taste good at a cooler temperature or iced. I really enjoyed drinking it because it had a great fruity flavour and the colour was just so intense! I can see this making a great iced tea during the summer and it’s quite refreshing because of the sweet and tart flavours.

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Raspberry Leaf Tea by Oteas
Fruit Infusion / Flavoured
$6.95 for 24g (12 sachets)

Oteas has provided me with Raspberry Leaf Tea for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

The first thing I noticed about Raspberry Leaf Tea is the fragrance. It smells fruity – mostly raspberry, and really inviting and sweet. The tea sachets come 12 in a card stock box that came shrink wrapped in plastic – sealed for freshness and all that good stuff.

Each tea sachet consists of: raspberry leaves, hibiscus, apple pieces, rosehip shell, blackberry leaves, raspberries.

If you’re pregnant, you may have heard about drinking raspberry leaf infusions before for morning sickness – which is something that Oteas mentions on the side of the box – but this blend also contains hibiscus which is often recommended to be avoided during pregnancy. I highly recommend always checking with your health care professional about when to drink herbal teas as a lot of herbal teas also have medicinal effects to the body. This goes for all herbal teas when you take any over-the-counter or prescription medications as well.

Preparation

First Taste

Raspberry Leaf Tea steeps to a light berry pink colour. It has a pleasant raspberry aroma to it, and it smells sweet. The flavour of Raspberry Leaf Tea is a mix between sweet and tart, which I think can be attributed to the hibiscus in the blend. It’s not too tart that I feel the need to add some sugar to the cup though, which is good. If you’re not a big fan of hibiscus, I’d recommend a little bit of sweetener to even out the tartness to make it more palatable for you. Overall, it’s quite pleasant and I think it would be great iced.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Raspberry Leaf Tea once, and found that it didn’t taste as good as the initial steep and was quite watery in comparison. I would say that Raspberry Leaf Tea is good for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Oteas’s Raspberry Leaf Tea. I think it makes for a really nice fruity infusion – it’d be great for iced tea and spring/summer weather since it is a fruity mix.  The level of sweet is well balanced against the tart, and the raspberry flavours are well presented in the initial steep. Again, use caution if pregnant or may be pregnant and consult with a health care professional about having herbal blends.

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