Tag: Herbal/Fruit Infusion

Posted on

Tisano’s Original Cacao Tea

Original Cacao Tea by Tisano
Herbal Infusion / Straight
$14.95USD for 4oz

20171116-tisanocacao

Tisano has provided me with Original Cacao Tea for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

Tisano sent me a sample of their Original Cacao Tea. The sample came to me in a resealable bag (thank goodness), and the aroma of the cacao shells is one of pure chocolate. It smells and reminds me of a rich hot chocolate. Original Cacao Tea is a tisane made up of only cacao shells. I’m not sure what a cacao shell is supposed to look like, but the tisane is made up of thin, light brown flakes and smell like a chocolate bar.

20171116-tisanocacao1

20171116-tisanocacao2

Preparation

Tisano recommends steeping Original Cacao Tea at 210°F (99°C) water for 5 minutes. My initial steep was for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Original Cacao Tea steeps to a beautiful golden brown colour. Surprisingly, there’s slight bit of oils across the top that I think it comes from the cacao shells themselves (since chocolate has oils). The aroma from the steeped tisane is nothing short of hot chocolate. Sipping Original Cacao Tea has the taste of chocolate, a slightly watery version of hot chocolate. There’s a slight bitterness to the tisane, it reminds me of dark chocolate.

20171116-tisanocacao3

I added some cream to Original Cacao Tea and I found it helped to dull the bitterness and make it taste a touch more like hot chocolate, as it allowed the natural sweetness from the cacao to come through more.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped the Original Cacao Tea, but found that the flavour was a watery compared to the initial steep. I would recommend Original Cacao Tea for one steep only.

20171116-tisanocacao4

My Overall Impression

3cups-2

I liked Tisano’s Original Cacao Tea. I found that it was really good with the addition of cream, it made it taste like a hot chocolate. It’s a nice alternative to the sugary commercial hot chocolate mix available out there. I wasn’t too fond of the bitter notes with the straight tisane, so I recommend adding some cream or milk to make it into a rich hot chocolate drink.

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

Posted on

Grand Tea’s Chrysanthemum Tea

Chrysanthemum Tea by Grand Tea
Herbal Infusion / Straight
$35.00HKD for 25g

20171027-grandteachrysanthemum

Grand Tea has provided me with Chrysanthemum Tea for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

Chrysanthemum Tea is a floral infusion that I’m quite familiar with – it’s a common option available to be paired with dim sum (yum!). These floral buds came to me in a gold sample packet from Grand Tea, the chrysanthemum in this floral infusion are quite a bit younger than what I’m used to since they’re only partially opened. I found these chrysanthemum buds to be quite fragrant, it’s quite distinctly the floral aroma of chrysanthemum that also has a honeyed sweetness to it.

20171027-grandteachrysanthemum1

This is a straight infusion, with no additional ingredients. There is quite a bit of health information surrounding Chrysanthemum Tea on the Grand Tea website, surrounding health benefits – help with dizziness, headaches, and digestion; as well as potential side effects – interference with medications and allergies. When in doubt, always have a chat with your primary health care provider or pharmacist before trying new-to-you herbs, there could be an interaction with your medications.

20171027-grandteachrysanthemum2

Preparation

Grand Tea recommends steeping Chrysanthemum Tea in 80-90°C (176-194°F), there was no time included but I opted to steep for 5 minutes.

First Taste

The initial steep of Chrysanthemum Tea was a pale yellow that was surprisingly quite fragrant despite the lightness in colour. I found that it smells exactly like the dry floral buds, and might even be a stronger aroma. The buds opened up a little bit, and I found that the infusion is delicious. There’s just a hint of sweetness when I sip it that makes it quite enjoyable. There is a mention of mild bitterness on the Grand Tea website about this tea, but I didn’t find that to be noticeable at all.

20171027-grandteachrysanthemum3

A Second Cup?

I generally don’t resteep herbal infusions because I find that the flavour can be quite lacking compared to the initial steep. For Chrysanthemum Tea, I resteeped the floral buds twice, adding an extra minute per subsequent steep. I found both resteeps to be quite delicious, although a touch weaker than the initial steep. Despite that, I found that this herbal infusion resteeps decently enough that I would recommend doing it at least twice to get more value out of your tea.

20171027-grandteachrysanthemum4

My Overall Impression

rating4

I loved Grand Tea’s Chrysanthemum Tea. This is definitely an aromatic floral infusion that is delicious, has just the right amount of honeyed sweetness naturally occurring as the floral buds get steeped. I found that there was no bitterness at all, which made this floral infusion more enjoyable. Bonus, because it doesn’t actually contain tea leaves, this infusion is naturally caffeine-free and can be enjoyed at any time of day.

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

Posted on

Starbucks’ Via Instant Refresher Cool Lime

Via Instant Refresher Cool Lime by Starbucks
Fruit Infusion / Flavoured
$6.99 for 98.9g (20g per sachet)

20171023-starbuckscoollime

First Impressions

I was given a carton of the Via Instant Refresher in Cool Lime by a friend a while back and recently got a chance to try it out. It comes in a cardboard carton, with five individually portioned sachets of the beverage powder. I love the fact that it’s individually portioned and that makes it easy to use. The powder isn’t mixed with hot water, so it’s good for people who are on-the-go.

20171023-starbuckscoollime1

Via Instant Refresher Cool Lime is made up of: cane sugar, natural flavours, white grape juice powder, erythritol, citric acid, ascorbic acid, stevia leaf extract. The powder smells very sweet and has a strong lime fragrance. The description on the packaging says that it contains green coffee, which isn’t listed on the list of ingredients.

20171023-starbuckscoollime2

Preparation

The instructions are to mix 1 sachet with 475mL of water and to mix/stir, with the option of adding ice. I mixed up the sachet of powder with the suggested amount of water, stirred, and added a couple of ice cubes.

20171023-starbuckscoollime3

First Taste

Via Instant Refresher Cool Lime has a very light greenish colour that reminds me of pale lime juice. I sipped it and it was very sweet with light citrus/lime taste. I can taste the stevia though, with that unfortunate aftertaste. It tastes delicious cold/iced, which I would highly recommend it iced. It fully dissolved in room temperature water, which was nice to see. I would add extra water on top of what the packaging recommends, because it’s very sweet and could be further diluted.

20171023-starbuckscoollime4

A Second Cup?

Because all of the powder fully dissolved (surprise!), I wasn’t able to remix the Via Instant Refresher Cool Lime.

My Overall Impression

3cups-2

I liked Starbucks’ Via Instant Refresher Cool Lime. It lives up the name of being cool and refreshing, with a great lime taste. I thought it was on the sweeter side, which was weird because I generally enjoy sweets and desserts. The stevia aftertaste was dulled a bit with the presence of ice, so if you easily taste stevia I would add more ice. I think the amount of water that they recommend on the packaging is too little and it could be diluted further. It’s a great option for people on-the-go and want to have something to flavour their water The nice bonus is that despite the presence of coffee, I really cannot smell or taste it (which is a major plus for me). They are a bit expensive though, given that it’s well over a dollar per sachet – it’s still cheaper than buying a cup to go at a local Starbucks store.

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