Tag: Rooibos/Honeybush

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Woash Wellness’s Immunity

Immunity by Woash Wellness
Honeybush / Straight
$12.50 for 40g

Woash Wellness has provided me with Immunity for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

Woash Wellness released their latest herbal blend, Immunity, in January. It’s a tisane that is designed to help boost the immune system and help relieve those pesky cold symptoms. As someone who was also very recently feeling sick with a (stupid) cold, Immunity could not have a picked a better time to arrive in my PO box. Immunity comes in a dark blue and cream sealed, resealable bag. The label on the back lists steeping instructions and ingredients. Woash Wellness describes their Immunity blend as being full of vitamin C and antioxidants.

The aroma of the Immunity blend is, in short, delicious. It smells a bit like an herbal-ish dessert. I can smell the honeybush, ginger, cloves, and the lemon myrtle. The lemon myrtle gives it a nice citrus aroma, and the combination of citrus and honey fragrances reminds me of some common lozenge flavours. Immunity consists of: honeybush, elderberries, ginger, lemon myrtle, cardamom, and cloves.

Preparation

Woash Wellness recommends steeping Immunity in 205°F (96°C) water for 5 to 10 minutes. Because a lot of herbal infusions don’t do well with a second steep, my initial steep of Immunity was for 10 minutes with 200°F (93°C) water.

First Taste

Immunity steeps to a deep brownish-orange colour. The aroma is primarily that of the lemon myrtle and the honeybush. The citrus and honey notes really do remind me of the cough lozenges I had been using not that long ago. The flavour is a mix of the honeybush, lemon myrtle, and ginger. I get the natural warming sensation from the ginger in this blend, which is a quality to have in a blend that’s meant to make people feel a bit better from beig sick. There’s a nice thickened mouthfeel to Immunity, which does a lovely job of coating the mouth, and adds a nice soothing aspect to my poor throat.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Immunity but found that it didn’t taste as good compared to the initial steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Woash Wellness’s Immunity. I’ve been actually drinking this almost daily since I picked it up from the post office. While I am getting better on my own, having it to help with my sore throat has been absolutely lovely. I love the combination of honeybush, lemon myrtle, and ginger – it makes for a tasty blend that both smells and tastes pretty good. If you’re in need of a delicious boost of flavour while sick, Immunity might be a good option for you!

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Trudy Ann’s Apple Pie Chai

Apple Pie Chai by Trudy Ann’s
Rooibos / Flavoured
$14.99 for 100g

First Impressions

Trudy Ann’s Apple Pie Chai is another tea that I got at the 2018 Vancouver Tea Festival (oh yes, I spent a lot of time at her booth!). Surprisingly, this is a rooibos blend. I know what you’re all thinking, “But Michelle, you don’t like rooibos blends”. That’s right, traditionally I don’t. There’s just something not tasty about the medicinal-like base that straight rooibos has, and there are some rooibos blends that I enjoy. Apple Pie Chai smells pretty much like apple pie, and I can’t smell the rooibos blend – so I consider that a win overall and it makes me willing to give it a try.

Apple Pie Chai consists of: rooibos, apple, cinnamon, and cloves. I think it’s the combination of the cinnamon and cloves that really makes me think about apple pie. They’re just such classic ingredients that it makes me think of that warm, autumn dessert. The ingredients are fairly easy to pick out, especially the very generous amount of dried apple pieces.

Preparation

Trudy Ann’s recommends steeping Apple Pie Chai in hot water for 5 to 10 minutes. I opted to steep with 100°C (212°F) water for 7 minutes.

First Taste

Apple Pie Chai steeps to a deep reddish orange. My initial steep of Apple Pie Chai was with a stainless steel infuser, and I found that a lot of the little ‘bits’ came out into the tea. If this bothers you, I’d recommend using a filter bag to steep your Apple Pie Chai for a clearer steep. I can smell the rooibos base in the steeped tea, but I can also smell the apple and cinnamon. The cloves aren’t as strong compared to the dry base. Apple Pie Chai has a thickened mouthfeel to it, and I can taste the apple and the cinnamon. A pleasant surprise I found with the Apple Pie Chai is that I cannot taste the rooibos blend – win!

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep of Apple Pie Chai and steeped it for 10 minutes. I found that a lot of the flavours that I loved in the initial steep were quite muted, and the rooibos base is quite pronounced. So if you love the taste of rooibos, I would recommend resteeping Apple Pie Chai. If you’re like me and enjoy the other flavours more, I would stick to one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Trudy Ann’s Apple Pie Chai. I love that the dry leaf and the steeped tea smells just like apple pie, it definitely makes me think of the dessert. The flavour of this rooibos base are delicious, and it makes for a great caffeine-free dessert tea. If you’re not a fan of the flavour of rooibos, I would highly recommend just sticking to the initial steep.

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Adagio Teas’s Samurai Mate

Samurai Mate by Adagio Teas
Herbal Infusion (Yerba Mate & Rooibos) / Flavoured
$8.00USD for 3 oz

First Impressions

I got this sample packet of Samurai Mate as part of a promotion that Adagio Teas was putting on when Teavana Teas was closing. The packaging and label is nice and simple – very on point with their branding, and the label tells me everything that I need to know about the tea – steeping instructions and ingredients. Bonus points for being resealable, Adagio Teas! Something I greatly appreciate. Resealable packaging helps keep the tea fresh and ready to go for the next time I want to make a cup. If you’ve ever heard of Adagio Teas, it might have been their fandom teas (of which they have many…).

Samurai Mate has a strong almond aroma, which the cardamom, ginger, and orange in the background. There’s fruit in the blend as well, and lemongrass, that I can see, but I can’t pick out those aromas. Samurai Mate consists of: yerba mate, green rooibos, cinnamon bark, ginger root, cardamom, orange peels, lemon grass, aniseed, almond flavour, spicy cinnamon flavour, mango pieces, papaya flavour and pineapple pieces.

Preparation

Adagio Teas recommends steeping Samurai Mate in 212°F (100°C) water for 5-10 minutes. My initial steep was for 7 minutes.

First Taste

Samurai Mate steeps to a beautiful golden orange colour. There’s a rich ginger and cinnamon aroma from the steeped tea, which I do taste as well. Along with the ginger and cinnamon, I taste the cardamom with a light sweetness – which may be from the fruit. I can’t taste the almond, which is unfortunate since it was so present with the dry leaf. The tail end of each sip has just a hint of bright citrus notes, which makes for a tasty cup.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Samurai Mate, steeping for a total of 10 minutes. I found the colour and the flavour to be quite dilute compared to the initial steep. I didn’t really enjoy the resteep of the same leaves.

My Overall Impression

I liked Adagio Teas’s Samurai Mate. I really enjoyed the warming flavours of the ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon in the blend. The sweetness from the fruits was a nice touch, but I was a bit disappointed that I wasn’t able to taste the almond in the steeped tea. That said, I’m really grateful that I couldn’t taste the rooibos in the base as I’m normally not a very big fan of rooibos. The citrus just added a touch of brightness to this blend, which made it quite delicious! I just wish that it had resteeped better since it was so enjoyable for the initial steep.

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