Indie Teas

Today I'm reviewing another tea from Teatulia. Check out my first review here. This tea is Teatulia's Herbal Ginger Tea. Like the lemongrass I reviewed earlier this tea is also very simple and consists primarily of ginger. I'm trying out the bagged form of this although you can find a loose leaf version online.

The Nose and Color: This tea has a very biting smell. It smells like fresh ginger straight from the supermarket. It reminds me of peeling fresh bark off a tree and smelling the sap part on the backside. It's got a pine component as well as a bark-like aspect. This tea contains some vasaka leaves so maybe that's what's adding that smell for me. Furthermore, it looks like a light green tea when steeped with a slightly brown hue. 

Tasting: Without a doubt this tea is very flavory. This ginger hits youImage provided by Teatulia square in the mouth and the added vasaka leaf smoothes out the flavor a little bit. However, this tea has a lot of strength and my palate isn't that used to this type of flavor. It's a little too much ginger for me. It was almost like I was chomping off a piece of ginger like I did when I was a child and realizing that an interesting sniff doesn't always result in a pleasant taste.

Price: $13.00 for 2.0 oz

Summary: 82 out of 100. Above average. A good tea. Something that didn't suit my palatte but it had its moments. Not a recommended buy.

Full Disclosure: Samples were provided by Teatulia

Today I tried out an Organic Lemongrass herbal tea from Teatulia. This particular tea is bagged in the triangular shaped bags that have become fairly common. I am not really a fan of bagged tea so we will see how it is. This tea was grown in Bangladesh which exports a decent amount of tea but they aren't one of the big boys. This company is very ecofriendly and have created an interesting way of growing tea. They grown the tea on virgin soil using natural farming methods inspired by Japanese Master Masanobu Fukuoka. All of their teas are grown and sold straight from their gardens which ensures fresh tea and no middle men which I like a lot.Image provided by Teatulia

The Nose and Color: This tea is a very simple herbal tea. It's pure lemongrass. That's it. It makes for a nice change of pace and results in a very defined and bold aroma. None of the leaves were broken and they were clearly well handled. The leaves look like a green kukicha which I'm not really a fan of but I bet the similarities will end there.

Tasting: This tea is smooth and subtle. The flavor is all lemongrass which leaves your breath smelling great and it goes down easy from start to finish. 

Food Pairing: This tea is very simple so I wouldn't pair it with anything. Instead, because it's an herbal tea I would drink it at night before bed since it's caffeine free.

Price: $13.00 for 2.0 oz

Summary: 90 out of 100. This tea is a very simple herbal tea consisting of pure lemongrass. The nose, color, and taste are all pleasant and it's caffeine free so it's perfect before bed. You can find it in loose leaf form which I recommend although I was pleasantly surprised by the bags. There wasn't much complexity to it which isn't a bad thing but I usually prefer the challenge of finding out what the different kinds of flavors are.

Full Disclosure: Samples were provided by Teatulia

Most people don't know this but herbal tea is really tea at all (at least technically). Herbal tea does not come from the Camellia Sinensis plant and because of which it is not a "true" tea. Of course, it doesn't mean that herbal tea isn't good at all. Herbal teas are very interesting and are great right before going to bed since they don't have any caffeine. Today I am reviewing Rishi Tea's Organic Cinammon Plum tea. This particular tea was a 2009 World Tea Champion so I'm expecting good things.

The Nose and Color: Immediately after opening the packet you can really smell exactly what this tea is going to taste like. It smells exactly like advertised. Plums with cinnamon on top. It is a really unique smell that I enjoy a lot. It smells so floral and enticing. If someone ever questions why you like tea you should let them smell this and change their mind. The color is a very bright and beautiful crimson purple. This tea looks beautiful and would make for a great display tea. 

Tasting: At first you can really taste the plums and it has a lovely sweet cinnamon finish. I taste a slight licorice undertone which add some nice complexity. There are definitely some other flavors here but I'm not quite sure which spices they are. 

Food Pairing: This soothing herbal tea would go really well with a fruity scone or muffin. If you have it at night though I would not recommend eating anything with it since the flavor is very strong.

Price: $9.00 for 3.7 oz

Summary: 94 out of 100. The nose, color, and taste were all wonderful with this tea. This is a really great exotic tea to show off to your friends or those that really aren't into tea. Herbals are really great before going to bed so this may be a good way to relax to put you to sleep.