Montana Tea & Spice Trading LLC

My favorite chai. Really good cold, too.

This didn’t have much flavor. The anise seeds came in as a slight aftertaste. It left my mouth a bit dry, kinda like a black tea.

Kitchen clean-out. This caffeine-free herbal tea hails from Missoula, MT, a region of the US that I really enjoy. I once wrote a real-life characterization about White2Tea’s Old Bear Fangcha — not too terribly far from Missoula, outside Bozeman, is where my Old Bear taught me how to shoot clay pigeons. Apparently we wandered off US Forest Service land onto a cow ranchers’s property to find a good spot to shoot pigeons. The rancher was so chill about it. Add a group of friends, plenty of whisky, wood chopping, fire-cooked meals and a handful of growlers full of Bozone. Geez.

Yeah, this tea comes from Missoula and it’s called Mountain Huckleberry. As a previous reviewer mentioned, there ain’t no damn huckleberry in this tea. So kinda miffed about that but overall it’s an excellent blend of hibiscus, cinnamon, lemongrass, rosehips, blackberry and raspberry leaf, clove and licorice root and the ever-mysterious ‘extract.’ The brew isn’t magenta, it’s actually rather beautiful in this glass teapot (4 bags to a liter). Taste is a mix of rosehip-light hibiscus, berry and some nice tempering going on with the cinnamon and cloves. No noticeable sweetness from the licorice root. The body is mostly reminiscent of a rosehip tea. Chuggable.

Overall, I’ll be sad when we sip down this lone remaining bag but the tea’s not so great that I’d seek it out again. Unless I find myself in Missoula.

I’ve neglected my tea log so much, thanks to work, but I’ve also been neglecting my tea (again thanks to work). Mostly I’ve just been having Harney and Sons tea bags over and over, or Tazo when I’m really desperate. Hard times, folks.

Anyway, I did pick up this herbal loose leaf tea in a little shop and it seemed like a good time to check in. The tea is a little on the light side, but it has good flavor, a pleasant balance mainly of cinnamon and lemongrass. It smells kind of like cherry but doesn’t taste cherry, though there is a touch of fruitiness.

We were excited to taste a locally made huckleberry tea. I had it hot, and enjoyed the taste. Then I looked to the ingredient list and there are no huckleberries in this tea. What? So I emailed the company to ask why, no response. I emailed again a few months later…still no response. Yikes! Will not be buying from this company again, bummer!

Where have I been??! :o

Somewhere buried under a mountain of books and papers! But I have emerged for some time in the rest of the world.

I haven’t had much tea in my cupboard as of late. Relying mostly on my Butiki stash and some teas that my mother sent to me from Montana. This is one of them.

It would almost be a perfect tea if it weren’t for the chamomile. Its not strong, but when you don’t like something, it tends to stand out more. The dry leaf smells strong of spearmint and Anise. Its one of my family’s favorites though, that’s why they sent me some.

In other news: I made my first tea order since Butiki’s closing. It’s really easy to stay on a tea budget when you’re too busy to do anything but write papers :p

Also, so excited! I’m going to the tea dinner that is part of the Rocky Mountain Tea festival in July. \(^^)/

I’m not sure if I’ve ever even had a huckleberry before. I was surprised to see that there is cinnamon and clove in the teabag, and that’s actually what the teabag smells like. The tea has a sweet clove and berry aroma. It has a very earthy flavor at first, almost as if it is a little stale. The aftertaste is what I suppose huckleberry is supposed to taste like, although it seems very artificial and fake-tasting. It’s almost like a heavy, syrupy-sweet artificial taste. It does get a little better as the cup cools, but I can’t see myself finishing the rest of these teabags or ordering more. Into the swap pile it goes! Thank you to Skysamurai for these samples!

-Square teabag without a string.
-Teabag smells like cinnamon and cloves with a faint floral note. Tea liquor aroma is of cloves and sweet berries.
-Tea liquor is a cloudy medium golden brown color.
-Earthy flavor and finish. Sweet artificial berry aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Fair tea. Heavy and sweet artificial berry flavor.

All I can taste is the Sencha and a very slight additional flavor. It is so slight, I can’t even confirm it is cherry. I’ve tried this tea with various seep times and amounts of tea. The flavor doesn’t seem to change.

The hibiscus is the dominate flavor, but you can still catch a hint of mint mixed in the background. I don’t like an in-your-face mint flavor, and this blend gives me the mint benefits without the minty taste.

A very unique tea. It was the Sarsaparilla that made me curious to try it out and its what makes this tea what it is. The after tastes is also quite interesting. If your looking for a root beer tea this is close to it.

This tea tastes like dill. The ingredients make it sound quite interesting but it’s not quite what the name says it is. I’ve tried it a couple different times to see if it was the cup or the water but each time has been just as bad as before.

This tea has so many wonderful flavors going on!! A great relaxing tea right before bedtime! I as well picked this up at Cup and Kettle in Leavenworth WA!!

One of my absolute favorite teas, perfect for right before bedtime!

This is my go-to calming tea or nighttime blend. The scent is amazing, like everyone says, very sweet but balanced. Happily, though, the tea itself isn’t as sweet as it smells. The chamomile blends with the sharper ingredients so well, and the peppermint balances it perfectly. It also stands up to a lot of abuse (varying steep times and temps) so I take it everywhere.

I received this tea from a friend. It smells wonderful! The wintergreen mixes well with the other spices and almost has a sweet scent. This tea does have peppermint in it and it does not over power it (which I find important). The layers are balanced and no herb over powers the other. The cup isn’t anything mind blowing, but I really enjoy it’s hearty herbal-ness! Just a tried and true herbal blend that really helps me unwind from my day. Also, the blend is awesome from a health standpoint. There are herbs for hormone balance, nerve tonic, digestion, and immunity(cherry bark and hyssop are great for lung health in particular). This will always be a staple in my tea cupboard.

I have been drinking this tea for several years. I first bought it at the “Beyond Necessity” gift shop in Anaconda, MT. It is absolutely delicious. It is wonderful hot or iced. I would hate to be without it in my cupboard. Not only does it taste great, when it is brewing it perfumes the house with the most amazing fragrance.
Connie

The hibiscus definitely overshadows the mint by miles.

My boyfriend is from Montana and honestly that’s why we grabbed this tea while on vacation in Leavenworth, WA. Much to my surprise (but not his) it was amazing! The Cup & Kettle is worth checking out if you’re ever in town.

home town brew. can never go wrong with this one. not dramatic good, but good.

I was desperate for some tea that gave me a “feel good” familiarity, so I popped over to Montana Tea & Spice Trading company to check out their teas. They have a large selection of teas and tisanes, not to mention that decaf stuff I won’t touch, rooibos and yerba mate. I picked up Cinnamon Spice, falling into the desperate hope it would remind me of a much better Bigelow’s Cinnamon Stick. One whiff and thought, “oh no — not hot cinnamon.” But I forged ahead and after a flash rinse (when in doubt, flash rinse) and brewed up a pot.

The first pot had a bit of red-hot cinnamon flavor to it, but it wasn’t obnoxious. The second steep proved to be the gem — a smooth flavor of cinnamon shines through. I’d give it a much higher rating if the first pot had done that. Overall, it performed pretty well and I’m brewing a fresh pot tonight.

I finally made it back to Missoula to replenish my tea stash, and I picked up a sample of this at Butterfly Herbs. Everything I’ve tried from this company I’ve loved.

It must be the carob that gives this the mocha flavor and aroma. There are lots of chocolatey overtones as well. I feel like I should be getting the coffee jitters, but there’s no caffeine (or the bitterness coffee has, ew)! The hazelnut is there, but very subtle.

If you like mocha, you’ll love this. Even better than mocha in my opinion!

The first thing anyone will notice about this tea is the heavenly aroma. It’s this wintergreen-anise type smell that will smell up your whole kitchen if you leave the bag open! It doesn’t taste quite as good as it smells, but it is still one of my favorite teas ever. Plus, I love everything about Missoula, and this tea is no exception.