Fusion Teas

May Flowers! Time to work on another of my old Fusion Tea samplers. This is a tulsi/rooibos blend with lots of florals — chamomile, lavender, and rose — as well as a touch of ginger and cinnamon spices and some lemon verbena. Since I’ve been pretty interested in tulsi teas, I was pretty excited for this one!

It has a very unique scent; the rooibos comes out a lot, with a sort of sweet fruity/woody aroma, and there is a lot of sweetness and a hint of a citrus and pepper scent. Brewed, the aroma is a bit more mellow, coming out more of a honeyed rooibos scent, with some floral notes wafting from the cup. I really enjoy the flavor; the tea has a slightly nutty/woody taste to the base, but it is very sweet. There is a very noticeable minty note, and a somewhat subtle hint of spice that hits the back of the throat right at the end of the sip. Oddly enough, I don’t really get a strong floral flavor from the tea, but I have a feeling the florals are adding to the sweetness of the cup.

The way the flavors come together here really works for me; this is probably one of the nicest herbal blends I’ve tried, and makes a very nice late evening sipper. This is a tea I’d gladly restock in my collection.

Chai to Stay Dry! I don’t think I’ve had a pu-erh chai yet this month, and I really have been trying to get to those Fusion Tea samplers that I’ve had sitting around forever! So this is a good excuse to get to this blend of chai spices, caramel, and a pu-erh tea base.

I have to say, this is a very satisfying chai. As far as more “traditional” tasting chais, I’d say that this one and Reena’s Chai from TeaSource are probably my favorite I’ve tried this month. Like Reena’s Chai, this chai also has a very balanced flavor of spices, while offering a bit of natural sweetness that really compliments the spice flavors and allows them to have a nice warmth in the mouth, but to not be overbearing or leave an unpleasant lingering heat. I get this nice mix of ginger and clove in the main sip, with just a hint of pepper in the background, but the sip closes on a sweet note. I wouldn’t say there is a pronounced caramel flavor, but certainly a noticable sweetness that works well with the spices. The pu-erh here is very smooth, without any of the pronounced earthy notes I get from, say, Scottish Caramel Pu-erh (or the hint of fishy smell I get from that blend, either). I think as soon as I finish off my Scottish Caramel Pu-erh, this tea is going to be it’s replacement in my cupboard. It may not be as caramel-y, but the base tea alone gives it a more pleasant flavor on the whole, and it’s just a really good daily-drinker chai, to boot!

Tried this one again iced, and made a second warm cuppa just to sipdown the rest of my sampler, and had a very different experience than with my initial cup. Both the second warm cuppa and the iced brew had a noticably strange, unpleasant taste that I just didn’t recall on that first cup. It’s sort of an acrid taste, like something just doesn’t seem to be meshing with that overwhelming lime flavor at all. I think it may be the red rooibos in the blend, and I’m suspecting that it may have all sunk to the bottom of my sampler, so that I ended up not getting much of it in my first cup, while an abundance of it steeped out in my jug of iced tea and my sipdown hot cup (I certainly don’t remember my first cup being such a vivid reddish-orange color as both of these cups are presenting). I don’t really think it is complimenting the yerba mate and the green rooibos, and am confused why it was necessary to include it at all… I like red rooibos just fine, but here it seems to be a very clashing flavor and the result is a bit off-putting to me. I’m going to have to lower my score on this one, and I’m a bit glad for this sip down.

Green March! I decided I needed a break from green teas so I decided to try this sampler I purchased from Fusion Teas a while ago in a yerba mate sampler set. Lime is a rather under-represented flavor overall in my collection, but I enjoy tart citrus flavors, so I’m certainly interested in exploring that flavor profile more. Green yerba mate leaves and a lime flavor profile just seems to fit in well for the “green theme” I have going for this month, so why not roll with it?

In the past I’ve usually found Fusion’s flavors don’t quite pop if I only use a teaspoon of leaf, and even they suggest a teaspoon and a half, so I usually go for two teaspoons. The leaf did have a very creamy lime scent, and I could make out some nuttiness in the aroma, but the brewed cup had a stronger aroma of yerba mate leaf (it reminds me of the scent of gunpowder green tea, vegetal and a little smoky), with heavy lime overtones.

There is a nice, strong lime flavor to the tea, and it accompanies the natural flavors of the yerba mate leaf well, which do actually manage to shine through the strong flavoring — though subtly — adding hints of grass and lemon-citrus as soft background notes. I do wish the lime was just a bit less strong, as it is hard to make out some of the other flavors in the tea — there is a very subtle hint of nuttiness left on the tongue in the aftertaste, and a slight coconuty sweetness to the cup, and I would’ve liked these flavors to be brought to the forefront a little more. Overall, though, if you like the taste of lime, it’s a nice tea. I found it growing on me a little more with each sip, and will probably use up my sampler trying out an iced batch, as I feel the lime flavor will really shine in a cold brew.

This is one of my favorite yerba mate blends that I’ve tried and a staple for me on mornings when I need an extra caffeine boost! I love anything and everything pumpkin, so I was very interested to try this one out, and while it didn’t have much of a pumpkin flavor, the pumpkin spices were so strong and flavorful and the tea so robust that after I finished off my sampler I restocked this one in my cupboard. The tea is best to me when a little heavy on the leaf, but it’s really economical so I don’t particularly feel bad about making a really strong cup; I usually use two teaspoons for a standard size 10 oz. mug or a tablespoon for one of my extra large size 12 oz. mugs. The base of the tea is this really nice blend of toasty roasted mate and sweetness from the rooibos and honeybush, and each sip is filled with a lot of tasty spices, namely cinnamon, clove, and mace (which tastes like a more robust nutmeg). I find that I don’t need to add sweetener, as the natural sweetness of the base and the stevia in the blend balances the spices well. The blend has a very rich, toasty, pumpkin spice feel, and I find it gives a very warm and toasty appeal. This is an excellent autumn blend that can be enjoyed any time, and it works well as a latte as well.

Full Review: https://teatimetuesdayreviews.wordpress.com/2017/10/10/tea41/

All of the ingredients in this blend sounded promising (green honeybush, a few fruits, roses) but the not-so-genuine peachy flavor is overpowering any other flavors that are there. The peach needed to be toned down, but possibly using 1 1/2 teaspoons was a bad idea.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug// 10 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 5 minute steep

This is a smooth and relaxing too but it doesn’t have as much smoke as I’m used to with my regular Lapsang. I added a little extra and steeped three minutes as instructed – the tea is very dark and I can tell further steeping would have ruined the cup. I don’t blame the strength of the smoke on the amount of time, in other words, but just to describe the tea as it was crafted to be.

Even though not smoky, it’s a nice black cup that adds a small difference for a standard black cup of tea. Would be especially good in the morning or afternoons. A little plain though.

A very pleasant tea – I got my samples tonight and loved the sample bags. I’m a dork but all that matters. The smell of this one delicious – had to take about 10 sniffs before brewing.

Brewed a large tsp in my cup for about 4 minutes. The taste is pure and smooth and very clean. The black tea base is not overpowering at all but does a good base. I don’t taste wine much and only a tiny bit of strawberries – mainly I taste peach flavor. It’s kind of like a strawberry inspired peach. It’s refreshing and fun and light

Oh my – what a flavor! I’ll admit it: I’m one of those people who started drinking teas and who continue to drink tea more or less because they taste good. I’m learning about all of the health benefits and such as an afterthought; so when I smelled this tea in the storefront in McKenny, I was most excited to give it a whirl!

Okay, I’ll break it down. Delicate green tea with mildly tart berry flavor, not overly sweet or bitter. I love the lemongrass and the pomegranate! The color is a very pleasant lemony-green hue, and goes down well without sweetener.

Overall, a mild tea with a light complexity that made me come back for a second brew. This blend rivals the jasmine green tea pearls that I’ve had from Fusion Teas, which is my all-time favorite brew.

So I’m a sucker for Chamomile teas. I’m about to rip open a cheaper bag of tea from my infant drinking days and plant me some of these little flowers in my garden if they’re truly that easy to grow!

This blend, however, left me a little disappointed. The vanilla bean, coconut, licorice, ect. were all so strong that I was left with an extremely sweet cup with very little tart or tangyness (which I would have expected from that lemongrass). The complexity of the sweet ingredients kind of left the chamomile overpowered! The Honeybush also left that roasty flavor in the back of my throat. I knew that the ingredients in this tisane were strong, but I didn’t realize HOW strong! I just took another look at the package, and it looks like there’s stevia leaf in this – no wonder there was a lingering sweetness that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

If you’re looking for a vanilla-forward, sweet blend, this one definately fits the bill! I didn’t like this tea because of my own personal flavor preferences, but the dry goods were high quality and they steeped nicely – so I’ll recommend.

These little tightly rolled little leaves open up beautifully in water! As I am still learning about teas, I had never seen pearl-rolled tea before; and it smelled beautifully in the bag. As the water steeped, the aroma really came out of the tea! It’s a sweet cup with playful floral tones, and when brewed properly, has no astringent or bitter properties. I drank this tea without sweetener, and I love sugar! This is literally my favorite green tea to date. Just a beautiful aroma and pleasingly sweet flavor!

You totally can’t judge this tea by the smell of the dried leaves alone. When you take a whiff of the dry blend, it’s more of a caramel creme smell. It’s only after hot water melts the chocolate bits that the smell of chocolate come through; along with notes of toasty vanilla and a subtle hint of floral. I didn’t find the floral rose notes until I began looking for them, but after you’re aware, it does add a nice complexity to the cup.

I should also add that I’ve never liked a chocolate desert type tea. I guess I’ve changed my mind!

This was my first experience with a green earl gray- I wasn’t sure how to feel about the mix of delicate green tea with bergamot flavoring. The scent is floral (rosebuds) and bergamot, with a clean green tea undertone. I brewed a little cool at 165 rather than 175, and the tea leaves opened beautifully even at this temperature. The first note I got was the bergamot and rose; but the green tea melted into the flavor as it washes over the tongue. I am still developing my palette and I did notice a butteryness to the flavor, but it’ll take a few more steeps before I puzzle that flavor out. The second steep was just as good as the first, and I even sampled that one iced!

Here’s Hoping TTB

I can’t stand artificial cherry flavoring because it reminds me of the liquid cold medicine I took as a child. However, I recently discovered a cherry-flavored tea that I LOVE (Fava’s Cloud 9), so I decided to give this one a try. My mistake! This basically tastes like someone added Triaminic to a cup of black tea. I rarely pour out a cup of tea without finishing it, but no shame on this one!

Additional notes: Sipdown with some added Simpson & Vail nutmeg. Thanks again Ost!

Another one from Ost, thank you! Always wanted to try this one and here we have a sample. Such an awesome mix of ingredients here. I was hoping all of the sweetness was from the piece of caramel in the teabag, but it turns out there is also stevia. For shame! But otherwise it is certainly a tasty dessert blend — I like that there is both pumpkin and squash (the new list of ingredients should probably be updated). Not too heavy on the cinnamon or ginger. Nutmeg would have been nice! But I can add some nutmeg I have, I suppose (I bought some from Simpson & Vail especially to add to some teas!) Especially if the nutmeg replaced that stevia. No stevia would have meant a higher rating.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug// few minutes after boiling // 2-3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3-4 minute steep

It has a flavor that is the herbal parallel to black tea. When I cannot tolerate caffeine or do not want to drink a caffeinated tea, then I choose raspberry leaf tea.

This was the November tea of the month for the Muse Monthly Box!

I have been sick all week, so I have been guzzling tea like it’s going out of style. I have been blowing through what little remains of my bagged stash and combing Verdant’s Elderberry Herbal with plenty of marshmallow root for my sore throat. My diet of this past week has mainly consisted of cough drops, Dayquil, marshmallows and tea.

I thought I’d give this tea a whirl while doing some reading, and I don’t think I could have spit it out fast enough.

Just no. No. No. NO.

This tea was far too similar to the chloraspetic cherry cough drops that I dread. I actually had nightmares about that medicinal cherry flavor. That is what this tea so closely mirrors. The muddy black tea base is only salt in the wound.

Sorry Muse Monthly, but your tea picks have been getting weaker and weaker. At least the books are good?

Christina sent me this tea a few weeks ago, and as I was digging through my samples, it caught my eye.

Perfect. Uncaffeinated, new, caramel.

And it smells so much like Divine Temptation from Bayswater. Sweet nougaty goodness.

Anyways, it’s pretty good! I’m enjoying the flavour for sure, and the rooibos isn’t too woody. But if I were in the market to replace this, I’d just get something similar from Bayswater or Janet’s Special Teas. :)

Thank you!

You know, considering there are big huge chunks of caramel in this tea, it doesn’t taste like much besides regular rooibos. There’s a bit of toastiness, and the caramel doesn’t melt all the way through so you can get a second steep, but I wasn’t getting a lot of flavour from this. I think it might be better if I added some sweetener next time.

You can read the full review on my blog:
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2015/3/24/tuesday-tea-carrot-cake-rooibos-fusion-teas

Very beautiful tea that lacks in flavor. I was very excited for this blend because the green Chinese oolong looks great and I wanted to enjoy the acai taste but it’s too subtle of a tea overall.

Green oolong and blue corn flower petals … I had to try this because it looked so beautiful, plus the word velvet sounds lovely. This is what I would call a mid level oolong tea that is on it’s way to being viewed as high grade. While it taste good, I believe that pomegranate flavoring would accent this tea better than the strawberry. The tea can be mildly described as velvet tasting which is somewhat of a let down, but the fact that there is a velvet taste with this oolong is quite enjoyable.