Iced Tea: Recipes for Spring!

Ahmad Tea's Fruit Selection Review (Fruit Infused Black Tea)

Black tea will always have a special place in my heart. It was the first tea I ever had and I always drink it once a day. I was really excited last week when I got a package from Ahmad Tea with a selection of fruit infused black tea.

Anyone who frequents my tea reviews knows that I'm a sucker for packaging. I love when companies take time to really think about the consumer and how the box of tea and the packaging of the wrapper need to look in order to appeal to the consumer. The packaging does effect our buying habits even if we don't realize it. Anyways, I love the box the tea came in. Here it is. It's a beauty!

Maybe it's because I'm a fan of minimalism, but I love how it's very concise. Here's our brand name, here's what you'll get inside. Of course there's directions on the box and ingredients, etc on the back, but I love how the front of the box is so simple. Anyways, this is a tea review site, not a packaging review site-so let's get to the good part!

As you can see, there are four varieties of flavored tea. My favorites are Strawberry Sensation and Apple Refresh, mainly because those are my favorite fruits. Ollie loves the Peach and Passionfruit because he loves anything peach related. We have yet to try the Lemon and Lime Twist, but I imagine it's good; a lot of folks put lemon in their black tea. The first time I tried this tea I was seriously intrigued by the apple because I'd never had any kind of apple tea. It was so good and I thought the strawberry wouldn't be able to compare, but I was wrong. Here's a photo of my Strawberry Sensation (it's a little bit edited to try and fix the lighting in my house) and then we'll get down to the review.

Check out that beautiful amber coloring. I added 2 sugars the first time and it was too sweet, so I suggest try it without any and if you want it sweeter than add a sugar or two, depending on how sweet you like your tea. I've had this tea with or without milk, honestly it doesn't *need* it, but if you want to add milk it won't take from the flavor. I give this tea 5/5 because there's nothing I can find wrong with the tea. It's delightful and I find myself craving it throughout the day. I've been using this tea as an alternative to eating sweets. I'll have a craving for sweets and then supplement this tea instead, it's amazing. Another good thing about this tea? It's super affordable at just under £2. Go to Ahmad Tea's website to check it out! 

Here's a bonus picture of the inside of the box

Happy sipping!

Leah

Midsummer Night's Dream

When you think of Midsummer Night's Dream, you think of Shakespeare's work, right? After all, it's one of his most famous plays ever written. But before you begin to think about manipulative fairies of the forest and women falling in love with donkeys (yes that happens in the play) let me begin talking about today's review on David's Tea's 'Midsummer Night's Dream.' It's another herbal tea. I know I've already reviewed another excellent herbal tea, but the tea collection I have is at home in Wales and I won't get back to Wales until Sunday night! This will be the last review until Monday, when I have more time. Also, my cousin is going to mail me some Rooibos tea when I get back, which will be another great review. Rooibos is delicious! Let's start with the lovely photo of the tea, close up:

Beautiful, right? The green leaves you see are spearmint, and the large bits are apples and gooseberries. You can also see the red from the marigold flowers and safflowers. Of course the dark red dried petals are rose petals. On the package it says artificial flavoring is added. I did some research and apparently the artificial flavoring is actually orange oil. Okay, let's get to the good part. Have a look at the beautiful tea as it steeps:

I admit, this isn't the most beautiful tea when it's in with the hot water. I almost didn't post this photo, but it is what it is. Don't forget to put the lid on the tea pot as it steeps, it seals in the heat. Oh, also-I came across something quite nifty. David's tea sells filter cup liners (mug shaped) so you can use the liners like a tea bag. Just take an empty mug, put the tea liner in, put the tea and hot water in, wait the steep time, and take out the liner. Voila! You have perfectly steeped lose leaf tea. If you want to go more eco friendly, there's also several re-usable options out there. You can buy these items at a lot of home goods stores. Here's the link where you'll find them: Click! I've sent you to Amazon since there are several price ranges and several options. 

Let's get down to the taste of this tea. Citrusy, light, refreshing and so delicious! I was surprised at how delicious this tea is. I found that this tea is delicious without milk, however if you want to add milk to this tea it kind of tastes like an orange dreamcicle. For anyone who doesn't know what that is, not only is it amazingly delish, it's a childhood favorite. It's orange sorbet and vanilla icecream on top of one another in the form of a popsicle. I have to say, this is probably the best tea I've ever had and I've had a lot of tea. As usual, I tried this blend cold. It's just as good cold as well. In fact, cold it reminds me so much of a summer's night, and I think that's why they came up with the appropriate name for it. The gooseberries in the tea is really what gives it the amazing aroma and taste. I've had home grown gooseberries before and they are great to use with desserts. I never thought of adding it to tea but I'm glad David's thought of it. See below for the coloring of the tea.

Yes, it's kind of urine colored, but still worth it! I steep this tea for 7 minutes, because herbal and green teas are generally quite weak, as opposed to black tea, which is strong. This tea is a great choice if you want to have a hot drink before bed because it has no caffeine. I added one packet of Splenda to this tea and it really brings out the citrus flavors. If you don't like adding sugar or sugar substitutes, this tea is still very flavorful. Now onto the rating. I give this tasty tea a 5/5 because it is the best tea I've reviewed so far and I think I could genuinely drink this daily and not get tired of the taste. Any questions? leahknadeau@gmail.com

Tea Review #1: Strawberry Lemonade

Today I will be reviewing Teavanna's Strawberry Lemonade tea. It's an herbal blend that I tried for the first time last night. Last night I had it hot and today I had it over ice. I figured readers might like both ways, so I decided to review it for both cold drinkers and hot. Now, I love this blend of fruits because unlike black tea, herbal tea has no caffeine so I can drink it no matter what time of day it is. I know some readers might not have any issues with caffeine keeping them up late at night, but for me I know that's a big issue. It runs in the family too, if you were to give my Aunt Bev something that has caffeine in it but you told her it was decaf-she would call you up at 4 am and tell you that it's your fault she can't sleep! I don't blame her though, caffeine too late is known to cause you to toss and torn at night when you should be sound asleep.

Let's begin with what this tea blend looks like before it's submerged in hot water. Smelling it is an experience on its own. It's very sweet and aromatic.

Those big pieces are what makes up the sweet flavor of the tea. The biggest pieces of fruit on top there are apples, followed by strawberry pieces, rose petals, and marigold petals. After placing the tea above in the filter of my teapot, I pour boiling hot water over the tea and steep for 5 minutes. Here's what the tea looks like while steeping:

Let's get to the good part. After steeping this beauty for 5 minutes I poured one cup for me and one small cup for my mother. This tea has a light, citrusy taste and it isn't as sweet as it smells. I'd advise adding a tiny bit of sugar to really bring out the flavors of the apple, strawberry and rose petals. If you're craving something sweet but don't want the calories this is a great option for you. Don't fancy a hot drink? To me, this tea is even better cold. Just brew some normally and pour it into a pitcher or a cup and stick it in the fridge. However, if you want to add a little sugar I advise doing it before the tea cools down, because that way the sugar will mix into the tea better. If the tea is cold the sugar doesn't blend in all the way. If you don't want calories like I do, add some Sweet and Low or Splenda to get the sweeter taste without the calories. The colder version of this tea tastes a little more sweet and very refreshing. This tea reminds me of summer, I can't wait until it's warm out and I can drink some of this Strawberry Lemonade tea at the beach.

Tip: like Arnold Palmers? (half black iced tea, half lemonade) mixing this Strawberry lemonade tea with some black tea will make what tastes like an Arnold Palmer. Iced or hot, it all tastes delicious. I would recommend some Ceylon or English breakfast when it comes to black tea. Put both the Strawberry Lemonade tea and black tea into the same teapot and steep for 5 minutes. If you want it hot, serve regularly, or if you want it cold, stick it in the fridge for a couple hours for maximum enjoyment.

I give this tea 4 stars out of 5. The extra star would have been given, however I feel that the smell of the tea leads it to be more sweet than it actually tastes. It is a lot more citrusy than expected. Thanks for tuning in!

My next review will be on Blueberry Jam, a black tea with whole blueberries in it! Yum!
This is me having the Strawberry Lemonade tea below. Thanks for stopping by! :)

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