Columbia Kate's Teahouse

Made this tisane as an iced tea and it was so refreshing on a hot day. Nice tart (but not too tart) lemon flavor with a little spark from the ginger. I think it would also be very soothing as a hot tea, but I definitely liked it as a more sophisticated lemonade to beat the heat.

This tea stands up well to longer steeps. My first trial was at 190 for 5 minutes, but that left it feeling a little understeeped so I bumped it up to 200 for 5.

The nose on the liquor reminds of an orange dreamsicle with a dash more vanilla. I was happy to find that tasting the liquor followed with about the same flavor but with a smooth underlying black tea base.

All-in-all a very robust flavored tea experience that my wife and I loved!

I’ve been meaning to review this tea forever, but I’ve had such high hopes from the ingredients, I wanted to save it for a night when I could focus on it properly, so here it is! The first thing that hit me as I opened the bag was a delicious fruity scent, more citrus, followed by sweet nut. There were generous pieces of fruit and nut in my sample.

For some reason, as I took the steeper out of my cup, the wet leaf smelled more like grapefruit than anything else, is it just me?

The first sip was all orange flavor, tangy, with the almond and rooibos giving a nutty finish. Enough sweetness to make me want more, but not so much as to turn me off after a few sips. I would call it an overall “juicy” flavor, with nut coming in second, and maybe even a bit of cream in the end?

Huge thanks to Columbia Kate’s Teahouse for sending me a sample of this tea, I know it was a pain across the border!

Overall, this is as good as I was expecting, and I just wish I had more!

Happy Autumn! This is my last bit of the tea. It smells so good. There is a nice scent of oranges, and some almond. The almond comes out more in flavour along with the citrus. It tastes like really good scones. Now I need more.

Finally had a chance to sit down and give this tea some of the attention it deserves.

Thank you to Columbia Kate’s for sending me this sample to try.

Dry, the aroma is like opening up a bag of summertime. The orange creamsicle makes its presence known, in a very pleasant way.

I did 1 tsp for a little over 8oz, I think I will add more and steep longer next time. The aroma is still there, but the tastes are a lot more subtle. The rooibos comes through nicely and there is the after taste of the orange. The fruit flavors become stronger as the tea cools. I do get a bit of the almond as well. I bet this would be very refreshing iced at summertime.

Creamsicle in a tea, love this for the summertime nostalgia. Great idea.

I gave this a try a few days ago and didn’t get around to logging it.

I was one of the lucky ones that got a free sample of this from Columbia Kate a few weeks ago… she was very generous to also send along her Almond Orange Rooibos.. Um… Yum… & I didn’t think I’d like orange as a main flavor in tea. If you like anything orange in tea, read the tasting notes and go order you some… It’s amazing!

On with the review…

Dry it smells light, green, and maybe a hint of floral.

Being new to loose leaf, I’m into dessert teas and a few blacks right now, and haven’t had a chance to try much else. I thought I’d give this one a go since Columbia Kate was so gracious to send a sample.

I found this one just ok. At first I wasn’t sure what I was tasting, but not sure I’ve had gunpowder in anything yet. Maybe that is what is throwing the taste off for me on this one. I want to like it, but there is a bit of a smokey flavor that just doesn’t sit well with me and I’m guessing it’s the gunpowder. I was looking for the spicy in this blend and didn’t find it, but I tend to like spicy, so it just may be too weak for my palet. Maybe after a little more experience with smokey teas, I could come to enjoy this because I do like the rest of the flavor profile. I will hold on to the rest of the sample awhile and come back to it after I’ve had a little more experience with tea flavors.

I’m currently sipping on my 2nd infusion of this tea, while trying to make the ever-so-challenging woman’s decision to get her long hair cut short. Just agony, I say. Agony.

Anyways, this tea both soothes and energizes while I fight to come to a decision… on the hair, not the tea. The tea is much easier.

This is a great tea for any day or everyday. I can see this tea being pleasing to a wide audience. With my first sip the creamy smoothness jumped out at me and I immediately decided I wanted to have it iced. Great decision that was.

2nd infusion is also very flavorful, with no bitterness or astringency. The lemon for me just creates a nice balance, and does not give a strong citrus tone. The cream is very welcome, and reminds me a little bit of my French Earl Grey.

I used 1 tsp for 8-10 oz. This created a nice medium caramel color, and light to medium body. I might try adding a little more tea and steep longer next time to intensify some of the more subtle flavors. Very enjoyable none the less.

I enjoyed a sample of this lovely blend this evening.

Dry:
Smells faintly like a prairie in fall. Very light in color, a mixture of dried blossoms, lemongrass and green rooibos.

Steep:
1 heaping teaspoon for 8 oz. 1st steep I did was fairly short, only about 2-3 minutes. Light caramel in color. Medium body with the chamomile taking center stage. Vague hints of smokiness and spice hangs on the edges of the tongue as a final note. Smoother than I expected. I was sad I finished this so quickly.

2nd infusion was for 4 minutes and was as strong in flavor as the 1st, but now more of the rooibos and cinnamon stand out alongside the chamomile without being overbearing. My tongue feels a tad dry if I wait too long between sips, which wasn’t noticeable on the 1st infusion. Still a pleasant, complex and subtle experience.

Overall, very lovely. I recommend for anyone who enjoys a good chamomile tea. I’m glad I have enough to make another cup of this.

EDIT: Overall I got a total of 4 infusions. The 3rd and 4th were mostly chamomile, but smooth with no hint of bitterness.

Sampled Duck Dinah’s blend this evening. A very interesting tea! One would think that chamomile and lemongrass combined with gunpowder green and cinnamon might be at odds in a tea — kinda like having someone gently rub your temples while kicking you in the butt! Somehow it works, though.

Very little dry scent, but there was much to taste. Each sip seemed to highlight one of the flavors in turn, which tells me that this is a near-perfect blending of ingredients. Don’t let the chamomile fool you; when it says “contains caffeine” they’re not kidding. It’s 4 a.m. and I’m still wide awake. I’m calm, though — very calm.

Looking forward to a second steep.

I received a small sample of this tea, and its intense scent hit me as soon as I opened the mailer. It would make a lovely potpourri indeed! To me it has a heady “incense” quality that I love but seldom find in a tea, other than certain chais. Very sweet; very orange. Even now, several days later, the scent is still strong in the empty cellophane packaging.

On brewing, a lot of the intensity dissipated, but the scent and flavor were still very nice and became more pronounced as the tea cooled. I added a packet of Truvia, as I do to most of my flavored teas, which helped to bring out the sweetness.

All in all, a yummy tea! Thank you, Columbia Kate’s, for the sample. Thinking about ordering more of this.

Wow… first tasting note for this one.. Being a newbie, not sure how I feel about that.

The sun is shining & the snow is finally melting away from the roads making me think it might be nice to get out and go somewhere without being beaten by the packed snow on the roads like the last few days have been. So pretty out.. Love the snow when it’s not so cold you can’t enjoy it and when it doesn’t interfere with travel (& school.. an extra week of Christmas break could make anyone stir crazy!).

I finished a cup of Chocolate Candy Cane from The Spice & Tea Exchange, a new favorite, a little while ago and went looking to try something else new. ColumbiaKate had asked if any of us that she sent samples to had tried her new Duck Dinah’s Tea yet, so I reached for the samples she sent. This one smelled yummy as I pulled it out of the package. Sweet, orangey, yummy goodness… very much reminds me of sweet orange cranberry bread. Sorry.. just couldn’t resist but to try this one first!

Upon steeping, the fragrance dulls a bit, but that’s ok… time to taste it. Reminds me of orange creamsicle, which is not usually a favorite of mine, but this is nice. Added a pinch of sugar after my first sip, smaller amount than I normally would use since it’s sweet fragrance lends to it feeling a need for less. The flavors of slightly earthy deep orange and cream both come through and neither are too strong (probably why I don’t care for a true creamsicle-that and a creamsicle is sooo sweeett!). Not sure I’m finding the almond, but it may be part of the sweetness I’m smelling, and it may give part of the creaminess as well, not sure.

I will have to try some of it iced to see if it would make a great selection for summer as well. If it keeps it’s flavors, I could see it being a nice treat rotated with my standard home made fresh spearmint iced tea.

This is the first tea I’ve found with orange overtones that appeals to me. Thanks Columbia Kate for sharing something extra and unexpected with your sample :)