Tiesta Tea

I already have a plain chocolate tea that I loooove (The Tea Spot’s Organic Chocolate “O”), not to mention some others kicking around my cupboard, but still this one called out to me to order it when I was trying to use my groupon. This time the ingredients lists match on the website and on my pouch, but they don’t seem to match what is in the bag… a whiff revealed something nutty, scratch that, coconutty, and little white shreds in the mix seem to confirm. I don’t have any problem with it and think it sound (and smells) like a good addition, but coconut haters might not agree. It does make it smell really similar to the sample of Carribean [sic] Flair from Praise Tea that I have. Enough that I would stick this in the coconut-chocolate, mounds-in-a-cup category instead of the plain chocolate category, at least by the aroma of the dry leaf and the steeped tea.

I am honestly not sure why this company directs it’s customers to steep their black teas at 195°F. I mean, I thought it might be because of a slightly bitter base that doesn’t come through when you steep it at a low temp, but I steeped this one boiling and there’s not a hint of bitterness (and it’s way better of a cup of black tea than the Victorian Earl Grey which I steeped at 195°F). In the end the flavor of this blend is like it’s aroma: very similar to the Praise Tea version, and very coconut-chocolatey. What I wish I had from this is some depth from the black tea base; right now it just kind of sits there and doesn’t contribute much to the overall flavor. I may be kind of ruined on chocolate teas by The Tea Spot’s. Still, I won’t have any problems drinking this, but it may take me a while since I probably won’t be craving it either.

The ingredients listed on my pouch of tea are slightly different from those on the website. When I created the listing for this tea I used the ingredients off the website, but here are the ingredients on my pouch: white tea, green tea, lime shreds, coconut shreds, pineapple bits, safflowers. The major differences being that the website lists lime granules, marigold blossoms instead of safflower, and no pineapple.

The leaf of the green and white mix looks pretty decent, and it smells incredibly limey. It’s somewhere between a key lime pie and a margarita. There was some kind of giant, dried white hunk of something in my leaf, but it seems to have disappeared after steeping. I fished another one out of the pouch and took a nibble, and it seems like some kind of freeze dried, concetrated lime dust… likely the “lime granules” listed in the ingredient list from the website.

Steeped it smells way less like a margarita, which is probably a good thing because I am at work. I actually can’t quite pinpoint the aroma right now… the lime is still there, but subdued, and there are some other scents that I just can’t place. The flavors are a little odd in that again they are hard to place, but the tea still adds up to be pretty tasty. It does taste a little like a key lime pie, or at least the filling, which I think is the coconut adding a creaminess to it. I don’t get any distinct pineapple, which apparently may or may not be in there anyway. The green/white tea flavors peek through a bit, which keeps it from being too candy-sweet over-the-top. I realized I have never had a lime-flavored tea, which might be why it seems odd to me, but I still am enjoying my cup.

A long time ago, near the beginning of when I was really getting into tea, I bought a groupon for tea from this company, Tiesta Tea. At the time I pretty much just bought any deal I found for tea from any company. I tend to sit on groupons and not spend them until right before they expire, which is what I did here; this groupon was expiring by the end of this month, even though I bought it probably over a year ago. When I went to order tea from this company, I naturally checked their teas on steepster to see if any of them were rated. I was interested in this one, but I was very dismayed to see what was happening in the ratings of this tea. See, this tea has 16 ratings and 9 tasting notes, each of which are no more than 3 sentances long. Of those 9 tasting notes, 7 of them have ratings of 100, one with a 99, and the last with 98. Almost all of the accounts associated with those ratings only have tasting notes for this tea, a couple have other Tiesta Tea notes, and four of them actually say in the account information that they are employees of Tiesta Tea (one of them is from the founder of the company). This is not the only tea from them with ratings like this, but it is the only one where it’s happened to this extent.

If I had checked this before buying the groupon, I never would have done so. I have no wish to do business from companies that feel a need to try and inflate their ratings by setting up sockpuppet accounts on this website. Most people on this site, and I am one of them, really dislike seeing a tea company rate their own teas. However, I already spent the money so I wasn’t about to lose it. So, with not much confidence, I made my selections. I will say that I don’t plan on doing business with this company again, even if I really enjoy one of the teas. My ratings of these teas are honest and I’m not going to rate them lower to balance out the fake positive reviews, even if it’s really tempting to do so.

Now, the tea. The dried tea has lots of rose petals, lavender buds, and some green, narrow leaves that I suppose are lavender leaves but look a lot like pine needles. There aren’t any pine needles listed on the ingredients, though, so perhaps not. It smells primarily like bergamot, but definitely with that herby lavender under it.

Steeped, the black tea comes to the foreground in a big way, accompanied in large part by the lavender. The bergamot seems to have shrunk off somewhere else. The black tea isn’t very familiar to me, aroma-wise, and I can’t quite place it, but it does remind me a little of some black blends I don’t like.

I steeped this tea according to the instructions on the package, which is to say with 195°F water. I have done this before with blacks that call for it, and since I don’t usually want a super bold black anyway, the lower temp often works well for me. Here, though… the tea seems weak. I want more flavor, I want more black tea. Which is crazy for me, because I rarely want more “black tea” flavor. What’s there is fine… the lavender isn’t overpowering or soapy, the bergamot is faint but bright, citrusy, and not astringent or bitter. I don’t get any rose to speak of from this tea. Obviously, next time I’m planning on steeping this at boiling and seeing what happens.

The photos off of Tiesta Tea’s website never work with the Steepster format, but I just don’t have time right now to shoot a better picture. What you can’t see in this photo is that Blueberry Wild child is a really beautiful tisane. Big dried blueberries, apple pieces, pomegranate arils, bright blue cornflowers… the works. This tisane is a tangy tornado of fruit flavor! It does contain hibiscus that works with the pomegranate to balance the sweetness of the blueberries. It’s not bitter, but if you’re a hibiscus-hater this tea probably isn’t for you.

Check out our video-tasting here – http://blip.tv/the-tea-show/episode-28-tiesta-tea-s-fruity-pebbles-slenderizer-5504958

Check out our video-tasting here – http://blip.tv/the-tea-show/episode-33-tiesta-tea-s-forever-young-gojiberry-superfruit-5611198

Please don’t let this terrible picture from Tiesta’s website fool you. Gojiberry Superfruit is a tasty sencha blend with very natural fruit flavors. This tea is naturally sweet without being overly sweet, and it has a power-packed-punch of antioxidant rich goodness.

This is an enjoyable tea that’s also very refreshing, and it defiantly deserves better photographic representation.

This is a really good fruity tisane. The cherry and kiwi flavors are distinct and not at all medicinal tasting. Tonight I drank Kiwi Cherry Bonanza hot but I bet it would be fantastic iced. It’s super fruity but I shamelessly like the fruit.

There are a lot of fruit medley-type blends out there. Many skimp on the berry and up the hibiscus quotient to disguise this fact. The result is usually something overly tart. Fireberry is as the name implies – berry juice that’s been lit on fire. Quite refreshing, sweetens well, and probably ices well, too. Light years ahead of Tiesta’s other fruit tisane, Granny’s Garden.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2011/04/17/review-tiesta-tea-fireberry-3/

I had the urge to try something gut-bomby without the guilt. Why not a black tea blend with a double-dose of chocolate? This here blend possessed chocolate chips and cocoa nibs to create something that tasted like an unrefined French pastry. With sweetener, it really shined. And I’m sure it could latte well. No subtleties here.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2011/02/05/review-tiesta-tea-creme-au-chocolat/

I consider myself a hibiscus apologist. I love the stuff. Whenever I make a fruit or rooibos blend – or an iced tea – I like to throw those red shells into the fray. However, even I will acknowledge when there’s just a little too much. This is one of those times. With orange and apricot also in the mix, I wanted more of a citrus presence from this. I only got a faint impression of it in the middle. The rest was quite tart and sour. That said, I still enjoyed it. Just not as much as I wanted to.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2011/02/03/review-tiesta-tea-grannys-garden/

Great tea to sip on right before bed.

this is a fantastic lemon-y tea. perfect when you’re feeling a little under the weather or have a soar throat.

really liked this tea. the pear flavor is really good, not too strong, but powerful enough to not even need sugar to enjoy this tea

huge black tea fan. this is a fantastic take on an old classic. add some sugar and milk and it’s near perfect

High quality loose leaf tea. I am very impressed

I love this tea! It tastes good, smells good, plus it looks better than any Earl Grey I have ever seen

Deeelicious! Easily my favorite place to get earl grey!

By far the single best Earl Grey I have ever had. Highly suggest checking it out on the website.

The most unique Victorian Earl Grey I have ever tasted! I’ve had dozens and this was by far the best. Complex with a floral touch, this tea tastes as good as it smells and looks.