Winterwoods Tea Company

Another tea from Winterwoods Tea Company!

This one seems like it has a lot going on ingredients wise, but the way it comes together is pretty seamless. It’s not impossible to break down the flavours at all: fennel and cinnamon top notes, more of a minty and cooling finish with woody body flavours. However, it really is better when you just leave it be as one uniform flavour that feels very refreshing and outdoorsy. It’s a combination of the sweeter elements, mild warming spices and then the cooling/refreshing mint that ties that imagery all together.

And I’m no stranger when it comes to the idea of using the cooling/refreshing feeling of mint in tea blends to evoke the refreshing feeling of a cool breeze in the outdoors – it’s pretty well exactly what I had in mind when I made my own blend, Daughter of Satyrs.

I did add a splash of vanilla agave near the end of the mug though; no real rhyme or reason to it – I’m just obsessed with the stuff as of late. It didn’t do much, except draw out some of the mint. Vanilla mint is just a really good flavour combo…

Yeah, only real downside for me when it comes to this blend is that I’d have loved the sarsaparilla to be a clearer, and more distinct flavour because sarsaparilla is just so damn tasty. This was SUPER refreshing and relaxing though even as is.

Sipdown (340)!

Made this one in my tea press, and this time I’m doing it iced just to see how the flavour differs from trying it hot. Mostly, I think it’s the same: a very sweet, juicy berry flavour. I find it a bit less tart overall, but that makes sense given that it’s an iced tea over a hot tea; in general that iced style of prep tends to soothe tartness or at least take a bit of the edge off it. The berry flavour is pretty straight forward blackberry, but has some elderberry and raspberry kind of elements to it too. I think I find it sweeter overall than I did as a hot tea; maybe even on the cusp of being a little too sweet? I know the blackberry leaf is responsible for A LOT of that intensity and sweetness, but something else reminds me faintly of icing sugar too and I can’t totally place what it is. The whole profile is undercut with the faintest, softest herbaceous element. Again, probably the blackberry leaf.

I liked this one overall; both as a hot tea and an iced tea. I do think the iced version was maybe just a little too sweet, so I think I’d opt for drinking it hot if I were to revisit it in the future.

So, this company really intrigues me; their blends are either fair trade and organic, ideally locally sourced and sometimes actually foraged from the wild!? That’s pretty interesting/unique and I love the attention to detail and that they focus so heavily on freshness. I actually got all my samples of their teas through Amoda because it was the easier way for me to get samples of their blends – but if I have enough success with the teas I got samples of the idea is definitely to place an order through their website and get some things in larger quantities!

This is my first one, and you know what? The dry leaf smells pretty damn good! I’m not entirely sure what a huckleberry specifically tastes like that separates it from a blackberry, but in my head a blackberry is what I’m picturing and the dry leaf smells pretty sweet and blackberry like.

Taste wise? I’m not immediately in love, but this is pretty solid! I imagine it’d actually be a far better iced tea so that’s probably how I’ll finish off the rest of the sample. It’s very sweet, enough so that I had to double check there wasn’t any sort of sweetener like stevia in the leaf, but nope – it’s probably just the blackberry leaf up to no good. Blackberry leaf is sneaky sometimes; it’s pretty sweet stuff. The berry comes through clearly; again I don’t know what separates huckleberry from blackberries, but it definitely reminds me of blackberries. Maybe blackberry jam, specifically? Like I said, it’s a pretty sweet tea! It’s also got a tarter finish, definitely from the hibiscus. I’m not the worlds biggest fan of hibiscus, but if you’re going to pair it with anything then I think berry is usually the right route to go, and in this case I don’t find it too heavy handed.

I think, for a new to me company, it’s a good start and introduction! I’m definitely excited to see what else they have to offer!

See my full review on Sororitea Sisters:
http://sororiteasisters.com/2016/11/26/pacific-coast-lavender-from-winterwoods-tea-company/

The first thing I noticed about this blend was a large dried calendula blossom in the loose leaf— the whole flower was preserved in the mix! I’m not sure if this was intended, but was a surprise when I opened the bag. With all those jasmine blossoms and calendula petals, it’s certainly a blend that’s easy on the eyes. Upon brewing, the green rooibos and apples are a good combination, both providing gentle sweetgrass and honey notes. The green tea expands on this theme, bringing out the fresh, grassy hay tones from the rooibos. Jasmine is the real star of this tea, extremely fragrant in the dry leaf and the brew, evoking images of standing in a flowery orchard, or having fresh, grassy air blow by. A lovely low-caffeine treat, that was airy, floral, and green.

I love peach candy and peach tea, both of which are very different kinds of peaches. I’ve tried a lot of summery peach blends, and they are usually cloyingly sweet, or more like peach rings than the fruit. This blend is the truest peach tea I’ve ever tasted.

This tea is sweet, but not like candy, it’s just like genuine peaches! The blend brews up a light amber, peach color, not too pink or dark. When brewed, the fruit flavor is gentle, but forward, and you can see peach pieces in the leaves. The rest of the ingredients are simple and herbal enough, they they really let the peach shine (no rooibos overshadowing the peach in this blend). Strawberry leaf and citrus peel help make the blend naturally sweet and bright.

Probably best as an iced summer blend, this could have some great comforting potential as a hot tea. Mix it with a little chai and you’ll have a peach cobbler tea in no time. Overall this was a lovely taste-test. The tea is caffeine free, sugar free, and deliciously peachy.