Løv Organic

This is a weirdly named blend. When I think “zen” I think Asian flavours like bamboo, green tea, lemongrass, ginger, etc. This is a blend of rooibos, apple, orange, and lemon balm with hints of caramel (According to the package, I didn’t taste any caramel). That sounds more like a warming autumn or holiday blend to me.

I had this with soy milk, however I found it was too lemony (from the lemon balm) and orangey to have with milk. It was verging on tangy or acidic. Maybe it was because I was expecting a different flavour profile, but I found this blend quite disappointing and boring. It seemed unbalanced, however I need to try it plain before I make a final decision.

I bought a sampler pack of Lov Organic herbals in France and have been drinking them for the past week.

I was disappointing at not tasting the black current very much. There was a lightly fruity sort of plum flavour, but it wasn’t distinctly current. The lemon grass was lovely, and the dried apple gave it some sweetness. Looking at the ingredients, I can say I didn’t know there was vanilla or peppercorns in this and I didn’t taste either of them. Maybe it isn’t suited for coldbrewing, but I did let this one steep longer because the lemongrass wasn’t strong until at least 30 minutes of steeping.

The smell of jasmine tea is refreshing and relaxing by itself and then the sweet leaf of the tea when brewed combined with a bit of incenses in the background can make for an excellent meditation companion.

Light tea with a predominant coconut note and scent, the blueberries enhance the flavour but are definitely a secondary note. If brewed correctly, this tea is a well balanced mix of buttery sweet and bitter flavours, but it gets overly bitter even if infused only a few seconds too long. It can be infused twice without losing flavour. I drink it with half a teaspoon of stevia.

Another one from the travelling teabox.

I actually liked this blend so much I had to take a few more sachets for making iced tea. I expected sour hibiscus and nothing redeeming. This is tart if you coldbrew it and drink it straight. However, when you add 1/2 tsp or 1 tsp sugar, you get one of the best iced teas I’ve ever had. Lots of peach, apple, stone fruits (apricot?), cherry, berry, and the hibiscus + sugar is actually delicious. I shared some with my mom and she loved it to (she’s not usually a tea drinker).

Tried this hot in-store. I think it would be much better iced. The dominant flavor is hibiscus, but there’s a respectably assertive berry note too. Tasty enough for seconds but definitely not a blend for the hibby-averse.

Mild savoury flavour. I can detect a cinnamon note with a savoury background

Orange flavour is authentic and mixes well with the rooibos.

GCTTB (round 6) tea!

Oddly enough, there was lots of licorice root, no bergamot (earl grey).

Very, vey woody. I like it though, it was an unexpected surprise! Notes of uncrushed fennel seeds, Earthy licorice roots (not sweet though), dirt and minerals, unground anise seed hulls, citrus, and tree dark. it is very interesting and enjoyable, but maybe not well named.

90/100 for flavour, but I was expecting some bergamot. If they renamed it something vaugue, I would rate it much higher.

Nice, classic black tea base of medium strength with a strong red fruits flavour. The result is particularly pleasant, as the bitter aftertaste of the red fruits isn’t prominent. I usually drink it with 1 or 2 teaspoons of sugar, depending on the capacity of the cup.

Dry, I smell red fruits – it smells like raspberry to me but that’s probably rather pomegranate and goji berry. Steeped, it’s a clear pomegranate smell, a bit like a diluted pomegranate juice. Since hibiscus is a major ingredient, that’s pretty much all it tastes though. Not worth trying hot. This was clearly thought out to be drink cold or iced. Between the two, I prefer it iced because cold-steeping doesn’t bring out any flavours. At least iced you get the hibiscus.

I’m tired though of Kusmi and Løv marketing strategy saying that this kind of tea will make you happy, this kind of tea will detoxify your body, and now this kind of tea will make your recover after a run or a yoga class? That’s absurd. You need a good substantial meal after a workout, that’s it.

Very similar to Alpine Punch from Davidstea. There are few almond pieces in it, most of the amaretto’s smell comes from added aromas. Very enjoyable. Since it is easier to get our hands on DT’s version (can buy lower quantities of it at once, DT is cheaper and has more stores), I would just go with the latter’s version.

Løv is more known for herbal tea and, actually, this is not so far from being a herbal tea as there is so little black tea in it (more or less half of it). It’s a sort of chai tea with almond aromas. Although cacao nibs is the first ingredient, I don’t really taste it. It’s a warm, spicy tea with a hint of liquorice that, just like its name suggests, is perfect for winter nights. It is so spicy though, I wouldn’t drink it every day.

GCTTB V1

Picked this one as my commute to work tea this morning; I was expecting a whammy of liquorice flavour and actually I was really excited for that because the three “licorice” related ingredients in this blend are all ones I love instead of overly sweet/cloying licorice root. So, you know, more in like with that awesome black licorice flavour I love. The idea of pairing that with bergamot/Earl Grey seemed genius to me! I mean, I love Tiger Tiger ice cream and that’s a pairing of black licorice and orange so it seemed like it’d translate well to tea.

Actually, though, the whole cup is much lighter on all flavours than expected. It was still good, but the licorice was light and definitely a little more on that kind of herbaceous fennel flavour than sweet, candy-like black licorice. As well, I definitely tasted the lemon in the blend but NOT the actual bergamot, which is a pretty key flavour for an Earl Grey. Also, I think the choice of green tea for the base was an interesting one. Honestly this probably would have worked better with black tea but the green tea was pleasant enough – definitely on the buttery/vegetal side with just a touch of smoke flavour to it. Since this is already an unconventional Earl Grey I think that a black base with the licorice related ingredients probably would have conveyed a better flavour while still having some resemblance to common place Earl Grey, however.

So yes, some criticisms. However, it was still a pretty pleasant cuppa and a nice enough first tea of the day. One cup is good enough for me, though.

This tea is not one of my favourites. I picked it up on my last trip to Paris and I regret buying such a large quantity before tasting it first. It’s not a terrible blend, but I don’t think cinnamon and orange are two flavours that I enjoy together.

Oh blackcurrant, why you gottta smell so BAD?! D: D: D:

Thankfully I’ve made this in a travel mug, so I can put the lid on it and don’t have to smell it.

Ahh, that’s better. It’s a fairly light tea, I think I could have steeped it a little hotter. But it’s pretty nice! The blackcurrant-peach flavour is really nice, and delicate at this point as it’s in my travel mug. I’m quite enjoying this.

Thanks so much, uhh, tea fren. :) (MissB maybe? I got it when I visited Sil.)

Without going and actually looking at the bag… I think this is the tea that I have from MissB – thanks! My initial impression was of a coconut/butterscotch white, one of those teas that many companies seem to have (e.g. Butterscotch Potion, Dream, etc.). However, this also contains blueberries, which is an interesting twist, and although the white tea and coconut are reminiscent of the butterscotch teas, it does seem somewhat different. Another case of overleafing though (I really need to relocate my measuring spoons back to the tea area), so it was a touch strong, but enjoyable enough. Very coconutty, but light. I’ll have to pay a bit more attention for the blueberry next time.

Whoa, this is Hibiscus City. Perhaps I would have had better luck trying this iced or cold brewed but hot, I can’t taste anything else in here other than an underlying musty note. Unfortunately, I don’t detect any pineapple or mango.

Thanks to MissB for the sample! It’s great to be able to try these.