If you are a tea lover, and your sweet tooth is dictating your purchases, you might want to try Lipton’s Vanilla Caramel Truffle. This is one of Lipton’s pyramid tea bag varieties. I have to admit, I like to have a dessert-like tea on the shelf to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Lipton does a great job of packaging their pyramid tea selections. They are easily noticeable on the grocery store shelves. The pictures and design on the box do a good job of enticing you to buy the tea. The pyramid tea bag is something out of the norm. Therefore, you don’t feel like you’re drinking the same-old-same-old. Now, the dried tea did not smell as sweet as I anticipated. I thought since the product is said to contain real pieces of caramel, it would have a sweeter scent to it. However, the aroma I was expecting was not released until the product hit the boiling water. Unfortunately, the flavor I was expecting never seemed to release. The tea certainly did not taste bad. It just wasn’t up to my expectations. You may want to give it a try, but I recommend drinking a tea you know you like, and going out for ice cream when you feel the need for something sweet.

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Mount of Olives Treasures offers an English Breakfast tea. This is a black tea blend filled with several ingredients: Black tea, citrus peel, natural orange flavor, olive leaves, lemon grass, grape leaves, pomegranate leaves, hyssop. The ingredients make it sound like it should be popping with flavor. However, although the tea does not taste bad, it does not wow me with its flavor. The tea does deliver by supplying a simple yet full-bodied cup of black tea. This tea can be purchased at most local grocery stores. I’d prefer a tea with more character. I do prefer a sweetner to make this tea more flavorful.

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My daughters learned the words to “I’m a little tea pot” around the age of two. They have dolls that sing the song, and they have books with the lyrics and motions detailed to help them learn the song. In addition, almost every popular cartoon-like character participates in a tea party for at least one episode. My point is, tea is rooted in our culture. Unfortunately, for most of us in the U.S. this is our only exposure to tea.

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This flavored white tea is from Mount of Olives Treasures. Mount of Olives Treasures is carried in many local supermarkets. It’s not one I’ve tried before until this month. I will post my review of their English Breakfast tea in the near future. Side note: the actual Mount of Olives is a mountain ridge near Jerusalem. This landmark is documented as being the site for many biblical events. Mount of Olives Treasures markets itself by associating the spiritual connection of the landmark with its products.

Tea blend ingredients: White tea, green tea, hibiscus, apple pumice, rose hip, elderberry, blackberry, blueberry, natural flavors of blackberry and blueberry, olive leaves, lemon grass, grape leaves, pomegranate leaves, hyssop

There are quite a lot of ingredients in the little bag. That said, when I opened the bag, I was anticipating a very strong and pleasing aroma. The dried tea literally had a very faint scent about it. After letting the water cool from a boil for a couple of minutes, I put the tea bag in the water. At that point, the berry scent was quickly released into the air. The water started to turn a bright purplish color. At last, the tea started to seem appealing. After about 3 minutes I removed the tea bag from the water. I took a sip of the tea, and I was a little disappointed. There was something to this tea blend that did not agree with my taste buds. As I mentioned, I don’t like to add sugar to tea, but I had no choice with this product. After adding a sweetener, the tea was much more pleasant. I don’t highly recommend this tea. If you like a slightly bitter flavored tea, this tea is most likely for you. I’m going to need to practice with this tea, but I haven’t got it right yet. Don’t be afraid to try it. Unfortunately, for me it’s just not what I was expecting.

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To each their own when it comes to sweetening a cup of tea…Since I’ve started drinking tea on a regular basis, I stopped trying to make it a sweet drink that barely tastes like - tea. I’ve learned to appreciate the natural flavors found in green tea as well as black, red, white, and oolong. To me, it’s not about the calories. It’s about appreciating the effort the farmers and tea processors took to make sure their product met their high standards. If I throw a bunch of additives in the tea, I’ll never appreciate what the tea supplier was trying to accomplish. It’s like I’m swirling away the quality of the tea with a spoon.

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Caranda combines style with an emphasis on organic African teas. Their website, literature, and tea tins all scream for attention. Well, they got my attention, or at least my wife’s. She bought this one for me. I’ve been drinking the Morning Rouge black tea. It combines Asia and Africa to make a powerful tea mix. The Tanzanian golden flowery orange pekoe is said to be grown at 6,500 feet above sea level in the Usambara region of northern Tanzania. Now, they throw in Rooibos from the Cedarburg moutains of South Africa and Keemun. To top it off, they have added Safflowers to the mix. As you can see, it’s quite a mix to make the Morning Rouge black tea “collection.” Safflowers are believed to help the body rid of toxins and improve liver and gullbladder function.

Caranda’s marketing is very clever and stylish. The African theme really sets them apart from their competitors. With all the style, I was wondering how their tea would rate…First off, this is a very colorful mix of tea. The presentation of the dry product is very impressive. It has a strong pepper-like scent to it. After the tea steeped for a few minutes in 212 degree water, I took my first sip. The tea has a very powerful flavor to say the least. It literally awakened every sense in my body. This ain’t your grandma’s Lipton! I see why this is their morning blend. If this doesn’t wake you up, I don’t know what will. The fiery flavor takes a few sips to get used to the boldness of the flavor. Caranda describes the flavor as full body with hints of malt and a fruity character. I agree with their descriptions of full body and malty flavor, but I’m not sure about their fruit character description. That said, this tea will knock your socks off with its powerful flavor. If you like strong breakfast teas, you will like this blend. If you don’t like strong teas (I mean STRONG), stay far away from this blend. Visit their site and find a tea that sounds right for you. I do recommend their teas, and I plan on purchasing more in the near future.

Organic African Caranda Teas

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I only buy tea from stores that give a lot of detail regarding the origin of the product.  Knowing where the tea comes from gives me a greater sense of awareness while drinking the beverage.  I can research the country, region, estate, etc while I’m enjoying the tea.  As an adult with a full-time career, it’s hard to take time to use your imagination and relax.  For 15-20 minutes a day, I try to take time out for tea.  That’s not a lot of time, but since the day I started doing it, I have felt a lot healthier.   Many countries and cultures have understood this for generations.  I doubt I’ll ever take it to that extreme, but I can honestly appreciate their enthusiasm and respect for tea.

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