I have been eulogising for quite some time about the fantastic tea subscription service, teatourist. Each month they have been brilliant but April's box has really been something special. It's included really traditional tea's and it's included a tea that I never thought I'd try in a million years. That is what is so great about teatourist - as a blogger I am pushed to try something new and experiment and it does wonder's for this blog!
This evening I'm reviewing a totally whacky, zany but hugely fun tea by a company called Leaves Of The World and the blend in question is Pumpkin's Go Banana's.
Ordinarily, I probably would of chosen something else from their website. I have tried pumpkin tea once before and it left no mark on me at all, I can't even recall the brand. I have also tried tea's where vegetables have been included (Beetroot Burst from Twinings) and it certainly wasn't a hit at all. But via teatourist, and due to the fact this tea includes banana's, I decided to give it a whirl.
This infusion is like no infusion I've had before. Within this tea we have apple, carrot, ginger, pumpkin, pineapple, coriander and banana. A real mixed bag so to speak. When I was stood in the kitchen preparing this tea I can say, hand on heart, I honestly had no idea what I'd make of this tea, whether I would like it or not, whether I'd even be able to stomach it. I had no idea which way it was going to go.
The first thing that caught my attention about the tea was it's gorgeous, lush colour. Naturally, it's autumnal, with all the oranges and yellow's, and I like this because it reminds me of my favourite season. It's truly beautiful to look at and I cannot deny it.
As you can see there is a glorious orange from the pumpkin and carrot pieces, there is yellow from the banana and also you can see the the lovely ginger, too. Such a gorgeous looking tea!
I filled up the teabag and noticed that you can infuse this blend for up to eight minutes which I did. I wanted to get a full idea of this interesting tea and brewing it for half the time wouldn't really cut it. I timed it precisely (you can actually get a lot done in eight minutes!) and it brewed to a light, amber coloured hue.
Leaves Of The World give you plenty of advice on their website about how to make this tea. You have plenty of options. You can drink it hot, which I have, as a latte or iced and as a iced latte. All dependent on what you fancy. I have to say I enjoyed it hot but then I much prefer my tea hot to iced anyway.
I will admit I was still sceptical about this tea till the minute I took my first sip.
This tea is not what I was expecting. I think I was expecting a more vegetable like flavour, but my goodness, what you experience at the start of the sip is not what you get at the end. It's a total journey from start to finish and your tastebuds experience every sort of flavour possible.
This blend has the most gorgeous, fruity aroma and that is very interesting. I have tried one banana tea before and I sincerely wish there were more on the market, so I was VERY happy to find out that this tea was very banana-ry!
At the very start of the sip you have this glorious taste of pumpkin. I am not normally keen on pumpkin in tea, though I have had pumpkin tart at TGI Friday's once and really loved it. It's not overly sweet and has a well rounded taste. I recognised it immediately. I liked it straight away.
As the sip progressed there was a slightly tart flavour come through which I think may be coming from the apple pieces included in the tea. It's interesting as it counteracts the sweetness which comes later. Also, there is subtle flavour of carrot which is the part of tea the I'm less keen on. I like carrots, but only well cooked in a casserole. I think this tea would be lacking something if the carrot were removed but I cannot say in all honesty that it is my favourite part of the blend. For me, the tea also has that slightly strange texture I get when eating raw carrot. Now that could just be because I know carrot is in it, however, it's what I experience on a personal level.
Oh then comes along the gorgeous, familiar and much loved flavour of banana. The sweetness is just gorgeous and it's very, very rich and thankfully for me the banana is the stronger of all the flavours. It's just so rich and decadent and I really love it. It brings a nice smoothness to the blend as well, and a depth of flavour, too.
Finally, at the end of the sip you get a burst of fiery ginger. It sets the taste buds truly alight and they dance and fizz way after the sip has finished. It's a really interesting and warming way to end the tea and I find that the ginger works well with the sweetness of the banana.
I cannot believe how many layers and how much depth this blend has. I also cannot believe that no matter how many very different flavours and textures there are in this tea, it comes together to make a really nice and fun blend. It's different and certainly stands out from the crowd.
I was genuinely surprised that not only did I like this blend but at how much I enjoyed it. It's so much fun, a little bit loopy and really brightens things up a bit. It's a genius of a blend and I'm so impressed.
Though this probably wont be my day to day go to blend, I think I'll always keep a stock in as, though I'm not a obvious fan of fruit infusions, this one has made a very good impression.
It's like happiness and laughter in a mug and it's the sort of tea that will always lift your spirits if you're feeling a bit down in the dumps. You simply can't come away from trying this tea not smiling. It's impossible. It's a delightful little blend.
This is the perfect tea to remind myself never to judge a tea on face value. Never to write a blend off as "not my thing" unless I've actually tried it. A vital lesson has been learned here.
To Leaves Of The World, you've created something really special, and I can only applaud you for that. I cannot wait to try more of your tea in the (hopefully very near) future!
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