Monday, August 4, 2008

Tavalon, Part II

Greetings, Readers!

I have just returned from my 9-day vacation near Yellowstone, and as
promised, I now have my reviews for the final two blends that Tavalon
sent me for review. Having already discussed packaging, shipping, and
so forth, this review will focus only on the two remaining teas, and
my reactions to each.

The first blend I want to make note of is Kama Chai Sutra - Tavalon's
take on a modern Chai. One thing I found to be especially delightful
about this chai blend is the addition of vanilla bean - a flavor I
could detect with relative ease in the blend. The vanilla is expertly
blended with the traditional chai ingredients, adding it's
characteristic smoothness and imparting it's mellow flavor
characteristics to the cup.

This is a relatively standard Chai blend, with little to distinguish
it from other Chai blends, besides the notable addition of vanilla.
However, that does not mean that it is a very good chai, because it
is. It is easy to tell that careful attention was placed in blending
the various herbs and teas together in just the right combination.
It's also easy to see that some serious effort was put in here to
ensure that only the highest quality whole herbs were included in the
blend.

The result is one of the finer Chai blends on the market - Not quite
as good as Yogic Chai, but far superior to your standard tea shoppe
blend. Although, in Tavalon's favor, Yogic does specialize
specifically in Chai where Tavalon does not make such a
specialization.

The final Tavalon blend that I will make note of is called Serenity,
and is one of Tavalon's very fine herbal blends. It is made from
Chamomile, Peppermint, Lemongrass, Rooibos and Vanilla. Any of you
who are frequenters of my blog will already know that I have alot of
concerns with Chamomile blends, due to the mild and subtle nature of
Chamomile, however, the other herbs are of little contest over the
flavor characteristics that might have been drowned out in the
Chamomile.

This may be one of the most interesting minted blends that I have
tried. Additionally, the amount of mind included was perfect - it was
neither weak nor overpowering, but added a refreshing and vibrant tone
to this otherwise quite mellow tea. The earthy profile of the Rooibos
did not come through as well as I would have hoped, but Rooibos is a
difficult herb to blend, so I am somewhat forgiving of this minor
shortcoming. The lemongrass was just right as well, adding just the
right amount of tartness, and it's delicate citrus-like notes came
through in this blend very well.

I was also quite impressed, once again, with the superior blending of
the vanilla in this particular mixture. The vanilla gets alot of
milage in this blend, smoothing out the edges of the lemongrass and
peppermint, and adding a brilliant mellow feel to complement the
mellowness of the chamomile. The sweetness of this blend was also
right on target, making this a blend that can be enjoyed fully without
the addition of any sweeters, re-emphasizing the role of this tea as a
late afternoon beverage (too many sugars in an evening tea can defeat
it's mellow nature.)

Overall, I'd consider this one of the nicer evening teas I have
sampled in a while, and give it my highest recommendation.

Well, readers, I hope you have enjoyed reading this week's tea review,
and I hope that you will stay tuned in the coming weeks for more
content to be added soon.

Over and out,
Relz

7 comments:

  1. I recently tasted Serenity and agree with your assessment. It is a really good late afternoon or evening tea. I have never experienced the Chai Tea. Considering I love Chai Tea, I will have to file this in my mental rolodex once I finish the Chai Teas currently in my cupboard.

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  2. Good idea. It really is an excellent Chai. It's also a good idea to finish what you ave before you get more, or you might end up like me! I have more tea than I could ever use, from various samples I have been sent, and it just keeps stacking up.

    Maybe I should have a contest soon, and start giving away some tea?

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  3. I love Tavalon teas, thanks for the reviews!
    i go to their event in the city, where the tea cocktail is given, this is totally amazing!
    can you review the tea cocktail ?

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  4. The tea cocktail sounds interesting. What is in the cocktail? If I knew what was in it, I might be able to review it.

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  5. I'll contact them to see if they'll send me some. I might not review the cocktail, however, since I don't usually keep any alcohol around, and the cocktail does require rum. Perhaps one of these days I'll buy some rum for this, but I dunno.

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  6. I took your advice and ordered from Tavalon. They an excellent chai however my favorite is their ChocolaTea. I'm usually not a fan of Rooibos tea but the Serenity is really nice.

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  7. Hi Tiffany,

    Thanks for letting me know! I also love their Serenity and their ChocolaTea!

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