Fusion Teas

So, when I put my order in with Fusion Tea Room…I hinted nicely that any samples would be greatly appreciated and offered as reviews on Steepster. Thomas was in a generous Holiday Spirit and sent me a few, including this one
It says Super Fruit, so I naively thought they were just were trying to give it a cute name, but realized later ( my ditz moment) that it was named because the fruit were considered powerhouses in the fruit world.
I’m glad he did. It had a nice fruity-tangy aroma in the bag. What did it remind me of? Fruit stripe Gum!…but in a nice, natural sort of way. Is this what Gojiberries smell & taste like? I’ve seen then many times at health food stores and Asian Markets, but never brought myself to trying them. I will now.
It’s a light brew, so don’t expect a strong green tea here, but the fruit flavors blend so nicely with it. It’s sweet enough with a slight tang in the background that I didn’t think it needed sugar at all. I’ll mis this sample when it’s gone.
This will be amazing iced in the Summer, so I expect to purchase it.
Thank you Thomas at Fusion Tea Room

What a wonderful mate! Nuts, cinnamon and pumpkin…to me that is always a wonderful combination. I think the pumpkin blend flavors are much better suited to a roasted mate base, as the roasted flavor adds that extra touch to the overall flavor (as opposed to the honeybush/rooibos sweetness, which is good too, but not as good as the roasted mate).

I am enjoying this very much (and already getting nervous that my pouch is running out)

I’m loving this Rooibos. Thank you Fusion for satisfying my sweet craving for Carrot Cake in a healthier beverage. It’s a smooth drink with the authentic taste of carrot cake…hints of cinnamon, walnuts & maple in the background? I did add a little organic sugar to brighten it up a bit. It smells great right out of the bag & it brews a great orange-earthy color
This Carrot Cake Rooibos was the 1st reason that attracted me to Fusion Tea Room, but once I saw the selection I was impressed by the variety…I’m now looking forward to all the other selections and trying all the generous samples that were included in my order.

This is a great tea with milk, provided you make it strong enough.

This is a very nice jasmine tea. Smooth and mellow… and very reasonably priced. This would make a great everyday jasmine. The jasmine is flavorful but not overwhelming or perfume-y. The green tea is light and sweet.

A very enjoyable Jasmine experience!

This tea reminds me of the caramel covered nuts my mother used to make.
The smell is divine; nutty with that characteristic honeybush sweetness.
The taste is the same, sweet and nutty. I usually prefer rooibos over honeybush, as I’m not a big fan of that sweetness, however here it works very well and turns out a really good cup. I’m liking this a lot!

I’m not the best judge on Jasmine offerings. This one is ok tho. A nice straight and narrow…not too intense but still flavorful.

not sure why…but Jasmine always makes me SO HUNGRY…like hunger pang hungry. Weird.
On to the next…

This smells amazing. It smells like blueberry muffins. It doesn’t taste as much like blueberry muffin as it smells like it, but, it still has a tasty blueberry flavor. I really wish there was less (or no) hibiscus in this, but, otherwise this is really pretty good. I love the caramel-y flavor to this.

Re-visiting this in an attempt to clean out my stash. Still 1 or 2 cups left from my sample, but getting closer! This 2 or 3 minute steep yielded a flavour more like what I expected. Sweet fruit, goji kick. No tea taste, but the fruit dominates for once. Enjoying this right now, glad to have had a stronger cup! Raising the rating a few points.

Trying again. I let the water cool to what seemed like an appropriate level then steeped for three minutes. Ish. I get a fairly bold goji berry taste (there were three in my cup) but not very tart goji. Not getting much flavour other than that. It is a bit ‘thin’, but enjoyable. I think I will keep it in the 75 range.

This day is no good. While working at reception this morning (never my favourite part of the day) a netbook was stolen from under my nose. Kind of a big deal, to me at least. At that point, I was ready to go home, but no, I have to stay and put in more time at reception, switchboard, etc. Fine. I get to switchboard after taking half a lunch (worked the other half because my true job was hectic) and accidentally over-steep my tea. For ten minutes. This is my first try of this tea and it smells so divine in the bag that I was hoping it would correct my wobbly day. Here’s hoping it is exceptionally forgiving..

My cup has two beautiful goji berries that smell fabulous. SO fabulous. And they’re pretty! And there’s no hibiscus! (Over)steeped, it still smells good but not as intense as when it was dry. First sips are a relief. I definitely don’t think this is at it’s maximum potential, but it is still very tasty. Surprisingly mild and unassuming at first, and with a delicious goji berry taste left at the end of the sip. No discernible green tea, really, but I can tell that there is a bit of burnt something in there, nullifying my wonderful gojis. I think I will hold off on a numerical rating and proper review until I can do this again properly, but for now let me say that I am impressed. If I had to rate this cup, it would get a 75, but since I know I screwed up (again!) I won’t punish what I think might just be an excellent tea.

Re-visiting this one today. At first sniff, this is a very tart smelling tea. The sort of tart that makes your mouth water in anticipation, if that makes sense. The first sips were surprisingly sweet, and honestly my favourite part of the cup. As it cools the tartness develops but doesn’t take over. A drop of honey might have done well in here but it is perfectly palatable as is. I don’t often turn to berry herbals lately, but if I did this would be a strong contendor. I imagine it would be lovely iced (though I’m not generally a fan of iced tea and it would need to be sweetened). This one does best with natural flavours, and now I am thinking that a drop of lemon juice or even some fresh strawberry or other berry would really take it up a notch too. Now I want to make this a cocktail, in the middle of the workday!

I’ve been saving this sample…I like berry teas but am not always in the mood for them, and I wanted to watch out with both rosehips and hibiscus in the mix. The mix looks divine, with red berries, green lemongrass and yellow/orange bits of rind. I let it steep about 10 minutes as I think I was a little shy on the ‘leaf.’ The taste of this one is nice – There is a wine sort of aroma but nothing over the top. Forget the sangria and focus on the fruit. Is it both tart and sweet and really enjoyable – a dot of honey might temper the hibiscus, but it wasn’t overwhelming at all, just worked with the other flavours.

For those looking for something to replace Pink Flamingo from David’s Tea, this might satisfy. Yummy!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a de-cupboarding! I’ve been drinking the remains of this sample for the past few days in an attempt to finish it up, and am glad to have done so. While there is a fairly authentic raspberry taste to this mate there is also a strong smokiness which seems more intense than it was when I first tried it a few months ago. It’s not particularly offensive, but it is unexpected. As the cup cools I find the smokiness really develops and takes over the sip, leaving a smoky taste in the mouth afterward. Different!

Another of my samples from Fusion Tea Room…only two more after this! Dry, this one smells a little odd. It is sharp and a bit tangy smelling (from the mate) but with some tart berry aroma to balance it out. Steeped, it smells less appealing. Almost cardboardy, very faint. The taste, however, is a different animal.

It does have the traits I’ve learned are characteristic of green mate, but it also has a really true tasting raspberry flavour. You get a hint of tart in the middle of the sip, but otherwise it is clearly a sweetish raspberry flavoured mate. The taste is a hint more mate than I would prefer (in that the raspberry could be stronger but I think that might make it seem artificial).

This tea is very true in taste to what you would expect and delivers on the name. I am starting to think I prefer teas with fewer ingredients, to avoid taste confusion and this one is just wonderful. For the raspberry lovers in the room, this would be a good one for you to try!

First off, apologies to Fusion tea room for taking so long to review this generous sample. I mean to finish the last few off a few weeks back but things went sideways after my paternal grandfather passed away. But here I am with a mug of Carrot Cake in front of me. Honestly, I am worried about this one as I get more cinnamon than I would smell in the dry ‘leaves’. Steeped, the liquor is very dark but really does smell like Carrot Cake once you get past the dry cinnamon smell.

Here goes! First sips are very sweet (candied sugar sweet) then I get a hint of smokey flavour and an aftertaste of cinnamon sugar. Once I am done sipping, it is definitely true to carrot cake taste – not so much in the sip itself but in the lingering tastes. Honestly, this cup is a bit sweeter than I can stand, likely because of the hunks of dried fruit I saw in my infuser. This level of sweetness is a bit much for me so I think I will try it again another time, after checking the components in my infuser!

As it cools it is losing some of that over-bearing sweetness and is more of a cinnamon sugar flavour, with echos of raisins and icing. Still over the top but probably ideal for a dessert or sweet tea lover.

This isn’t overly spicy nor is it overly orange-Y. I like that! I also like the fact that this has Tulsi but it also has Rooibos! This is a neat blend. It was a satisfying cuppa and I would gladly consume again!

This has just a hint of spice but with the Yerba Mate flavor it is a nice meet in the middle sort of taste and I really like that! Because both the Yerba Mate AND the Spices seem to help cancel out both powerful flavors I do really like this! Thumbs up!

Eventho this has hibiscus in it – it seems to be the right amount for my liking. This pretty good! Apple is certainly the primary focus here then the hibiscus and vanilla. I’m also picking up on a cider-like-spice, too! But I am pleasantly surprised with this one :)

I’m shocked I am the first to log this. This is quite good. It’s spicy but not too spicy and it’s sweet from your rooibos. I can taste the citrus which comes from the Citrus Peel. The vanilla helps smooth it out and it pretty yummy!

Toasty and caramel-y. I’m not really picking up on the chocolate, but there does seem to be some sort of baked goods scent coming from my cup. There’s also something perfume-y and slightly artificial in the aftertaste.
There’s a strong wood flavor that I’m thinking is the honeybush. I think I don’t dislike it.
I feel like I’m the middle of the woods sniffing at slice of cake.
I might brew it stronger next time and add sugar and milk.

Yet another sample from Fusion Tea Room – Thanks! In the bag, this smells divine. A mix of fuzzy peaches and Tim Horton’s Peach Juice, which I adored as a child. Not quite authentically peachy (I just had one, actually) but definitely a strong peach association, just a hint sweeter. Steeped for three minutes, this tea yields very large leaves, a few bits of lemon rind and a twig. Twig aside, it looks delightful and smells just like peach juice, a little less sugary though.

First sips are peachy, but mild. Not as bold in flavor as the aroma suggested. I’m not getting any discernible green tea yet but I imagine that will pop up as it cools. Personally, I don’t mind the lack of green tea taste as I’m not always a huge fan. This is definitely peachy, but in an unassuming sort of way, pleasant to taste and enjoy. I don’t think I have a peach tea yet that is so approachable. It’s not bogged down by unnecessary flavours, it is mostly just peach with a hint of green tea base. I am really enjoying this one!

Ps – I was right. As it cools, I am getting more of the green taste, but this particular cup at least is very unassuming. The tea is just there to hold up and highlight the peach – which still reminds me of peach juice, but for adults! And without sugar… : )

Continued thanks to Fusion Tea Room for this sample. This is one of the ones that I was very excited to try, as it smells divine in the package. Sweet citrus goodness, sort of like clementines. I was a little concerned about the licorice, but (in aroma at least) it worked with the citrus.

Steeped, it has lost a lot of the sweet citrus aroma and makes a dark brew. Unfortunately, I can taste the licorice a bit too strongly in this for my taste. I get licorice, then citrus, then a very bold smoky flavour that I didn’t expect – possibly from the roasted mate? Unfortunately, despite my high hopes, this blend is another one that isn’t quite right for me. I still haven’t come to accept smoke notes in my tea, and this is really hanging around in the aftertaste.

As the cup cools, I get more citrus but also more smoke. I don’t think I’m going to finish this one. : ( Now hoping that Peach Citrus Green from Fusion Tea Room will be more up my citrus loving alley. I still can’t believe how strong the smoky mate taste was in this, that is something I haven’t tasted yet in any of the mate blends (I’ve tried about a half dozen.)