Floral Herb- Chi Whole Leaf

Thank you for the samples, Will!

Cold-brewed (1): 1/2 teaspoon, 6 oz, mixed right away.
Hot-brewed (2): 1/2 teaspoon, 6 ounces, 212 degrees.

1: A balanced combination of hibiscus and rose. The former isn’t at all powerful – it’s on the weak side for me since I drink hibiscus straight, but those who don’t like hibiscus should have no fear. I taste more of the rose.

2: I prefer this method. Overall, it’s a stronger-tasting cup. The hibiscus pops out more in the beginning, but the rose petals take over when I let the infusion sit in my mouth and in the aftertaste.

Lovely magenta/dark pink shade. I had trouble tasting the jasmine, but both cups were nice to drink. Hibiscus and rose make a good pairing.

Today was…eventful, if you follow my instagram you probably saw that I had one doozy of a night. Luckily it passed and turned into a very long day, long in the sense of I AM REALLY TIRED!! Only a few hours sleep between me and yesterday, I have become rather loopy. Good-ish news, I went to the doctor today, he thinks my awful fatigue might be related to my meds, so we are fiddling around with some dosage to see if that helps. If not, well, he said he is stumped and we will have to do a ton of testing, personally I hope it is just the meds. The fun part of that was on the way to and after the appointment, there were loads of storms! I got some neat pictures with the phone and had to walk the long distance to the car in a torrential downpour, ever the gentleman Ben offered to bring the car around, but the walk in the rain was refreshing. Soggy Enderman to the rescue!

Ok, before anyone gets into a tizzy, yes, I know today’s teas are not technically Matcha, but calling it powdered herbs and or tea Monday sounds lame, so Monday is powdered consumables day, maybe that means I can finally find an excuse to review some hot chocolate. Recently there was a Kickstarter for new company, Chi Whole Leaf, it was successfully funded, and now I get to try their goodies. They have a pretty nifty concept, take plants and grind them up, like Matcha, you are consuming the whole plant, which makes the tasting experience a little different. First up is the vibrantly pink Floral Herb, a blend of Hibiscus, Jasmine, and Rose, two of my favorite things, and one I usually hate. Upon sniffing, the powder is mild and floral, it reminds me a little of the powdered incense I bought long ago. The rose is the dominant aroma, followed by heady jasmine, and a very delicate hibiscus.

I decided to brew this one up cold, though not with ice because I don’t want it that cold. The taste was surprisingly great, the hibiscus notes were mild and not death tart, instead they were sour almost like lemon juice. The main flavor is delicate rose and subtly sweet jasmine, both blend well with the sour hibiscus. I swear if all my hibiscus teas tasted like this I would never say I hated them again. I really liked this one, I could see myself drinking it a lot as it gets hotter, having it before bed for a light soothing sipping.

Blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/06/chi-whole-leaf-floral-herb-and.html

I mixed with filtered cold water and whisked it, although it was easy to mix up – a spoon would work fine, or whatever you have. The color of both the dry powder and the mixed drink is just amazing. This one is a mixture of hibiscus, rose and jasmine. Don’t worry hibby haters – I couldn’t really identify it here. I think it just added a little punch to the flavor. What I did get was a really refreshing drink that had some floral overtones. I liked it, and I am usually not a big fan of floral drinks. I added a litttle sweetener – no haters please

Photos and full review: https://tealover.net/2015/05/chi-whole-leaf-floral-herb-and-ginger-chai/

Today I decided that I would try this tea in a water bottle. It worked well and was a very refreshing drink. The hibiscus was light and refreshing rather than the often overwhelming hibiscus you get in many teas.