Tea Review: Amoda Tea’s September Box ft. The Capilano

Once a month or so a package is delivered filled with an array of goodies curated especially for you. This is typically done so by subscribing to a subscription box service of some sort. There are various kinds out there, but the ones I have the most experience in are, of course, related to the world of tea. They are something nice to get every now and then as they provide you with a surprise, usually an excellent deal, and one of the easiest ways to try new things. I also find that they provide us with excitement as we are always looking forward to the day the next one will be arriving. As more and more subscription boxes begin to pop up, there are a few main things I like to look for in a tea subscription service – quality, value and creativity.One service that I believe follows these traits has been shared on my blog a few times before, Amoda Tea. One of my most favourite things about the Amoda Tea boxes is that they highlight various new-to-me tea companies. So far, every box I have sent to me, I have added at least one more new tea company to my list! (P.S. If you’re a Canadian tea company, keep your eyes on the blog for something I’m working on soon..) While some tasting boxes I have tried in the past have been a mix of tea companies blends, September’s tasting box was showcasing a Vancouver tea house, The Capilano.

“The Capilano Tea House and Botanical Soda Company is Indigenous-owned and plant-inspired. [They] infuse the traditional local with the traditional global for a very Vancouver, curated flavour offering.” Learning that in addition to being a tea shop, The Capilano also makes small batches of herb, flower, fruit and root infused soda was pretty neat. I’m going to be sure to stay in the know with them in case they are also creating tea infused sodas! 

As per usual, four teas were enclosed in Amoda Tea’s September tasting box. I really enjoyed the variety, too – black, herbal, and green tea. The four handcrafted tea blends curated for this tasting box were as followed:

Greeting the Sun (Black) – The Assam black tea blends perfectly with the addition of rose petals in this tea. With a splash of milk, it is still bold with subtle floral notes. I’m not one to usually like overly floral blends and was pleased to get the balance of flavours I was looking for here.

Senakw Village (Rooibos) – I only sampled this rooibos hot and it’s definitely one I would recommend over ice more. Filled with hibiscus, rosehips, black currant, cranberry, blueberry, elderberry and lemongrass, the flavours are deep but just a bit too tart for my liking. However, I can definitely see this tea blend being used for a tea cocktail in the future. 

Elderberry Green – Organic Mao Jian green tea blended with elderberries is what makes this tea blend. It is my favourite of the four. I did expect it to be a bit more fruity but it was nice to get a more intense green tea taste (vegetal and slightly floral) than anything else.

Roots and Chai (Herbal) – I was most interested in this herbal tea blend because of its take on a traditional chai. The idea of dividing the ingredients into half roots and half spices was appealing. With this, it consisted of dandelion root, chicory root, beet root, cardamom, ginger and cinnamon. The dandelion root was what stood out to me the most. Still packed with flavour, this blend was thought out wonderfully and I plan to try it out in this matcha chai latte recipe from Amoda.