Welcome to our first edition of Tea Time at A Bibliophile’s Reverie! Every now and then we’ll feature tea reviews written by our resident tea enthusiast (and fellow writer and book lover) Sara Letourneau. We’re very excited to have this new article series for you, and we hope you enjoy it!
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What’s the first thing you think of when you hear about a green tea named Oasis? Is it something like, “Yes! That’s exactly what tea should do: create an ‘oasis’ state of mind for the drinker”? That was my initial thought when I discovered Tea Forté’s Oasis Green Tea. I’d been looking for a tropical-like, loose-leaf green tea to brew at home, and Oasis seemed like the ideal tea to start with.
The Basics
Tea Forté’s Description: “Prized green tea leaves delicately layered with the zest of citrus and fragrant floral blossoms that softly unfold with each refreshing, restorative sip.”
Ingredients: green tea, marigold flowers, orange peel, rose petals, cornflower blossoms, and natural lemon flavoring.
Steeping Instructions: Steep 1 teaspoon per 8 oz cup for 2 to 3 minutes at 175°F (not quite boiling).
The Experience
A mingling of two scents greeted me when I opened the Oasis canister: clean and grassy green tea, and… lemon? Yes, lemon flavoring may be listed as the final ingredient, but it permeates more than the floral notes do. I wouldn’t describe it as overpowering, but for someone who’s not a huge lemon fan it wasn’t a welcome surprise. The leaves of Oasis are appealing to look at, though. The blend is like a miniature flower garden, a bed of dark green with lots of yellow (marigold) and bits of blue (cornflower) and rose.
When brewed as instructed and without sweetener, Oasis produces a beautiful golden-yellow brew with a hint of green. The green tea, floral, and citrus scents balanced out, giving the drink an earthy yet sweet aroma. It’s such a harmony that any worries I’d had about a lemon-dominated tea dissipated with the steam – and so I took my first sip.
Balance continues to be the key as you taste Oasis. The green tea undertones allow the other flavors, particularly rose and lemon, to poke through, so you get a little bit of everything that Tea Forté promises. Altogether the tea is light, mellow, and smooth, with a subtle sweetness and a tangy, slightly acidic finish. It reminds me of summertime, of sitting on the back porch just after the grass has been cut and relishing the bright colors of blooming flowers. Not tropical by any means, but it still offered the “oasis” state of mind I was seeking, only in a different way.
Oasis is a delicate tea, so be careful when brewing. It can grow bitter if the water’s too hot or if you let it steep too long. Keep it to the recommended 2- to 3-minute timeframe to get the flowery, soothing cup that Tea Forté intended.
The Aftertaste
Unlike what its name and packaging implies, Oasis Green Tea isn’t quite a “tropical” green tea. (And I admit, I should have researched more before buying the tea with that impression.) However, it still makes for a mellow, delightful cup. And with summer just days away where I live, this was the perfect time of year to try Oasis. The lightness and additional flavors also make this a perky alternative to straight green tea. So, if you don’t normally like green tea, consider giving Oasis a try.
Grade: 8.5 / 10
Recommended For:
- Tea Drinkers Who: Like green tea, prefer little or no caffeine, or want to give green tea a second chance
- Time of Day: Afternoon or evening
- Time of Year: Summer or spring
You can purchase Oasis Green Tea at Tea Forté’s website.
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In addition to being a tea enthusiast, Sara Letourneau is an avid reader and a writer who… well, enjoys writing! Currently she’s working on a novel, and she writes CD reviews, book reviews, and occasional articles on the craft of writing. She’s also a published poet with works avaiable in print and online publications. Visit Sara at her personal blog, Facebook, or Twitter.
If you’re a tea seller and would like to have one of your products reviewed here, please visit the Contributors page for contact information.
A Bibliophile's Reverie 
Wonderful review! I have to be in the right mood for green tea and this definitely looks like one to try when I am. I’m attracted by the aesthetic quality, which doesn’t always translate into taste. I’d be interested to know what you think of Jasmine Flower one day – one of my favourites.
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Thanks very much, Sara! Jasmine tea’s one of my favorites, actually. Not sure if you were referring to a specific brand (were you?), but I do hope to review jasmine teas here in the future.
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No not a specific brand – just the one where the bud opens into a flower as it brews 🙂
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Oh, THAT’S what you meant! I’ve actually never seen a blooming jasmine tea before. That would be a real treasure!
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Great idea. I even follow characters (Like Faith Hunter’s Jane Yellowrock) that love tea!
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Thanks very much! 🙂 We could add Bilbo Baggins from “The Hobbit” to that list of characters, right?
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great review
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Thanks, Kryssityna!
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I’ve only ever tried the Black Currant black tea, which I really like.
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How does that one taste? I’ve seen Black Currant in a couple stores that sell Tea Forte tea, but wasn’t sure whether I’d like it enough to buy it.
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Interesting, i’m not really a tea person, but I’ll have to check it out! 🙂
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Glad it piqued your interest, Cianna! Do you use Facebook? If you do, and if you end up trying this tea, let me know what you think of it by posting on my Facebook profile or sending me a PM. There should be a link to the page at the end of the article.
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Fantastic review 🙂 I’m looking forward to seeing more reviews on the tea- especially when it comes to ‘character’ inspired teas. Welcome to the group!
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Thanks, Jessica! Yes, we’re planning to contact that tea company to see if we can get some samples of the character-inspired tea line. Cross your fingers!
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I will certainly keep them crossed for you 🙂
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Wow, i have never wanted to try green tea, but now i do! Thanks for the blog!
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Thanks, Toni! Hope you enjoy it when you try it for yourself. 🙂
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Love loose leaf tea but I’m ashamed to say I have never heard of this company before! Thank you for this review! Their prices aren’t bad either!
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Thanks, Danyel! Yes, Tea Forte’s prices are a great value. They frequently have sales on their tea, too, so sometimes it’s worth waiting before purchasing from them. 😉
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Great review!!
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Thank you, Christine!
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Thank you!
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Green tea, orange peel, rose petals, and lemon … oh my how heavenly this sounds !! Such a relaxing blend. This would be a wonderful additional to anyone’s tea cupboards. Thanks for the review and the chance to make a new addition to my own cupboards. Have added this one to my purchase list when I order my next teas !
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Thank you, Teresa! If you do end up trying Oasis, come back and let us know what you think of it. Also, maybe you’ll be interested in the next tea we’re going to feature here. That review should be ready next week. 😉
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I love this brand of tea, although I prefer black flavored teas. I recently gave my son’s teacher the iced-tea carafe as a gift and in December, we gave away hundreds of these bags of tea to the clients at my fitness studio!
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OMG Sheila!! You’re from the Armitage4Clairmont page, which I am a huge supporter of. I love your page!! 😀 Thanks for leaving such a great comment in responce to Sara’s review of Tea Forte’s Oasis Green Tea. Maybe, I’ll need to seek this out at Wegmans, if it is available there.
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Those are really neat ideas, Sheila! Was the tea a hit with your fitness clients?
I’m a fan of Tea Forte as well, so you’ll see more reviews of their tea here in the future. Black teas are also on the review agenda too. Not with the next review (which should go live next week), but I’m planning the review after that to cover a flavored black tea from another teaseller.
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This is interesting, I am looking for low caffeine/caffeine-free teas as I am breastfeeding, and this one definitely looks like it is worth a try. Great Review.
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Thanks very much! One of my co-workers was drinking a specific kind of tea while she was breastfeeding. It was supposed to help with lactaid production. If you’d like, I can ask her what she was using.
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Hi, Thank you for the offer, that would be great if you could find out. Always useful to know something like that!
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Got the name for you. It’s Mother’s Milk by Traditional Medicinals. My co-worker said it’s worked wonders for her breastfeeding. The tea’s available in most grocery stores and drug / convenience stores here in the USA, and also online at Amazon. Its ingredients include fennel, anise, coriander, lemongrass, and spearmint.
Here’s a link if you’d like more information: http://traditionalmedicinals.com/products/mothers-milk/
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Thank you so much for finding out the name of that tea for me the, I will definitely give that a try.
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Thank you, I am a avid tea drinker, I really love golden monkey. I took to drinking tea after reading historical and especially a Discovery of Witches 🙂
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Thanks, Stacy! I’ve yet to try any monkey-picked tea, though I hear Teavana’s Monkey-Picked Oolong is incredible.
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What a well organized and valuable review for someone like me (a coffee drinker 🙂 ) I always want to try tea more often, but I never get out of my comfort zone of Earl Grey. Thanks for broadening my tea horizon. I look forward to future reviews.
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Thanks, Angela! 🙂 We actually posted a new tea review last week. Here’s the link: https://bibliophilesreverie.com/2014/07/07/tea-time-teavana-tolife/. The next one after that is most likely going to be a flavored black tea.
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I have learned a lot about tea since reading A Discovery of Witches – and discovering so many of my friends are tea drinkers.
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I haven’t read “A Discovery of Witches” yet, so I’m not familiar with the story. Sounds like I should, though, if tea’s a big part of the story!
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I’ve recently been reading about the health benefits of orange peel. I hadn’t thought about having it in tea. Silly me!
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You can put just about any kind of dried fruit or fruit peels in tea! Berries, lemon, papaya, apples… If you’re interested, the tea I most recently reviewed here (ToLife from Teavana) has fruit in there as well.
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Honestly, I’m more of a coffee person, but now I’m very tempted to have some tea because of these reviews.
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Ha ha! Glad you enjoyed it, Mel. 🙂
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Sounds like a great tea!
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Thanks, Marla!
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This sounds like a really nice tea!
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