Feenduft/Floragold – VariaTea-

One of my tea friends was super kind and gave me a bunch of tea pyramids by Floragold. There was so much variety and while I typically prefer loose leaf, I’ve been enjoying the convenience of being able to grab a tea bag and brew up a cup with such quick clean-up.

If I am being honest, I had low expectations of the quality of the teas. I think there is an underlying tea snob in me that always expects less from a tea bag/satchet/pyramid than I do from loose leaf teas. However, these Floragold teas have been pretty good so far.

This tea, Feenduft aka Fairy Fragrance, is a green rooibos that is meant to taste like strawberry kiwi. Personally, I think that flavor is quite spot-on. The green rooibos base compliments those flavors nicely as well. All elements are present and floral and light, which makes for a nice cuppa.

Of the Floragold teas I have tried, this one is one of my favorites. It’s convenient and the flavors are lovely. It could be a bit stronger on the strawberry kiwi and a bit less base, but that is more a personal preference for my tastes. Besides that, I am a fan.

 


Want to Know More About This Tea?

Leaf Type: Rooibos

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Peppermint Bark from Republic of Tea. . . .

When you go out shopping for Christmas fruitcake and Christmas cookies, you almost HAVE to look for Christmas tea, right? How excited was I to find Peppermint Bark from The Republic of Tea? Very! Because it is an herbal that I can have anytime I want, and it is made with green rooibos which I enjoy instead of red rooibos which I…let’s just not go there.

The tin said “Cool Winter Herb Tea” and under that it said “Organic Green Rooibos with Organic Peppermint, Vanilla, and Cocoa.” All good, right? Until I get it home and get ready to make it and on the back the ingredient list adds “organic stevia leaf.” Argh! WHY?????

I don’t just dislike stevia leaf. For some reason, it makes my reflux flare and my stomach stays ticked off for days. In the interest of tea reviewing I will go ahead and try it since I am already in the midst of a flare anyway. Surely a few sips will be okay…

Six minutes, boiling water, and I have a minty smelling cup. The vanilla is not pronounced and the cocoa is almost undiscernable. This is mostly just mint, but I suppose a white peppermint bark would taste more or less like this. There must not be a lot of stevia because it isn’t particularly sweet, at least, no sweeter than mint already makes things taste to me.

If you are into mint and you don’t mind stevia, you might love this tisane. I don’t hate it, but I wouldn’t go looking for a stevia free version. Honestly, the pretty tin would make a great stocking stuffer. Since I have already opened it, I will pass it on to a friend.

Note to self: Don’t go by the blurbs on the front of tins. Check the ingredient list carefully before you buy.


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Herbal
Where to Buy:  Republic of Tea
Description

Cool Winter Herb Tea – Fill your home with the aromas of peppermint and chocolate with this sweet herbal tea. Green rooibos mingles perfectly with the flavors of organic cocoa and peppermint. This caffeine-free cup is best savored by a roaring fire after a holiday meal to settle the tummy and satisfy your sweet tooth.

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Sage Wellness from Plum Deluxe

I love brewing up tea with fresh herbs from the garden or from the kitchen.  With all the turkey and holiday meals in the wintertime, I feel like sage is an especially appropriate herb to be brewing this time of year, so I ordered a bag of Sage Wellness tea from Plum Deluxe.

 

This is a tea with a green rooibos base, which provides the perfect, gentle background for the other herbs and flavors.  In the dry leaf, there are plenty of fuzzy, grey-green leaves from the sage, a pleasure to touch and smell.  Rose petals and lemon peel add to the dreamy fragrance.

 

Beyond the rooibos and sage, this blend also features fruit pieces like strawberry and rosehips, and fruit flavoring from strawberries and peaches.  The sage feels like Thanksgiving turkey and stuffing, but the strawberry feels like a summer harvest.  With the two fragrant, flavorful factors of sage and strawberry, the whole blend is reminiscent of a fresh, blooming herb garden.

 

Not too sweet and not too savory, the fruit and herbs come together to make an atypical take on familiar flavors.  With a blend so beautiful to look at and so tasty to brew, I like to pretend that I was wandering in a fantasy garden, plucking bits of sage and picking perfect strawberries to add to my perfect cup of tea.

 


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description:

Nourish body + soul with the wisdom and healing of fresh herbs and fruits!  Our sage + green rooibos herbal tea artfully blends lemon and orange with a pinch of strawberry and peach to make a delightfully refreshing, flavorful tonic wonderful for when you have those emotional blues or just want a cup of something calm and restorative.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

On the 7th Day of Christmas, 52 Teas gave to me….Crisp Cranberry Soda Green Rooibos Tea!

On the 7th Day of Christmas, 52 Teas gave to me….Crisp Cranberry Soda Green Rooibos Tea! So for this one, the smell of the dry leaf brought back memories! When I was younger my mom was really into sparkling water mixed with a splash of cranberry juice and a lime. As a little girl, I of course always wanted to copy her. This blend smells exactly like that “soda” drink tasted…down to the carbonation. Although, I’m not sure how you can “smell carbonation”, but I swear I can!

                This blend is a total thirst quencher. I’m drinking it hot because I’m not very into icing my teas, but I can imagine this would be so amazing iced. I love the green rooibos base. It is lighter and not as “woody” as red rooibos. The cranberry is not super tart, but it’s still present and I feel like I can taste a little bit of lime or citrus. Then,  of course, there is the “soda” aspect. If you did not tell me that this blend was meant to taste like a “soda” drink, I would still have thought it did- that is how accurate this tea portrays crisp cranberry soda. It is so crisp and it tastes so hydrating I am literally gulping it down. I really did enjoy this one and I feel like it totally represented its name 100%. It would be amazing in the summertime as an iced beverage or even as a tea-popsicle! This one is a winner for sure!


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Green Rooibos
Where to Buy:  52Teas
Description

This tea is not available but click below for teas that are.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Inner Fire from Urbal Tea

Sometimes a tea aroma stumps my nose and today that tea is Inner Fire from Urbal Tea. This flavored Oolong/Green Rooibos/Yerba Mate blended base smells like cinnamon apple sauce with a hint of blueberry. The funny thing is I can’t see that it has ANY apple in the blend!

Inner Fire from Urbal Tea contains Dandelion leaf, Chickweed, Bilberry, Horsetail, Fennel, Yarrow, Eleuthero, Burdock root, Green Rooibos, Cinnamon, Rhodiola root, Dandelion root, Wuyi Wulong Oolong, Ginkgo, Yerba Mate, Green Mate, Licorice Root, Red Clover, Tulsi, Hibiscus, Blueberries, Cinnamon, Calendula flower, Corn Flower, and natural flavors.

I was feeling pretty confident that there were enough other ingredients to combat the hibiscus that was in there and I was right! I could taste a pleasant combination of herbs in my first sip followed by various berries. I was able to pick up on the fennel, green rooibos, Yerba Mate, and Tulsi in follow-up sips.

I appreciate the blends I have tried so far from Urbal Tea because of the massive amounts of herbs that go in them. They all seems to play together nicely. I think that is harder to do the more herbs you throw in the mix but Urbal Tea does it right! They also use just the right amount of hibiscus – when they do use hibiscus. When it comes to Inner Fire from Urbal Teas I’m thrilled they used a blended base of Oolong, Green Rooibos, and Yerba Mate…I’m not sure if I have had a trio based combo using these three before – let alone one that incorporates so many awesome herbs! 2 thumps up on this one!


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Oolong/Green Rooibos/Yerba Mate Blend
Where to Buy: Urbal Tea

logoDescription

This blueberry cinnamon blend helps you burn fat and promotes weight loss by boosting your body’s ability to metabolize.

Contains: Dandelion leaf, Chickweed, Bilberry, Horsetail, Fennel, Yarrow, Eleuthero, Burdock root, Green Rooibos, Cinnamon, Rhodiola root, Dandelion root, Wuyi Wulong Oolong, Ginkgo, Yerba Mate, Green Mate, Licorice Root, Red Clover, Tulsi, Hibiscus, Blueberries, Cinnamon, Calendula flower, Corn Flower, and natural flavors.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!