Everything about Tea Break blend from Plum Deluxe feels like a spring or summertime brew. The white tea base has a gentle caffeine level and flavor strength, well-suited for a for a light afternoon break, and holds up when brewed both hot or cold. I always associate white teas with classy tea cups or brightly colored iced tea travel mugs. There is just something both classical and whimsical about white tea blends.
This Tea Break blend is very fragrant in the dry leaf, with lush tangerine and sweet melon in equal parts. The leaves smell like a fresh bowl of fruit salad, or a fruity sorbet. Brewed, the tea carries much of the same flavors. There are notes of bright citrus, but the predominant flavor is honeydew melon. The buttery, earthy white tea matches well with the creamy and juicy melon. The melon provides a smooth mouthfeel, and keeps the tangerine from being too sour or biting. The tangerine adds some much-needed liveliness to the laid-back melon, the two flavors working in harmony.
If brewing hot, keep your water temperatures a little lower to be gentle on the white tea leaves. Also try this as a cold brew, where the melon flavors make the blend extra refreshing on a warm day. Versatile and naturally sweet, Tea Break blend makes it easy to take a moment to yourself and relax with a cup of tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description:
Sometimes you just need a break. And whether it’s 5 minutes or 5 hours, our Tea Break white tea is the perfect companion. A fresh, flavorful Fujian white tea base is paired with tangerine and honeydew melon flavors that create not just a heavenly aroma, but a truly relaxing, calming, nourishing, thoughtful cup of tea.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Orange Dreamsicle from Wise Ape Tea Co. . . . .
Wise Ape Company might be best known for its Chocolate Hustle tea blend, a high-caffeine yerba mate blend, but recently, the Wise Ape has branched out to feature an assam black tea blend and an herbal blend as well. Orange Dreamsicle is the new herbal tea offering from Wise Ape.
I love the names and designs from Wise Ape, not to mention their videos featuring a big ape hand brewing tea. Orange Dreamsicle is a great name for a bedtime tea, evoking the flavors of a favorite ice cream bar.
The blend itself is very chamomile-driven, with the gentle lemony tones from that herb taking the lead. Behind the chamomile, I taste vanilla and orange as well, contributing to the creamy ice-cream-inspired flavors in the blend’s name. The vanilla and orange add sweetness without being too artificial or sugary; they are gentle yet flavorful and let you add more sweetness to suit your own tastes. For my personal preferences, I will say that I wish there was a bit more citrus and a bit less chamomile, but it makes sense that there is lots of chamomile for a sleepytime brew.
Smooth and easy-drinking, a great cup of tea to ease you into sweet dreams.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Wise Ape Tea Co.
Description: A dreamy blend of chamomile flowers with subtle hints of orange and cream, combined with adaptogenic super-herbs to support your nightly zen. This relaxing elixir is designed to calm the mind, ease the body, and help you sink into a restorative night’s sleep.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Peppermint from Ceremonie Tea
This tea sample came to me in an individually wrapped and sealed box featuring the beautiful Ceremonie tea logo on the outside and a jewelry-box-inspired light blue color on the inside. Easily one of the nicest tea sample packaging I’ve seen lately.
The tea itself is simple: pure peppermint. The flavor is cooling (“sparkling” as they put it), definitely the menthol-cold feeling of peppermint and not the sweeter green mint of spearmint. Though I should say that the peppermint has its own sweetness, a smooth almost-vanilla creaminess alongside all the icy herbal flavors.
Peppermint is one of those herbal teas that boasts all kinds of health benefits, from aiding digestion, to increasing mental focus, and more. Personally, I like to drink it on days when allergies or dry weather make my throat a little itchy. The sensory combination of warm tea and cooling peppermint are relaxing and soothing. Since it’s a caffeine-free herbal blend, it’s a great night time brew, perfect to help you ease into the evening.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Ceremonie Tea
Description:
This sparkling peppermint infusion is a refreshing treat that delights your senses, cleansing your palate. It’s caffeine-free, enjoyable day or night.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Country Chai Spice from The Cozy Leaf. . . .
Country Chai Spice from The Cozy Leaf already made me feel warm and relaxed just from the name. Makes me think of being under a quilt out at a cabin, maybe beside a warm fire. Beyond the name, this tea had a surprisingly pleasant long list of spices in its ingredients list. Cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom, I expect, but not all chai teas comes with cloves and anise, and the never seem to come with fennel. What a lovely change of pace.
Brewed, this is a sweeter chai, thanks to a hearty serving of anise and cinnamon. The anise isn’t strong enough to make this a black jelly bean chai, but it does add its token throat-soothing, candy-like properties.
Much to my surprise, the ginger and clove take a back seat in this tea, subtle enough that you might miss them if you’re not paying attention. The fennel and cardamom are gentle and earthy, and add a much needed almost-savory pairing to the anise and cinnamon.
Just when I’ve thought that I’ve tried every chai tea I can think of, I find something new. I look forward to getting cozy with another cup of Country Chai Spice from the Cozy Leaf sometime soon.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The Cozy Leaf
Description:
Full-bodied black tea chai made with real chai spices of rich cinnamon, cardamon, ginger, and sweet anise and clove for a healthy and delicious treat.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Lady Grey from IndiasTea. . . .
It’s hard to pin down exactly what makes a tea a Lady Grey blend. I believe Twinings tea company first coined the term, making a citrusy earl grey tea without powerful bergamot oil. Either way, Lady Grey blends tend to be earl-grey-inspired teas blended to be a bit more gentle or ladylike. Lady Grey from India Teas certainly fits into that category.
While this blend has bergamot oil in it, it is at much lower levels than your average earl grey. Instead of the intense bergamot, this tea is accented with lemon peel and orange peel, making for milder and gentler citrus tones.
The leaves and the brewed tea had a fragrance of lemon-vanilla, reminding me of lemon poppyseed muffins. The tea is bright and pleasant, but not overly sweet, still preserving some of the citrus pop of traditional earl grey.
Brewed, the leaves appear much greener than when they are dry. I’m not sure exactly what type of tea leaves are used as a base, but the flavor and color lead me to believe it is a darjeeling, or less oxidized tea. The more delicate leaves suit the airy lemon peel flavors and ladylike theme.
Lemon is the star player in this blend since there is no black tea tannin richness to overpower it. This Lady Grey is light and drinkable, a sunny lemon brew with just a little grounding to distinguish it from an herbal tea.
This is a delectable alternative to powerful earl greys, and might just be your new favorite citrus tea for cold brewing as the weather gets warmer.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: black
Where to Buy: Indias Tea
Description:
Not to go by its name, Ladygrey Tea is a modern creation so as to appeal to every age groups with its distinctly citrus fragrance.
Ladygrey Tea is a Tea blend which has been flavored with the addition of oil of bergamot to provide a relaxing and calming effect by taking you on a only-me journey.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!