Warm Fuzzy – Hand-blended tea from PaperBoxGoodies

by MrsPremise

Today’s blend, Warm Fuzzy, comes from Etsy shop PaperBoxGoodies. This teabag came with a cute tag and tea charm, helping remind me that each bag is hand-filled by the small Etsy shop.

Warm Fuzzy lives up to its name,  With fuzzy chamomile blossoms and green tea, this is a cozy, relaxing blend.  The grassy green notes pair easily with the floral, lemony chamomile.  For a tea with blend of herbal ingredients, this was gentle and sweet, definitely not bitter or medicine-like.  I think this blend is best with touch of honey to bring out the natural sweetness in the chamomile. I prefer teas with a bit more spice or boldness, but this is a kind, comforting brew for when you need to calm down and drink something nice-and-easy.

I don’t see Warm Fuzzy in stock on PaperBoxGoodies’ Etsy shop, but there are other intriguing flavors with names like Purple Snozberry, Bluesfest Green, or Passionmint Green.  After the quality of Warm Fuzzy, I look forward to trying other blends from PaperBoxGoodies.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: PaperBoxGoodies
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

MrsPremise

Growing up, I drank herbal teas like fresh ginger tea during New England's harsh winters and iced blueberry tea during its humid summers. Over time, I was tempted into trying a wider variety of loose leaf teas by the fandom-themed blends available online. I have since gone on to design my own blends, and I greatly enjoy drafting up flavor ideas and drawing tea labels. When I'm not thinking about tea I can be found reading novels and comic books, playing video games, or watching movies; my favorite genres being history, humor, sci-fi, and fantasy. Generally, I prefer bold teas: spicy chais, rich black teas, even smoky lapsang souchong on occasion. But I have also dabbled in herbal rooibos, flavored oolongs, and traditional matcha. I'm glad to be expanding my palette by tasting and reviewing new teas and blends. Find me on Steepster: http://steepster.com/A2shedsjackson Fandom blends: http://www.adagio.com/signature_blend/list.html?userId=292149

This post was posted in Fruit/Herbal Tisane, Green Tea, Paper Box Goodies

Orange Spice from PaperBoxGoodies. . . .

by MrsPremise

One of my favorite things with the cold weather is being able to add spice to everything: cinnamon, cloves, ginger, the more the merrier!  One of the best partners to all this spice, is juicy orange and citrus flavors. I love the idea of decorating my home with clove-studded oranges for the holidays to release their sweet and spicy aromas throughout the house.  Not to mention, a nice slice of orange is the perfect garnish for a chai-based hot-toddy, with honey and lemon.

These are all the delicious orange and spice combinations I think of when brewing a cup of Orange Spice from PaperBoxGoodies.  I’m not entirely sure what all is in this brew, since it’s not currently active on the PBG Etsy shop, but I believe it is an herbal blend from its amber color and sweet taste.

The best part of this blend is that the dry leaf does not contain hibiscus, so the tangy, pink herb can’t take over the blend.  The orange is the main ingredient, adding plenty of sweet and tart flavor.  This fruity, juiciness is balanced by a large helping of cinnamon, adding its warm, herbal tones.  I think I see bits of ginger in the dry leaf, but the flavor is very gentle in the actual brew.

Juicy orange is the main flavor, closely followed by warm cinnamon.  Neither ingredient gets too tart or too spicy, and they don’t overpower each other.  It’s hard to go wrong with a classic taste combination like orange and cinnamon, so support a special tea Etsy shop and give one of the PaperBoxGoodies teas a try today.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: PaperBoxGoodies Etsy shop

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

MrsPremise

Growing up, I drank herbal teas like fresh ginger tea during New England's harsh winters and iced blueberry tea during its humid summers. Over time, I was tempted into trying a wider variety of loose leaf teas by the fandom-themed blends available online. I have since gone on to design my own blends, and I greatly enjoy drafting up flavor ideas and drawing tea labels. When I'm not thinking about tea I can be found reading novels and comic books, playing video games, or watching movies; my favorite genres being history, humor, sci-fi, and fantasy. Generally, I prefer bold teas: spicy chais, rich black teas, even smoky lapsang souchong on occasion. But I have also dabbled in herbal rooibos, flavored oolongs, and traditional matcha. I'm glad to be expanding my palette by tasting and reviewing new teas and blends. Find me on Steepster: http://steepster.com/A2shedsjackson Fandom blends: http://www.adagio.com/signature_blend/list.html?userId=292149

This post was posted in Fruit/Herbal Tisane, Paper Box Goodies

Chocolate Candy Cane from PaperBoxGoodies

by MrsPremise

Just because the holiday season is behind us doesn’t mean that the time for holiday-themed teas is over!  In the spirit of keeping the good holiday vibes going, I brewed up a cup of Chocolate Candy Cane from PaperBoxGoodies.  I don’t see this flavor listed on the PaperBoxGoodies Etsy shop so I’m not sure of the ingredients, but it looks to be an herbal blend with mint, chocolate chips, and licorice root.

 

I was excited about the herbal nature of this blend.  I love candy cane teas, but they all seem to have a black tea base which makes it hard to drink when I don’t need all the caffeine.  Having an herbal decaf option was just the tea I needed when relaxing and recovering from the busy end of the year.

 

Brewed, this blend is smooth, sweet, and minty.  The dry crispness of the mint is lessened by the licorice root.  Any herbal harshness that sometimes comes with pure mint teas is lessened by the rich chocolate chips.  Minty candy cane is the main flavor, followed by a mild cocoa aftertaste.  The licorice root doesn’t impart a specific flavor, but adds a natural sweetness and a smooth mouthfeel.

 

This is one of those teas that would benefit from a strong brewing and then made into a latte with whipped cream.  I didn’t quite have enough in my sample to go the whole latte route, so I’ll have to try it next time.

 

Overall this was a great decaf candy cane blend that I would try again next holiday season.

 

 

 

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: herbal

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

MrsPremise

Growing up, I drank herbal teas like fresh ginger tea during New England's harsh winters and iced blueberry tea during its humid summers. Over time, I was tempted into trying a wider variety of loose leaf teas by the fandom-themed blends available online. I have since gone on to design my own blends, and I greatly enjoy drafting up flavor ideas and drawing tea labels. When I'm not thinking about tea I can be found reading novels and comic books, playing video games, or watching movies; my favorite genres being history, humor, sci-fi, and fantasy. Generally, I prefer bold teas: spicy chais, rich black teas, even smoky lapsang souchong on occasion. But I have also dabbled in herbal rooibos, flavored oolongs, and traditional matcha. I'm glad to be expanding my palette by tasting and reviewing new teas and blends. Find me on Steepster: http://steepster.com/A2shedsjackson Fandom blends: http://www.adagio.com/signature_blend/list.html?userId=292149

This post was posted in Fruit/Herbal Tisane, Paper Box Goodies

Purple Snozberry from Paper Box Goodies. . . .

by VariaTEA

Anyone who has ever read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or watched the famous film has heard of a Snozberry. I mean “The snozberries tastes like snozberries” line is one of the more popular since it left people wondering, “what the heck is a Snozberry?!” Here’s the thing…DO NOT GOOGLE WHAT A SNOZBERRY IS unless you are willing to have your childhood ruined. The internet gave the term all sorts of disgusting meanings that make that line a little dirty for a PG-rated film. So, what I recommend instead is to either (a) come up with your own meaning for the word, or (b) accept the flavor of this Purple Snozberry tisane by Paper Box Goodies as an accurate interpretation of what a Snozberry is and move on with your life.

Just looking at this steep, you can see it is rather whimsical as the Butterfly Pea Flower slowly releases its purple coloring into the water. The end result is a color that I wish I could accurately describe because it is beautiful. I went searching for the right name and came up with the following descriptions: A dark plum, a deep red wine but with blue undertones as opposed to red, and Pantone 2449 but a little more purple added to it.

Tastewise, I would say that snozberries have a hibiscus tartness upfront. That tartness melts away to a sweeter berry flavor at first. Alas, the more you have, the more the tartness builds on your tongue. Underlying the hibiscus, is a slightly vegetal flavor, as if there were a bit of green tea here, yet I know this to not be the case. Perhaps that is the pea flowers contribution? Personally I do not have much experience with this ingredient so it is something I would like to explore more.

Anyways, while I enjoyed the nostalgic quality of this fun little teabag, beautifully packaged with a lovely little tea tag, I find the tart hibiscus to be too overbearing. I used 200F and steeped for the recommended 5 minutes though I imagine if this were steeped for less time, that may tame the tart or perhaps a larger mug would help in that respect? I think there is potential here but when not brewed properly, it is like a berry that’s still too sour to enjoy.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Herbal
Where to Buy:  Paper Box Goodies
Description

Weird name, right? Well, it is a magical blend of Wonka-esque proportions. This blend is made of Butterfly Pea Flower, strawberry, and hibiscus, and it brews up(you guessed it) PURPLE!! The prettiest tea you’ve ever sipped.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

VariaTEA

Hey there! My name is Rachel. I’m a twenty-something from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who loves dogs and has a bit of an obsession with tea. As a child I hated the stuff since all I ever knew was Red Rose (no offense to Red Rose). However, a few years ago that all changed. I was on a diet and desperate for new flavors without adding calories and that’s when I turned to tea. I started off by going to DAVIDsTEA and Teavana for all their dessert-inspired flavors, and since I didn’t know any better, I bought 100 grams each of about twenty-something different teas. This was okay for the teas I liked but for those I didn’t I needed to find some way of getting rid of them. Enter Steepster.com. This is where I met some incredible tea friends, discovered tea swaps, and learned of so many amazing tea companies. My desire to try all the teas grew and since joining three years ago I have tried over a thousand different teas. I have learned what ingredients I love and I have learned what flavors I don’t like. I determined my go-to brewing method is Western-style with no added milk or sweeteners, though I also enjoy cold brewing, iced teas, teapops, lattes, and smoothies. I have yet to brew gong-fu style but I hope to do so just as soon as I get the proper teaware to do it. About a year ago, I actually stopped drinking tea but as my stash of over 200 teas started aging I decided I needed to respark my interest. I chose to take a 365 days of tea challenge on Instagram in which I post a new tea picture every day. So far it has been rather successful as I find myself drinking (and buying) more and more tea each day. Plus it enabled CuppaGeek to find me and invite me here to SororiTea Sisters.

This post was posted in Fruit/Herbal Tisane, Paper Box Goodies

Dragonberry from Paper Box Goodies. . . .

by Sophia

When I think of dragonberry, I think of something sweet and berry flavored. Maybe a mix of raspberry, strawberry, and blueberry…or perhaps a blueberry, mango, and papaya blend with a little coconut thrown in. At least that’s what I would do if I was to create a “dragonberry” tea. Upon opening my little sample baggie I noticed that this tea was in a tea bag (ie: not loose leaf) so I inspected the leaves through the bag and they looked and smelled very herbal-y. On scent, I didn’t detect much berry scent. Interesting.

I steeped the tea for 2-3 minutes as suggested on the tea bag’s tag. I smelled the steeped liquid and again, detected no berry but instead there was that herbal scent again. It was herbal and had just the slightest hint of lemon. When it comes to the taste, I would say that the scent translated over very accurately. Its initially very herbal tasting and then some slight mint flavor comes into play followed by a hint of lemon. The first thought that came to mind for me was that it was quite refreshing. I bet it would taste yummy iced. Although this isn’t what I think of when I hear the word “dragonberry”- it was still a good tea that was a definite thirst-quencher!

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Green
Where to Buy:  Paper Box Goodies
Description

his high-antioxidant blend is both tasty and good for you! Goji berries, Dragonwell green tea, and lemongrass make this a zesty, vegetal, and slightly sweet green tea

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Sophia

Hi, my name is Sophia. I am a first time mother to a beautiful little girl who will be 1 in July 2017. I spend my days at home with her and when I get a minute to myself, I usually spend that time making, drinking, or researching tea! My love for loose leaf tea is relatively new. When I was pregnant with my daughter, my mother (a tea addict herself) brought me to DAVIDsTEA. I enjoyed a cup of their Coconut Cream Pie Oolong and was instantly hooked! Since then, my addiction has grown to fill entire cabinets, and shows no sign of stopping. I am the creator of the Facebook group CommuniTEA where we have one big tea discussion. It is a great group for those new to the tea-world. I feel strongly about spreading the joy of loose leaf tea. I like making instructional videos and helping those that are new to the art of tea-making so that they, too, can share in the happiness that tea brings. I am excited to see where this hobby takes me and I will continue to spread the joy!

This post was posted in Green Tea, Paper Box Goodies