With having twin two year old nieces, sharing tea with them has always been top on my list. One of the first presents I bought for the girls was play tea sets. I was so happy when I heard they played with them all the time.
So the other day when I asked them to have a tea party with me, they both said “We are ‘cited!” When I told the that I had a princess book to go along with our tea- well squealing was their reaction with lots of clapping.
Bellasia: Once Upon A Tea is a book with an incredibly lovely message. The story more or less is a story about a queen and king who couldn’t have a baby on their own but with the help of some magical friends they are able to achieve this dream. The story is based on the author’s (Mercedes) real life story. Her and her husband struggled to have a child on their own and decided to adopt a little girl into their lives to provide them with their fairy tale ending. When it was time to read princess books to her daughter, Mercedes noticed along with her daughter, that there was a lack of stories about adopted princesses. Hence, Bellasia Tea was born.
As far as the actual story goes, the story is quite heart warming and knowing the background of the creation of the story just makes the experience even more so. The princess is grown from a magical brew that the magical friends created. As the princess grows up, she learns she has special powers to make her the defender of their realm. I will say that my twin nieces did have trouble sitting through the story since the book is on the longer side but these girls are more on the go kinda gals so I probably should have waited until nap time instead of smack dab in the middle of play time.
But, they did love drinking their tea while listening to the story. I cold brewed Dragon Berry to accompany the story time and the girls flipped out over this tea as well as most of the adults that tried the tea. Dragon Berry is a fruit tisane consisting of berries, cherries, hibiscus and other flavors.
Yes, this tea has a tart flavor but not an overwhelming one, which surprised me. It was more of a fresh tasting fruit punch with a tart background. The hibiscus was not overwhelming and the sour cherry flavor was a delicious twist. Everybody loved the tea and I had to brew up more. I think next time I would throw in some orange slices to really dress the tea up.
All in all, this is such a great book and one with such a lovely story. I think the story may be better suited for older kiddos than my 2 year old sweeties, but it is a wonderful story to share with children, the illustrations are gorgeous, and the tea is delicious!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Fruit Tisane
Where to Buy: Bellasia Tea
Description
My name is Mercedes, Yep the queen in the book and as you’ve might of guessed I have a beautiful daughter named Isabella. I started Bellasia for a few reasons. My husband and I could not conceive so we adopted the most beautiful little girl in the world, she’s a shining star that completes our lives. I grew up on Fairytales and Happily Ever After’s so naturally so did she. I noticed that she was quite distraught that there were no adopted princesses and even in some case shed a not so flattering light on non-birth parents as a whole. I felt pretty bad for her, so I would think of fairytales that had adopted princesses and that made her smile.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Mystic Melon from Bellasia Tea.. . .
If you ever want to throw a tea party for the little princes or princesses in your life, check out Bellasia Teas. They have a great line of herbal teas that will engage any little ones taste buds along with a marvelous book about an adopted princess who realizes its up to her to have a Happily Ever After.
The reasons behind the book are heartwarming and pure. The story really is amazing and I would highly recommend picking up a copy for the little one in your life. I’m going to review the book separately so I don’t want to give too much away but let’s just say, this book made me smile. . a lot.
The tea line offered ranges from Mystic Melon to Dragon Berry to Fairy Sunset. The majority of the teas do have a fairy tale like inspired name, which I love. Mystic Melon was the first tea I had to try.
Being not such a huge fan of fruit tisanes, I wasn’t sure if I would like this but honestly, this tea had me from the very beginning. Huge chunks of apple, pear, goji berries, and honeydew along with a few other herbal inclusions. Brewed up with water at about 212F and allowed to steep for 5-7 minutes, this tea delivers a sweet melon flavor that I adore.
The melon flavor is the major note that you do get and it is sweet but there is this welcomed tartness that contrasts the melon quite nicely. I can see how kids would gobble this tea up in a second. The tea blend does steep up into this gorgeous pink brew that just captures your heart.
As much as I adored this tea brewed up hot, cold brewing this tea overnight really delivers this gorgeous melon treat. The melon has more of a melon flavor and not such a sweet melon while the rest of the ingredients help bring in that contrast yet again.
All in all, this tea has won my heart and completely surprised me. Even after drinking tea for so long, every once in a while you drink a tea that completely takes you by surprise and you wonder-what have I been missing by not drinking fruit tisanes.
From the adorable tin packaging with dragons, fairies, and unicorns, to the gorgeously illustrated book, to the wonderful flavors-Bellasia Tea has won my heart over again and again.
Highly recommend this tea company for any tea party for your little princes and princesses!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Bellasia Tea
Description
Apple, Pear, gojiberries, hibiscus, rosehips, sweet honeydew melon & flavoring
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!