I steeped this tea for 4 minutes at 175 degrees with one bag in about one cup of water.
The packet says to steep for 4-6 minutes but it smells plenty strong enough at 4 so I stopped there. Plus, since mint can get bitter if oversteeped, I didn’t want to wait too long.
It smells nice and minty while brewing. I can’t really distinguish it from plain peppermint tea by the smell. After steeping is over, the tea is a yellowish cedar-like color and not noticeably viscous.
First sip: Surprise! It tastes just like mint herbal tea–to me, anyway. Or at least not different enough that you would be positive there’s something else in there rather than just a variation on the minty flavor. (Maybe if I had prepared a cup of plain mint tea at the same time to compare against, that would have helped me pick out any differences, but alas–I didn’t think of that until it was too late.)
What that means is that this could be a clever way to have something caffeinated in the morning if you’re an herbal tea drinker and don’t care for green or black tea or coffee! Or if you only drink black tea with milk (like me) and are avoiding milk because you have a cold, but still need that caffeine boost. (I know that sounds oddly specific but it happens to me more often than you’d think!)
The mate isn’t roasted, I’m guessing, so maybe that’s why it doesn’t have a strong enough flavor to dominate this tea blend (after all, peppermint is a very powerful flavor and it’s hard to overcome that). So if you like peppermint tea, you’ll probably like this!
With sugar: It’s still good and minty, nice and easy on the throat (which means that it’s both good for colds and for vocal health if you’re trying to relax your voice and stay hydrated, although I guess caffeine is a little bit controversial where vocal health is concerned).
Overall this blend is both useful and enjoyable when prepared as a hot tea beverage, and it seems to have plenty of potential as a cold brew as well, although I didn’t try it that way.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Yerba Mate
Where to Buy: Choice Organic Tea
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
UNITEA from BlendBee. . . A World United In One Cup
BlendBee was a company I discovered this year and every blend just blows me away. The kindness, compassion, amazing quality, freshness of the teas and flavors makes BlendBee a company that really sticks out to me. This is one of those companies that once you discovered them, you just can’t get enough.
UNITEA came in last month’s subscription box from BlendBee. This blend is a mixture of Darjeeling, Honeybush, Yerba Mate, China Green Tea and English Breakfast. The description goes like this:
From South America to South Africa, India to China, with a touch of the Enlglish. Let’s all unite with one exquisite cup of tea. Spread love, joy and harmony. Cheers friends!
And Cheers friends is exactly right!
Right off the bat while this tea is steeping you get that familiar English Breakfast aroma wafting through the air. A smell that I haven’t encountered for some time and its definitely giving me love, joy, and harmony.
The flavors mingle together nicely to provide a wonderful cuppa this morning for sure. The notes that really stand out are the Darjeeling and English Breakfast ones. I can pick up the Honeybush as well but I’m not really getting the green tea or yerba mate. But that’s ok. I know they are working silently in the background to complete this gorgeous flavor that is really helping my morning along.
Such a wonderfully robust strong tea that really makes you want to drink it all morning long while checking off projects around the house or even at work. At least that’s what I’m doing now. This tea has a lot going on but everything really works well and jives.
This tea by itself is outstanding but I wanted something a bit more (after I had about 4 cups of it) , so I added in a bit of ginger and peppermint and wow, this tea has taken on a life of its own. Such a well balanced and thought out tea and now it looks like a tea that would be a great one to experiment your blending your own tea blends with.
I’m so happy this one showed up last month. Now I’m wondering what would happen if you threw in a touch of marshmallow root and some orange peel. . . . this could be something fantastic in the making. . .(hint hint BlendBee!!)
If you are looking for that last minute present for that tea drinker on your list, check out BlendBee. I know they will enjoy their blends as much as I do!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: BlendBee
Description
From South America to South Africa, India to China and a touch of the English. Let’s all unite with one exquisite cup of tea. This unique blend is crafted with the worlds best teas for you to truly savor. Spread love, share joy and harmony. Cheers friends!
