Awakening Tea from The Algonquin Tea Co.

awakeningTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Herbal/Functional Tisane

Where to Buy:  Algonquin Tea Co.

Tea Description:

Blends nutritious and supportive herbs with stimulating herbs, producing a balanced, uplifting tea that energizes without the side-effects of caffeine.

Learn more about this tea here.

Learn more about subscribing to Postal Teas here.

Taster’s Review:

This is tasty … for an herbal tea.  And that last part is the problem.  I’m not big on herbal teas.  I never have been.  I’d rather drink Camellia Sinensis.  And unfortunately with the Postal Teas 9th edition box – all three selections were herbal teas.  Herbal teas from Algonquin.

Now, granted, all of these Algonquin herbal teas were unique and quite different from anything that I’ve ever tried.  And that’s both a blessing and a curse because while there may be an ingredient or two that I recognize in this blend, for the most part, I’m drinking herbs that I’m not really familiar with so it makes it difficult to recognize and reconcile what I’m tasting.

But I still tried it because that’s what I do.  I taste teas and then I write about what I’m tasting.

In this blend, the most easily identifiable ingredient and flavor is the mint.  It’s crisp and adds a nice, refreshing element to the cup.  There’s ginseng – not a favorite herb of mine.  I can taste the earthiness of the ginseng.  Nettle is in this too and I’m glad to report that while I get hints of the bitterness that goes with Nettle, it’s not a strong or dominant flavor.

Then there are some other ingredients that I’m less familiar with, like alfalfa (oh, sure, I know what it is, I just don’t recall having it in a tea any time recently), astragalus, angelica, joe-pye and calamus.  It also has labrador, which I’m pretty sure I’ve had before, but again, it’s not something I’m familiar enough with to taste it and say, ‘yep, that’s labrador’ with complete confidence.

The combination of these ingredients is supposed to be a stimulating and energizing tea without caffeine.  OK, but, I kind of like my caffeine.  The only time that I’m not up for some caffeine (tea caffeine, that is, not coffee!) is when I’m getting close to bedtime.  So, I can’t say that I really want an herbal, caffeine-free stimulant.  I like my stimulants caffeinated, thank you.

Overall, it doesn’t taste bad.  It tastes minty with an herbaceous and earthy background.  Mint is the top note.  It’s tasty.  If you’re looking for a caffeine-free stimulant, you should try it.  If I were looking for a caffeine-free stimulant, I might first consider that I’m trapped in a bad dream.  But if after determining that I’m not in a bad dream and I’m not having some kind of mental breakdown and I still – for some unfathomable reason – want a caffeine-free stimulant, this is something I’d consider.

I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed to learn that the 9th edition box from Postal Teas was all herbal selections.  While I did enjoy these herbal teas for the most part, herbal selections just don’t excite this tea drinker all that much.

That said, these teas from Algonquin were alright and I drank them and didn’t hate them.  There were definite “pros” to them.  For example of the three herbals that I tried, there were no hibiscus in any of them!  Nope, not even a little bit of hibiscus.  Big bonus points to Algonquin for crafting herbal blends without that horrible hibiscus stuff.  And I also appreciate that they’re unique.  There are ingredients that I’ve not been exposed to, and like I said, that’s both a blessing and a curse.  I would like to be able to taste something and say “oh yeah, that’s the __.”  But, I can’t really reconcile some of the flavor notes because there are ingredients that I’m not so familiar with.

But the benefit is that it’s something different.  This doesn’t taste like the average herbal blend from ABC company, you know?  So like I said, blessing and a curse.

Overall, I’d say that while my experience with this 10th edition of the Postal Teas subscription was not the most exciting and thrilling of boxes that I’ve received over the past 30 days or so, I didn’t dislike the teas that I drank from the box.  And that’s a “pro” too.

Cinnamon Apple Honeybush from 52Teas

Cinnamon-Apple-HoneybushTisane Information:

Leaf Type:  Honeybush

Where to Buy:  52Teas

Tisane Description:

Organic, caffeine-free honeybush blended with real freeze-dried granny smith and red delicious apples, cinnamon chips and organic flavors.

Learn more about this tisane here.

Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.

Please check out my campaign to take over 52Teas here!  Please help me keep 52Teas alive and kicking out those teas every week!

Taster’s Review:

It seems that this fall season, Zoomdweebies is embracing the apple!  There have been several apple-y flavors released this year.  That’s OK with me, because I’ve been enjoying them!

For this review, I decided to try something a little different with the brewing process.  I steeped it in my Breville One-Touch (nothing different about that) but instead of going with 500ml of water, I went with 750ml of water and poured the whole pouch (1/2 ounce) of tisane into the basket of my Breville.  The reason for this is that when I was measuring out the 3 bamboo scoops of tea into the basket, I noticed that there was about a scoop left of the tisane (maybe a little more than 1 scoop, like a heaping scoop).  So, I decided to to ahead and add a little more water to the jug and use the whole pouch.   I set the parameters for 195°F and 10 minutes steep time.

The result is a tasty pot of caffeine-free tisane!  Two very large mugs full to the brim of cinnamon apple-y goodness.  Before I took my first sip, I set my Breville One-Touch to “keep warm” so that I could have another hot cup of yummy, but shortly afterward, I thought that I’d like to try it iced.  So, I poured the rest of the tea into a lidded cup so that I could refrigerate it.

This blend is a really delightful combination of flavors:  the sweet apple notes with just a hint of tartness toward the finish, the zesty, warm notes of cinnamon and the honeyed nutty flavors of the honeybush.  It’s pleasantly sweet – no need for additions with this one – so if you’re one who typically adds sweetener before you taste it, I would recommend trying this one before you add anything to it.  If you like your drinks sweet, a dollop of honey would be a nice addition.

Served warm, I find it to be somewhat hot apple cider-like and I really liked that.  It also makes a refreshing cold drink, although I found that as it cooled, I could taste a slight chemical note from the flavoring.  It’s very slight and it was not as apparent to me when I drank the hot tea.

I enjoyed this, but not quite as much as I enjoyed some of the other apple offerings this season from Zoomdweebies.

Peace Tea from The Algonquin Tea Co.

tea-peaceTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Herbal/Functional Tisane

Where to Buy:  Algonquin Tea Co.

Tea Description:

Peace Tea instills the tranquility, patience and beauty of the earth. This rich, bittersweet blend grounds us in a flowing meadow of healing herbs. Peace tea is ideal for calming down before, during or after any busy period.

Learn more about this tea here.

Learn more about subscribing to Postal Teas here.

Taster’s Review:

So, my Postal Teas box arrived the other day!  Yay!  A beam of happiness shines like a ray of sunshine when tea is in the mailbox!  And I do really enjoy the Postal Teas subscription.  So far, with every box that I’ve received from them, I’ve tried teas from companies that are new to me.  I like that.  I like that a lot!

I’ve never really made a big secret of the fact that I prefer camellia sinensis blends over herbal teas/tisanes.  Not a big surprise, right?  So, I was a little less than enthused when I opened the box this month and found not one … not two … but ALL THREE teas in the box were herbals.

What?  

So, it probably goes without saying that this month’s box was a little bittersweet.  I was not thrilled about receiving three herbal teas in the box BUT I was happy to be trying teas from a new-to-me company:  Algonquin Tea Co.

And while I do prefer camellia sinensis, I am willing to try herbal blends, and I actually do like to have an herbal tisane later in the evening to encourage some peace and quiet so that I can get a good night’s rest.

Which is why I chose to try this Peace Tea first.  The ingredient list suggests that there are quite a few calming herbs in the blend.

Ingredients:  Blue Vervain, Lemon Balm, Catnip, Oat Straw, Red Bergamot, Chamomile, Hops, Motherwort, Valerian, Skullcap and St John’s Wort.

To brew this tisane, I used my Kati tumbler and measured 1 1/2 bamboo scoops into the basket.  I heated 12 ounces of water to 195°F and then let it steep for 8 minutes.

As the description suggests, there is some bittersweet going on here.  This is a tisane that I recommend adding a dollop of honey (raw, locally harvested honey if you’ve got it!) to help tame the bitterness a bit.  After I added a little bit of honey, I found this to be an enjoyable cup.

The vervain and the hops is where a lot of the bitterness is coming from.  I taste hints of mint-like flavor from the catnip and there is a touch of citrus flavors from the lemon balm and bergamot.  I was really hoping to taste more of the bergamot in this.

Mostly, what I’m tasting is a very herbaceous flavor.  It is bittersweet.  Almost medicinal.  There’s a light floral note that is nice and it develops as I continue to sip.  I pick up on more of the chamomile flavor as the tea cools and guess what?  I was actually happy to discover the chamomile!  I think that the reason for that is because it’s more of a familiar flavor amid the medicinal notes.

All that said:  this isn’t a bad tisane.  I’m not hating this.  It’s not horrible.  It’s alright.  But this is not something I’d want to reach for on a regular basis.  The citrus notes and the hint of mint are this tea’s saving grace, because without those notes, I don’t know that I’d enjoy this.

The pros:  there is no hibiscus in here.  I enjoy the citrus-y notes and the touch of mint.  The floral notes are pleasant.  With a bit of honey this tastes much nicer and I am noticing myself relaxing and calming down a bit – I feel the peace that the name of the tea promises.  These are good things!

The cons:  It does have a strong bitter tone to it and while I can appreciate a contrasting, savory bitter note in a tea or tisane now and again, this is a stronger bitter taste than I’d like it to be.  It has a medicinal quality that makes me feel like I’m drinking something functional or “good for me” – which I am, but I don’t like to feel like I am.  I like to get my functional, good for me teas in sweeter, better tasting blends.

I think I’d like this a lot more if it had more citrus-y flavors, or more flavors that I don’t normally associate as “herbaceous.”  As a drink, it’s alright.  As a source of peace and calm, I appreciate how this tea is inspiring those things in me at the moment.  I feel noticeably more relaxed now than I did before I started sipping.

Cotton Candy Honeybush Iced Tea From Southern Boy Teas

SBT-HONEYBUSH-Cotton-CandyTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Honeybush

Where to Buy:  Zoomdweebies

Tea Description:

Our cotton candy iced teas have been a big hit, so I decided we really should have a caffeine-free, honeybush version.

Learn more about this tea here.

Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.

Taster’s Review:

I love the cotton candy teas that Zoomdweebies creates.  So I was confident that I’d enjoy this one too.

And I do.

I way, way oversteeped this – but because it’s a honeybush blend, I wasn’t worried.  When I say “way, way oversteeped” what I mean is that I infused 1 quart of water with the sachet for over 30 minutes.

I forgot to set my timer and I stepped away and then I looked at the clock a half an hour later and remembered that I had this tea steeping!  Yikes!

But again, no worries.  And no bitterness.  Honeybush just doesn’t get bitter.  The same is true of rooibos.  However, I’ve found that if you use too hot of water to steep either one, the leaves may impart a funky, sour wood kind of flavor that I don’t really enjoy.  But since I heated the water to 195°F rather than boiling, I didn’t have to worry about that funky flavor either.

The sweet, sugary cotton candy flavor is strong and I like it with the honeybush base.  The lightly sweet flavor of the honeybush highlights the sweet candy notes.  I don’t taste a strong nutty or woodsy note from the honeybush.  I taste some background flavors of the honeybush, but it doesn’t overpower the fluffy notes of cotton candy.

This flavor works really well with the honeybush, in fact, I think that I might prefer the honeybush base to either the black tea or the green tea versions of cotton candy iced teas from Southern Boy Teas!

Another yummy iced tea.  Very refreshing!

24 Days of Tea Holiday Countdown – Day 21 from Teanzo 1856

We’re getting there!  This 24 days has gone by so quickly – it’s already day 21!  Can you believe it?  This year is almost gone – a new one about to begin!

dominoornieFor today’s artistic inspiration, I sorted through some of my old photos online and I came across some altered dominoes that I created.  I altered a bunch of dominoes (the back of the domino is a really neat surface to use as a canvas for artwork) and I turned them into little ornaments and sold them one year at the Christmas Bazaar in Ridgefield, WA.  That was more years than I care to count at this point!  Wow!  I can’t believe how long ago that was.

Anyway, here is one of the dominoes that I altered.  I drilled a hole in the domino to be able to add a jump ring and a loop to the domino, then I added the star and swirl design, painted it, and then I added some rhinestones to the piece for some extra sparkle.  Then I protected the surface with a resin that adds a glass-like surface to it.  The final piece was bright, sparkly and shiny – just the kind of thing you want for your holiday tree!

I sold a bunch of these things – back then, I was also selling tea and that was my primary purpose at the bazaar, I wanted to sell my teas but I decided that since I was paying for the booth, that I’d take full advantage of it and sell some other stuff too.  I did pretty well, I managed to sell enough to pay for the cost of the booth plus buy a few holiday gifts for some of the more expensive people on my list.  It was a day well spent.

Tranquil Spa Blend

Tranquil-Spa-BlendTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Rooibos (Green)

Where to Buy:  Teanzo 1856

Tea Description:

Tranquil Spa Blend is a relaxing ginger mint orange herbal blend.  Rejuvenation at its tastiest.  We wanted to take you away to a spa with our teas, so we put together a brand new Spa Trio:  Dream Spa Blend, Tranquil Spa Blend, and Bliss Spa Blend.  Each of these is caffeine free and blended to perfection to give you a spa feeling and taste.  Each of our spa blends comes in a green latch tin with 2 oz of tea.  You can also purchase them as a Spa Trio.  Add a little spa to your day!

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Having already tried the Dream Spa Blend and the Bliss Spa Blend from the “Spa Trio” and really enjoying them, I was hopeful that I’d have a similar experience with this Tranquil Spa Blend.  Then I read the ingredients and saw that eucalyptus was in the blend and I’m hopeful that the eucalyptus wouldn’t ruin this blend for me.  Let’s keep our fingers crossed and go into it with an open mind!

To steep this tisane, I used my Kati tumbler.  12 ounces of water heated to 195°F, I poured the contents of the sampler pouch into the basket of the tumbler and then added the water.  I steeped this for 6 minutes.  Usually I would steep a tisane for a little longer but I was a little cautious this time with the eucalyptus.

Now it’s time for a sip!

OK, this isn’t bad!  It’s actually quite tasty.  Yes, I taste the eucalyptus, but, I am getting stronger notes of orange and ginger and the eucalyptus seems to enhance the ginger notes a little bit here.  Rather than causing the whole cup to turn to a bitter, medicinal mess, it is actually enhancing the blend.  That certainly is an unexpected turn of events!

The eucalyptus seems to soften the ginger a little bit.  Ginger usually has a lot of peppery bite to it, but the eucalyptus has soften the blow of the ginger bite here.  It’s still warm and ginger-y pleasant, but the ginger has a smoother flavor now.

I don’t taste a lot from the mint, but there is a background minty taste.  I like the way that peeks through.  The green rooibos is the perfect base because it adds a light, fruity sweetness to the cup.

Everything is balanced here.  The orange is bright and juicy.  The ginger is warm without being too spicy.  The eucalyptus isn’t overpowering (yay!) and the mint is a soft, subtle flavor.  It’s soothing without tasting medicinal.  It all works with the ‘tranquil’ vibe that the name of this tea suggests.

A SURPRISINGLY good tisane.  I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I am.