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!
Wild Jujube from Teasenz . . . . .
This is the tisane I was most excited for in my review box! As a child I LOVED those Jujyfruit candies, big win for nostagia. But also a health win since instead of processed candies, these are the Cure-All “Red date” fruit that’s popular in Eastern medicine, purported to help with anemia (perhaps vitamin c to help iron absorb?) and insomnia (hmm the scientist in me thinks any nice warm drink should help your body sleep, but we’ll see.)
The dry tisane smells like kettle corn and looks like baby bagel chips about the size of a dime! They feel spongy to the touch, the only other thing I’ve consumed with this texture was… ha well a candy, man my sweet tooth is getting outed in this post, BUT this is a plus for my “less added sugar” new year’s resolution.
So I left in the dry fruits in my cup to brew, trying a very eastern approach, not at all because I was traveling and my filter was to small… They were big enough pieces that it was easy to filter out while I drank, without the fear of tiny pieces getting stuck in my teeth, only to be discovered after smiling a lot at someone important (cringe).
The infusion is a wonderful cider color and it smells of caramels like a distant campfire. It tastes like streusel, a sweet buttery goodness, even though I didn’t add any sweetener… or butter (not a trend for me). Welp, one sip and I’m done for, might as well just order more now. There’s also a hint of Asian pear flavor this medium bodied drink. This would taste so, so great with shortbread cookies, pity there’s no oven in this hotel.
Insomnia verdict: I’m sleepy afterwards but I’m not sure if it’s correlation from binge watching SYFY’s Magicians in the wee hours or causation from the tea. Another experiment is called for, woohoo!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Dried fruit
Where to Buy: Teasenz
China’s most popular herbal tea made from wild jujube fruits from Ning Xia. The jujubes are dried while fresh and afterwards cut in slices with an optimal thickness for a perfect & healthy infusion.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sour Appletini from DAVIDsTea. . . .
My coworker and I have a spiritually violent “hot potato” going with teas. We complain and toss things onto each other’s desks with aplomb. We also occasionally sneak things into each other’s collections and wait with bated breath to see whether the other will notice.
I got up to go to the bathroom yesterday and when I came back, this was on my desk. “What’s wrong with this one?” I asked. “I don’t feel it,” she said, shrugging.
So I decided to channel J.D. on Scrubs and make myself a nice iced appletini. But from tea. Sadly, not drinking booze at my desk. (Would that make more pleasant? Irritable? Sleepy? Not exactly something I can test.)
I think this is fairly pleasant. It tastes like a slightly synthetic apple (think: Jolly rancher) mixed in with a bit of citrus and tart hibiscus. (Turns out this “hibiscus” flavor is beetroot, according to the ingredients). It’s a big sweet, a bit tangy.
It’s also a really cute shade of pink.
I suspect this blend was intended to be iced. My coworker only drinks her teas hot (I’m flexible). Hot, this would probably be a little too strong & tart. I’ve found that icing teas tends to bring out the sweetness.
This tea is currently available on David’s Tea’s site. It is also available to be stolen off my desk if you’d like to continue the tradition of Hot Potato!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Tisane
Where to Buy: DAVIDsTea
Description
Class up your summer soirée with this sweet, mouthpuckering green apple blend
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie from Tealyra. . . .
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie is one of many Tealyra teas shared with me by a friend. It is also the first Tealyra tea I am ever trying. Comprised of apple pieces, hibiscus blossoms, rose hip peels, white chocolate chips, flavoring, freeze-dried yoghurt and rhubarb pieces, I decided this might be best as an iced tea. I steeped the tea per the recommended steeping parameters, brewing this for 4 minutes in 200F water and topping it with ice.
In light of the hibiscus and rosehips, I expected some of that familiar tartness but there is none of that here. None at all. If I am being honest, in a strawberry RHUBARB pie tea, you would expect some tart so this is one instance where the absence of hibiscus is not really desirable. Without any tart component, the sweet of the apple takes over. I get some semblance of what could be strawberry flavor if I put my mind to it but more than anything it is a generic apple/fruity flavor. Between the sweet and the creaminess from the white chocolate, this does have a dessert vibe but not pie per se.
Drinking this tea, I have to say it is a bit of a miss for me, at least when prepared as an iced tea. That doesn’t mean that it is bad because it isn’t but it does fail to deliver on what’s promised by the name. If I stretch my imagination, I can taste a fruit and whipped cream dessert or maybe even a strawberry and white chocolate mousse but nothing says baked goods here and rhubarb is missing entirely. It’s a fun tea to try and I would be interested to see if this is more reminiscent of its namesake when brewed as a hot tea. One thing’s for sure…despite not being what I expected, it does have me excited to try the other Tealyra teas in my stash.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal/Fruit Tisane
Where to Buy: Tealyra
Description
Classic flavors of home baked strawberry rhubarb pie! Reminiscent of summer harvested rhubarb baking extravaganzas, our Strawberry Rhubarb Pie has real rhubarb pieces blended together with a touch of hibiscus and apple, giving it the authentic sweet and tart taste of summer’s harvest. Garden fresh, light and comforting, Strawberry Rhubarb Pie herbal tea is naturally sweet and will convert any rhubarb naysayer with its deliciously mouth-watering flavor and appeal
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Elderberry Blend from Storehouse Tea. . . .
Lately I’ve had a few medical issues pop up where I’ve been a bit more careful about the tea I drink. I’ve found myself more and more drawn to herbals. Herbals and I have always had this weird love hate relationship. I’m not a fan of extremely “herbally”flavored teas that are just too spiced ie have lots of ginger. So when I was going through my tea stash and came across Elderberry Blend from our friends at Storehouse Tea I was delighted.
Elderberry Blend is a fun mix of hibiscus, elderberries, dried currants, raisins, rosehips and other natural flavors. As you can imagine this tea is tart but tart in a good way.
Brewed hot, this tea gives so much tart loving that just hits the spot. Tart fans rejoice! This tea delivers a wonderfully tart berry flavor that doesn’t get to the point where you are puckering your lips, even after the tea started to cool. I destroyed my first cuppa and went greedily for a second.
Cold brewed overnight, this brilliant pinkish hue tea gives that same tart feel but in a more refreshing way. You again have that same familiar tart flavor but the tartness just has this crisper feel that I felt was way more satisfying than when this tea was brewed hot. I also found that the berry flavors had a larger role and weren’t hidden behind the hibiscus as much. I added a touch of spearmint into the cold brew mix and I couldn’t have been happier with the results.
Storehouse Tea is another one of those hidden gems on the internet when it comes to tea shops. I’ve been impressed with the majority of the teas I’ve tried from them and after trying this one, I’m waiting to try more of their offerings.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Storehouse Tea
Description
This succulent blend of Caffeine Free herbs and fruits imparts a refreshing deep berry flavor, tart with a subtle sweetness creating a satisfying deep dark red infusion. Contains powerful anti-oxidants which may help expel toxins, relieve sore throat, and shorten the flu cycle. Excellent iced.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!