Fennel and licorice go hand-in-hand in my opinion. The fennel bulb has very licorice-like notes among its green herbal flavors, complementing the black-jellybean anise flavor we recognize as licorice. This blend from Hampstead Tea & Coffee also adds a touch of peppermint to provide a more dynamic flavor profile.
In order for me to drink tea all day long, I need naturally caffeine-free herbal teas to balance out the menu. I love popular herbal tea flavors like ginger and mint, but I am always on the lookout for more unusual herbal teas to add to my cupboard. Fennel and Licorice certainly qualifies as a less traditional herbal blend to keep in the rotation.
Beyond the flavors, these herbs offer some healing effects. Fennel helps with digestion and is said to promote feelings of comfort and relaxation. Licorice root works as a natural sweetener, helping you cut down on the sugar, as well as serving as a sore-throat soother if you are coming down with a cold, or if you need to prepare yourself to perform an opera.
If ginger teas are too spicy and mint teas too much like menthol, try this Fennel and Licorice blend to invite a new set of herbs into your teacup.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Hampstead Tea & Coffee
Description:
Keeping harmony within you is important to help balance the demands of a busy and impactful life. Fennel and Anise seeds in with selected Liquorice root and Peppermint leaves will keep you focused and posed for action.
Fennel is an excellent digestive and breath freshener, valued for its comforting and balancing effects. Our unique infusion blends fennel seeds, liquorice root and peppermint leaves to help regulate the digestive system.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Organic Royal Camomile from Hampstead Tea. . . .
Hampstead Tea has been around since the 1980’s. They are committed to biodynamic practices in producing what they sell; i.e. putting in more than is taken out. They offer organic tea with fair trade options.
This particular tea came in an individually wrapped tea bag. And yes, they spell it Camomile. Is that a British thing? Is it just the Americans who spell it Chamomile?
This particular tea came in an individually wrapped tea bag. And yes, they spell it Camomile. Is that a British thing? Is it just the Americans who spell it Chamomile?
If the herbs are fresh, I don’t detect huge differences from one chamomile to another in the ones I have tried, so a deciding factor for me is going to be whether the product is fresh and whether it is organic. Adding on biodynamic and fair trade makes this company even more attractive.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Hampstead Tea
Description
A beautiful golden infusion made from prized sweetly scented camomile petals. Camomile relieves inflammation, soothes and relaxes.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Organic Energy Chai from Hampstead Tea. . . .
“Organic Energy Chai” by Hampstead Tea was originally “BIOCHAI” (all caps). The original bag (which I am sampling here) touted the ingredient “biodynamic black tea leaves.”
They’ve since changed their branding to a more delicate branding scheme that involves a white background and no more claims of things being “biodynamic.” Which is sort of a relief, because when I see “BIOCHAI” or “biodynamic,” I ironically don’t think of something being biological at all. I think about things that are biologically enhanced, like a Terminator/Borg situation. Like this tea got taken over by nanobots.
This delicate, sweet tea doesn’t seem like it’s going to “harness your inner energy and bring the diva out in you!” I actually find this to be more soothing than HYPE. It’s just a tasty blend that is helping nudge me into wakefulness on this cloudy Monday.
Speaking of which, I definitely have “a case of the Mondays” today. I went to the gym, but all of my usual companions slept through it, which was lonely. So I watched YouTube videos of people painting while walking slowly on an incline on the treadmill. It was the saddest workout you’ve ever seen.
Which is not to say my workouts are usually zesty, but at least if people I know are there, I half-ass it instead of no-ass it.
This lackadaisical attitude toward fitness means I am the slowest, pant-iest drag on the group’s speed of all time.
This is why I am the group’s Resident Black Tea Drinker. It’s the only thing that will nudge me into the next gear. I’d just rather be drinking tea than hustling.
I’m sure you gals understand.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Hampstead Tea
Description
Chai comes from India where Darjeeling Black Tea is blended with exotic herbs and spices to make luxurious,aromatic drink. Let it harnessIngredients:Black Tea, Ginger, Lemongrass, Peppercorns, Cardamom seeds and Cloves
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Organic Mint Green Tea from Hampstead Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Hampstead Tea
Tea Description:
Refreshing and healthy, our mint green tea has a mellow flavour and cooling finish.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When it comes to mint teas, I often find myself preferring mint tisanes or pure mint leaves (and my preference is peppermint) over mint combined with tea leaves, because as I’ve found a few mint teas where the mint has overwhelmed the flavor of the tea leaves so much that the taste of the tea is almost indiscernible. But that is not the case of this Organic Mint Green Tea from Hampstead Tea.
In fact, the green tea seems to dominate! The peppermint is strong enough to be tasted here, but, it isn’t so strong that it overpowers the green tea … instead, the sweet, smooth flavor of the green tea works to soften some of the zesty flavor of the peppermint … making for a much nicer delivery. This doesn’t taste like mouthwash … it tastes like a sweet, lovely, delicious tea!
Oh, sure, it has that crisp, invigorating flavor of peppermint, and the palate feels clean and refreshed after sipping … but, it doesn’t feel like I poured mouthwash in my teacup and started sipping. It has a lightly vegetative, slightly buttery taste of green tea … and the palate notices this immediately. Then, the zesty flavor of peppermint is recognized.
I love that this tea is organic and fair trade … but what I love most is that this tea is more tea than it is mint! Well done, Hampstead Tea!
Organic Fairtrade Green Tea from Hampstead Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Hampstead Tea
Tea Description:
Delicate and fresh tasting, our biodynamic green tea is valued for its detoxifying and antioxidant properties. Its unfermented leaves are only lightly steamed before being dried.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I am drinking the bagged version of this tea (it is also available loose leaf), and I am pleasantly surprised by the delicious flavor of this bagged tea. Generally, my automatic response to a tea bag is “ugh” as I would prefer loose tea to bagged tea 9.9 times out of ten. (Note: for that rare, .1 moment, I generally want a bagged tea because I’m in a bit of a rush and don’t have time to do all the fuss and mess of loose leaf, nor do I have a lot of time to really savor the flavor of a loose leaf, but I still NEED tea).
But, really, the “ugh” response to Hampstead Tea’s bagged teas is unwarranted, because I’ve really been very impressed with the bagged offerings that I’ve tried from them. This tea is no exception.
It has a sweet, strongly vegetal flavor. The vegetative flavor has a grassy undertone and an overtone that is a bit like mildly flavored, steamed vegetables with a touch of melted butter. There is even a hint of kelp in there somewhere, complete with a savory salty tone in the distance. Fortunately, the kelp tone is rather subtle and does not overpower the cup, as I am not a big fan of seaweed-y flavors. With this tea, that kelp-ish note seems to work well, as I am finding this tea to be quite enjoyable.
A very pleasant green tea, and really, I expected nothing less from Hampstead Tea!