I recently tried the organic “Latvian Sun” sampler from the Lauku Tea company. The set came with a honey rooster on a stick, carved apple wood spoon, cute postcards and more. The three teas included are Anna’s Brigita’s Daylight blend, Anna’s Afternoon blend, and Evita’s Evening blend, all are herbal and naturally caffeine free.
The blends are truly handmade, with the leaves, berries, and roots very chunky and visible in the brew. I appreciated their beautiful online guide to the ingredients used in their tea. For the best flavor profile and a consistent brew, be sure to try and mix up the bag and put a balanced scoop of leaves and berries into your cup. Too much of one or the other ingredient doesn’t show off the true blended flavor of the teas.
Brigita’s Daylight blend was the original blend that inspired the company. It was a unique herbal with fermented apples leaves. This was a great departure from the sweet apple-pie-with-cinnamon teas I’ve tried over the years. Brigita’s Daylight blend was still sweet with apple flavors, but had a more subtle, natural taste, coupled with the gently fruity and floral notes of accompanying black currant leaves, lemon balm, and clover flowers.
Anna’s Afternoon blend might be my favorite of the bunch. This tea was driven by smooth berries, earthy herbs like oregano, and topped off with fresh and lemony chamomile. There was also a nice taste of mint in the blend, not as cold or sharp as peppermint, but sweeter almost like the wintergreen taste from a birch tree cutting.
Last is Evita’s Twilight, which is definitely meant as a bedtime tea with relaxing valerian root in the blend. This tea was a little less focused on the sweet green notes of berries and leaves, and featured more herbs like thyme and heather. The valerian root brought a different kind of sweetness, not quite like licorice, a bit brighter almost like non-spicy ginger or crushed pine needles. The grounded flavors suited the low-key bedtime brew.
All of these teas went incredibly well with a splash of honey, which helped the flavors pop and made the teas all the more comforting and soothing. Maybe that’s why the sampler set comes with a honey rooster, though that guy is almost too cute to brew. I’ll have to save him for my next cup.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Lauku Tea
Description: Brigita’s Organic Daylight Blend is sunny and stimulating, when you need a clear head and good spirits.
Anna’s Organic Afternoon Blend is uplifting and indulgent, for when you need a reminder that all is good.
Evita’s Organic Twilight Blend is elegant and calming, when it’s time for rest and reflection.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sage Wellness from Plum Deluxe
I love brewing up tea with fresh herbs from the garden or from the kitchen. With all the turkey and holiday meals in the wintertime, I feel like sage is an especially appropriate herb to be brewing this time of year, so I ordered a bag of Sage Wellness tea from Plum Deluxe.
This is a tea with a green rooibos base, which provides the perfect, gentle background for the other herbs and flavors. In the dry leaf, there are plenty of fuzzy, grey-green leaves from the sage, a pleasure to touch and smell. Rose petals and lemon peel add to the dreamy fragrance.
Beyond the rooibos and sage, this blend also features fruit pieces like strawberry and rosehips, and fruit flavoring from strawberries and peaches. The sage feels like Thanksgiving turkey and stuffing, but the strawberry feels like a summer harvest. With the two fragrant, flavorful factors of sage and strawberry, the whole blend is reminiscent of a fresh, blooming herb garden.
Not too sweet and not too savory, the fruit and herbs come together to make an atypical take on familiar flavors. With a blend so beautiful to look at and so tasty to brew, I like to pretend that I was wandering in a fantasy garden, plucking bits of sage and picking perfect strawberries to add to my perfect cup of tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description:
Nourish body + soul with the wisdom and healing of fresh herbs and fruits! Our sage + green rooibos herbal tea artfully blends lemon and orange with a pinch of strawberry and peach to make a delightfully refreshing, flavorful tonic wonderful for when you have those emotional blues or just want a cup of something calm and restorative.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!