Herbal teas are great for me because I can have them at night without worrying about being awake until 3am. I also think it’s a huge plus when the ingredients are all actual plants instead of mystery flavors and sugar. So I was pretty happy to give this sample of a honeybush tea blend a try. It only has five ingredients and they all actually grew out of the ground.
The dry leaf smells exactly like dried cranberries, to the point that I’m surprised they’re not an ingredient. The tea brews up the same color as a slice of blood orange. The brewed tea tastes entirely of juicy plum and hibiscus. I couldn’t taste the honeybush in it at all. The risk you run with hibiscus is always that it will drown out everything else. That seems to have largely happened here, though the plum does hold its own. I also got a pleasant second steep out of it, which doesn’t always happen with herbals. If I had more leaf, I would try steeping for 4 minutes instead of 5 to see if that helps tone down the hibiscus a bit.
I don’t know that I love, love, love this blend, but you might if you really like plum and hibiscus!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Harlow Tea Co
Description
This caffeine free tea is a great tea for any tea drinker, someone brand new to tea or have tried it all.
Honeybush tea is vey mild, but gives great flavor without caffeine. Floral hints from rose hips, hibiscus flower, and lady’s mantle is balanced with the fruity aroma of dried plums
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Ooh Peppermint! – Harlow Tea Co.
When I received the Oo’ Peppermint Tea from Harlow Tea Co I first thought, “Oh man, this is going to be another one of those teas that extremely overpowered.” For any kind of peppermint tea the creator of said tea uses the oil from the peppermint plant and you can easily overpower any creation with just a tad over the amount of oil that was intended. But Harlow Tea didn’t depend on oil but instead the peppermint plant itself! Which, in fact, makes for a delightful flavor.
But this tea is not just peppermint leaf, its base is actually oolong tea (which gives meaning to the “Oo” in Oo’ Peppermint) with the accompanying flavors of tulsi leaf, almond, and vanilla bean. And I believe that this tea is blended to perfection for its splendid flavor is smooth and comforting. And that means a lot coming from a tea drinker such as myself for I usually try to stay away from vanilla. Paired with the almond makes the two most powerful flavors, the vanilla and the peppermint leaf, agree with each other to a point where you can have a cup that is too strong or too sweet.
Now on to the details about this tea. Harlow Tea Co. is an Etsy run shop and their prices are pretty fair indeed. For this particular cup it is $4 for 1 oz, $6.49 for 2 oz, and $10 for 3 oz. They also offer samples of all of their teas for a mere 50 cents. So if you are curious I would take advantage of their fair pricing.
All in all this will be a tea that I will keep stocked in my pantry. It will be a perfect tea to accompany me in illness or in health. I can’t wait to try more teas from this company for they have already won me over. And just as a side note, to all of you that are aware of/love Twinings Buttermint I would say to try this on for size.
See you for the next cuppa!
Kara
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Harlow Tea Co
Description
Do you love peppermint, well I hope so! This tea gives a kick of peppermint that lingers long after that last sip is taken! Oolong has long, pun intended, been known as an all around pleasing tea for those who may find green tea too bitter and black tea too strong. Love both, then oolong is a perfect combination of the two!
Oo’ Peppermint offers hints of almond and is balanced with pieces of vanilla bean. You may even see some vanilla bean seeds in your tea!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Say Aloha from Harlow Tea Co. . . . .
In theory, Spring is upon us. As the weather heats up, it is time to say goodbye to heavier winter teas and say hello or perhaps Aloha to lighter spring teas. So what is a lighter spring tea?
Well for me fruity greens come to mind. They are lighter in color and lighter in flavor. And Harlow’s Say Aloha with its strawberries and pineapple and other fruits sounds like a spring tea to me.
One misstep I think they took with this tea was using both a hojicha base and hibiscus. Both are such strong ingredients that they wrestle to take center stage, drowning out the fruity flavors in the process. Personally I think the hojicha base would have provided enough of a foundation to give this tea body and depth while allowing the other ingredients to play a bigger role.
As it is now, there is a roastiness from the green tea, a tartness from the hibiscus, and then a generic fruity sweetness from all the various fruits here. Plus, since candied fruit was used, the sweetness is strong, making for another contender in the wrestling match. These components are making war, when they should be blending harmoniously.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Harlow Tea Co.
Description
Houjicha green tea, hibiscus flower, myrtle leaf, strawberry leaf, dried strawberries, dried pineapple, dried plums, and cinnamon dried apples.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Night Time Tea from Harlow Tea Co. . . . Getting Your ZZZ’s in 2017!
What do Red Rooibos, Orange Peel, Lemongrass, Suma Root, Peppermint, Anise, and Hawthorn Berries have in common? They are all IN Night Time Tea from Harlow Tea Co. that’s what!
And before we get to the aroma and flavor of this Rooibos based tisane perhaps you are wondering what Suma Root is? In case you are interested in different roots, herbs, seeds, etc like I am you might be surprised that Suma Root has many things to offer us!
After doing some research I found that the natives of South America would consume Suma Root daily to increase their physical strength, energy, and stamina. Suma Root promotes balance of the hormones and strengthens the adrenal glands and is a powerful immune system booster. Many people use Suma Root today to treat skin problems, diabetes, tumors, and the symptoms of menopause. Of course I have to state that I am not making any claims for this product but I am just telling you I found this information interesting about this powerful root.
Now on to the aroma and flavor of Night Time Tea from Harlow Tea Co. It is certainly minty-fresh which I LOVE and ADORE but it also has a subtle spice that I am chalking up to the Anise Seed. The sweetness comes from the Red Rooibos and the Lemongrass is always a nice touch. The Hawthorn Berries don’t overly contribute to the overall flavor of this Night Time Tea from Harlow Tea Co much but the ingredient still makes sense and follows suit to the detoxifying theme this herbal seems to stand for. The orange peel is identifiable upfront but mellows out quickly because of the lingering mint and I’m ok with that.
It’s rare if I choose an herbal tisane to be my favorite from a tea company that also sells straight-up teas but I have to say this is among my favorites that I have tried from Harlow Tea Co. so far. Night Time Tea from Harlow Tea Co. might just become a staple in my unwinding process.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Harlow Tea Co.
Description
Red rooibos tea, anise seed, peppermint leaf, orange peel, suma root, lemongrass, and hawthorn berries.
Does not contain caffeine. This night time tea is amazing to relax with, and while doing so allowing your body to recover.
Suma root has been used for centuries for its heath benefits, most notably being its effects on boosting the immune system. Suma root is similar in properties to ginseng. Roughly 14 servings per 1 ounce package. This tea is an amazing “detox” tea. Combine this tea in the p.m. with “The Cleanse” in the a.m. for a complete “detox”.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Love, love, love from Harlow Tea Co.
The last few days have been felt like an overload of sweet, milky teas– to the point that even my beloved English Breakfast with cream and honey was starting to feel too sickly sweet for me. (#teareviewerprobs– admittedly, best. problem. ever.) And so, I knew my body was telling me it was time for a little tea/tummy reset.
I knew exactly what I was looking for, digging around in my sample stash– this blend from Harlow Tea Co has been calling my name for days. A honeybush blend with plum and vegetal, herbal notes, I knew it would hit the spot without feeling like dessert overload. Right off the bat, the leaves smell beautiful– fruity and herbal, balancing the flavor-makers like plum with some more medicinal herbs like lady’s mantle, all juxtaposed against the smooth honeybush.
Brewed, it hits all those same notes for me. Fruity, but not too sweet; just herbal enough to feel like I’m doing something good for my body to boot! The one flavor that seems predominant to me is that of plums– prunes, to be exact. It makes sense, as there are large dried plum chunks in the dry leaf, and I adore prunes as a snack.
That said, if these GI-enablers aren’t your favorite flavor, I’d say this tea might not be for you. For me, though, it’s a home run. My stomach is happy, my tea drinking habits are feeling balanced again, and I’ll definitely be rebrewing my sample as many more times as I can get away with (and knowing Harlow, it’s bound to be at least a few). To balance!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Harlow Tea Co.
Description
This caffeine free tea is a great tea for any tea drinker, someone brand new to tea or have tried it all.
Honeybush tea is vey mild, but gives great flavor without caffeine. Floral hints from rose hips, hibiscus flower, and lady’s mantle is balanced with the fruity aroma of dried plums.
Does not contain caffeine
Lady’s mantle is considered in many cultures to be used as a woman’s healing herb.
Ingredients: honeybush tea, dried plums, lady’s mantle, rose hips, and hibiscus flower.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
