Traditional Medicinals offers a variety of tea blends to help ease whatever ails you. I got an opportunity to try their Raspberry Leaf blend. I most often encounter raspberry leaf as a component in other tea blends, but this time I am brewing up a cup of pure raspberry leaf on its own.
Raspberry Leaf is supposed to help ease the discomfort many women feel during that time of the month. I can’t speak to how it affected my discomfort, but I can reflect on its flavor. This tea brew up a yellow amber color and tastes, mildly fruity and slightly nutty. It has a surprisingly full mouthfeel, with just a hint of black tea astringency. There is a slightly more vegetal aftertaste that I don’t prefer, but it mellows out nicely when mixed with a dash of honey.
I like this tea as an herbal alternative to the usual herbal tea suspects of ginger, mint, and chamomile. The ease of their sealed tea bags makes this an easy choice to pack when traveling or stash in your desk at work.
Browsing the Traditional Medicinals catalog, I see many other flavors I want to try and ailments I would like to treat. Even if the healing effects are more mental than physical, I love the comfort of a flavorful cup of tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Traditional Medicinals
Description: Of course, the delectable fruit of Rubus idaeus is a well-known and well-loved summer treat, but it’s the raspberry leaf you’ll find in this tea. With a silvery under leaf that is reminiscent of the moon’s glow, European and Native American women have used raspberry leaf for thousands of years for menstrual support, menstrual cramps and during pregnancy as a healthy tonic to help prepare the womb for childbirth.* We love this tea for its gently nurturing properties, and its robust taste, which is reminiscent of a delicate and mildly fruity black tea.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Fennel Licorice from Hampsted Tea and Coffee. . . .
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!
Happy Tummy from Allegro Tea
After a big dinner or a stressful day, I tend to reach for an herbal tea to help me and my stomach relax. Recently, I tried Happy Tummy from AllegroTea.
From the scent of the dry leaf, I would have guessed that this was a pure-mint blend. The leaves were fragrant with icy cold peppermint, strongly reminding me of the mint flavor in classic candy canes.
I brewed this tea hot, which allowed the cinnamon and ginger to warm up the mint. With powerhouse ingredients like ginger and mint, this blend could have easily become overpowering. Instead, the spices and herbs occupy a delicate balance: not too spicy, and not too menthol-like.
Having this balance of herbal sweetness, warm spiciness, and cool mint makes drinking this tea a very pleasant sensation. I know its ingredients are designed to help calm a stomach ache, but they feel both soothing and invigorating in my throat and chest as well. I’ll have to stockpile some of this blend for the inevitable sick day to help me feel better.
A clean and simple herbal blend, that can help turn around just about any ailment. Warm you up, cool you down, settle your stomach, and make you smile.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Allegro Coffee and Tea
Description:
Organic peppermint, ginger, cinnamon, restorative dandelion root and spearmint have been calming tummies for centuries. We’ve blended them in just the right harmonious proportions in our Happy Tummy to gently soothe and balance your digestive system and calm your state of being.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Francesca from Sicilian Tea Company. . . .
It’s always good to have a chamomile blend or two in your tea cabinet for those when you need something extra comforting and caffeine-free. Francesca from Sicilian Tea Co. could be the perfect choice for your evening cup of tea.
Some people consider herbal teas to be medicinal, with herbs like lavender and chamomile to help combat stress. Both of these fragrant blossoms are in abundance in this blend, bringing their lovely color and shape to the dry leaf, and the lemony and floral scent of the brew.
There are also cinnamon sticks, Saint John’s Wort, and licorice root in this blend. The cinnamon adds just a hint of spicy warmth, rekindling thoughts of spiced baked goods. A touch of licorice root adds smooth sweetness to the brew. As an added bonus, licorice root can help soothe a scratchy throat, so the ingredient helps make the brew extra restorative.
I’m not sure that Saint John’s Wort adds much flavor, but the herb is rumored to help heal against depression. I’m not sure if I felt those effects or not; brewing a cup of tea is always my happy place, and helps me out of a dark mood.
This tea is all herbs and blossoms, so it’s completely caffeine-free and full of natural flavors. If the licorice root isn’t sweet or soothing enough, it wouldn’t hurt to add a dollop of honey to your mug for a little extra sugar. After brewing a cup of Francesca blend, there’s not much left to do but sit back, relax, and have a sip of tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Sicilian Tea Co.
Description:
Naturally caffeine free, this chamomile blend won’t keep you up all night like some other sleepy time treats.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!