My family carries on the old school art of drying flowers to “preserve” the heartwarming memory from when they were given, and this bag of Greek Mountain Tea from Klio Organic is a full on bouquet of petite yellow love from Mount Olympus!
The thick flowering stems smell of basil, and crushed mint, but feel fuzzy like sage leaves versus the roughness of traditional camellia Sinensis tea leaves. Quite a bit smaller as well, with dozens of tiny pale flowers, light green buds and silver glistening leaves.
I brewed at 175 F and immediately the scent morphs towards the hints of sage I got earlier. There are a lot of essential oils on top, and a good amount of natural sweetness in this veridian brew that would probably be fine for most folks, especially given the light citrus aftertaste. My sweet tooth, however, preferred to add a few drops of plain stevia.
Being naturally caffeine free, this is a mind clearing tea, as it’s unique flavors make you step away from the daily grind and focus on the surprise in your mug.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Klio Organic
This variety, Sideritis Scardica, comes from the legendary Mount Olympus, in the Balkans, situated between Thessaly and Macedonia. It has been tested for antioxidants by Brunswick Labs, (www.brunswicklabs.com) the leader in bio-analtyical testing. It has a mild and very pleasant taste and aroma.
One ten ounce serving of our certified organic Mount Olympus Greek Mountain Tea has an ORAC 5.0 antioxidant score of 6,600 and 160mg of polyphenols.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Cold and Flu Relief from Virginia Tea Company
Sometimes you need an herbal tea with lots of roots and leaves and ingredients to make you feel like you’re brewing up a cup of healthiness. With peppermint, yarrow flower, ginger, echinacea, and elderberry this Cold & Flu Relief blend from Virginia Tea Company really fits the bill. I’m not a doctor, but if you buy into this kind of thing, these herbal ingredients promote all kinds of benefits like aiding in digestion (mint), settling a nauseous stomach (ginger), and boosting your immune system (echinacea). There’s also a little pop of vitamin c from the tart elderberries.
This naturally decaf blend is good to drink any time of day, especially if you’re feeling under-the-weather and are getting ready for a midday nap. The overall flavor is smooth and minty, cooling on an itchy throat, with a slight sweet, licorice root undertone from the yarrow flower. Though there is ginger in this blend, the spice is very mild. You’re not drinking this tea for a kicked-up spicy chai. This is the perfect cup to drink when you need something soothing and gentle, or need a warm beverage to mix with honey to soothe a sore throat.
Whether you aren’t feeling well or are just having a hard day, this blend will help you find some relief and comfort.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Virginia Tea Company
Description: Mother always said the best thing for the flue is to drink something hot! Even better, this hot liquid also includes healing herbs to help your immune system fight your illness.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Jelly and Ice Cream from Teapigs. . . . .
I recently tried a cheeky box set of tea samples from Teapigs, and their packaging and labels were so cute and irresistible. One flavor that wasn’t available in the box set was a blend made in honor of the Teapigs 10th anniversary in 2016. It was meant as a limited edition blend, but it made such a hit that you can still place fresh orders for the blend today.
Jelly and Ice Cream was such an unusual flavor name and profile, I just had to check it out. This is an herbal blend, made with lots of fruit pieces and natural flavoring. The dry leaf smells both fruity and nutty, almost like sugary cereal, and brings to mind sticking your nose into a box of Crunch Berries. The blend brews up as a rich, amber-pink color and tastes much like its scent, only smoother and sweeter. The great news is that even though the tea is pink, there’s no sour hibiscus petals, so fruity-tea lovers of the world can rejoice that this blend isn’t overpowered by hibiscus tartness.
The flavors are just balanced enough to give me a full taste of both the jam-like raspberries and strawberries, and the sweet-cake tones of vanilla, cream, and biscuits. Despite the dessert-like name, there’s something bright and breakfast-oriented about this blend, like toast with jam, or fruity cereal in milk. This blend entices me to make it part of my balanced breakfast! Besides, it makes me feel whimsical and like a kid eating dessert-first.
Not being British, I’m not sure if this tea is based on a type of dessert in real life, but no matter what side of the pond you’re on, it’s hard to argue against flavors like jelly and ice cream and cake.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Teapigs
Description:
In 2006 the Iphone didn’t exist, the Kardashians were not a (big) thing, nobody #HASHTAGGED anything, people asked directions, smoking in pubs happened, Lance Armstrong was liked, Desperate Housewives ruled our lives, Woolworth’s pick’n’mix ruled our kids lives, avocado’s were not cool and teapigs was launched. We celebrate 10 years of great quality tea with this blend of strawberry jelly & ice cream. Grab a mug and raise a Birthday toast to teapigs!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Daily Support from Lipton Teas . . . . .
Lipton, yes that Lipton with the red tagged black tea bags. Lipton has a series of new wellness teas and the SororiTea Sisters are checking them out. This time, I’m tasting Daily Support blend. This blend features turmeric, echinacea, ginger, and green tea.
Turmeric seems to be everywhere when the new year rolls around and people make new resolutions about living healthier and cleaner for the new year. Turmeric comes up as one of those spices with lots of healthy properties like reducing inflammation and boosting antioxidants. I’m not a doctor, but I like trying new tea flavors so I took the plunge and brewed a cup.
Tumeric on its own can be a bit too strong and bitter. It is spicy, but more reminiscent of curry powder than chai spices. I find I like tumeric best when paired with ginger, like it is in this Daily Support blend. Their spiciness compliments each other, bringing out the sweet heat in the ginger and the earthier spice of the turmeric.
I’m a spice-lover when it comes to tea, so I would say that this blend could use more ginger and turmeric to suit my tastes. However, if you’re not into a hot-spiced blend, this might be a nice surprise. The ginger is at its sweetest, with gentle honey and lemon undertones, and just a hint of the more savory turmeric in the aftertaste. The green tea itself gets lost under these two powerhouses, but you don’t miss it.
I’ve had great success with tumeric ginger lattes at my local coffee shop. I’ll have to try this tea with some frothy milk next time for a cozy, creamy cup of spice. No matter how you brew it, this is a perfect warming cup for turning over a new leaf and giving your body and mind some Daily Support.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green tea
Where to Buy: Lipton Teas
Description:
Conquer the day with new Lipton Daily Support Herbal Supplement with Green Tea, which contains Turmeric, Echinacea, and Ginger. As an excellent source of Vitamin C, this herbal infusion helps support your body’s natural defenses*. Carefully selected botanicals are blended with green tea and orange essential oil that make every cup delicious. Enjoy a cup of Lipton Daily Support to supplement your varied, balanced diet.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Organic Greek Mountain Tea from Kilo. . . .
My sample of Organic Greek Mountain Tea from Kilo looked so unusual in the bag I had to give it a try. It looks a bit like sage or a white tea, grey-green in color and fuzzy to the touch, with a chain of full, yellow blossoms. I needed my big infuser to handle all the lush stems, leaves, and blossoms of this tea.
I followed my usual pattern for lightly flavored herbal teas and steeped these leaves with boiling water, lots of leaves, and waited a good ten minutes.
Brewed the tea is very fragrant, vegetal but sweet, almost like brown sugar and okra. There’s a hint of something in the scent that reminds me of savory dishes in the kitchen, like black pepper or oregano: herbal but spicy.
The taste of this tea has some of the familiar lemon and chamomile notes, gently floral, sweet and bright. But this tea goes behind the chamomile flavors and has a more fermented great tea base beneath all that sweet lemon. The sweetness is worth noting, there is a very forward, almost-caramel note in the scent and aftertaste.
This was a unique blend in looks, smell, and taste, not to mention it is an herbal tea packed with good things to help you live a long and healthy life. Unless you go into the mountains to pick some more tea and encounter the gods of Mount Olympus, that is. Safe travels and happy brewing!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Kilo
Description:
This variety, Sideritis Scardica, comes from the legendary Mount Olympus, in the Balkans, situated between Thessaly and Macedonia. It has been tested for antioxidants by Brunswick Labs, (www.brunswicklabs.com) the leader in bio-analtyical testing. It has a mild and very pleasant taste and aroma.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!