Teakruthi kindly sent me a bunch of tea to review for them. Which almost scared me at first when I received the shipping notification because I thought someone was using my account to order themselves tea.
I was surprised to find that this was not a tea bag as expected but full of gorgeous moringa leaf and lemon peel bits. But then I was hit by the aroma. This smells like Windex. Or that commercial cleaner they use in some hotels. And now I can’t get that out of my head. I’ll let that thought be so I can try to enjoy the flavor.
I’ve never had moringa before and I’m not much for herbals so… here goes. The liquor color is dark, clear, yellow. Kind of pretty in its own way. Steeped for about four minutes. Couldn’t take that smell any longer. The flavor is highly citrus with what I am assuming is the herbal flavor that comes off smooth and lightly medicinal. Cleansing.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Teakruthi
Description
Looking for the perfect refreshing and healthy herbal drink? Look no further than our Moringa Lemongrass herbal tisane tea. Highly nutritious and healthy, dried Moringa leaves are infused with lemon and lemongrass. While Moringa improves the immune system, controls blood sugar and blood pressure, lemon is a mood enhancer that helps with digestion. Together, the three produce a powerful herbal infusion that is free of caffeine and with a host of health benefits. The prepared brew has a dark yellow colour and a zingy lemony taste for you to devour.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Lemon Vibration/Wise Ape Tea -Skysamurai-
Are you familiar with the song Good Vibrations by Marky Mark feat The Funky Bunch?
If not or if you need a refresher go take a listen then come back. This tisane definitely has lemon vibrations.
To be honest I don’t drink herbals unless I’m sick but seeing as this was in the review pile I didn’t want to wait till I was sick to drink it. Plus when your sick your sense of taste is messed up. Everything about this cuppa shouts spa. It smells like you walked into a high-class spa. The flavor isn’t overly lemony.
So it’s perfect for relaxing and winding down. Everything blends well, with a unique sweet after taste.
Also want to give a shoutout to the company for sending 10% profits to charity.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Wise Ape Tea Co.
Description
An herbal blend of lemongrass, lemon balm, and st. john’s wort harmonize to realign your vibration and recenter your psyche. Sip slow and reset with delicate hints of lavender, lemon peel, and rosemary as they soothe your senses and brighten your mood into a state of inner utopia. Designed to recenter, reset, and realign.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Organic Athena’s Lemon Olive Leaf Blend from Simpson and Vail’s Monthly Subscription Box. . .
Who doesn’t love a subscription box? I know I love them – especially tea subscription boxes. For a while I was getting 52Teas, BlendBee, and Plum Deluxe subscription boxes (which I loved) but I wanted to try out a few different companies this go around. So last week I decided I would give our friends at Simpson and Vail’s subscription box a go. Simpson and Vail have a lot of different offerings when it comes to teas so I was hoping by signing up, I would be able to experience some of their teas that I haven’t gotten around to picking up. Athena’s Lemon Olive Leaf Blend was one of those blends and I was so excited to see it in my first box.
Athena’s Lemon Olive Leaf Blend is a blend of olive leaf, lemongrass, and ginger root. So think of your traditional lemon ginger tea with a slight twist. Brewed with water at boiling and allowed to steep for 5 minutes plus (I actually got a phone call and couldn’t get to the tea right away), this tea hits the spot on this cold midwestern blustery day. Solid lemon notes, that sweet and spicy hint of ginger, along with this almost herbaceous olive oil finish delivers a solid soothing and comforting cuppa. (Yep. There is a slight hint of an olive oil flavor in my cuppa. And you know what I love it. )
Smooth crisp spiced lemony goodness . One of those blends where the ginger and lemon are balanced out perfectly and gives you that warm and fuzzy feeling.
This tea is giving me all the loving I need while still battling this awful cold I’ve had for the last few days. One of the better herbal blends I’ve had in a while. Really digging it and am on my fourth cup as I write this review up. Can’t wait to enjoy this as a cold brew!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Simpson and Vail
Description
The aroma of fresh lemon greets your nose as you sip this delightful blend. The golden cup explodes with a lemony goodness that lingers on the palate refreshingly. This all organic brew is great hot or iced.
Ingredients: Organic olive leaf, organic ginger root, organic lemon mytle, organic lemon peel, organic lemongrass
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
April Siesta from 52Teas. . . . .
Okay April Siesta, I see you, okay. Now I want to start off this review saying that my love of this tea was 110% unexpected. The ingredients are not my usual (aside from chamomile- because unlike a lot of people, I actually am a fan of chamomile). However, the ingredients of lemon, orange, and licorice definitely scared me. Licorice, not as much as lemon and orange. I am not usually the kind of girl that wants tart tea or citrus flavors. When I smelled the dry leaf, I could smell citrus and it definitely made me second guess trying it and just writing it off as a “no”. But- I forged on and made myself a cup. I have always loved chamomile. I just think it is a great herb, not only because I love its honeyed taste, but because it is just so soothing. I get a lot of anxiety and a lot of nausea, especially when I am stressed. Chamomile always helps, even if its in a small way, there is always something positive that I receive from a cup of chamomile tea.
I tried this tea sans agave at first, and while I don’t think that it actually needed any sweetener I still added some. I probably wont next time because it really isn’t needed (I am known for accidentally over-sweetening my teas!). The first thing I noticed was the smell of orange and lemon- lemon more so than the orange. Meh. I really dislike citrus. Thankfully the smell is more powerful than the taste. The citrus is still there, but its tolerable. The next taste I notice is definitely the honeybush and chamomile! Both have sweet, honey, herbal qualities about them. Yum! The last thing I notice is the licorice and also the star anise, which of course have qualities all their own- sweet, but in a different way. I don’t normally like the flavor of licorice, but I think it all depends on what it is. There are these Italian black licorice candies that i’ve tried and they taste horrid. But I’ve tried licorice flavors in teas and I don’t always hate them. I guess it all depends on what it is and what it’s mixed with and how it’s done!
This tea was done really, really well! I really did enjoy it and I really did find it so relaxing! I may even order a larger bag because I think this is something I would drink as part of my nighttime ritual. The citrus aspect gives it a light, fluffy, “spring” feel. The licorice and star anise give it a unique twist. The honeybush and chamomile give it an herbal/honey feel. Definite A+ from me! A must try before it is gone.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
I have a confession (although, for anyone who has read many of my reviews from back when I was a tea reviewer – this probably isn’t much of a confession) – I’m not particularly fond of chamomile. Oh, I’ll drink it (on a rare occasion) but it’s not a tea/tisane that I’ll grab enthusiastically. It’s not something I’ll brew every day – I certainly don’t like it that much.
That said, I don’t hate it either. I’m just kinda ‘meh’ about it. Not my favorite thing – you know?
I’ve crafted one blend with chamomile during my time as the Mad Tea Artist of 52Teas – At Play in the Fields of Love – which I blended as a VIT for a special customer. Now, I’m crafting my second chamomile blend – and I’m blending it with one of my very favorite flavors: Licorice! I absolutely love licorice and all herb-y things related to licorice, like licorice root, anise and fennel. But interestingly enough – this is my first time blending a licorice blend. (Although, I did use licorice root in the Butter Beer reblend.) I have refrained from using licorice as a primary flavor in my blends up until now because I realize that it is a somewhat polarizing flavor – most people either love it or hate it – and it seems like it’s a even balance between those that like it and those that don’t. It’s kind of hard to create a winning blend with a featured flavor that is so polarizing.
But I’m hoping that with this blend – I’ve done just that.
One day while cruising through the internet – I stumbled upon a recipe for a cocktail called “April Siesta.” The cocktail features Absinthe which is a licorice-y liqueur and Curacao which is a citrus-y liqueur. These two liqueurs are combined with Cava (Spanish sparkling wine) and simple syrup and topped off with a lemon twist.
So this is my take on this cocktail that I’ve never actually tasted but was inspired by. I started with organic honeybush, added some chamomile (because when I think ‘siesta’ – the first herb that comes to mind is chamomile), added licorice root, star anise and some citrus (orange and lemon) wedges. I didn’t want the citrus to be too intrusive because I really wanted the licorice-y flavors to be the star of the show but I didn’t want the licorice to be so sharp that those who aren’t particularly fond of licorice might appreciate this beverage too.
I love this! I can honestly say that this is my favorite blend with chamomile in it – mostly because I can’t really taste the chamomile. Instead, I get sweet licorice with light citrus background notes. Yummy!
organic ingredients: honeybush, chamomile, orange, lemon, licorice root, star anise and natural flavors
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
CTRL+ALT+DEL from Pluck Teas. . . .
I had this once before, hot and hated it. Let’s see how it is iced…
Well, first thing I noticed is this iced cup has less sediment than the original hot cup had. It brewed up a cloudy but light golden yellow but less cloudy than the hot brew. Hopefully both these things will result in a cleaner taste than what I recall.
The smell is strongly of ginger but with lemon in the background as well as a touch of musk that I am thinking is probably from a mix of this tea and some scent remaining from the mint tea that was in the press previously. Luckily, it is not transferring over to the flavor.
Instead, this has a strong ginger flavor with a bright lemon aftertaste. I wish I got more from the cranberries since they were the reason I was drawn to this blend in the first place alas they are hiding underneath all the other components. Nonetheless, the iced tea flavor is really quite natural and rich. To me, it is as if someone took fresh ginger and lemon and steeped that…and then maybe muddled it with some other ingredients. The lemongrass is maybe a bit more herbal tasting than I would like but this could be a nice caffeine free option for those who like this sort of tea.
Personally I am more of a dessert tea kind of girl so I don’t see myself reaching for this in the future but I am happy to report the the iced cup is much improved from the hot tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal Tea
Where to Buy: Pluck Teas
Description
Hit the reset button – with this refreshing lemon and ginger infusion featuring Muskoka cranberries. Caffeine-free and delicious hot or iced, this tisane packs a lot of flavour.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
