Sometimes you need a clean and fresh cup of tea to help you relax or clear your mind. When I needed something like that, I reached for Peppermint Roobios from Rishi Tea. This was a new tea for me, though it didn’t feel out of my comfort zone. Peppermint and roobios: I know both of these ingredients and I know they make a fine combination.
When I brewed this tea, I read the packaging and noticed that there was another flavor in the blend as well: bergamot oil. Bergamot is what provides the citrus flavor in earl grey blends. This little citrus pop is what makes this blend appealing for me. It adds a brightness to the earthy red rooibos and a nice counterpoint to the cool peppermint.
This is a great naturally caffeine-free flavor for a day when you need something soothing. The citrus-mint combination makes this much more complex and enjoyable, with lots mouthfeel sensations from the sharp citrus, cool mint, and sour rooibos. This is a great all-purpose blend to brighten a grey day or help bring some cooling inspiration to a busy day.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Rishi Tea
Description:
Peppermint Rooibos makes a deep red infusion with a smooth, rich mouthfeel and fresh minty sweetness that underlines the finer points of peppermint. The slightest touch of bergamot harmonizes these herbs, highlighting the soothing aroma of peppermint with the sweet and silky character of rooibos.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sweet Peppermint in the Shape of a Heart from Tea Drops. . .
I got a sample of Sweet Peppermint from Tea Drops in some teamail from a friend. Most of the tea I drink for fun or for reviews are loose leaf teas, with the occasional bagged tea as well. I personally haven’t tried many instant teas, so at first I was a bit baffled with the right way to brew this sample from Tea Drops. Simply put the tea-cake into hot water and stir. How easy is that?
Let me draw attention to the adorable fact that this Sweet Peppermint sample came pressed into the shape of a heart. The cuteness of this tea-cake is the essential detail here, and is what makes these Tea Drops teas such cute gift ideas. They have other shapes like stars and flowers as well as the heart shape I tried.
Brewed this tea is mildly minty, very sugar and sweet, with some creamy vanilla tones. The little compressed tea-cakes might be an easy solution to brewing tea on the go. Consider stashing a few of these in your desk at work for when the going gets tough and you only have a mug around for tea-brewing.
As a tea, this blend is okay. The cuteness of the presentation is its true benefit and enjoyment. Definitely worth a try for the novelty of their super-cute tea-cakes.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Tea Drops
Description:
A fuller bodied Peppermint tea experience that’s refreshing to the senses with a kick of genuine spearmint. Naturally caffeine-free, this is the perfect anytime tea – morning, day, or night.
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!
White Thunder from The Love Tea Company. . . . .
What a bold and dramatic name for a white tea: White Thunder. So many white teas get paired with desserts, like ice cream flavors or berries, so I was intrigued to try out this flavor just from the brash name alone. Besides, it doesn’t hurt that this tea is from Love Tea, one of our ChariTea companies. Learn more here.
The White Thunder blend features white tea, peony, spearmint, and peppermint. I brewed it both hot and iced, and preferred the flavors chilled. There’s something about drinking an iced mint tea, like Moroccan Mint, that just feels best suited over ice on a hot day.
Back to White Thunder, for a tea without any fruit ingredients, there is a delectable peachy flavor mingling with all the mint. This is a well-balance blend, despite mint making up half of the ingredients list. The white tea and peony really get a chance to shine and be tasted, and bring forward that bright stone-fruit taste. The white tea adds a sweet, mild, earthiness, and the peony compliments those tones with floral, blossoming notes of its own.
The spearmint and peppermint add a touch of frost to even out all the flowers and fruit. The balance of sweet and crisp feel like sitting on fresh green grass that has been cooled by the shade. White Thunder might be my new favorite summer iced blend, bringing just the right balance of cool mint and breezy florals.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: The Love Tea Company
Description:
Bai Mudan, also known as White Peony is a type of white tea made from pluckings of one leaf shoot and two immediate young leaves. Bai Mudan is sometimes preferred by white tea drinkers for its fuller flavor and greater potency than other major types of white tea. For an extra kick, peppermint and spearmint are added to this blend. Boom, crack, that’s the sound of your taste buds loving this blend.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Chocolate Candy Cane from PaperBoxGoodies
Just because the holiday season is behind us doesn’t mean that the time for holiday-themed teas is over! In the spirit of keeping the good holiday vibes going, I brewed up a cup of Chocolate Candy Cane from PaperBoxGoodies. I don’t see this flavor listed on the PaperBoxGoodies Etsy shop so I’m not sure of the ingredients, but it looks to be an herbal blend with mint, chocolate chips, and licorice root.
I was excited about the herbal nature of this blend. I love candy cane teas, but they all seem to have a black tea base which makes it hard to drink when I don’t need all the caffeine. Having an herbal decaf option was just the tea I needed when relaxing and recovering from the busy end of the year.
Brewed, this blend is smooth, sweet, and minty. The dry crispness of the mint is lessened by the licorice root. Any herbal harshness that sometimes comes with pure mint teas is lessened by the rich chocolate chips. Minty candy cane is the main flavor, followed by a mild cocoa aftertaste. The licorice root doesn’t impart a specific flavor, but adds a natural sweetness and a smooth mouthfeel.
This is one of those teas that would benefit from a strong brewing and then made into a latte with whipped cream. I didn’t quite have enough in my sample to go the whole latte route, so I’ll have to try it next time.
Overall this was a great decaf candy cane blend that I would try again next holiday season.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: herbal
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!