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!
Lumbini Opa from Story of My Tea. . . A Monthly Tea Experience. . . .
If you haven’t heard of Story of My Tea’s monthly subscription service, I implore you to check this monthly box out. This monthly subscription box may be a bit more expensive than the others out there, but this tea box delivers a monthly tea experience. A curated monthly tea experience into regions and tea depths that you may not be familiar with. Other tea boxes do the same, yes, but with each tea that Story of My Tea delivers to your doorstep, there is also an added learning experience.
On the back of every pouch is more information regarding the tea and even an interactive bar code that you scan with your phone to learn more. I just love that feature.
This go around, I brewed up Lumbini Opa, a black tea from the Lumbini estate in Sri Lanka. From what I’m understanding, this particular estate is considered to be one of the finest tea producing estates in the region. Lumbini Opa is described as being very fragrant, rich and malty with a full bodied taste with complex flavors and hints of spicy sweetness.
Another great point to Story of My Tea’s packaging is that feature prominently on each package are the steeping parameters. No need to guess with their teas. The steeping guide lines are laid out for you. Steeping parameters for this tea are 190F and a steep time of 3-4 minutes. Story of My Tea also suggests adding in ginger slices, mint leaves or a stick of cinnamon. I love all of those suggestions and will end up trying those next go around with this tea.
After allowing the tea to cool for a few moments, I took my first sip. I haven’t had a black tea in a while and this tea is making me wonder why. Warm malty tones with a tiny bit of an earthy hint provide this wonderful loving tea a great start. The spicy hint kicks in more towards the end of the sip and contributes to this delicious after taste. Each sip is soothing and warming to the soul. This is one of those teas you need around for when you are cold to the bone and need warmed up. Like those winter days that are creeping every so slowly towards us. This tea has “Sweater Weather” written all over it.
I love those scenarios when a tea reminds you of how great a variety can be. I have been neglecting my black teas for far too long. I need to brew up a few and show them some love.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Story of My Tea
Description
A tea subscription for the explorer in your heart!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Omija Berry Blush from Story of My Tea. . .
I will be 100% honest, I love Story of My Tea. I love their passion for tea, their customers, their business, just the whole concept and thought behind Story of My Tea. I love the fact that you can subscribe to their monthly tea box and basically each month you have a tea journey delivered to your door. Tea journeys and experiences you may not have necessarily tried on your own or even thought about trying. I am typically a green or white tea kinda gal. I do love my black tea, herbals, and every once in a while, I’ll dab my toe into puerhs. But that is where the beauty of Story of My Tea really comes into play. Each month you are delivered a variety of teas, from all over the world, all different varieties that you can take your time, really experience and really enjoy. At least that is what I did.
Story of My Tea was gracious enough to send The SororiTea Sisters the September box. As soon as I opened up the box, I instantly knew which tea I wanted to try- The Omija Berry Blush. Omija means five flavor berry- which alludes to the unique complex flavor profile with sweet, sour, salty, bitter and pungent aspects that are found within the berry or so I’m told from the back of the tea package. This tea is a gorgeous blend of omija berries, lavender, strawberry pieces and rosehips. There are pops of blue from what I believe are cornflower petals. I am not the biggest fan of lavender so I was hoping the tartness from the berries would overcome the lavender flavor.
Brewed up by the package parameters-1 tsp-212F-5 mins steeping time- this tea lays the ground work for one relaxing chill evening. The berry notes are not overly tart nor overly sweet. They fall right in this medium ground where the lavender can bring in this needed floral pop that gives this tea a nice gentle kick. I almost wish there was some mint thrown in to give this tea a refreshing finish but overall, this tea is quite lovely. Soft, gentle, soothing, and caring.
This is one of those teas you can see being shared at a tea party or even with loved ones who possibly aren’t big into tea. The laid back flavors really make this a uniquely universal tea that I could see so many tea enthusiasts and non tea enthusiasts enjoying. I can’t say this is a tea for me, I like my tea to be a bit bolder in flavor, but I think with a tweak here or like I said, the addition of mint, this tea could really sing.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Story of My Tea
Description
A tea subscription for the explorer in your heart!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Three Reasons Why I Loved This Month’s Zen Tea Bar Box. . . .
With back to school shopping and my work schedule, this month has flown by. It’s time again for that somewhat disorganized rush morning schedule of getting the kids up, making everybody’s lunch, reminding the kids to get up, reminding the kids to get dressed, remind the kids. . . . I think you get the picture.
All of that rushing around and my increased working schedule has been reaching for a good cuppa tea more and more. I think my tea intake has increased by ten fold, which cracks me up since I was already drinking pot fulls of tea each and every day. This is where this month’s Zen Tea Bar Box fell wonderfully into my tea routine.
If you aren’t familiar with Zen Tea Bar, I highly encourage you to take a moment and check them out. For about $10 a month, Zen Tea Bar will send you a sampling of different teas each month- ranging from loose leaf teas to tea bags. This month’s box was full of such a great assortment, but three teas really caught my eye.
Alpine-Berry- Two Leaves and a Bud
Alpine Berry is a lovely tea pyramit/sachet full of fruit tisane goodness. Hibiscus, apple pomace, rosehip shells, and sweet blackberry leaves with a few other ingredients provide this tea with a gorgeous sweet-slightly tart flavor that soothed my crazed heart. Brewed up hot, I wasn’t sure if I would like this tea seeing how much hibiscus was in the tea sachet, but honestly- the sweet flavor really countered the tartness well and I wasn’t left puckering after every sip. Just a simple but very balanced herbal tea that I can only imagine would be a delight iced. I didn’t even have to use honey. I’m looking forward to picking up more of this particular tea.
Pukka Tea and I have a love hate relationship. I seem to either love or really dislike their teas. But this particular blend fell into the love category. Chamomile, hibiscus, rose, and vanilla Flavoring are the key ingredients in this blend.
The most prominent note from this tea bag brewed hot is a smooth vanilla rose flavor with a hint of a tart finish. I drank this tea until the lovely herbs couldn’t give anymore. Womankind was probably my favorite tea included in this month’s box.
Typhoo Tea is a tea company that has always caught my eye while I’m doing a bit of shopping on Amazon, but I’ve never taken the step to add the tea to my cart. Personally, I do not drink a lot of bagged black teas and find myself more of a green and white tea kinda gal.
Brewed up hot, this tea reminds me of my childhood when I was sick and my mom would make me up a cuppa black tea (typically Lipton) with a touch of honey to make me feel better. My mom is a strictly decaf black tea-Lipton- lady who doesn’t stray from her brand. Growing up, she would always bring her own little baggie of Lipton tea bags and her own sweeteners to restaurants. When the waiter would ask her what kind of tea she would like after she ordered hot tea, she would sweetly respond- “None. I brought my own- I just need the water”.
That is why I loved this tea. The flavor was fine. I can’t say the tea itself stood out to me. Malty and sturdy, this tea was a typical no flair sort of black tea. I would have no problem drinking this tea again but I can’t say I would actively jump on the chance to buy more. Where this tea shined for me was it gave me a moment to reflect on memories that I had forgotten about. That is the sign of a good zen-ful moment with a cuppa tea.
I still have a few more teas to check out and enjoy from this month’s Zen Bar Tea Box, but I have to say, I’m already looking forward to September’s box!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Monthly Tea Subscription Box
Where to Buy: Zen Tea Bar
Description
The ZenTeaBar family is completely in love with our connection to nature!
Kelly, creator of ZenTeaBar.love realized there is more to just a cup of tea. The “ZEN” vibes you feel…that flowing mindfulness, the connection! We should Zenfully sample teas we love! During this process, a few questions came about:
-How can we select the perfect tea with all the tea options available today?
-How do we experience the true benefit of a tea leaf?
-How can we share the “ZEN” vibe?
Through this realization is how ZenTeaBar.love blossomed.
Our goal is to expand a new way for you to Zen-fully experience teas you love in the most comfortable, elegant way possible.
All of our boxes are individually stamped, folded, and packed by hand; and are infused with our team’s Aloha and good vibes.
We’d love to have you along on this ZenTeaBar venture with us!
Mahalo!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pineapple Old Bay from Handmade Tea
Today I have a little bit of Tea Association for you but first a mini-back-story! My father is a bit obsessed with Old Bay Seasoning. Yes. Old Bay Seasoning. He puts it in everything! For Christmas he prides himself on his famous 29 egg omelette that can feed a small army. The secret ingredient? You guessed it…Old Bay Seasoning! Because my diet consists of vegan foods I will not partake in the Christmas Day Tradition but my husband, his brother, my sister, her husband, and my mother look forward to it every year. Enter Pineapple Old Bay from Handmade Tea.
This was the main reason I was so excited to try Pineapple Old Bay from Handmade Tea. More of a word association or in this case a tea association. I have to give credit where credit is due and in the sample I was sent I had a MIGHTY HUGE chunk of pineapple that was gently coated in Old Bay Seasoning. It looked impressive, it smelled YUMMERS, and it tasted semi-spicy, semi-sweet, and semi-savory all at the same time. The black tea base itself was of medium strength and the flavor combo of the Old Bay and the Pineapple seemed to be MADE for each other.
I tried this another time with just the spiced black tea in the strainer. No mammoth pineapple was seen or heard from with this second cuppa. And it was just as impressive! The only difference was it wasn’t sweet because of the lack of pineapple but I was ok with that. The Old Bay was the sole hero when it was standing by itself. It still shined. Pineapple Old Bay from Handmade Tea is something of a miracle of sorts. My father would be grinning from ear to ear…that is IF I left any for him to try! Sorry Dad…but YOU’RE WELCOME Tummy!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy This Monthly Box: Handmade Tea
Description
Pineapple Old Bay begins with a blend of two Chinese black teas. This is a medium base tea with bright notes. Hints of grapefruit can also be found. Large chunks of dried pineapple are blended into the base tea. This adds a juicy, tropical kick that pairs nicely with the grapefruity notes of the base tea blend. Lastly, a light dusting of Old Bay seasoning is added to the blend. This has a bit of a kick but is balanced enough to not be overwhelming. The spice kick helps balance the sweet pineapple.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
