If you have that person on your list that you want that special unique item for and they just happen to be a tea drinker (of any kind!), I highly recommend thinking about sending them a gift from Tea Box Express.
Tea Box Express offers amazing curated boxes that feature teas, tea accessories, tea trinkets and different snacks to go along with the tea. Basically, each month you receive an instant tea party. I just love this box. Yes, it is a bit pricey when you first look at it, but the value of what you are getting is typically double if not more each month. This month alone, the box featured a tea accessory that I’ve had my eye on for some time and that tea accessory typically sells for $18 without shipping or taxes. This box is definitely a wonderful value and one that is quite memorable to boot!
November’s box had so many amazing treats! A gorgeous leaf shaped shortbread cookie, a Tea Bling, two different kinds of tea from Nunshen, a chocolate treat, and these awesome flavored agave pouches-pumpkin flavored and caramel from Pura. I was quite pleased and couldn’t wait to dig in.
Let’s start with the My Tea Bling. This is the accessory that I’ve had my eye on for some time. My Tea Bling is a clip that you use when you are drinking any kind of bagged tea to give your tea a bit of pizzazz-there is a lovely disc full of sparkles at the end of the clip. I use this all the time when I’m at work and am so happy to have one. I’ve received a lot of compliments on my this sparkling accessory. I just use those tea filters you can pick up pretty much anywhere, make my own tea bags, ad attach this as a nice weight to keep everything where it needs to be. (Mug Cozy featured below is from Nandy’s Nook)
An oolong and chai tea were the offerings for the tea part of the box. They came from Nunshen, a company I hadn’t heard of before but one I’m now actively checking out. The tea was a bagged tea (which worked perfectly with my new Tea Bling) and we were sent a few oolong tea bags and chai. I wasn’t crazy originally with the idea of a bagged chai tea but after having the tea, I’m addicted.
The chai bagged tea packs all of those lovely chai flavors without the spices being overwhelming to the point where you have to add milk or sugar. The tea was pleasantly balanced and was a great tea for the afternoon when I needed that pick me up to keep going.
The oolong offered was also quite delicious and one that I found myself searching my bag for to see if I had anymore. Smooth and subtle with those familiar oolong roasted tones. . .another great afternoon treat. I think I favored this tea more than the chai but that’s just because I’m partial to oolong. Plus this oolong tasted delicious with both the cookie and the chocolate candy treat.
Flavored agave (from Pura.mx) is something I never had really thought about checking out but after enjoying the caramel and pumpkin flavored pouches included. . .I need to have a constant supply of this on hand. Both the Pumpking and Caramel were amazing in tea lattes and added that special kick that typically you can only get in coffee houses.
So many wonderful treats, trinkets, and goodies all packed into this box. Any tea drinker or enthusiast would love this box. Really great gift idea for anybody on your list. My family loves enjoying all of the treats together and we always have a family tea party with the box. (Pics of the cookie and chocolate treat-don’t they just look delicious!)
I really can’t wait to see what we receive in the next box!
Here’s the scoop!
Where to Buy: Tea Box Express
Description
Tea Box Express is a monthly box for tea lovers. Every month features a new whole leaf tea and unique accessories.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Ginger Bread Man by Bruu Tea
Hello tea friends!
With Christmas almost here and the cold weather set in I’m drawn to the festive teas. This one was from my late November tea club box and I’m only just getting around to trying it.
Ingredients: Rooibos, Almond Pieces, Pistachios, Orange Peel, Coriander, Flavouring, Pink Peppercorn.
Opening the packet I am drawn in by the scent of ginger biscuits. It’s the most ginger biscuity thing I have ever smelt that was not actually ginger biscuits. It’s incredible! Ginger with baked bread and sugar but also a touch of spice.
Steeping instructions: 1tsp // 100°C // 3-5 mins
Once steeped the tea is golden red in colour and bares a sweet yet spicy ginger biscuit and Rooibos scent. Very similar to that of the raw scent.
The first few sips reveal a very sweet and gingery note that lingers in the after taste. When I say ginger it’s more like a ginger candy than raw ginger, sometimes blends are too much on the ginger front but this is such a sweet ginger and it’s very nice. Very biscuit like! Also a touch of dryness in the after taste.
After those initial first few sips it remains sweet and with a touch of actual Rooibos flavour with a creamy orange and ginger and peppercorn spice. The whole blend was well done, it doesn’t taste too much like Rooibos at all which is favourable with me.
I can’t say much other than it tastes like sweet and creamy ginger biscuits with a dry after taste. It truly does.
Bruu Tea have done some good blends but this may be my favourite so far. It’s very delightful and festive.
Until next time, Happy Steeping!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos blend
Where to Buy: Bruu Tea
Description:
The rich, naturally woody taste of rooibos is already a perfect treat for cold days, but the added tastes of gingerbread and orange in this blend allow you to truly spoil yourself. Caffeine-free and incredibly festive, this decorative infusion makes a wonderful gift – for others or yourself!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pacific Coast Lavender from Winterwoods Tea Company Courtesy of Amoda Tea
Herbal tea can be a great before-bed comfort, especially as the weather gets cooler. Composed of sweet and savory herbs and naturally caffeine-free, it’s hard to go wrong. Usually, my one complaint with herbal tea is that the flavor is mild or too delicate, but wow! Was I proven wrong on this blend! The lavender is so fresh, fragrant, and plentiful– it all but knocked me over when I first got a whiff of the dry leaf. This is a tea with simple but powerful ingredients, each one vibrant and visible in the blend.
The health benefits of these herbs are all the positive usual suspects: lavender and chamomile for relaxation, rose hips for health-boosting vitamin c, and cool, stomach-calming peppermint. When brewed, the lavender definitely takes the spotlight, lighting up my whole room with its warm, floral scent, and filling my senses when I bring my mug up to my face. Beneath all the lavender fragrance, the chamomile and peppermint play well together, producing a mellow, grassy, lemon-mint brew. The rose hips are harder to pick out. Traditionally, rose hips tend to be strong and sour, more like orange or hibiscus, but in this blend they appear only as a little fruity note at the back of each sip.
While I might not be in the mood for this tea every night, it definitely comforted me, reminding me of herbal teas I would drink when I was home sick or staying warm on a snowy day. Not to mention the lavender was out of this world: I have yet to find another lavender tea that can even come close to competing with this one.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Description:
Making this tea your evening ritual through Fall and Winter can be a great way to help naturally boost your mood if you’re experiencing wet grey days. Lavender can calm emotional stress, peppermint can invigorate your mind and chamomile will help soothe.
This tea is no longer on the site but others from Winterwoods Tea Company are here!
Homestead Peach from Winterwoods Tea, part of Amoda’s Tea Box #VeganMoFo2016
Today’s prompt for Vegan MoFo 2016 is Multi-color. And with today’s tea, I think that fits perfectly. This tea is just gorgeous with all of the different color pop. Truly a multi color tea if I have to say so myself!
The tea of the moment here at Sororitea Sisters is Homestead Peach by Winterwoods Tea which was part of our Amoda Box. Homestead Peach by Winterwoods Tea is an herbal blend consisting of (mostly) organic ingredients…strawberry leaf, dried peaches, hibiscus, lemon peel, orange peel, rose hips, and peach extract.
I was surprised at the more laid-back, mellow aroma that this herbal tisane had. It’s wasn’t overpowering. It was subtly peach and citrus. I absolutely LOVED the fact that the peach FLAVOR of this was REAL. Not fake and/or chemically. I also LOVED that there was hardly any hibiscus in there. There seemed to be JUST ENOUGH to give it a little color in the cup and end-sip pucker on the tongue.
Homestead Peach by Winterwoods Tea was mouth wateringly (YES, I made that end in “LY”) tasty and gently flavored. I enjoyed this hot but even more cold. Homestead Peach by Winterwoods Tea is a fantastic herbal!
Just another wonderful reason why signing up for Amoda’s monthly tea box is the perfect way to enjoy teas you may have never even thought about trying or knew about. Perfect for that tea enthusiast on your holiday shopping list!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Subscribe to Amoda’s Monthly Box here!
Description
How We See It:
Rich peach notes, reminiscent of grilled peaches, blended with dark fruits, hibiscus and rose hips. This is an amazing tea to transition to Fall. You’ll love the tangy citrus finish too. This tea reminds us of home. It’s comforting and familiar.
What’s In It:
Organic strawberry leaf, dried peaches, organic hibiscus, organic lemon peel, organic orange peel, organic rose hips, pure peach extract (certified gluten free)
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Mountain Chai from BlendBee
I am an incredibly finicky chai drinker. I’ve never been a huge fan of cardamom or cloves and have always found chai spices to be overpowering. Here and there I have found chai blends that I’ve enjoyed and typically I can always make a chai into a latte where the spices are mellowed by the addition of a frothed milk topping- making them more to my tastes.
So when I received the email from BlendBee asking me what blends I wanted this month, I noticed that Mountain Chai was one of their newer blends. One of the wonderful attributes to BlendBee is that if there is an ingredient in a blend that you may not care for, they do their best to accommodate. So I simply responded back to their email with a note asking for the cardamom and cloves to be removed and they happily obliged. Not only that, but they responded back with a few more questions, helping to customize this blend just to my taste. You can’t get better customer service than that.
About a week later, my monthly box arrived with Mountain Chai and one other blend. I prepped my water, grabbed my new squirrel infuser and brewed myself up a cuppa. I could’t wait to try this new customized chai.
Without the heavier spices I was a bit worried that the ginger would take over. But that isn’t the case at all. Each sip starts off with a lovely cinnamon and brown sugar sweetness with a slight ginger twist. The green tea base is the perfect background for this tea, adding a note of buttery smoothness. Each sips ends with that familiar marshmallow root flavor that I adore.
I didn’t even pick up the licorice root that was in the mix, which is unusual for me. I asked my hubby to try the tea and he really liked this blend as well. I see us buying more of this tea soon. We are going to go thru this bag fast! Just the perfect amount of sweetness and spice. I can’t get over how much I’m loving the brown sugar and the additional marshmallow root that was added in for me. This may just be the most perfect chai for my taste buds.
If you haven’t checked out BlendBee, I encourage you to do so. With their fabulous customer service and the ability to custom blend to your own tastes, you really can’t go wrong!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: BlendBee
Description
A mountain of green tea spiced to perfection.
Aromatic Organic Green Tea Chai, inspired by our stunning Sierra Mountains. Designed to warm you up on a crisp day. Perfect brewed with warm milk & honey.