This afternoon I felt like getting woke — both energetically and politically — so I chose Lion’s Blend from Friday Afternoon Tea.
This tea is essentially an Earl Grey with added rooibos & orange. The rooibos in Lion’s Blend gives a nice vanilla/sweetness that balances out its citrus/bergamot flavors. (I’m a huge fan of red rooibos, which I think throws in creaminess and joy to any cup.) Despite the rooibos, I still find this blend a little astringent. I like it, but it’s not on my must-have re-buy list.
However, I’m super happy I bought this blend because the proceeds go to an important charity that assists trans people with getting their mental health needs met (https://seattle.eater.com/2020/6/8/21284453/seattle-cafe-friday-afternoon-tea-donates-trans-mental-health-funds-jk-rowling). All of Friday Afternoon’s Harry Potter themed (https://fridaytea.com/collections/j-k-rowling) teas’ proceeds go there.
For those of you who haven’t been keeping up with a children’s book writer from 20 years ago, Jo (J. K.) Rowling has been saying a lot of transphobic things. You can Google it if you want. It’s mean stuff.
Friday Afternoon Tea saw this and decided to use its teas and the fans of her work to show that the fandom is progressive and kind! I love this. It’s a win-win situation.
It’s possible to love someone’s work without loving them. I also feel this way about horror/fantasy author HP Lovecraft. (He was really, REALLY racist. He thought Hitler had some good ideas.) It’s possible for people to be geniuses in one way but very, very behind in others.
That’s where this tea comes in.
Thanks, tea. You always give me balance in a crazy world.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black/Rooibos
Where to Buy: Friday Afternoon
Description
Lions, tigers, and griffins, oh my! This tea is dedicated to our bold, righteous Gryffindor brethren. They can find courage and happiness in the darkest of places, especially when bolstered by the bright citrus notes in this tea!
Ingredients: Rooibos, Assam black tea, orange peel, marigold, natural flavorings
All of our teas available online are gluten-free and sourced from organically certified farms. Most are vegan, but some may include honey (indicated in ingredients).
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Birthday Cake Infused Hot Chocolate/DAVIDs Tea
DAVIDsTEA’s Birthday Cake is actually the very first tea that caught my attention. It is the tea that got me curious about teas and made me drive my mother crazy until she drove me over to a DAVIDsTEA store. It is the tea that started it all and if I am being honest, I didn’t even like it that much when I first tried it.
The idea of a Birthday Cake tea just sounded too good to pass up. I mean, all the flavor of delicious birthday cake and none of the calories…Who could say no to that?! So, I went to the store and since I had no clue what I was doing I bought about 50 grams of the Birthday Cake tea and 50 grams of about 15 other teas. Of course I tried Birthday Cake first and only tasted sweet rooibos and was left disappointed. Among the 15 others, I found some I loved and some I didn’t but I found myself always coming back to Birthday Cake. Even though it wasn’t the best tea, it was the first and for that reason alone it had a special place in my heart.
When I discovered cold brewing, that is when my love for the Birthday Cake tea really bloomed. Cold brewing pushed aside the rooibos flavor, making room for the vanilla frosting deliciousness to shine. Cakey and amazing.
Well, DAVIDsTEA has taken now their beloved Birthday Cake tea and made it even more lovable. They infused their tea in a chocolate cube filled with sprinkles that sits at the end of a stick. Atop the tea-infused chocolate cube is a colorful confetti marshmallow. Submerge this delight in a cup of hot milk and stir until the chocolate is melted and the marshmallow begins to melt. What do you get? A super fun hot chocolate. And, if you are anything like me, you add just a touch more fun with a dollop of whipped cream on top. Yum!
As for the flavor of this hot chocolate…well, it is creamy and rich. It has a smooth, melted milk chocolate flavor that you can only get from real chocolate. More than the chocolate though is the birthday cake flavor. I was skeptical of whether it would actually come through but between the sprinkles and the marshmallow you definitely get a burst of birthday cake sweetness and a touch of vanilla caramel frosting from the tea.
Marshmallowy and full of sprinkle sugaryness, this might be a bit on the sweet side for most but this could make for a very special treat for any kid…or kid at heart.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: DAVIDs Tea
Description
This combo of tea/chocolate is not longer available but the loose leaf tea is.
This sweet and festive rooibos tea brings the taste of birthday cake to your cup any day of the year – rainbow sprinkles and all. Its creamy vanilla twist is just as craveable as the real dessert. And with all the goodness of rooibos and next to no calories, this caffeine-free infusion lets you have your cake and eat it too.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Let’s Detox/The NecessiTeas
I don’t buy Detox teas. I don’t buy weight loss teas. I don’t buy any teas that claim magical health benefits. I understand some teas can help with some ailments (i.e. ginger teas and peppermint teas can help settle a stomach and chamomile teas can have a calming effect) but I don’t like when teas are marketed specifically for the purposes of curing people and detoxing people because, to me, that marketing strategy is tantamount to the work of a snake oil salesman. With that said, I do want it to be clear that that is just my personal opinion and I understand that for many, detox teas do help them feel better. That is why even though I wouldn’t pick them for myself, when a detox tea does cross my door, such as this one, I usually will try to have them at a time when I feel bloaty or have been having too much junk food because on the off chance they do work, I want to reap the benefits.
The past couple of nights I have been drinking and going out for meals and so if any time was a time for a detox, this would be it. I woke up at 6:30 am and brewed up this tea comprised of honeybush, rooibos, lemon myrtle, lemon peel, star anise, ginger, licorice root, juniper berries, lemongrass, marigold, stevia, birch leaves, willow bark, and natural and organic flavors. Essentially a lot of ingredients I tend to avoid (basically, I am not this tea’s target audience and thus this review should be taken with a grain of salt).
This tea tastes the way a Lush store smells. That is the best description I got. Hopefully you have been in the store Lush and can understand the reference but if you have not, Lush is a store that sells fresh handmade cosmetics. It is fragrant and pungent with a whole plethora of scents that come together in one semi-sweet, semi-medicinal cloud of fragrance.
Surprisingly, it is not as bad as I expected. Between the star anise, the licorice root, and the stevia, I was expecting a cloying mess. Though this does have that sweet licorice root/stevia top note that sort of coats your tongue, there is a nice ginger burn underneath which reigns in those sweeter ingredients just enough that they are tolerable. I get some lemon and some licorice. A little of this and a little of that but nothing distinct enough to give this a truly discernible flavor.
I will say my stomach, which was a bit queasy, is slightly settled. I think the ginger has a lot to do with that and to be honest, I would probably have preferred to just drink a ginger tea for this health benefit. However, it did help which means this does have some merit to its claim that it will “make you feel good from the inside out”. Plus, it is one of the more tolerable tasting detox teas I have tried.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: The NecessiTeas
Description
This wellness blend will make you feel good from the inside out. This antioxidant rich blend of organic honeybush and rooibos is combined with marigold, birch leaves and juniper berries to promote a healthy immune system and cleanse away the effects of harmful toxins.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Carrot Cupcake from David’s Tea. . .
I am trying this tea in front of an audience. I’m currently in the middle of a cabin with 15+ friends/kids, and everyone got excited when they sniffed this. I made several cups for everyone; I kept the last for myself.
Before I had a chance to even sip my cup, one of my friends slid up to me. “The tea you gave me is delicious,” he whispered.
“What did your kids think?” I asked. His three-year-old had sniffed the tea and kept following me around whispering “tea.”
“I haven’t given them any,” he said. “I’m keeping it all for myself.”
“That’s COLD,” I replied.
When I finally had a cup, I saw what he meant. This is a carrot/apple/spice mix with a bit of a cream/marzipan sweetness (as opposed to a powdery, shrill, hyper-sweet flavor). As I sipped, the spiciness increased. (Possibly the spices are heavier and sit further down in the mug?) I liked the flavor better back when it was sweeter at the beginning of the cup. I think that this would be sweeter and more consistent iced, and I think that’s what I’m going to try next.
Unlike my friend, I’d let my kids try this. I’d spread the joy.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: David’s Tea
Description
This decadently creamy rooibos blend tastes just like your favourite carrot dessert. You’ll love its natural carrot sweetness and the extra zing of warmth from cinnamon and ginger. Plus it’s caffeine and calorie-free, so you can sip it all day every day. Still not convinced? The rich cocoa shells and whipped cream will change your mind. Yeah, we knew you couldn’t resist…
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sweet Tea O’Mine from the Goat Tea . . . .
It is always a thrill to find a new favorite fall tea. With so many sweet caramel pumpkin teas or apple-pie-spiced blends, Sweet Tea O’Mine from The Goat Tea was a wonderful new take on the pumpkin spice tea.
This is a honeybush and rooibos based tea, which makes it naturally caffeine free and perfect for late night brewing. Along with the herbal leaves, there is puffed rice like a traditionally green genmaicha tea. I have a soft spot for the starchy, almost savory genmaicha teas with puffed rice, so I was thrilled to find a new tea with this ingredient. The honeybush and puffed rice compliment each other’s nuttiness, making for a rich and warming flavor combination.
Meanwhile the familiar autumn spices are still there, nutmeg and mace to name the key players. This makes the tea have plenty of that pumpkin spice taste, but with a pleasant woodsy undertone from the herbal leaves. I also appreciate that the blend isn’t too sweet or artificial. There is a medium sweetness with lingering flavors like brown sugar or molasses.
With its roasted wheat and toasted rice flavors this tea captures all the best parts of corn mazes and hay bales and gets me suitable excited for the upcoming 2019 fall season.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: herbal
Where to Buy: The Goat Tea
Description:
Who says Pumpkin can only be for one season? Enjoy a cup of this sweet tea, swirling with the taste of pumpkin, caramel, and cinnamon. It is like fall in your mouth.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
