Soothing from Balcony Teas. . .

by Kaylee

Between my stressful job and predisposition to be a night owl, I’m always looking for a good calming or bedtime tea. This one seems like a good candidate because I like all of the ingredients individually. It comes in convenient pyramid sachets, which I actually like for herbals because herbals generally don’t need much room to expand and I often prefer easy prep at bedtime.

The dry blend smells like equal parts chamomile and rose. I would totally wear a floral perfume that smelled like this! The hot brew smells of apple, rose, and a hint of lavender. It is, indeed, a soothing scent. Unfortunately, the flavor is less complex than I had expected. The dominant note is the apple-like chamomile, to the point that I can’t make out any floral or other flavors at all.

The chamomile is sweet and calming but the absence of floral flavor is disappointing. I made this three times on two different days just in case the problem was user error but I got the same results each time.

Still, I have to give this blend credit for living up to its name. I happily drank all three cups before drifting off to sleep.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Herbal
Where to Buy:  Balcony Teas
Description

Feel transported to a beautiful evening in the Mediterranean. All is calm and you can smell wild flowers. Perfect for a moment to yourself or to wind down after a busy day.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Kaylee

I work in public interest. Tea is the innocuous, quirky hobby that doubles as a release valve for my high-stress job. My first serious foray into the tea world was when I joined Steepster in 2013. I learned so much from that community - and I'm still learning from them. I love to read books and blogs about tea to expand my knowledge. When I'm not nerding out about tea, I'm nerding out about Wonder Woman, Firefly, and other assorted superhero/sci-fi stories with strong female characters. Also RBG, who is basically a rock star to me.

This post was posted in Balcony Tea

An Elevated Herbal from High Garden Tea

by Mary

This is another one I picked up on my trip to the motherland (aka High Garden Tea in Nashville) recently. From the few I’ve tried thus far, I’ve been super impressed by High Garden’s blends, particularly their herbals.

This one, a blend of chamomile, rose petals, hibiscus, schisandra berries, orange peel and lemongrass, is a spot-on match between flavors and the name. It evokes that warm, mulled tea goodness that I’d associate with a cozy apple blend in the autumn (with surprisingly no apple to speak of in the mix), but a bit more sophisticated.

There’s something… elevated about this mix. Like apple pie with a top hat. Or strolling through orchards in a fur coat.

It resteeps beautifully, and goes down just as well hot as it does iced. Now let’s go bobbing for apples covered in diamonds and really long, fancy gloves.

Elevated, you guys. I’m telling you.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:   Herbal
Where to Buy: High Garden Tea
Description

Click below for teas you can find online.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Mary

Hi there! I'm Mary, a 27-year-old mental health professional living with my fiancé and our quirky kitten in the Midwest! I've loved tea for as long as I can remember-- in fact, I have vivid memory of being four or five in a tea shop and being mesmerized by all the tea flavors and proclaiming that I "was going to be kind of adult who drank tea, not coffee." A stint living (and tea-drinking my way through) London and twenty-some years later, I'm still channeling that sassy four-year-old and loving my tea habit. When I'm not sipping a cuppa, you'll find me reading, doing yoga, traveling, exploring my own city, planning our wedding and experimenting with different healthful and healing foods in my kitchen.

This post was posted in Fruit/Herbal Tisane, High Garden