It is the beginning of a new year and I’m sure if you are like me, you are seeing a ton of detox and healthy wellness teas in your social media feeds. I’ve never been a big fan of good for you herbals but I’ve always enjoyed herbals that are full of dried fruit. Recently I’ve noticed my taste buds are starting to change. I’m no longer craving the floral teas like I used to but am finding myself really craving herbs and spices like ginger, spearmint, peppermint, chamomile, and so on.
So today I thought would be a great day to try Bone Repair from The Virginia Tea Company. I am a huge advocate for natural herbal remedies to cure what ails you. Not that I don’t grab OTC drugs when I’m in need, but I do prefer to try out a more natural approach for certain body issues I have.
Bone Repair is a mix of nettle, St. John’s Wort, chamomile, dandelion, ginger root, and peppermint. All are organic. This tea’s description on the site goes something like this:
High in vitamins and helpful bone minerals, these herbs make this tea a wonderful enabler for strengthening your body’s skeleton.
Regardless of the health benefits, I have to say this tea is amazing. Herbal teas to me always have that herbaceous feel to them and this tea doesn’t really have it or maybe I should say that feel isn’t overwhelming.
There is a light sweetness mingled with a hint of spice surrounded by a refreshing cooling mint aftertaste. I can’t say that I’ve ever had such a smooth herbal tea like this before. I have literally had four cups of this tea today alone (resteeping the same bag even!).
I haven’t had some of these spices and herbs before so I can’t say if what I’m tasting is from this or that. All I can say is even if I am not in need of bone repair specifically-this tea delivers a refreshing, soothing, and calming flavor that could be enjoyed any time of the day.
Really happy with this one and I have a feeling that this will be a re-order for me. Plus, there is a cool option to get tea accessories added in for just a bit more. You have to love that option!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: The Virginia Tea Company
Description
High in vitamins and helpful bone minerals, these herbs make this tea a wonderful enabler for strengthening your body’s skeleton.
Ingredients: Organic Nettle, Organic St. John’s Wort, Organic Chamomile, Organic Dandelion, Organic Ginger Root, Organic Peppermint
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Peace Tea from The Algonquin Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal/Functional Tisane
Where to Buy: Algonquin Tea Co.
Tea Description:
Peace Tea instills the tranquility, patience and beauty of the earth. This rich, bittersweet blend grounds us in a flowing meadow of healing herbs. Peace tea is ideal for calming down before, during or after any busy period.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about subscribing to Postal Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
So, my Postal Teas box arrived the other day! Yay! A beam of happiness shines like a ray of sunshine when tea is in the mailbox! And I do really enjoy the Postal Teas subscription. So far, with every box that I’ve received from them, I’ve tried teas from companies that are new to me. I like that. I like that a lot!
I’ve never really made a big secret of the fact that I prefer camellia sinensis blends over herbal teas/tisanes. Not a big surprise, right? So, I was a little less than enthused when I opened the box this month and found not one … not two … but ALL THREE teas in the box were herbals.
What?
So, it probably goes without saying that this month’s box was a little bittersweet. I was not thrilled about receiving three herbal teas in the box BUT I was happy to be trying teas from a new-to-me company: Algonquin Tea Co.
And while I do prefer camellia sinensis, I am willing to try herbal blends, and I actually do like to have an herbal tisane later in the evening to encourage some peace and quiet so that I can get a good night’s rest.
Which is why I chose to try this Peace Tea first. The ingredient list suggests that there are quite a few calming herbs in the blend.
Ingredients: Blue Vervain, Lemon Balm, Catnip, Oat Straw, Red Bergamot, Chamomile, Hops, Motherwort, Valerian, Skullcap and St John’s Wort.
To brew this tisane, I used my Kati tumbler and measured 1 1/2 bamboo scoops into the basket. I heated 12 ounces of water to 195°F and then let it steep for 8 minutes.
As the description suggests, there is some bittersweet going on here. This is a tisane that I recommend adding a dollop of honey (raw, locally harvested honey if you’ve got it!) to help tame the bitterness a bit. After I added a little bit of honey, I found this to be an enjoyable cup.
The vervain and the hops is where a lot of the bitterness is coming from. I taste hints of mint-like flavor from the catnip and there is a touch of citrus flavors from the lemon balm and bergamot. I was really hoping to taste more of the bergamot in this.
Mostly, what I’m tasting is a very herbaceous flavor. It is bittersweet. Almost medicinal. There’s a light floral note that is nice and it develops as I continue to sip. I pick up on more of the chamomile flavor as the tea cools and guess what? I was actually happy to discover the chamomile! I think that the reason for that is because it’s more of a familiar flavor amid the medicinal notes.
All that said: this isn’t a bad tisane. I’m not hating this. It’s not horrible. It’s alright. But this is not something I’d want to reach for on a regular basis. The citrus notes and the hint of mint are this tea’s saving grace, because without those notes, I don’t know that I’d enjoy this.
The pros: there is no hibiscus in here. I enjoy the citrus-y notes and the touch of mint. The floral notes are pleasant. With a bit of honey this tastes much nicer and I am noticing myself relaxing and calming down a bit – I feel the peace that the name of the tea promises. These are good things!
The cons: It does have a strong bitter tone to it and while I can appreciate a contrasting, savory bitter note in a tea or tisane now and again, this is a stronger bitter taste than I’d like it to be. It has a medicinal quality that makes me feel like I’m drinking something functional or “good for me” – which I am, but I don’t like to feel like I am. I like to get my functional, good for me teas in sweeter, better tasting blends.
I think I’d like this a lot more if it had more citrus-y flavors, or more flavors that I don’t normally associate as “herbaceous.” As a drink, it’s alright. As a source of peace and calm, I appreciate how this tea is inspiring those things in me at the moment. I feel noticeably more relaxed now than I did before I started sipping.
