Recently when I was at a craft show selling my CuppaGeek Teas, my booth was set up next to the wonderful and amazing Arbonne lady, Jennifer. Instantly I spied several different Arbonne items I wanted to try and knew that the Cranberry Fusion Herbal tea (even though it is bagged) sounded fabulous.
Now I will say this, I am not 100% up on my Arbonne knowledge. I just know that a few of my friends do purchase their products and enjoy them. The box of Cranberry Fusion Herbal tea bags did have a steep price (I believe they were $16 or $18 for a box of about 20 tea bags), but I was excited to try them.
Cranberry teas are among my favorite blends. I have always loved the sweet and tart components they bring to any tea and you can’t discount the healthy benefits of cranberries. Mix that with rose hips and a few other inclusions and you have yourself a delicious cuppa and that is exactly what this Cranberry Fusion Herbal Tea was. A Delicious Cuppa!
Brewed with boiling water and allowed to steep for about 7 minutes, this tea was bright, tart, sweet, and full of delicious fruity flavor. If you would have added a touch of honey, you would have had yourself a flavor that you could compare to a nice fruit punch. The flavor reminds me of a hibiscus tart blend with a touch of sweetness.
Sadly, this tea didn’t really hold up to multiple infusions and this box of tea went super fast in my household and for the price, I can’t say this would be a daily drinker for me. But this tea was delicious and great for the quick on the go moments that we all have and you are paying for that convenience factor.
With one of the last tea bags I had remaining, I did cold brew the tea and it was even more delicious as a cold brew than hot. I could totally imagine a giant pitcher of this tea brewed up for those spring and summer days that are just a few months away. From what I’m understanding, this tea is still available and honestly after drinking this tea, I’m curious about the other products Arbonne has to offer. Some of the Arbonne products do have stevia, so if you are like me and are sensitive to stevia, you just want to watch the ingredients on their products.
If you are interested in learning more about Arbonne, holler at Jennifer! She is the sweetest and super knowledgeable. Here is the link to her FB group and below is the link to her Arbonne site.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Arbonne
Description
This tea is currently sold out but click below to learn more about Arbonne.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Yerba Mate Mint by Choice Organic Teas . . .
I steeped this tea for 4 minutes at 175 degrees with one bag in about one cup of water.
The packet says to steep for 4-6 minutes but it smells plenty strong enough at 4 so I stopped there. Plus, since mint can get bitter if oversteeped, I didn’t want to wait too long.
It smells nice and minty while brewing. I can’t really distinguish it from plain peppermint tea by the smell. After steeping is over, the tea is a yellowish cedar-like color and not noticeably viscous.
First sip: Surprise! It tastes just like mint herbal tea–to me, anyway. Or at least not different enough that you would be positive there’s something else in there rather than just a variation on the minty flavor. (Maybe if I had prepared a cup of plain mint tea at the same time to compare against, that would have helped me pick out any differences, but alas–I didn’t think of that until it was too late.)
What that means is that this could be a clever way to have something caffeinated in the morning if you’re an herbal tea drinker and don’t care for green or black tea or coffee! Or if you only drink black tea with milk (like me) and are avoiding milk because you have a cold, but still need that caffeine boost. (I know that sounds oddly specific but it happens to me more often than you’d think!)
The mate isn’t roasted, I’m guessing, so maybe that’s why it doesn’t have a strong enough flavor to dominate this tea blend (after all, peppermint is a very powerful flavor and it’s hard to overcome that). So if you like peppermint tea, you’ll probably like this!
With sugar: It’s still good and minty, nice and easy on the throat (which means that it’s both good for colds and for vocal health if you’re trying to relax your voice and stay hydrated, although I guess caffeine is a little bit controversial where vocal health is concerned).
Overall this blend is both useful and enjoyable when prepared as a hot tea beverage, and it seems to have plenty of potential as a cold brew as well, although I didn’t try it that way.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Yerba Mate
Where to Buy: Choice Organic Tea
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Lost Maples from CatspringYaupon. . . October’s Sips by Box. . . .
A few days ago, my first Sips by box arrived. Included were four unique designed teas curated to my tastes and likes. Sips by is a monthly subscription box that curates teas to a survey/profile that you put together. Each month you receive four teas that you want, which I love. Being one that is picky about their herbal and black teas, I loved the fact that I could say no to certain teas while including tea varieties that I’ve always wanted to try.
My first box was a huge success and so far I’ve loved all of the teas I’ve tried. Lost Maples from Catsprinng Yaupon was the first tea that caught my eye and so far my favorite of the bunch. I’ve tried Catspring Yaupons tea before and was excited to try this medium roast version of Yaupon.
Yaupon is a plant that grows wild in North America. The plant itself is naturally caffeinated and this particular Yaupon is harvested right on the Catspring Ranch and conveniently packaged in tea bag form or loose leaf if you like. The last time I experienced Catspring’s Yaupon Tea, I had the loose leaf option, which I loved. This go around I’m enjoying the tea bag version.
And am I enjoying this tea. If you have never experienced Yaupon tea, I encourage you to do so. With a light vegetal undertone and a roasted flavor, this tea could be compared to an yerba mate tea blend but with a lighter and more airy feel. Through each sip, you can almost get this roasted chicory note that reminds me of coffee.
This is one of those teas that I’ve always meant to pick up more of and just never got around to it. Thanks Sips by for reminding me what a smooth well balanced tea that I’ve been missing in my tea drinking routine!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Yaupon
Where to Buy: Catspring/Sips by
Description
Sips by™ is a startup based in Austin, Texas, founded by a small group of tea lovers who want discovering tea to be fun, personalized, and affordable.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Assam Tea from Taylors of Harrogate and the Brands of Britain. . . .
I’m a little groggy from a night of nightmares in which my husband WOULDN’T STOP TALKING DURING TV. Not just any program: a reboot of my favorite childhood TV show (Space Cases). I kept whining “YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEEEEEEEEEEEEANS TO ME. STAAAAHHHHP.”
I need to stop drinking.
So here I sit, hoping that this assam tea will wake me up.
The bag says it’s “strong and malty black tea,” but what I’m mostly picking up here is an English Breakfast kind of flavor. It’s a little bit astringent and raisin-y. It’s pretty good tea, in an English Breakfast tea. As an Assam, it’s not fillin’ the bill.
Am I being pranked?
I feel like Ashton Kutcher is going to pop up and say “YOU’VE BEEN PUNKED! THIS IS ACTUALLY ENGLISH BREAKFAST THAT WE PUT IN AN ASSAM BAG! PUUUUUUUUUUUNKED!”
Oh, Ashton. You SCAMP.
I was thinking about Ashton Kutcher/Steve Jobs this morning, actually. (I can’t quite remember what Steve Jobs looked like, so Ashton tends to fill it in.)
Bagged tea is the iPhone.
Follow me on this.
Did you know that there was a time when I had a flip cell phone AND an iPod? I had to carry them both around in college. It was a hellish and inconvenient time.
Bagged tea is the one-step solution to tea. It’s CONVENIENT. Like checking movie times literally anywhere. Or listening to music and having it gracefully fade down when someone calls. Or looking in the face of someone on the other end of the country.
Loose leaf tends to have flavor on its side, but there are times when I can’t bear to portion it out, fill the steeper, wait, push the button, clean the steeper, etc.
If getting tea-punk’d every once in a while is the price I have to pay for ease on mornings like today, I’ll pay it. Just like my outrageous phone bill.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Brands of Britian
Description
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Rose Petals from The Tea Can Company
Rose Petals, both the name of this tea and, of course, a key ingredient. Rose petals, ceylon teas, and natural flavors. Basically this tea took a floral base and added a floral flavoring.With no recommended steeping I followed my heart and steeped this for 3 minutes in 190F water.
The end result is…surprise…floral. A little bit sweet from the rose but also a little perfumey and dry from the ceylon base. Think potpurri sprinkled with sugar. Granted I am probably not this teas intended audience since I don’t like floral or ceylons to begin with but sometimes teas with these ingredients have won me over. Alas, that is not the case here.
This tea claims to taste of sweet romance but this is not the relationship I am looking.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The Tea Can Company
Description
Description: The taste of sweet romance. Delicate, fragrant and soft as a flower, this rose tea is smooth perfection. Enjoy love in a cup, and the glow of good health delivered by abundant antioxidants. Relaxing rose tea can also relieve cramps.
Ingredients: An Aromatic Blend of Ceylon Teas, Rose Petals and Natural Flavoring, Contains Caffeine
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
