Around 2pm is when I’m grabbing for something to keep me going for a few more hours. This little ditty has been saving me from grabbing a sugary snack for the past week and I am completely in love with it.
Wild Leaf Active Teas offers a line of teas with a healthy thought behind each tea. I regularly drink their Slim tea in the mornings and adore that rich jammy earthy flavor. I’ve found in the mornings that I do have more energy but I do drink a few servings of this tea before hitting the road in the morning. I can’t say I’ve noticed any other side effects but I drink this tea more for the flavor and the energy, not so much the weight loss or boosted metabolism.
So this last time when my subscription was about to be shipped out, I emailed Wild Leaf Active Teas and asked if I could add in a tin of their Charge tea. Their Charge tea is a conventionally arranged eye opening tea bag full of green tea, yerba mate, and mint.
Brewed up hot, this tea provides a refreshingly energetic way to get rid of those 2pm heavy eyelids that I seem to get. The flavors mingle so well. Earthy yerba mate combined with a buttery green tea that as a slight vegetal feel with a cooling refreshing finish. A smooth cuppa to enjoy for sure.
Brewed up cold, this ice tea just gives and gives. Again you get all of those same earthy yerba mate notes and that same green tea feel, but it seems like the mint flavor is richer and more intense. So refreshing and cooling. I see this as being a perfect tea for those warm summer afternoons heading our way or even a fabulous ice tea to drink while at my parents’ pool.
I’m a huge fan of green tea, yerba mate, and mint, so I knew this would be a huge hit for me. What I hadn’t expected was how much my family would dig this tea. My dad actually asked me to get him some of this tea and my hubby has asked me to give him this tea in the mornings as a cold brew.
Charge is another widely loved tea in my family. So far there hasn’t been a tea from the Wild Leaf Active Tea lineup that I haven’t loved. Slim is still my favorite with this one and Smart following right behind. Even though these are bagged teas, they are so full of flavor that I find myself grabbing them more and more, especially when I’m at work or am in a bigger hurry than usual.
For me, Wild Leaf Active Teas are full of flavor, love, and that added zip that I need to get me thru the day.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green/Yerba Mate
Where to Buy: Wild Leaf Active Teas
Description
Power up with invigorating whole leaf Yerba Mate, Green Tea and Peppermint. KA-POW! Ain’t nobody got time to crash. Win the war on naps with this bold, dark, invigorating tea because we have things to accomplish!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Comparing Two Taiwanese Oolongs from #TeaAve and #Teavivre. . . . .
I’m going down the rabbit hole here with two Taiwanese oolongs, like Alishan Wonderland. The first time I visited a “Star-ba-ke” in China, I tried ordering a “tea with milk”. But they said it was too gross, several times, and they wouldn’t make it for me. I thought they had to be joking! They weren’t. My friend later told me I was insisting that “cheese” chai was a thing at American Starbucks. I could have died from the mix of embarrassment and jet lag.
Not too far away from that, around 1200 meters up Ali mountain on a foggy island with low temperatures, both the Osmanthus Oolong from Tea Ave and the Alishan Jin Xuan Milk Oolong from Tea Vivre were born to have complex flavor profiles, but nothing like cheese, I was assured. It is literally translated as Golden Daylily. I tried both these teas without adding any sweetener.
The Tea Vivre Jin Xuan Milk Oolong was so clean tasting that at first I wasn’t sure I steeped it, but the body of it feels thicker than 
just water and when the fruity aftertaste lingered, I was completely blown away. The flavor really crept up on me! I was able to resteep this naturally flavored tea several times and the fresh-then-orchid combo never failed to delight.
Osmanthus Oolong by Tea Ave was an equally light colored infusion but had more flavor at the front end instead. A very clean apricot flavor greeted my taste buds with this fuller bodied brew. The floral aftertaste was somewhat tannic but not as long lasting as the original flavor style. One aspect I really liked about this brand were the specific instructions for each brewing style, down to the grams for tea and mL of water. The scientist and the tea lover in me both wish I was Canadian so I could order more of this brand.
Overall a lovely experience with two drink-all-day oolongs. The best part is that now I don’t have to cringe at my bad memory when I hear the phrase “milk tea”.
Blueberry Matcha Green Tea from Simpson & Vail. . . . .
I’ve had my eye on Simpson & Vail’s Blueberry Matcha Green Tea for a while. Guess what? We finally got our hands on it! YAY! It was well worth the wait, too!
Matcha, Blueberry Flavor, and Cane Sugar are the 3 ingredients in Blueberry Matcha Green Tea from Simpson & Vail. One of the most important things I need to mention in this review is that the use of the cane sugar is perfectly done. Many flavored matchas tend to over do it with the sugar or sweetener. Not Simpson & Vail! They used this cane sugar to accompany NOT overstep and it’s much appreciated!
The Blueberry flavor is nicely done, too! It’s a pleasing medium-strength blueberry flavor. The sugary-sweet blueberry taste is what lingers well after the last sip.
The Matcha base they use is top notch when it comes the the taste quality, too! I can’t wait to try the other flavored matchas S&V offers. Be on the look out for the Vanilla one, specifically!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Matcha
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Description
We’ve found these great flavored matcha blends that we’re excited to offer to you! Each blend combines high quality matcha powder with cane sugar and natural flavor to create a delicious taste sensation. Try in your recipes for sweets, lattes, smoothies, iced beverages and more. Available in 1 oz. silver zip-lock bags.
Wildly popular in Japan, the matcha blueberry blend is becoming a favorite choice at tea and coffee shops across the country!
Ingredients: Cane sugar, matcha, natural flavor
Brewing: Add 1 tbsp of Blueberry Matcha to 6-8oz of water or milk and mix using a blender or shaker.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Passion Fruit Na Pali from Hawaiian Islands Tea Company. . . . . .
My cousin, a sailor in the Navy, and I have one big thing in common. I can guarantee you it’s not our skill at feats of endurance and strength (hi, he’s a sailor and I’m a therapist), nor the nuclear-science minded brain (I have a master’s degree, but not THAT kind of master’s degree) or even our physical location (can you tell from my pale, pale Midwestern skin that I’ve never even stepped foot in his current state of residence, Hawaii?).
Nope, my friends– it’s our love of tea. We only see each other once, maybe twice a year, but without fail, every Christmas, he comes home with all sorts of Hawaiian treats– and if I’m lucky, there’s some awesome teas included in the mix. This year, this intriguing and tropical passion fruit black tea found its way under the Christmas tree, and I only just recently had the chance to crack it open.
This tea comes pre-bagged– teas of which usually find their way into my office desk drawer for perfect mid-day brewing. It’s got some acidic bite from the black tea, but brewed up with a touch of honey, sweet and tangy passionfruit notes come out to play. It’s a great treat, reminiscent of tropical Hawaii (like I’d know, but you know what I mean) without being overdone.
Definitely one I’ll continue to reach for as this Midwestern winter continues to drag on and on– one sip, and I’m practically on a beach!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Hawaiian Islands Tea Company
Description
Anyone who’s traveled to the Na Pali coast of Kauai understands the majesty of the mountains standing against the pounding of the sea. It is this boldness that inspired the name of our bold and practically perfect passion fruit tea.
Made with classic Camellia Sinensis tea leaves and natural flavoring. Rich in polyphenols (antioxidant), our Passion Fruit Tea has lasting flavor, even after prolonged storage.
Contains 20 individual tea bags
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Banana Nut Bread from DAVIDsTea. . . . . .
I don’t usually gravitate towards banana flavored anything. I do, however, like banana nut bread and I also like chocolate covered frozen bananas. Banana flavor, though? Not so much. Alas, I was perusing DAVID’s website and decided to give it a try. I hoped that the banana wouldn’t be too sweet or artificial tasting and that the “nut” part would shine through because I absolutely adore anything and everything that is “nutty” (including people haha).
Upon opening my tin I swear this was trail mix! If I put this in a baggie and handed it to you, you would most likely start eating it. There were whole banana chips, dates, and little pieces of almonds. It smelled like banana, but I feel like it smelled a little artificial so I was concerned. I read on Steepster that you need to be careful when steeping this because apparently it gets messy. I used an in mug steeper and did not think it was too bad. I steeped this tea for 10 minutes, per the people on Steepster’s recommendation.
Once steeped it was a creamy and yellow liquid. I added just a small dash of agave and a splash of milk. Boy this tea was delectable! It really was delicious. The nuttiness truly does shine through. The banana is there, but its not in your face or artificial. It is not overly “banana” and is definitely drinkable and enjoyable even if you don’t normally like banana flavor. I think that this captured freshly baked banana nut bread 100%. Like, if I took banana nut bread and turned it into a liquid, it would taste like this tea. The dates add a slight sweetness to the overall cup, but the nuts really shine through and mingles with the mellow banana flavor. This is a total dessert replacement tea. Perfect for winding down after dinner.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Tisane
Where to Buy: DAVIDsTea
Description
Like all amazing recipes, this one took years to perfect – and it was totally worth the wait. This tea miraculously captures the flavour of freshly-baked banana bread. The taste of real banana slices blends perfectly with almonds and the sweetness of dates and currants. It’s fragrant, with all the warmth of a loaf hot from the oven. As deliciously comforting as mama’s special recipe, but without the calories.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
