My beautiful, foolish husband let me into a Harney & Sons store in upstate New York. I placed a few carefully chosen items into my basket, and moved toward the checkout.
“Is that all?” the doofus queried.
“I can have more?” I asked.
“That doesn’t seem like much stuff,” he said.
I tripled the amount in my basket.
One of my picks was this flower-fruit-coconut concoction that’s basically a bar in the tropics, distilled down into one alcohol-free mug. I felt like I was swimming up to a swim-up bar (I’ve never done this) with a big flower in my hair (I’ve never done this) in the background of Lilo and Stitch (I’ve never done this).
When it comes right down to it, I’m more of a forest/lake/inland kind of girl than a beach girl. I like how trees smell. I don’t like sand between my toes. But this tea, man, this tea almost makes me reconsider my stance. Almost.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Harney and Sons
Description
Delicious, refreshing tea with a charitable twist. Named for GMHC’s slogan and logo, our Love Life tea is a refreshing blend of Japanese Bancha green tea with fresh flavors of strawberry, coconut, rich vanilla, and puffed rice for a light, fruity brew. 50% of the sales from this tea benefits GMHC, an organization devoted to fighting for an end to the AIDS epidemic and uplifting the lives of those affected.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Roasted Vanilla/Perkse. . . .
This tea comes in cute little twisty balls that remind me of armadillos curled up. As the tea steeps, they charmingly stretch out. (I’ve probably mentioned this in previous posts, but I’d like to mention for the record that UNFURLING TEA IS A BLESSING UPON THE EARTH. Thanks for the fun, meditative watch, tea!)
This tea has a beautiful vanilla/white chocolate flavor. Tasting it is the equivalent of listening to a harp. It’s delicate. It’s ethereal. It’s pale and sweet and floaty.
The green is a subtle counterpoint, so if you do want the benefits of green tea without that “green” flavor, try hitting this up!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Perkse Tea
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Vanilla Mint from Golden Moon. . . .
Vanilla and mint teas are an awesome combination. There are so many options out there and typically they utilize peppermint to mix with a vanilla black tea. Vanilla Mint by Golden Moon Tea is a little different since they use a black/green base with vanilla bean and spearmint.
I brewed this as a latte because vanilla mint lattes are awesome. This is no exception. The creaminess of the milk brings out the silky vanilla bean flavor. That makes it the flavor you notice first, though it slowly melts to a clear mint flavor. The mint lingers in the aftertaste and leaves you with a bright and fresh feeling.The base teas act as a solid foundation for the flavoring but don’t impart much of a taste themselves.
This is a nice take on a vanilla mint tea. At the end of the day it is not so different from other interpretations that I need to go out of my way to get it over other variations. However, it made for a nice latte this morning and at the end of the day, that’s all I could ask for.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black/Green
Where to Buy: Golden Moon Tea
Description
While this combination of flavors seems a bit out of the ordinary, trust us when we say it just works. In fact, this tea was invented when our Owner was on a “business trip” to Vienna, Austria. After having a really rough day of going to the Vienna Opera House, he stopped by a café for some of their renowned apple tarts with a thick vanilla cream called shlag. Noticing that the locals add the cream to their coffee, he decided to do the same to the mint tea he was drinking. And guess what? It was delicious. The creamy vanilla tempered the sharp mint and the two flavors melded almost perfectly. So, this is our version of this Viennese combination that is rich, sweet, and utterly refreshing.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Coconut Green Tea Anyone? #PacificTea
Whenever Pacific Tea Company is located, I can with pretty good authority say it’s probably not close to me, you guys. This blend (dubbed “Local Hideaway”), had it been a hideaway local to ME– would probably taste like a snow-covered forest floor. Or a tundra-infused Great Lake. Needless to say, all of the hideaways local to my current home are not exactly flavors you’d want steeping in your cup.
But luckily, wherever is local to Pacific Tea tastes far, far better than here. This green blend is strong on the vegetal green notes at the front of the sip, with delightfully fresh coconut-and-vanilla lingering at the end. I’m still coming around on grassy green teas, so at first sip, I wasn’t too sure if this would be the brew for me.
But it’s absolutely redeemed and made all the more interesting by those sweetly lingering tropical notes at the end of each sip.
Pacific Tea, wherever you are, I’m comin’ for ya. If this is what your local hideaways taste like, I want to go to there.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Pacific Tea
Description
Take me back to the summer of enveloping coconut trees on roads less travelled. Lingering notes of coconut, carob, liquorice and vanilla remind of days better spent.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
