Ginkgo biloba touts an amazing comeback story. Had it not been for one monastery keeping it as a sacred plant, it would have disappeared from our planet entirely! A group of these trees in Hiroshima even survived an atomic bomb (soooooo yeah, bulletproof coffee needs to step it up a bit, eh?)
And had you all not heard that amazing story from a biology class, you’d still be in luck, because fortunately the Virginia Tea co has done all the herbal medicine research and responsible sourcing for you, Thank you Kickstarter supporters! This tea is entirely to credit (blame??) for any extra wild anecdotes I happen to remember from Fall Quarter
This offering has beautiful, large leafy components and all sorts of flavor packed little herbal goodies just perfectly balanced. There is a distinctly sweet, innocent floral scent going on here that is super relaxing, a good “stop and smell the roses” kinda moment. Very youthful and uplifting.
I love drinking these “mind-boosting” teas on exam days. As usual I personally prefer a bit of sweetener in these teas. Whether they truly help me remember how to do a crazy math skill or not, I’m at peace even with just the placebo effect.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Virginia Tea Company
Your brain is a very powerful organ and needs to be nourished. This blend of gingko, gotu kola, spearmint, and sage are exactly what your mind needs to increase awareness and retain memory.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
English Breakfast from The Virginia Tea Company. . . .
There are so many teas called English Breakfast, and they can be quite different. The original English Breakfast tea is said to have been pure 100% Chinese Keemun. This is the exception rather than the rule today, and you are more likely to find a mix of black tea from Sri Lanka, India, and Kenya. Modern tea tastes in the UK overall run to strong black tea that not only holds up to, but almost requires, milk and sugar – a nice, boot-you-out-of-bed tea.
Having a tender and sensitive tummy, I am cautious with breakfast blends as I don’t add anything to my tea, and with no milk to smooth my morning beverage the day can go dicey if the tea is too astringent. Also, once awake I am generally ready to go and don’t need to kick in the pants.
This fair trade tea is a blend of Ceylon, Kenyan, and Assam teas. I have put them in the order I believe them to be represented in the blend based on the taste. Far and away the top note for me is the lemony taste of Ceylon tea tingling on my tongue. This high citrus note is almost enough to make you think it is flavored! This often indicates that the tea was grown at a higher elevation of Sri Lanka. I put Assam last because I am not getting a huge amount of malty or bready flavor.
I am quite able to drink this without milk and sugar, enjoying the dry tingle of the briskness of the tea without the almost instant stomach ache some breakfast teas give me. I do believe that if milk and sugar is your thing, the tea could withstand it and wouldn’t wimp out under the additions.
If you love a good, black breakfast blend and want to upgrade to fair trade and organic tea, give it a try!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Virginia Tea Company
Description
This organic tea is perfect for pairing with your morning meal. The full-bodied flavor can be blended with milk and sugar to create an even better drinking experience.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Cold and Flu Relief from Virginia Tea Company
Sometimes you need an herbal tea with lots of roots and leaves and ingredients to make you feel like you’re brewing up a cup of healthiness. With peppermint, yarrow flower, ginger, echinacea, and elderberry this Cold & Flu Relief blend from Virginia Tea Company really fits the bill. I’m not a doctor, but if you buy into this kind of thing, these herbal ingredients promote all kinds of benefits like aiding in digestion (mint), settling a nauseous stomach (ginger), and boosting your immune system (echinacea). There’s also a little pop of vitamin c from the tart elderberries.
This naturally decaf blend is good to drink any time of day, especially if you’re feeling under-the-weather and are getting ready for a midday nap. The overall flavor is smooth and minty, cooling on an itchy throat, with a slight sweet, licorice root undertone from the yarrow flower. Though there is ginger in this blend, the spice is very mild. You’re not drinking this tea for a kicked-up spicy chai. This is the perfect cup to drink when you need something soothing and gentle, or need a warm beverage to mix with honey to soothe a sore throat.
Whether you aren’t feeling well or are just having a hard day, this blend will help you find some relief and comfort.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Virginia Tea Company
Description: Mother always said the best thing for the flue is to drink something hot! Even better, this hot liquid also includes healing herbs to help your immune system fight your illness.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Headache Relief from Virginia Tea Co (with help from Mary Poppins). . . .
Once upon a time, I had sad news to give, and I was up all night thinking of how to break it. The next morning came with a pretty rough headache, but also the right words to say. Good thing this headache curing tea was in to ease some of my mental turmoil!
It’s got lots of pulverized leaves, I can recognize lavender and chamomile and there’s definitely spearmint in there too, though there are lots of fragrant flowers I can’t ID.
Virginia Tea Co is a Kickstarter crowd-funded company, whose done all the herbal medicine research so we don’t have to. They also source fair trade ingredients, and that’s a relief too.
When I tasted this, it seemed bitter to me, almost tasted like aspirin. Was it my conscience affecting my taste buds or was this just not my cuppa?
A few weeks later, I served some to a friend who’d been having a lot of headaches and thought he might benefit from it. He often describes himself as having “the palate of an eight-year-old”, but he liked it!…. After adding Paula Deen amounts of simple syrup…. in about 15 minutes, he noted his head felt less tense, and later that night it hadn’t come back.
Well now we know Mary Poppins had it right, a (few) spoonful(s) of sugar helps the medicine go down! I know that some folks are sensitive to OTC pain relief options, or prefer not to use pharmaceuticals and this is a great option for them.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Virginia Tea Co.
Lavender, feverfew, chamomile, skullcap, and spearmint are blended together to help fight those awful headaches. They do this by relaxing your mind and allowing for better thoughts to enter.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Cold & Flu Relief from The Virginia Tea Company. . . .
I rarely even reach for a Cold & Flu Herbal Tisane because I usually don’t have to. I have been lucky to NOT catch much of what my friends, family, and co-workers catch. But sometimes I think it’s better and wiser to be proactive and nip in the in butt before it’s too late to combat! That is why Cold & Flu Relief from The Virginia Tea Company jumped out at me recently!
The ingredients include Organic Peppermint, Organic Spearmint, Yarrow Flower, Organic Ginger, Organic Echinacea, Organic Elderberry. Right away I knew the company added a little extra TLC in to this herbal tisane.
Because of the Peppermint and Spearmint I was very pleased with this flavor. It’s comforting when it’s hot. I supposed one could also infuse this and ice it because I opted for the hotter the better.
The flavor was heavier on the herbal side of things but the minty-freshness lingered nicely and made it come full circle. This one is a keeper – especially when you DON’T need it – if you know what I mean! And if you don’t know what I mean…I mean…Be PRO-ACTIVE, folks! Get ahead of the dreaded cold and flu – combat and fight all you can – while you can! I’m not saying this will ‘cure you’ but it certainly helped me fight what ever everyone else is suffering from!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: The Virginia Tea Company
Description
Mother always said the best thing for the flue is to drink something hot! Even better, this hot liquid also includes healing herbs to help your immune system fight your illness.
Ingredients: Organic Peppermint, Organic Spearmint, Yarrow Flower, Organic Ginger, Organic Echinacea, Organic Elderberry
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
