I’ve been sleeeeepy lately. It seems with all that’s been going on in my personal life, a full 8 hours of ZZZs is usually the first thing to take a hit and man, is it ever slowing me down. So you can imagine when I saw this cute little packet of tea in my sample stash proclaiming to make me “awake!” I couldn’t open it fast enough with my sleepy little fingers.
It’s a beautiful mate with herbs galore– tulsi (my favorite adaptogenic herb), bacopa, spearmint and current. It brews up a beautiful, vegetal dark gold, and tastes brilliantly herbal with no bitterness (and no need for honey).
I can’t say I immediately perked up after my first cup, but the soothing holy basil and fresh spearmint chilled me out and gave me that nice, focused feeling of being awake without being buzzy.
Just what I needed! Now to find what else I need– a cozy bed and a spare two hours to nap.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Mate
Where to Buy: Bird’s Eye
Description
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Slumbering Slope Tisane from Bird’s Eye Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Bird’s Eye Tea
Tisane Description:
Ingredients: Chamomile, Skullcap, Catnip, Spearmint, Rose, licorice
This is a simple blend to help calm the body at the end of the day. My sister grew the catnip for this blend. The skullcap and chamomile come from farms in Oregon. I like to use a variety of mild relaxants when I make any evening teas because everyone has a really specific combination of tensions in their body. Some folks hold tension in thoughts, others in their muscles.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Learn more about subscribing to Bird’s Eye Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I put off trying this Slumbering Slope Tisane from Bird’s Eye Tea for a while … and the reason is chamomile. I don’t dislike chamomile (although at one time I did dislike it) but, it’s also not my favorite herb. And … I usually only prepare a chamomile tisane later in the evening, when I want to start getting ready for rest because chamomile does have that relaxing effect. Actually, it makes me sleepy. But, usually, when I’m getting ready for bed, I’m not really thinking about preparing a tisane … although I think I should get myself into that habit.
And this would be a great tisane with which to get into that kind of habit! This is a tasty tisane. The chamomile is the strongest flavor, followed by the spearmint. I like that the spearmint is there to add a nice minty tone to the taste, but, it isn’t an overpowering taste, as I think a stronger minty flavor would be a bit more invigorating than it should be for a blend like this.
I can taste the rose, and again, I like that this is a soft, sweet rose note. The licorice is faint, but, it adds a hint of sweetness and an interesting contrast without coming off too zesty.
Everything about this blend is calm and soothing. It is a very relaxing blend that is not too medicinal or herbaceous tasting, and not overly sweet. It has a pleasant, easy to drink flavor. I like it.
Floral Focus Oolong Blend from Bird’s Eye Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Bird’s Eye Tea
Tea Description:
Ingredients: jade oolong, osmanthus flowers, and codonopsis
This is a really special tea and I am really excited to give it to you. Osmanthus flowers have a scent and flavor unlike any other that perfectly compliments the slightly floral nature of jade oolong. This jade oolong comes from the Nantou region of Taiwan, the farm is high up in the mountains. It was harvested in the spring and after light oxidation leaves were dried and rolled by hand. Codonopsis (dang shen) is referred to as “poor man’s ginseng” in many parts of China. It’s effects are milder than ginseng and it is much less expensive. This is a great herb for folks with mental fatigue, slow digestion, and poor immune function. It also increases milk production in nursing mothers. As with most adaptogens, it reduces stress, is anti-inflammatory, and also boosts mental and physical energy.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about subscribing to Bird’s Eye Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Photo from Wikipedia
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Wowza! I’m really liking this Floral Focus Oolong Blend from Bird’s Eye Tea. I don’t always fancy flowers added to my Oolong teas only because Oolong teas tend to already have a very floral attitude to them. Then again, I do like Oolong teas that have been scented with magnolia and jasmine … and even osmanthus as this one has been. I guess what I wasn’t so sure about was the Codonopsis.
But, I like the way everything comes together in this cup. The natural floral qualities of the Oolong are accented nicely by the osmanthus and the codonopsis, but the other characteristics of the Oolong are not overwhelmed. I can taste the lovely creamy notes of the Jade Oolong. It tastes sweet and feels really soft and smooth to the palate.
The Oolong also has a slight vegetative note that seems to meld seamlessly with the floral tones … like they were made for one another. The osmanthus also brings out some of the natural peach-like tones of the Oolong. The overall taste is strongly floral … it tastes sharp without tasting soap-ish or perfume-y, with sweet fruit notes and a creamy overtone.
Another very enjoyable – and unique! – blend form Bird’s Eye Teas.
Honeybush Spice from Bird’s Eye Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: Bird’s Eye Tea
Tisane Description:
Ingredients: honeybush, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, orange zest, star anise, pink peppercorns, and licorice root.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Learn more about subscribing to Bird’s Eye Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh! This Honeybush Spice tisane from Bird’s Eye Tea is delightful. I was very excited to try this when I read the ingredient list (above) because I love star anise and licorice … and I don’t often find them in blends together. I usually find either star anise or licorice root, but because they do possess similar characteristics, they aren’t usually combined. But I like them combined … it really pushes the sweet, sassy flavor of licorice into focus.
But, what I am really liking is that the licorice-y flavor isn’t all that I taste. There is warm cinnamon and cardamom, plus the zesty flavor of ginger. And the orange brightens the whole cup.
The honeybush is sweet, a little bit nutty, and very smooth. I like how the earthy flavors of the spices really come through to enhance the dimension of the honeybush – sometimes honeybush can taste a little on the thin side, but that’s not the case with this cup. The spices give not just the cup depth, but also lets me really enjoy the taste of the honeybush as well.
This tisane was one of Bird’s Eye Tea’s February 2012 tea selections that they sent me to sample, and I’m really glad I got a chance to try it. The warmth of this tisane is perfect for this time of year – it’s so naturally warming and comforting, something that you want to curl up with on a cold winter’s day like this. This is wonderful!
Awake from Bird’s Eye Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Yerba Maté & Tulsi
Where to Buy: Bird’s Eye Tea
Tisane Description:
This energizing blend will brighten your mornings! This is a really fun blend that I hope will invigorate and keep you focused during this cool dark season we are entering.
Ingredients: Yerba mate, Tulsi, Bacopa (brahmi), Spearmint, and Currant
To learn more about this tisane, click here.
To learn more about subscribing to Bird’s Eye Tea, click here.
Taster’s Review:
I had a hard time waking up this morning. I just didn’t want to. I was all warm and snuggled in my bed, so comfortable … but I had to get up. Too many things to do today!
This is exactly the kind of tisane that I need on a day like this. Awake from Bird’s Eye Tea is a Yerba Maté blend that was included in their November subscription box.
Yerba Maté – as many of you probably already know – is super-charged with caffeine for an eye-opening experience, but, what I like about this tisane isn’t the earthy/vegetal taste of the Maté (although I don’t dislike that), I’m liking the hint of mint that I taste from spearmint and tulsi – it isn’t a strong MINTY taste, but it is a nice touch. I find mint to be an invigorating taste, and tulsi has a sort of calming effect … which allows me to become alert but not jittery.
I don’t have much experience with brahmi … in fact, I cant tell you with certainty that I’ve ever had this herb in a tea … or in anything else, for that matter. The Bird’s Eye Tea Newsletter for November says that brahmi is an adaptogenic herb, which is supposed to help the body adapt to stress.
OK, so what I’m deriving from that is that this tisane helps you wake up and face the day, stress free! Heck yeah! I certainly could use a little of that!
My one complaint about this tisane is that I wish I could taste more of the currant. I taste the mint, I taste the herbaceous, earthy flavor of the Maté (and of course the other herbs contribute to this herbaceous note as well), but I don’t really taste a whole lot of berry, except in the aftertaste. Not even in the immediate aftertaste, but, after I’ve finished the sip, about a minute or so afterward, then I notice a hint of berry flavor come through – just a wee hint of tingly, tart-yet-sweet currant. I like that … but I’d like there to be a little more.
Overall, though, I found this to be a very enjoyable herbal tisane. It is energizing, as I am just over the halfway point with my cup here, and I am already feeling invigorated. A really pleasant blend – I’m really liking Bird’s Eye Tea!