I’ve been wanting to try Simpson & Vail’s Yoga Teas for a while so when a bag labeled “Swadhisthana” was in the most recent shipment from S&V I did a little ‘Snoopy Dance’ for sure!
The Sacral Chakra (Swadhisthana), the seat of life, is located in the center of the abdomen. It is associated with the color orange and symbolized by the six-petal lotus flower. The Sacral Chakra is the seat of our creative and sexual energy and is associated with what our bodies need.
When in balance, the Sacral Chakra, will enable us to accept and solve the challenges of life in a creative manner and allow us to feel compassionate and friendly. It will enable us to express our emotions and connect us to others through feeling, desire, sensation, and movement.
I have done a lot with a trio of chakras the past year or two. My personal trio is the Red, Orange, and Yellow! I have plant based resin coated balance crystals that I have necklaces made out of and also have the yellow and orange balancing cones on each end of my desk.
Some may think this is all ‘hippie dippie’ stuff but I don’t mind. I’ve been called a hippie on more than one occasion and I wear the label others give me with a smile on my face!
What I will say about this herbal tisane and yoga tea is that it’s a harmonious blend of herbs that features a golden cup with a light earthy, spicy flavor and a delicate lemon and mint aftertaste. Simpson and Vail suggests says to connect to this energy center by trying new ways of expressing yourself creatively through dance, art, writing or music which is pretty much my daily life in both work and play.
Ingredients include Orange Peel, Rosehips, Annatto Seed, Cloves, Allspice, Organic Peppermint & Organic Lemon Grass.
The Orange is what shines here – first and foremost – and rightfully-so! The seed, clove, and spice are prominent as well. The Peppermint and Lemongrass pair up for a creative take of its own. This was incredibly satisfying, comforting, bright, juicy, and energizing! LOVED IT!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Simpson and Vail
Description
The Sacral Chakra (Swadhisthana), the seat of life, is located in the center of the abdomen. It is associated with the color orange and symbolized by the six-petal lotus flower. The Sacral Chakra is the seat of our creative and sexual energy and is associated with what our bodies need.
When in balance, the Sacral Chakra will enable us to accept and solve the challenges of life in a creative manner and allow us to feel compassionate and friendly. It will enable us to express our emotions and connect us to others through feeling, desire, sensation, and movement.
This harmonious blend of herbs has a golden cup with a light earthy, spicy flavor and a delicate lemon and mint aftertaste. Connect to this energy center by trying new ways of expressing yourself creatively through dance, art, writing or music. 3 oz. box.
Ingredients:
Orange Peel, Rosehips, Annatto Seed, Cloves, Allspice, Organic Peppermint & Organic Lemon Grass.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea by New Mexico Tea Company
I steeped 1 tsp of this tea for 5 minutes in one cup of 212 degree water.
First of all, this tea isn’t kidding when it says “hot.” (Currently I’m able to smell the cinnamon flavor through the bag even though I double-bagged it, which means it has about the same strength as lapsang souchong). You can clearly see, when measuring it out, that there’s tons of cinnamon in the tea leaves. The ingredients list says it has natural and artificial flavorings too in addition to the three types of cinnamon–I didn’t know three types of cinnamon existed, did you? But apparently they do.
I don’t expect the black tea flavor to come through much at all at this point (it’s probably mainly there for caffeination purposes.)
It smells very spicy and strong as it steeps, too. After steeping I note that it has a very dark brown, fittingly cinnamon-ish color. It’s nearly opaque and has bits of dissolved cinnamon in it. Kind of like spiced cider. It also has a faintly sweet cider-ish smell, but of coursewithout the apple factor. (It does have clove and orange peel though, so that’s probably why it’s reminding me of cider.)
First sip: yes, it’s quite sweet and quite spicy. And no, I don’t really taste the black tea at all. There is a slight bit of astringency, but I’m not sure if it’s from the black tea or from the cinnamon. There’s a depth to the cinnamon flavor, which is probably caused by the blending of several types of cinnamon and cinnamon flavorings to create a more complex cinnamon blend rather than one that hits you all in a wave. It’s very effective, too. It’s like a tour of cinnamon.
With milk (no sugar needed as it’s already sweet): it’s creamier, of course, but the milk doesn’t really bring out the tea flavor the way it usually does with spicy teas (though maybe there’s a hint). The excellently warming, invigorating cinnamon flavor isn’t quelled by the milk either, though perhaps a bit tamed.
Overall I like this tea very much both with milk and without. I’d recommend trying it both ways to see which strikes your fancy the most.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: New Mexico Tea Company
Description
.This blend brews very sweet even though no sugar is added. A cinnamon lover’s dream come true. A combination of hearty Chinese and Indian black tea and invigorating cinnamon.
Many cinnamon teas have a watery aftertaste due to the use of low grade teas. The black tea here has the stamina to last through the whole tasting process
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sensiblyscript’s Take on Lapsang Chai by Bluebird Tea Company. . . .
Steeping specs: One teaspoon at 212 degrees for 4 minutes in 1 cup of water.
This was an exciting idea for a tea. I’ve tried actual lapsang souchong once and couldn’t get through my mugful (maybe it was a bad idea to add milk, but I couldn’t stand it without milk either so I figured it couldn’t hurt anything). It’s not because I don’t like smoky flavors, either. I love smoked meat (I mean, BACON, right?), and I love campfires although it’s true I don’t eat them. But combining smoky tea with other strong spices that I know I like sounds like a very clever idea. I only wish I’d had it. In fact, I think I might have the rest of that sample packet of Lapsang somewhere; maybe I should go experiment with mixing it with various chais.
After steeping for four minutes I took a good whiff–it smells tantalizingly smoky. This could be either a good thing or a problem, as mentioned above. The color is amber-ish–on the light side for a chai, I think (and I do have the unfortunate tendency to judge my tea’s strength by its color! I’ve been known to waaaaay over-steep my tea just because it didn’t look dark enough to me). A few crumbs of leaf have escaped my basket, so maybe I’ll use the finer mesh next time I steep this. What’s really exciting is that although the smell is smoky, I can smell spices too! Cinnamon, ginger, and possibly clove, I think.
First taste: it’s definitely not tasting like liquid smoke here, which is good! The flavor combo is hard to describe, though. The smoky tang and the warmth from the spices hit me at approximately the same time with each sip, which means it really has a kick! It’s not a super spicy chai, though, so if you’re sensitive to spice that probably won’t be a problem (depending on just how sensitive you are, of course. Some people manage to complain of spiciness in foods that taste basically bland to me).
The smokiness combines especially well with the ginger notes for some reason. Does ginger have a smoky component normally? I don’t know. I just know that this tastes really, really good. The smoke lingers a bit after each sip, but like I said, it’s not overpowering.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Bluebird Tea Co.
Description
We like to do things a bit differently at Bluebird. Our latest infusion is a thoughtful blend of Lapsang Souchong, malty Assam + aromatic masala chai spices. A BREWtiful blend of tea + culture alike!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Organic Masala Chai from Hope and Glory
We’ve been having some tropical weather lately, so today was much cooler and rainier than usual for this time of year. I do appreciate cool weather when I can get it, especially because after a few days/weeks/months of summer I get tired of not being able to have any hot tea after 8AM without overheating and getting a migraine. So to celebrate the great rainy weather, I decided to have a big mug of milky chai right in the middle of the day; and fortunately for me, I was lucky enough to have a sample of Hope & Glory’s organic masala chai on hand!
The back of the sample packet said to simmer the tea with milk and water for 5-10 minutes, so that’s what I did. (I know this means my review won’t be much use to people who can’t drink milk, and I apologize. I once tried to make my lactose-intolerant brother a chai latte but I was unprepared to adapt to using soymilk and to make a long story short, he probably still dislikes spiced chai. But I digress.) I then strained it into my tall latte mug and added a few teaspoons of sugar and a little cream.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Hope and Glory
Description
A full-bodied blend of organic Ceylon black tea and spices, Masala Chai derives from the Hindi literally meaning ‘mixed-spice tea’. Spices such as cardamom and cinnamon have been expertly blended to give a warming, rich blend of flavours and a sweet aroma.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Rajah Collection Organic Masala Chai from Hope & Glory
I have to say I have being having so much fun going thru the Hope & Glory Shipment that was sent and Rajah Collection Organic Masala Chai from Hope & Glory is one of those teas that I am VERY MUCH enjoying thus far!
I LOVE the packaging! It goes along with their brand. It’s colorful and clean. The packaging also explains a lot with very little wordage. It’s eye-catching and easy to comprehend while on-the-go! On the back of the package I am looking at for the Rajah Collection Organic Masala Chai from Hope & Glory offering I noticed the ingredient breakdown and ratio.
The leaf grade of the Rajah Collection Organic Masala Chai from Hope & Glory is Orthodox Leaf – FBOP. This blend of ingredients are 70% Organic Ceylon Black Tea, 30% fresh blend of organic spices which are made up of ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, and black pepper.
I really appreciate the fact that Hope & Glory used 70% for the ratio of black tea base to the 30% chai spices. The chai spices are perfectly done to my own personal liking. The spices are not over powering nor are they too weak – they are JUST RIGHT! Rajah Collection Organic Masala Chai from Hope & Glory is quite thrilling and certainly a tea I will be sharing with MANY.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Chai (Black Tea Base)
Where to Buy: Hope & Glory
Description: A full-bodied blend of organic Ceylon black tea and spices, Masala Chai derives from the Hindi literally meaning ‘mixed-spice tea’. Spices such as cardamom and cinnamon have been expertly blended to give a warming, rich blend of flavours and a sweet aroma.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!