I have to admit: I had to test this one two nights in a row. The first night, I literally guzzled it. Kind of hard to get the flavor details when you chug your tea! So, night two: I sipped slowly and carefully to enjoy and get the full scoop on this tea.
There is something so soothing about lemon at bed time. On occasion I sometimes just drink warm lemon water; it’s calming and it’s great for digestion (especially if you eat late).
This blend by Culinary Teas brings soothing and calming to a whole new level. Lemon verbena, lemongrass, and lemon peel offer an intoxicating aroma; it’s relaxing just inhaling the steam off of your cup. With this combination of lemon notes, you’re getting some of the best components you could ask for in an herbal tea: bitter-tart from lemon peel, bright herbal from lemon verbena, and a hearty and earthy herbal note from lemon grass. Lemon grass is packed with a ton of health benefits on top of being relaxing.
Finishing it off with my favorite fruit to mix with lemon: raspberry! There’s also apple pieces which are helpful in bringing a good balance to the flavors when you have a lot of ingredients. I’ve heard rumors of cornflowers tasting a little spicy like clove but, I’m not getting that with this tea. However, cornflower mixed with the hibiscus give this liqueur a pretty hue. Pretty tea is more fun to drink!
Altogether, this tea is a good one to keep around. It’s relaxing, it has an amazing aroma, and the flavor is smooth and delicious. I followed the steeping directions the first time with one teaspoon for 3-4 minutes. The second tasting, I did a full tablespoon in a bigger mug and gave it about 5 minutes. It was perfect both times, but I much preferred the longer steep.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Description
This House Blend will relax and comfort you at any moment.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
**this tea was gifted in exchange for review**
Unicorn Dream/DAVIDs Tea
Law school has meant no time and not much spare money. That means that not only have I not had a lot of time to write reviews but I haven’t really been buying tea. So, even if I wanted to write a review, a lot of my teas are so old that I don’t think my reviews would have been fair assessments of the teas. However, like so many of you, I am stuck at home riding out this coronavirus storm which means my schedule has just opened up. Plus, a wonderful friend of mine has shared plenty of teas with me and I have splurged a little so I also have new teas in my cupboard that I can review while they are still in their prime. One such new tea is a super cute blend from DAVIDsTEA called Unicorn Dream.
First of all, while some little girls (and boys) like princesses or mermaids, I was in the unicorn camp. Literally obsessed with unicorns. And while I am older now, I am still a unicorn fan. For my 25th birthday (a few years back now), I had a unicorn-themed sweet table complete with balloon trees. When my sister placed the order for the balloons, the party store thought she made a mistake and actually said it was for a birthday for a 2 and 5 year old, not a 25 year old. Basically, I am sharing this story to make it clear that I am 100% the target audience for this tea.
DAVIDsTEA doubles down on the unicorn fantasy with one of the prettiest blends I have seen in a while. This comes complete with gold sugar pearls, mini marshmallows, pink heart sprinkles, and pink and white unicorn sprinkles, all on top of a colorful fruity/herbal base. It has butterfly pea flowers in it too which means when it brews up, it is a lovely purple color. It really is quite awesome and would probably appeal to the kid in everyone on looks alone.
Looks aren’t everything when it comes to tea though and thankfully it delivers on flavor as well. It is meant to be cotton candy flavored tea. I like to cold brew it because in addition to a berry cotton candy flavor the comes through, it has a marshmallow fluffiness. This is honestly what I imagine a cloud would taste like in a world of unicorns. It is sweet and fruity and definitely candy-like. I might be a bit bias but I genuinely believe this is the perfect tea for any kid, whether they be a young child or a 28-year-old kid at heart like myself. It’s nostalgia in a cup and certainly a ray of sunshine in these crazy times!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: DAVIDs Tea
Description
Warning: This tea will add some magic to your day. Our caffeine-free fruit infusion is filled with smile-inducing ingredients – from blue butterfly pea, yellow everlasting flowers & pretty pink hibiscus blossoms to unicorn & heart-shaped sprinkles. The result is an enchanting & addictive herbal tea that’s tart and lightly citrusy, with dreamy notes of sweet cotton candy and creamy marshmallow.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Canadian Berries from Siplicious. . . .
Hello precious teacups! Are you cold? I’m cold. I’m always cold, but I’m really cold now because it is winter where I am and so brutal outside that I half expect to see an AT-AT Walker wander past my window. Inside, though, inside is where the tea is and that will warm you up with much less work than a less-than-lively tauntaun.
The saving grace of weather like this is that it’s the perfect time to enjoy a good cuppa. I brewed this particular blend for 5 minutes using boiling water. It brews up the vibrant red you would expect from something containing hibiscus. The flavor is tart and juicy and overwhelmingly hibiscus and cranberry. I like this but I’m not picking up on any of the other ingredients.
I did get three solid steeps out of this tea. I abandoned the third cup and it was cold by the time I got back to it. Turns out this blend isn’t bad hot but it is miles better as an iced tea! It is a fantastic berry explosion in my mouth, much more nuanced than the hot brew. I might have known this if I had paid attention to the website categorizing this as a summer tea!
This blend makes an excellent base for a modified version of Lu Ann’s tea-infused hot chocolate recipe . I brewed the tea like normal, stirred in three heaping teaspoons of Cadbury Drinking Chocolate, added almond milk (maybe a shotglass’s worth, I was eyeballing it), and topped it off with vegan marshmallows. So good! The chocolate and sweetness tone down the hibiscus, allowing the cranberry, raspberry, peach, and strawberry notes to come out by turns.
So the lesson here is a) read instructions and b) don’t be afraid to experiment! This is a delicious herbal berry blend but I would have written it off as a hibiscus-heavy cup of boring if I had only had it as a plain cup of hot brew. Stay warm out there!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Fruit Tisane
Where to Buy: Siplicious
Description
This award winning “All-Canadian”, berry-delicious infusion is packed full of native berries bursting with the flavors of our True North Strong and Free.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Colombian Andean Princess Black Tea from Simpson and Vail. . .
Grape-y Goodness? Yes, please! But Colombian Andean Princess Black from Simpson & Vail is much more than that thanks to the simple – yet impressively unique – list of ingredients! The ingredients in this loose leaf tea are Colombian Black Tea, Isabella Grape Skin, Andean Raspberry, and Hibiscus Flower.
If any tea has done Hibiscus Flower perfectly it’s THIS tea! I wouldn’t change a thing about the hibiscus ratio or any other ingredient ratio in this lovely loose tea!
The grape and raspberry combination really make this special. Everything seems to have the same color hue when dry that it camouflages within the packet of ingredients!
S&V states on their website that this tea blend balances the naturally acidic flavor characteristics of Colombian fruits with the sweet flavor of Black Tea. Isabella grape is a hybrid distinguished by its high acidity and enhanced level of antioxidants. Andean raspberry is a type of blackberry found in northwest South America that is noted for its high vitamin C content, calcium, and phosphorus. Andean Princess tea brews to an amber cup with a full fruit flavor.
I enjoyed reading a bit more on this tea and the region it hails from which is the mountainous region of Colombia, in an area steeped in biodiversity, along the western slope of the Andes, is the Bitaco tea estate. They say the gentle mist from the mountains, rich soil, and ample rainfall all stimulate the growth of the tea bushes, producing a tea with unique characteristics.
I was excited to also learn that Bitaco Tea owns over 200 acres of tea plants that are cultivated at over 6,000 feet above sea level in the region of Choco. This region enjoys a high rainfall and has exceptional biodiversity. The tea gardens are located next to a thriving, protected rain forest, the Bitaco Regional Forest Reserve, where there is a wide diversity of flora and fauna: 256 bird species, 28 amphibian species, 23 reptile species and 772 species of plants. The garden, located near the Equator, enjoys a consistent climate which results in a bountiful production of tasty, delicate tea-tips that are picked and processed throughout the year.
Bitaco Tea not only cultivates exceptional teas, they also are committed to their community – (which you know we LOVE to talk about ChariTEAs here at the Sororitea Sisters). They created the Agricola Himalaya Foundation to develop and improve programs focusing on education, especially for local children. Activities focus on the improvement of infrastructure, recreational opportunities, local culture and access to technology.
This is a complete CommuniTEA Tea! Share with others and enjoy and KNOW it comes from people who also are passionate and care, too!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson and Vail
Description
This Blend balances the naturally acidic flavor characteristics of Colombian fruits with the sweet flavor of Black Tea. Isabella grape is a hybrid distinguished by its high acidity and enhanced level of antioxidants. Andean raspberry is a type of blackberry found in northwest South America that is noted for its high vitamin C content, calcium, and phosphorus. Andean Princess tea brews to an amber cup with a full fruit flavor.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Hibiscus Twist from The Cozy Leaf. . . .
I know I’m not the BEST person to blog about a tea called Hibiscus Twist. That’s because I’m not the biggest fan of the flower. But when I read the other ingredients of this herbal offering from The Cozy Leaf – I thought I would give it a whirl.
Officially described on The Cozy Leaf website as an Artisan Loose Leaf Herbal Tea (Caffeine Free) – Organic – offering – the flavor of this is tangy-tart and fruity with a delicate touch of spearmint. I will not tell a lie…the spearmint is what drew me in.
As the loose contents steeps a beautiful crimson color fills the cup!
I do prefer this offering ICED over the hot cuppa option but each person is different and this is one of those herbals that can easily please the masses!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Cozy Leaf
Description
A tangy tart herbal blend that is sure to add a smile to your tea time and has been bringing a healthy smile to my face since May of 2010! This brews a beautiful crimson cup that is excellent hot or cold! One of my favorite summertime treats is to add some lemonade or fresh berries to a delicious brew of Iced Hibiscus Twist (excellent paired with blackberries and fresh spearmint)! Another easy treat is to make an extra strong brew and freeze the concentrate in ice cube trays. Then pop the frozen crimson ice cubes into fresh made lemonade! The crowd goes wild!! This is also a fabulous tea to have premade in the refrigerator for the unexpected guests. Nothing like having a premium and healthy beverage right at your fingertips to leave an impression!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!