Wow, can you believe that it’s day 9 already? I hope you’re enjoying lots of wonderful teas this holiday season. I know that Teanzo has certainly kept me happy with this calendar of tea!
For today’s inspirational piece of artwork, I am again looking to one of the gifts that I received in one of the 12 Days of Christmas mail art swaps that I was involved in. This cute mitten was made by Sue Foster, and it hangs proudly on my tree.
I love how perfectly the stitches are on this. It would take me hours – literally, hours! – to do something like this. I’m not as handy with a needle and thread, I’m afraid.
Thank you, Sue, it’s beautiful and whimsical and a perfect addition to my handmade tree.
Today’s tea from Teanzo is one that should inspire happy dreams.
Dream Spa Blend Tisane
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal/Spice Melange
Where to Buy: Teanzo 1856
Tea Description:
Ingredients: Cardamom, saffron, licorice root, fennel, ginger root, cinnamon, rosebuds, lemongrass & rose scent.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea smells amazingly good, especially after it’s been brewed. The dry leaf smells remarkable as well, but the brewed liquid is almost intoxicating – it smells so good! The combination of the spices and the rose is simply amazing. It doesn’t smell too spicy, it doesn’t smell too rosy, it just smells dreamy. Much like the name of the tea suggests.
Seriously, this scent should be made into potpourri or something. Or soap!
To steep it, I poured the contents of the sampler pouch into the basket of my Kati and added 12 ounces of water heated to 195°F and let it steep for 6 minutes. Originally, I thought that I’d steep it for 10 minutes, the length of time I would normally steep a tisane without hibiscus, but the aroma of the dry leaf was strong and I felt that if I went for the full 10 minutes that this would come off tasting too strong.
After I finished steeping, I kept the cup up to my nose for several minutes, just inhaling the fragrance. So beautiful! Then the thought that enters my head before I take a sip is: should I be drinking this? It smells TOO GOOD to drink, as in it smells like something I’d want to wear or possibly perfume my living room with but would I want to consume it?
But the ingredients suggest to me that this should be alright to drink. There are some of the “usual ingredients” for a chai and I like chai. There’s saffron and I like that too. Licorice root and fennel are two of my favorite tea ingredients. And I love rose teas and I enjoy lemongrass. There’s nothing here that offends my palate so even though it smells like perfume hopefully it won’t taste that way.
So, I let the tea temperature drop to a drinkable temperature and took my first sip. This is actually really nice! It’s a strong taste – I’m glad I didn’t go ahead and steep it for my usual 10 minutes – but it’s quite pleasant. There are a lot of layers to the flavor because I can taste each ingredient.
I notice hints of citrus at the very start of the sip. It’s a warm, spicy citrus note, and about half a second after the citrus comes through clearly, the cinnamon and ginger come into focus. Then I pick up on the rose and the saffron. By mid-sip, the licorice and fennel are recognized by the palate. In the aftertaste, I notice notes of rose and a cola-like flavor that I attribute to the cardamom. It’s a warm and soothing cup, but it does have some invigorating quality to it too.
It’s a really unique beverage but I find myself enjoying it much more than I expected to. To be honest, when I saw that today’s tea was an herbal, the thought going through my head was “again?” You know, a kind of disappointed “again.” But now that I’ve tasted it, I’m really happy with this!
Thank you, Teanzo for this beautifully fragrant dream of a tisane today!
Camomille Matricaria from Les 2 Marmottes
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Tisane
Where to Buy: Les 2 Marmottes
Tisane Description:
Feverfew chamomile is a small and simple plant without chi chis. With its flower fragrance, it offers a fresh and comforting tea, breathing the fresh air. A very light yellow color, almost transparent and a light, honeyed flavor: chamomile, it is nature in all simplicity, that where lies happiness.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was a little apprehensive about this chamomile because when I opened the packet, I could see that the blossoms have been crushed and it looked a little more like chamomile dust rather than chamomile flowers. It looked a lot like what you’d find if you opened a grocery store offering of bagged chamomile tisane.
And that’s the stuff I’m not crazy about. I’ve come to a point where I enjoy whole blossom chamomile, but the dust in most tea bags that you can buy in the grocery store? No thank you.
But I decided to go into this experience with an open mind. I mean, who knows? Maybe I’ll like it. I won’t know though, until I try it. (That’s what I keep telling my daughter when it comes to trying new foods, anyway.)
I steeped the tea bag in 6 ounces of water that had been heated to 195°F for eight minutes. Normally, I’d go ahead and steep it for 10 minutes, but because this had been crushed to a powder, I decided to go with just 8 minutes.
I’m glad I did. The flavor is strong and I don’t know that I’d like it much if the flavor were any stronger. As it is, this is alright. It has a light, apple-y flavor and sweet nectar-y, honey-like flavor. It’s soothing. It’s pleasant.
Let’s face it, chamomile will never be my favorite. It just won’t. But I like it better than I used to. This at least tastes fresher than what I’d get from the supermarket. (Who knows how long that stuff has been sitting on the shelves!) And as far as chamomile goes, this isn’t too bad. It’s relaxing me and that’s what I needed it to do because I have to get up early in the morning and as it is, it’s pretty late. I needed something that was going to help me unwind and catch those zzz’s so that I can be bright-eyed tomorrow.
Not a bad cup and effective at relaxation.
Nightly Beauty Tea from BijaBody Health + Beauty
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal & Pu-erh
Where to Buy: BijaBody Health + Beauty
Tea Description:
Nightly Beauty Tea’s blend of aged pu-erh with calming, beautifying herbs and spices-such as gotu kola, chamomile, red raspberry leaf, lemongrass and ginger- strengthens digestion, healthy skin function, mental/physical calm and enhances your dazzling elegance.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
OK… so this was a tea that made me a little nervous. Lots of herbs AND Pu-erh? Yeah, not exactly high up there on the oh-my-goodness-I-really-must-try-it-now list. But now that I’m tasting it, I’m enjoying it. In fact, I like this a lot, and I could see myself drinking this on a regular basis.
After examining the contents of this sample package, I noticed that there seemed to be more herbs than tea in this blend, so, I decided to steep it at 195°F for 8 minutes to get the most out of those herbs. And I’m quite satisfied with the result.
There is a LOT going on with this blend. The first flavor I notice is the sarsaparilla, and it gives the cup a very root beer kind of taste. I then notice the ginger – it adds a gentle, soothing warmth without tasting too spicy. The cacao adds a hint of chocolate-y flavor to the background. Also in the background, I notice a citrus-y note.
Overall, the cup is very herb-y tasting without tasting too medicinal. The Pu-erh does manage to make its presence known. It adds an earthiness to the cup that balances everything out. I find this to be a very satisfying cup – quite soothing and calming – I feel the stress drain from my body!
This is my kind of beauty regimen!