Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Fit Life Tea Co.
Tea Description:
Say goodbye to weight gain, bloating and digestive stress. Two daily cups of Organic Teatox can help burn fat, stimulate weight loss, boost your immune system and cleanse your digestive system.
Our pyramid tea bag extracts maximum flavor to infuse more essential oils and flavor into your cup. Steeping releases purifying dynamic ingredients that can ease bloating and, together with proper diet and exercise, help promote weight loss.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve never been one to go for the whole ‘detox’ or weight loss tea fads that are going around because I basically don’t buy it. I’ve been drinking tea for years and I simply do not believe that simply drinking tea (or a specially crafted tea blend) will cause significant weight loss. If you want to lose weight, you need to change your overall diet and you need to exercise. Drinking tea isn’t going to be your miracle weight loss cure. If it was, after drinking all the tea I’ve consumed over the last ten years, I’d have a body like Jennifer Aniston. I don’t.
But, that doesn’t mean that drinking tea doesn’t offer you some great health benefits because I believe that there are health benefits to tea. I just don’t think it’s the cure-all that some tea companies try to suggest in an effort to sell their product. But as long as you find a tea that also tastes great, there’s nothing wrong with adding tea to your diet to enjoy some health benefits.
But you’re not going to know if it tastes great until you try it – .so I decided that I’d give this Organic Teatox Tea from Fit Life Tea Company a try
To steep this tea, I placed 1 sachet in an 8 ounce teacup and heated freshly filtered water to 195°F. Then I poured the heated water over the sachet and let it steep for 6 minutes. Then I let it cool completely before I poured it into the Fit Life BPA-Free Plastic Bottle (I’ll review that in a few days!) and refrigerated it to get it nice and cold.
Before I let it cool, I did take a sip of the hot tea to determine if I liked it better hot or cold. (Since they did send me the bottle, I decided that I needed to try it iced!) And so I’ll start by saying that this tisane is definitely better iced. The hibiscus loses some of its biting tartness. Oh, it’s still tart, but, it’s not quite as tart as what I experienced from the hot tea.
Fortunately, the apple in this softens the tartness of the hibiscus just a bit. And the allspice gives it a nice little hint of spice. I think hibiscus is much better when it’s in the midst of some spice like it is here. The contrast between the warm spice and the tart hibiscus works nicely.
Overall, this is actually quite tasty. The combination of the tart hibiscus, the sweet apple and the warmth of the allspice creates a very palatable taste. I would recommend to not oversteep this, at 6 minutes, there is a pleasant texture to the drink, but I think if I had steeped it longer, it might have been a tad too syrupy. If you like that kind of texture from your hibiscus beverages – then go for it!
It surprises me to say this, but I’d drink this again. That’s not something I’d say often about a tea with hibiscus as the main ingredient, so kudos to Fit Life Tea!
Fit Life Tea Company has this Teatox in two different sizes, a 14 day detox and a 28 day detox.
Sweetfern Tonic Tea from The Algonquin Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal/Functional Tisane
Where to Buy: Algonquin Tea Co.
Tea Description:
Delicious daily tonic formulated to assist every major organ in the cleansing of toxins. Immune boost and detox. Great iced tea. Tastes similar to black tea
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about subscribing to Postal Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
The above description suggests that this tisane tastes similar to black tea. And despite this ‘promise’ – I found myself still hesitant to try it because … well, because it’s a tisane. And I know that I’ve mentioned more than once or twice my apprehension when it comes to tisanes.
But I finally decided that it was time to try it. So, to brew this, I measured out three bamboo scoops of the tisane into the basket of my Breville One-Touch tea maker and added 500ml of water to the kettle. Then I set the temperature for 195°F and the timer for 7 minutes and I let the tea maker do it’s thing!
I let it cool for a few minutes before taking the first sip. And yes, it does taste a bit like black tea. More accurately, it tastes like a ‘thinned’ black tea with herbaceous notes. Like maybe someone took half a cup of black tea and topped it off with an herbal tisane.
It’s actually quite pleasant to sip. And this tea has a few “pros” to it: a) there’s no hibiscus! Yay! b) it has echinacea which is a fairly well-recognized herb that boosts the immunity system. c) it’s pretty tasty.
Unlike many tisanes I’ve had in the past, this tisane is more like a unified flavor of all the components. That is to say – this tastes like one flavor and I’d find it difficult to discern the different flavors/ingredients of the blend. I taste a gently warm flavor to it – like a subtle spice. I notice a slight “root-beer-ish” kind of note that I attribute to the burdock.
But other than the “thinned black tea with herbaceous notes” – that’s really all I can taste. I taste a thinned black tea, herbaceous flavors, warm, subtle spice and a hint of root beer. It’s a tasty tisane.
The brochure from Algonquin that was included in this edition of the Postal Teas box suggests that tea is an effective “cleanser” or detox type of tisane and this is a detox tea that I wouldn’t mind drinking now and again because it does have that black tea + herbal tea taste to it and I’m finding it to be pleasant.
One thing I gotta say about Algonquin, their packaging is beautiful! If I saw these packages in the store, I’d definitely be tempted because the artwork is stunning and as I’ve said before, I’m a sucker for artwork! The packages that we got from Postal Teas are not as lovely as what I see on the Algonquin website, but if it wasn’t for receiving this 9th edition of Postal Teas, I probably wouldn’t have discovered the beautiful artwork!
24 Days of Tea Holiday Countdown – Day 23 from Teanzo 1856
It’s day 23 … are you finished with your shopping yet? (Please don’t ask.)
For today’s artistic inspiration, I am featuring this rustic heart ornament from Gwynn Thoma. I’m not entirely sure, but it looks as though the panels were felted and then stuffed and hand sewn together. It’s really lovely and I love the way it looks on my tree. Since about 95% of the ornaments on my tree are all handmade, I love the way this ornament really seems to define that idea. It looks simple and rustic, but I love the charm that it brings to my tree.
Mint Detox Tulsi Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Tulsi
Where to Buy: Teanzo 1856
Tea Description:
With rosehips and mint, this loose leaf detox tea supports hydration and detoxification. You can sip this detox tea hot or gulp it down as an iced tea guilt-free since it has virtually no calories! Makes a fantastic and unique gift. This is a herbal tea that you can take with you in your water bottle and sip all day long to stay refreshed.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
There have been quite a few caffeine free tisanes in this Advent Calendar box from Teanzo. Some have been hits and others misses. Fortunately, this one is a hit!
I really like the combination of spearmint and tulsi. The warmth of the tulsi and the cool, crisp notes of the spearmint offers a nice contrast. The spearmint is refreshing without tasting toothpaste-y as the spicier notes of the tulsi help to reduce the impact of the mint.
Also nice is the light, lemony note from the lemon myrtle. It’s a really uplifting flavor that brightens the whole cup.
It’s a pleasant combination of flavors that I found very enjoyable. I don’t know if it works as a “detox” or not, but, I will say that this is one of the tastier “detox” teas I’ve tried. It’s thirst-quenching and tastes good served hot or cold and it has a nice, natural sweetness to it that requires no additional sweetener. Another bonus for the detox!
Mother Nature’s Medley Herbal Tisane from Tealee
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Tealee
Tisane Description:
The tastiest detox tea around, this all natural herbal blend is jam packed with ingredients that are loaded with Vitamin C, and are known to aid digestion and reduce bloating. Stimulating ginger opens your palate, fruit and citrus notes follow and finishes with minty freshness. Delicious!
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I love it when I discover a tisane blend like this and there is NO hibiscus in it! Yay! See there, tea companies? It can be done! You can make tasty tisanes WITHOUT hibiscus!
Here are the ingredients:
Ginger, Apple, Rosehip, Lemongrass, Organic Spearmint, Rose Petals
This is one of the tastiest “detox” teas that I’ve tried thus far. There is a very pleasing balance of flavors.
My experience with this tasting is much like the above description suggests, only the first flavor that I noticed is a faint fruit-like sweetness – for just a moment! – and then I pick up on the zesty ginger note. I enjoyed that immediate contrast.
After my taste buds recognizes the ginger, they’re allowed to further explore the fruit notes: I can taste apple, which surprises me! I didn’t expect to taste much apple here because generally speaking, when apple is used in a blend like this, it’s more about appearance and maybe just a hint of sweetness but not for a strong flavor. But I’m tasting apple! And I’m tasting notes of citrus from the lemongrass.
Just after mid-sip, I start to taste that vibrant flavor of spearmint. It tastes very fresh and exhilarating. Throughout the sip, I also get a hint of rose. Of all the ingredients, the rose offers the least flavor in the cup. It’s a really thoughtfully crafted medley of fruit and herbal flavors that I find very enjoyable.
The spearmint and ginger are really nicely matched. I get that invigorating kick of peppery ginger that is countered by the crisp, cooling mint notes of the spearmint. These two ingredients seem to keep each other “in check” – so that I’m not tasting too much ginger or too much mint.
Overall, a really tasty beverage that I would be happy to drink on a regular basis. Many detox teas are something that I would drink because I felt the need to detox but not because I’m really enjoying what I’m drinking. This is something that I am actually enjoying! I’m impressed with this!
Green Detox Tea from Monarch Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Monarch Tea Co. or Monarch Tea Co. on Etsy
Tea Description:
The powerful duo of lemon and green tea combine in this refreshing and detoxifying blend. Detox and refresh while boosting your metabolism through the power of green tea.
Ingredients: green tea, lemongrass, dried lemon.
Learn more about subscribing to Postal Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea looks a lot different than I expected it to. The green tea looks almost like a CTC black tea. The leaves are very small and darker in color than most green teas that I’ve encountered. I studied them before brewing and again after brewing to see if the teensy tiny leaves would “open” – if these were in fact very small gunpowder green tea leaves that have been rolled into pellets that are the size of a small grain of sand or if they’re just very finely chopped leaves. The wet leaves do not appear to have “opened” at all so I think that these are just very finely chopped leaves.
Tossed with these tiny bits of green tea leaves (that look more like black tea leaves than green!) are pieces of lemongrass and very small bits of dried lemon. The aroma is earthy and vegetal. Like green tea. I don’t smell much from the lemon or lemongrass.
To brew this, I used my Breville One-Touch tea maker and put about 1 1/2 bamboo scoops of tea into the basket. Because this is such a fine CTC tea, you want to measure out a little less than you normally would because there is more surface area to be exposed to the water and because more tea actually fits in the scoop with such a fine cut. Using more tea would have resulted in a very strong tea. I found that the 1 1/2 scoops made a very tasty tea with 500ml of water, 175°F and 2 minutes brew time.
The brewed tea is light greenish-yellow and smells a bit more lemon-y than the dry leaf did. The lemon notes are still rather subdued, I smell more “green tea” than I do lemon.
And this remains true for the taste: the lemon flavor is delicate. I taste more of the lemon in the aftertaste than I do in the actual sip. During the sip, there is a very subtle note of lemon. It’s tart but softened somewhat by the presence of the buttery lemongrass. The aftertaste is tart and tingly.
The green tea is the real focus of this blend. It’s a sweet, refreshing green tea flavor that’s very lightly vegetal. It’s more earthy than vegetal, and it has a gentle smoky quality to it. It’s got some drying astringency toward the tail and I find that this dry sensation accentuates the aforementioned tartness of the lemon in the aftertaste.
As for the “detox” part, I am not sure how true that is. I don’t generally drink tea to detox. I drink tea for enjoyment and I find that this tea is quite enjoyable to drink. The lemon-y notes are not fake or artificial tasting, rather, it tastes as though I added a thin slice of lemon to my cup of green tea. It’s pleasant. It’s an uplifting drink.