Happy New Year one and all! I hope the New Year has treated all of our dear readers well. What better way to start the New Year than with a tea that is completely out of my comfort zone. I thought this could be the year that I really try and expand my tea horizons with ginger.
Ginger and I have a love hate relationship. Until recently, I absolutely couldn’t handle anything with ginger in it. But I’ve found that I’ve started to really enjoy ginger and even ate candied ginger. . .and loved it. I’m wondering if my taste buds are starting to change. . .
Let’s Toast is a brilliant blend of yerba mate, ginger, orange extract, orange peel, holy tulsi trinity, and rose hips. This drink has it all and I couldn’t wait to try it.
Brewed up with freshly boiled water and allowed to steep for the recommend time on the package, this tea smelled like an herbal treat in a cup. There were definite citrus notes coming through.
And those some citrus notes came through in the very first sip. This tea is rich and deeply flavored with notes of citrus with a toasted texture and a hint of a spicy twist (from the ginger). A wonderful morning brew that gives you that kick you need to get going without the traditional tea flavors. What really makes this tea special is that herbal flavor you get towards the end of each sip providing you with warmth that stretches to your toes. This tea begs you to brew it up, wrap your hands around the mug, and just drink until those warm and cozy feelings kick in.
I’m sure you’ve already figured this out but I adored this tea. Just adored it and have found myself reaching for it so much that I’m almost out of it. I really love the change of pace this tea offers, plus with the ginger in it, this tea fuels my newly acquired love for all things ginger. Highly recommend this one if you are looking for something new to try for this new year. This one may even become a stable in my tea stash.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Yerba Mate Blend
Where to Buy: BlendBee
Description
This is a delicately toasted Yerba Mate is perfectly balanced with the Holy Tulsi Trinity (Holy Basil: Krishna, Rama & Vana), a powerfully beneficial and exotic mix. This blend has the depth of a black tea, yet it is very light and easy to drink. An intoxicating scent of orange with the subtle spice of freshly dried ginger root. It is a favorite at the Tea Hive!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Love, love, love from Harlow Tea Co.
The last few days have been felt like an overload of sweet, milky teas– to the point that even my beloved English Breakfast with cream and honey was starting to feel too sickly sweet for me. (#teareviewerprobs– admittedly, best. problem. ever.) And so, I knew my body was telling me it was time for a little tea/tummy reset.
I knew exactly what I was looking for, digging around in my sample stash– this blend from Harlow Tea Co has been calling my name for days. A honeybush blend with plum and vegetal, herbal notes, I knew it would hit the spot without feeling like dessert overload. Right off the bat, the leaves smell beautiful– fruity and herbal, balancing the flavor-makers like plum with some more medicinal herbs like lady’s mantle, all juxtaposed against the smooth honeybush.
Brewed, it hits all those same notes for me. Fruity, but not too sweet; just herbal enough to feel like I’m doing something good for my body to boot! The one flavor that seems predominant to me is that of plums– prunes, to be exact. It makes sense, as there are large dried plum chunks in the dry leaf, and I adore prunes as a snack.
That said, if these GI-enablers aren’t your favorite flavor, I’d say this tea might not be for you. For me, though, it’s a home run. My stomach is happy, my tea drinking habits are feeling balanced again, and I’ll definitely be rebrewing my sample as many more times as I can get away with (and knowing Harlow, it’s bound to be at least a few). To balance!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Harlow Tea Co.
Description
This caffeine free tea is a great tea for any tea drinker, someone brand new to tea or have tried it all.
Honeybush tea is vey mild, but gives great flavor without caffeine. Floral hints from rose hips, hibiscus flower, and lady’s mantle is balanced with the fruity aroma of dried plums.
Does not contain caffeine
Lady’s mantle is considered in many cultures to be used as a woman’s healing herb.
Ingredients: honeybush tea, dried plums, lady’s mantle, rose hips, and hibiscus flower.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Battle of the Peppermint NecessiTeas
Apparently I have a type. No, I am not talking about men, I am talking about teas. While looking through my box of NecessiTeas, I noticed that out of the 11 teas I purchased, 3 were peppermint black teas. Well, how many peppermint black teas does one tea stash really need? I figured it was best to compare and contrast in what I lovingly named “Battle of the Peppermint NecessiTeas” to see which blend reigns supreme.
For each tea, I used two perfect teaspoons of tea in a 16 oz mug and steeped the leaves in 200 degree water for 4.5 minutes. Then, I had an unexpected computer update so now I am trying the teas lukewarm. Anyways, let’s get to it!
Candy Cane Lane: Of the three, this is the only one that does not contain chocolate. As a result, this is also the clearest brew though it is still rather dark. It is also the one without peppermint leaves but instead a generous helping of candy cane pieces. It probably has the strongest peppermint scent which translates into the strongest peppermint taste. This blend is also unique in that it combines peppermint with marshmallow. I find the marshmallow keeps the peppermint from becoming medicinal and keeps this tea sweet. Plus, it provides the tea a soft, fluffy texture reminiscent of the squishy delight itself.
Dirty Girl Scout: An irish cream and white chocolate flavored black tea that has Andes pieces?! Count me in. Sure this blend is murkier than Candy Cane Lane and yes it may leave a scum ring if it sits for a bit, yet it is not oily/greasy in texture. Instead, this tea is really quite creamy. The flavors are subtle but silky. I am definitely picking up on the smooth chocolate first while the mint gently lingers in the aftertaste. Also, it smells like a cookie.
White Chocolate Peppermint: This blend incorporates honeybush and carob with the black tea and 
white chocolate shavings. This is the murkiest of the three blends and the tea does coat the tongue slightly as you sip, just as it leaves its mark on the mug in the form of a scum ring. Nonetheless, the texture is not offensive like some murky teas can tend to be. Moreover, there are no peppermint leaves to be found though the peppermint flavoring comes through loud and clear (in both scent and taste). This blend certainly has the strongest note of cooling peppermint. It is also the least candy-like of the mix. This is not to say that it is not sweet, because it is, but the carob contributes a more earthy/rich flavor.
So overall, I would say the White Chocolate Peppermint, though very good, is my least favorite of the three. Personally, I am a sucker for the marshmallow of Candy Cane Lane but I think the flavor of the Dirty Girl Scout would be magical as a latte. Honestly, the two are delightful but better suited for different situations. Candy Cane Lane is definitely a holiday blend with it’s soft texture and smooth candy cane flavor (sweeter and a bit less medicinal than regular peppermint flavor) while Dirty Girl Scout is more of a decadent dessert between the delectable Andes mints and the velvety smooth irish cream.
Here’s the scoop!
Where to Buy: The NecessiTeas
Click on the links in the descriptions of each tea to get more info!
Meadow Walk from Plum Deluxe. . . . .
You know when you find a tea that’s perfect in every way? Not too sweet, but just sweet enough?
Complex flavors that blend beautifully, unexpected and fresh but comforting all the same? I know. It’s rare. But I think I’ve found that tea for me, and it’s this insanely delicious herbal from Plum Deluxe.
A base of green rooibos with lavender, blueberry and rosemary– I wasn’t sure how this one would pan out when I added it to my tea of the month order, but it seemed too interesting to not give it a try.
Rosemary? And lavender? With fruit?! This coulda gone reeeeally badly, but it somehow all works together so, so wonderfully!
The rosemary and lavender are herbaceous but not vegetal, and the blueberry sweetness rounds the cup out beautifully. This one is just as great as an after-dinner stomach settler as it is a midmorning treat.
It’s not often that I can claim a tea to be like none I’ve ever tried before, but this one totally fits the bill. Plum Deluxe knocked it outta the park on this blend, and this will be one with a permanent spot in my tea cabinet, for sure!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description
One of our favorite places for inspiration is Nature. From field to forest, we love it all. We thought it’d be fun to have a tea made just for hiking, but also great for those days you can’t get outdoors but want to feel nurtured by Mother Nature. That’s what led to our Meadow Walk blend. We use a delicious green rooibos tea base and add a curious trio of blueberry, lavender, and rosemary to create a wonderful flavor profile. Extra bits of floral and berry come together to create your new favorite herbal tea.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Banana Marshmallow Genmaicha Treat from 52Teas
I have a lot of tea. A LOT. I also have a shopping problem. So, in order to not drown in tea, I tend to mostly buy sample sizes (as in 25 grams or less). That allows me to just get a taste of the tea without being stuck with large amounts that could potentially expire before I get a chance to finish them. 52 Teas is great for this shopping method because they offer taster sizes that are enough tea to experiment with but not too much that it is hard to use up. However, with all rules there are exceptions and this tea was the exception to my shopping rule; as soon as I saw it I knew I had to have it and not just a taste, I needed a lot of it!
Why did I need so much? Why was I confident I would love it? Well, that’s simple. 52 Teas, an awesome company for flavored teas, has captured my heart for many reasons but two things stand out above all else. The first thing that really caught my eye and my tastebuds…marshmallow treat genmaichas. In my tea stash right now I have this tea, Strawberry Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha, and S’mores Genmaicha but those are just a few that I have tried and loved. Seriously, you have not tried a flavored genmaicha until you have tried a 52 Teas marshmallow treat genmaicha. The second thing that made me fall in love with 52 Teas is their banana flavor. From Bananas Foster to Banana Pudding to Hot Buttered Banana Bread and everything in between, you can’t go wrong with a 52 Teas banana blend. So, how could I possibly resist a tea that combines both my loves? The answer to that was I could not.
Of course the instant I got my large package of this tea I ripped it open and brewed up a cup. Now, I don’t know what a banana marshmallow treat would taste like since I never had one but I was a fan of banana slices in my rice krispy cereal and that is what I expected…plus marshmallow. Honestly, that is what this tea delivers. Banana flavor, true-to-the-fruit, soft and subtle but sweet. It blends seamlessly with the fluffy and creamy marshmallow notes. Contrasted to those is the roasted/puffed rice flavor and a hint of the vegetal/matcha-infused base. It is balanced and light but very flavorful. This is one large pouch I definitely am not concerned will expire before I get a chance to finish it because this is a tea I will be reaching for again and again!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available. But click below for ones that are!
I’ve never had a banana Marshmallow Treat – I don’t even know if such a thing exists. A quick google search yielded no results that appeared like banana marshmallow treat squares but I’ll admit that I really didn’t look very earnestly for it, mostly because I would think that the banana would be too slick and slippery and wouldn’t stick to the marshmallow which binds the crispy rice cereal together. I would think that banana would really mess up the chemistry that goes into the crafting of a marshmallow treat.
Then again, since I’ve never actually had one (and thus, I’ve never tried making one) I don’t know for certain. Perhaps it could be made with freeze-dried bananas (like the ones that I put in this tea blend) without much trouble.
Anyway, that lengthy introduction is my way of saying that this tea wasn’t inspired by something I’ve actually tried but something I’d love to try should I ever be so fortunate to find such a confection. What inspired me is my appreciation for fresh, sliced bananas atop my crispy rice cereal. One day while eating a bowl of cereal, I thought, wouldn’t a banana flavored crispy rice treat be awesome? At some point very soon after that, my thoughts turned to tea (as they often do) and I decided that I MUST create a Banana Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha.
And so I did!
I started with my organic matcha infused genmaicha and added marshmallow root and freeze dried bananas. It’s a cuppa yum!