I had not heard of Aronia Berries prior to this lovely tea blend from Saint Fiacre’s Farm. Apparently the berries are so sour when they are fresh off the bush they make your mouth pucker, hence their familiar, less glamorous name, chokeberry. These berries are a new fruit flavor I haven’t encountered in herbal tea before. They are a bit sour, but not quite the same flavor as cranberry or hibiscus. They have a little bit of darker elderberry or raspberry flavor among the tart pop, maybe that is where the “plum” comes in.
What really makes this blend so fantastic is the balance of fruit and spice. The tart berries and juicy hibiscus are counteracted by the sweet licorice root and earthy fennel seed. Coconut and vanilla round out the blend with some comforting bakery-like tastes.
Rich and relaxing, this is a great blend for when you want that wintry mulled wine or cider experience. Always a pleasure to find new, robust flavors in my herbal tea collection.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Saint Fiacre’s Farm
Description:
This tea features Oregon grown aronia berries, plums and cornflowers. A spin off the traditional sugar plum which is a candy that has a hard outer coating of sugar… think along the lines of the Jordan almond or an M&M type candy. A sweeter, desert like tea which comes from the licorice root and organic extracts.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Organic “Latvian Sun” Sampler from Lauku Teas
I recently tried the organic “Latvian Sun” sampler from the Lauku Tea company. The set came with a honey rooster on a stick, carved apple wood spoon, cute postcards and more. The three teas included are Anna’s Brigita’s Daylight blend, Anna’s Afternoon blend, and Evita’s Evening blend, all are herbal and naturally caffeine free.
The blends are truly handmade, with the leaves, berries, and roots very chunky and visible in the brew. I appreciated their beautiful online guide to the ingredients used in their tea. For the best flavor profile and a consistent brew, be sure to try and mix up the bag and put a balanced scoop of leaves and berries into your cup. Too much of one or the other ingredient doesn’t show off the true blended flavor of the teas.
Brigita’s Daylight blend was the original blend that inspired the company. It was a unique herbal with fermented apples leaves. This was a great departure from the sweet apple-pie-with-cinnamon teas I’ve tried over the years. Brigita’s Daylight blend was still sweet with apple flavors, but had a more subtle, natural taste, coupled with the gently fruity and floral notes of accompanying black currant leaves, lemon balm, and clover flowers.
Anna’s Afternoon blend might be my favorite of the bunch. This tea was driven by smooth berries, earthy herbs like oregano, and topped off with fresh and lemony chamomile. There was also a nice taste of mint in the blend, not as cold or sharp as peppermint, but sweeter almost like the wintergreen taste from a birch tree cutting.
Last is Evita’s Twilight, which is definitely meant as a bedtime tea with relaxing valerian root in the blend. This tea was a little less focused on the sweet green notes of berries and leaves, and featured more herbs like thyme and heather. The valerian root brought a different kind of sweetness, not quite like licorice, a bit brighter almost like non-spicy ginger or crushed pine needles. The grounded flavors suited the low-key bedtime brew.
All of these teas went incredibly well with a splash of honey, which helped the flavors pop and made the teas all the more comforting and soothing. Maybe that’s why the sampler set comes with a honey rooster, though that guy is almost too cute to brew. I’ll have to save him for my next cup.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Lauku Tea
Description: Brigita’s Organic Daylight Blend is sunny and stimulating, when you need a clear head and good spirits.
Anna’s Organic Afternoon Blend is uplifting and indulgent, for when you need a reminder that all is good.
Evita’s Organic Twilight Blend is elegant and calming, when it’s time for rest and reflection.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Bella Luna Blue from Adagio Teas. . . .
One of the things I love about Adagio Teas is their creativity. If you are familiar with their tea site, you know they have certain teas that the offer only during certain times of the year. Bella Luna Blue, sadly, is one of those. Let me explain.
Bella Luna Blue is a gorgeous blend of butterfly pea flowers, lemongrass, and blueberry flavors. If you haven’t experienced butterfly pea flower tea, you are in for a treat. This lovely blue flower creates stunning blue colored tea. When you add in lemon juice, your dark blue tea turns into purple. A sight for the eyes for sure but also a treat for your taste buds as well.
Brewed hot, this herbal blend hits all the right notes. Sweet with a berry citrus twist and a slight herbaceous feels. Add in a touch of lemon, and the citrus notes are enhanced and you are treated with an herbal tea lemonade. There is a solid but not overwhelming floral feel that really elevates the sip.
Pour this brew over ice, and you have an amazingly delicious herbal iced tea that will appeal to any taste bud. The floral notes are not as strong but are still there. You are still greeted with this wonderful combination of citrus and berry.
This tea blend is absolutely fantastic and one that I wish could be a staple in my stash all year long. Wish is where the sad part of this review comes to play, this tea is only available during a blue moon which happily is coming soon- March 31st.
So set your reminders my tea drinking friends, because on March 31st, you’ll want to be grabbing some of this tea to enjoy while we experience those spring months because if there was ever a tea that screamed spring, it would be this blend.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Description
Experience the elusive mystery that is the phenomenon known as our Bella Luna Blue. Available only when there is a second full moon in a calendar month, our rare Bella Luna Blue blends the zesty freshness of lemongrass and the flavor of blueberries with the exotic Butterfly Pea Flower, which when brewed, turns this mystifying herbal tea indigo! For an even more exciting treat, add a few drops of lemon juice to the mix and watch as the real magic unfolds right before your eyes!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sour Appletini from DAVIDsTea. . . .
My coworker and I have a spiritually violent “hot potato” going with teas. We complain and toss things onto each other’s desks with aplomb. We also occasionally sneak things into each other’s collections and wait with bated breath to see whether the other will notice.
I got up to go to the bathroom yesterday and when I came back, this was on my desk. “What’s wrong with this one?” I asked. “I don’t feel it,” she said, shrugging.
So I decided to channel J.D. on Scrubs and make myself a nice iced appletini. But from tea. Sadly, not drinking booze at my desk. (Would that make more pleasant? Irritable? Sleepy? Not exactly something I can test.)
I think this is fairly pleasant. It tastes like a slightly synthetic apple (think: Jolly rancher) mixed in with a bit of citrus and tart hibiscus. (Turns out this “hibiscus” flavor is beetroot, according to the ingredients). It’s a big sweet, a bit tangy.
It’s also a really cute shade of pink.
I suspect this blend was intended to be iced. My coworker only drinks her teas hot (I’m flexible). Hot, this would probably be a little too strong & tart. I’ve found that icing teas tends to bring out the sweetness.
This tea is currently available on David’s Tea’s site. It is also available to be stolen off my desk if you’d like to continue the tradition of Hot Potato!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Tisane
Where to Buy: DAVIDsTea
Description
Class up your summer soirée with this sweet, mouthpuckering green apple blend
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sunset in Seattle from Market Spice. . . . .
Wow! This tea is so cool tasting. It tastes like cream soda. Ingredients include rosehips, vanilla, chamomile, spearmint, raspberry, lemon grass, hyssop and herbs. This blend is very soothing, and very mellow. The taste is so unique and interesting. I want to keep taking another sip because there is just so much going on and I want to keep trying to figure it out. I can see why this tea has won awards and is a “fan favorite” at Market Spice
The first thing I noticed was that it smelled really sweet, so I skipped the agave (this is happening a lot lately! So unusual for me). I’m glad I went without sweetener because naturally it is already sweet enough. The second thing I noticed was vanilla and herbal flavor- spearmint, chamomile, and lemongrass. I could taste the raspberry at the end- but it really just added extra sweetness and nothing tart, which is great in my opinion because I don’t like tart. When I saw spearmint and lemongrass in the ingredients, I got nervous because I really dislike anything minty or lemony. I found that these ingredients were not overpowering and I quite enjoyed the little symphony they created, even if I don’t generally enjoy them on their own.
One thing I would like to mention- as a breastfeeding mother I am apparently not supposed to ingest the herb “hyssop”. It also shouldn’t be ingested if you are on any kinds of medications, like antidepressants. I realized this after I had finished about half the mug. Once I read the warnings on a few different medical sites, I dumped the remaining tea (sadly, because I really wanted to drink it). Please check with your doctor (or at least google interactions) before ingesting any herbs, it can be really dangerous. However- if you aren’t breastfeeding, pregnant, or on medications- go ahead and enjoy! This blend is dang good!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Market Spice
Description
One of our sweetest and most popular herbal teas, Sunset in Seattle is a blend utilizing a myriad of herbs that are soothing and mellow. Ingredients: Rosehips, Vanilla, Chamomile, Spearmint, Raspberry, Lemon Grass, Hyssop and herbs. Contains no sugar and is caffeine free.
This tea is a 3rd place winner in the North American Tea Championship for Flavored Herbal Blends category.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
