Blog Archives
Drink Me: T2, Creme Brulee
About a month ago I read Stefanie’s post about T2 and decided that I needed to give it a try. For my first order, I selected two teas to try. Today’s tea is Creme Brulee.
From the website, Creme Brulee contains Black tea, natural and artificial flavor, and hazelnut praline (sugar, hazelnuts).
It is available in a variety of sizes: 100g/3.5oz for $13.00 and 250g/8.8oz for $31.00.
When I opened the package, the warm smell of caramel was the first thing I noticed. The tea brewed up smooth with a sweet finish. I got bits of caramel and vanilla. This one was a nice dessert tea, but I also enjoyed it at breakfast sometimes as well.
Drink Me: Republic of Tea, SuperHerb Teas for Women
A few weeks ago I was contacted by The Republic of Tea and asked if I would like to review some of their new SuperHerb Teas for Women. I was given a choice and I requested the Organic Raspberry Leaf and the Organic Nettle blends.
From the website, Organic Raspberry Leaf is targeted at women’s health. I am not in a position to verify the effects that Raspberry Leaf has on women’s health, but I am able to tell you a little bit about the tea. The ingredients include organic red raspberry (leaf), organic rosehips (fruit), organic raspberries (fruit), and natural raspberry and vanilla flavors.
I brewed this tea up hot, but I think it would also be delightful iced over the summer, perhaps with frozen raspberries? The tea itself tasted of raspberries with a hint of vanilla. I have reviewed raspberry teas in the past, and I have often found that they end up being a mixture of raspberry and blackberry. In this case, the taste was definitely pure raspberry. I would highly recommend this tea for raspberry lovers.
You can find Organic Raspberry Leaf in a tin of 36 teabags for $13.00.
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From the website, Organic Nettle is designed to reduce inflammation in women. Again, I am not in a position to verify the effects that the tea has, but I can review it on taste. Organic Nettle contains organic nettle (leaf), organic peppermint (leaf) and natural vanilla flavor.
I brewed this tea up hot as well, and was unsure what to expect in terms of flavor. This blend tasted almost exclusively of vanilla and mint, so I’m still not sure exactly what flavor the nettle lends to it. I enjoyed this one, but I think I preferred the raspberry. However, if you’re looking for mint and vanilla, this one definitely fits the bill.
You can find Organic Nettle in a tin of 36 teabags for $13.00.
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As a side note, I have been a lover of The Republic of Tea for many years now. I enjoy a variety of their teas, both loose leaf and in bags, and I’ve written about them quite frequently. I find them to be high quality teas, and the shipping times and customer service are excellent. If you’re interested in doing a little taste testing, you can sign up for their catalog which arrives every other month or so with a free sample inside! They also have a loyalty program where you can earn rewards to more tea.
A special thank you to the folks at The Republic of Tea who sent me both tins of tea (retail: $26.00) for free. I received no other compensation for this review. All opinions and photos are my own.
Drink Me: Crafters & Co.
Earlier this week my friend Ana gave me two containers of “new to us” tea that she purchased at Hallmark. The Crafters & Co tea is available exclusively from Hallmark Gold Crown and produced by a local Kansas City company, the Hugo Tea Company.
Ana gave me two flavors: Warm Wishes, an organic Cinnamon Black Tea and Mindful Moment, an organic Vanilla Chai.
Warm Wishes contains black tea, organic cinnamon and organic zante currants. It is available in a tin as tea bags or loose leaf for $12.95.
Mindful Moment contains black tea, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, black pepper and natural vanilla flavor. It is available in a tin as tea bags or loose leaf for $12.95.
Warm Wishes smelled amazing in the package, like spicy cinnamon. The tea itself was good, but I got far less of the cinnamon flavor than I expected to. It was still a good warm cup of tea for a chilly day.
Mindful Moment was delicious, both the smell and the taste. It had a touch of vanilla as well as a touch of chai spice. It was smooth and delightful for an afternoon pick me up.
Drink Me: Arbor Teas, Vanilla Bean
When I placed my last order with Arbor Teas, I also ordered a few of the less flavored ones to try. One of those was Vanilla Bean. Now I know that it is flavored with vanilla, but it is at base a good strong black tea.
Vanilla Bean contains Indian black tea, organic vanilla beans, calendula petals and natural vanilla flavor.
It is available in a variety of sizes: sample for $3.00, 3oz for $9.95 and 9oz for $21.50.
When I opened the package I smelled lovely vanilla. I think I almost love the smell of vanilla more than the taste, if that’s possible. I brewed the tea and it had a great black tea aroma with a hint of vanilla. This was a wonderful afternoon treat, and I’m sure I’ll enjoy it as fall and winter approach!
Drink Me: Tehörnan, Maja Gräddnos
About a month or so ago I had the privilege of doing an exchange with a knitter in Sweden. We exchanged local yarns and local teas. She sent me a delightful blend from Tehörnan called Maja Gräddnos. I couldn’t find this exact tea on the site, but I did note that they had a variety of other wonderful looking teas.
With the help of Google Translate, the label on the package says the Maja blend contains black tea, strawberry, black currants, and vanilla.
The blend Maja, according to my Swedish friend, is named for a cartoon cat, Maja.
The tea is a delightfully berry flavored black tea. I added just a bit of sugar and it’s sweet but not overpowering. This is definitely one I will savor for some time to come, my own little piece of Sweden.
Drink Me: Plum Deluxe, Reading Nook
Two weekends ago I received an email from Andy, the lovely owner of Plum Deluxe, a tea shop in Oregon. Andy had heard about my podcast from one of his customers and asked if he could send me a cup of tea. Of course I said yes and I received a delightful package a few days later.
Andy sent me a packet of his Reading Nook Blend Black Tea to try. He also sent a tea that is not available for purchase, but was one of the selections in his Tea of the Month club. SIGN ME UP!
Reading Nook Blend contains black tea, rosebuds, lavender, chamomile and vanilla essence.
It is available for $7 per ounce.
When I opened the package I could smell the rosebuds and the vanilla. Once steeped I got more of the lavender. The tea was a delicious black tea with a bit of a sweet floral hint. I’ll admit that I’m not usually a fan of the more floral teas (chamomile, lavender) but this was really lovely and light. I can totally picture reading this while curled up with a good book on a rainy day.
A special thank you to Andy at Plum Deluxe who sent me this tea (retail: $7.00) for free. I received no other compensation for this review. All opinions and photos are my own, except where indicated.
Drink Me: Mrs. Kelley’s Tea, French Vanilla White Tea
A few weeks ago a reader of the blog suggested that I check out Mrs. Kelley’s Tea. I ordered a few teas to try, the first of which is her French Vanilla White Tea.
The tea is a mix of white tea and French vanilla flavor.
It is available in a variety of sizes: 3oz for $8.50 and 8oz for $17.50.
When I opened the package all I could smell was pure vanilla. It smelled AMAZING. Once brewed I could still smell the vanilla, but it also had more of a tea aroma. There were generous sized leaves and pieces of tea in the bag. I added a little bit of sugar and the result was a sweet dessert tea that oozed vanilla. I suspect that this blend will be a permanent addition to my collection.
Drink Me: Stash Tea, Holiday Sampler
Another item I ordered from Stash Tea a couple of weeks ago was the holiday sampler which features three teas: Christmas Eve, Christmas Morning and White Christmas.
The holiday sampler (30ct) is available for $5.95.
Christmas Eve: Christmas Eve tea contains cinnamon, orange peel, spearmint, vanilla extract, orange oil, cinnamon and clove flavor. You can also purchase it individually in a variety of sizes. When I first opened the package I smelled both the sweet and the spicy – I could easily pick out the spearmint and the cinnamon. The taste was a little bit of everything, but the cinnamon featured the most prominently. This was a beautiful spicy holiday tea and I really enjoyed it!
Christmas Morning: Christmas Morning is a blend of black and jasmine green teas. I really like jasmine green so I was interested to see what this one would be like. I have to say that I didn’t really taste or smell the jasmine green. Mostly this was just a good black tea, which is excellent as a breakfast blend. Of the three in the holiday sampler, this was probably the least interesting to me, only because I have a wealth of good black breakfast brews.
White Christmas: White Christmas is white tea with peppermint and ginger. I didn’t taste much of the ginger, but it was a good peppermint tea. Definitely holiday themed!
Drink Me: Argo Tea, Charitea
Two weekends ago I spent the weekend in Chicago with my sister and her family. As a treat, I took myself to one of the Argo Tea Shops there and purchased a few goodies to sample at home. The first of those was the Charitea blend.
From the website, Charitea includes hibiscus petals, dried cherries and vanilla.
Charitea is available in a 3.9oz canister for for $14.95.
When I opened the canister I could smell the cherries and the vanilla, which only intensified as I brewed it. The taste was more hibiscus, but I definitely got both some cherry and vanilla in there. I wonder if this would be a good fruity iced tea for the summer months! It was quite good and I look forward to drinking it again.
Drink Me: Harney & Sons, Blueberry Green
A few months ago I got a cup of tea at our local Barnes & Noble. After perusing their list I selected a Blueberry Green by Harney & Sons. I went home that night and placed a Harney & Sons order, it was THAT good.
From the website Blueberry Green is a blend of Chinese green tea with lemongrass, blueberry and vanilla.
It is available in the following sizes: sample for $2.00, 3oz tin for $7.00 and 1lb bag for $20.50. As you can see, this time I went for the tin!
When I first opened the bag I smelled sweet blueberry and hints of the lemongrass. I also would have sworn there was some jasmine in there, although the ingredients list doesn’t include it. Once brewed it’s a somewhat floral green, with notes of blueberry. After a few weeks of anticipation, I wasn’t disappointed. This will definitely be joining my permanent collection of teas.
