Two Leaves, Organic Pomi-berry

Two Leaves Description:

Pomi-Berry might be the Goldilocks of herbal berry tea. With a combination of calming chamomile, zippy forest berries and fruity strawberry, it doesn't hit you over the head with berry flavor, and it isn't too herbal. It's just right.

Ingredients:

Apple*, hibiscus*, lemon balm*, chamomile*, lemongrass*, lavender flower*, flavoring, lime tree flowers*, pomegranate peel*, hibiscus*, raspberry pieces*, strawberry* (*organic)

Price: $7.95 for 15 sachets. Steep twice for $0.26 per cup.

Part of the Complete Sampler Pack provided by Two Leaves Tea Company.

My Review:

To me pomegranate is a lot like goojiberry. If done well, it pretty much assures I am going to like it. This is the first herbal tea I have tried with pomegaranate. Since I have enjoyed almost everything I have tried from Two Leaves, I am expecting to have a good cup from this one.

It smells nice in the sachet, mostly of berries. I used boiling water and a 12oz mug to prepare this using a steep time of four minutes -  give or take. The brew is kind of a cross between root beer and tropical fruit punch in color. I added sweetener.

I can taste a combination of pomegranate, raspberry, and strawberry. The strawberry is unexpected and a nice touch. I can also catch the lemon balm/lemongrass. The lemon fits really well with the berries. I don't notice the hibiscus or chamomile flavors. I also do not catch the lavender which is not a favorite of mine, so I am good with it not dominating. Reviewers who do not use sweeteners did report this tasting of lavender and hibiscus. Maybe the sweetener hides these flavors. It could also be they dislike these flavors and are super sensitive to them.

I really liked this one. It is a nice fruity evening cup of relaxing chamomile tea.

Visit the Two Leaves Tea Company website.

Does Chamomile And Valerian Really Help You Sleep?

So it’s midnight, you’re stressed out and wide-awake. Making it worse, you know you have to be up at 6:00 AM. Sound all too familiar? Unfortunately, it does to me as well. What can you do? How about a nice cup of tea? We have all heard chamomile tea helps you sleep. It has been used as a sleep aid for hundreds of years. Ok, but does it work?

I recently did a lot of Googling to research the subject. The information I found was interesting and as usual conflicting. The alternative medicine and herb crowd raved about the wonderful health qualities of chamomile including its use as a sleep aid. The traditional science research seemed to agree that while chamomile is basically a safe herb, it’s ability to help you sleep is inconclusive.

So does this mean chamomile tea has merely a placebo affect? Not necessarily, at least not by my own personal experience. When I sip herbal or fruit tisanes in the evening I am avoiding caffeine, which is a good thing in itself. Yet, avoiding caffeine alone normally does not make me feel relaxed or sleepy. Chamomile, on the other hand, does help me feel relaxed making sleep easier. Even knowing science says the proof it helps is inconclusive it still has a relaxing affect on my system.

What about teas containing valerian root? Again, the scientific evidence is inconclusive despite the wide usage of valerian to help us sleep. I was actually surprised there was no positive evidence for this one. I only recently discovered valerian and was immediately excited by the results. Valerian makes me so sleepy I can’t keep my eyes open. I drink a cup of this and I am going to sleep.

No matter the science. Chamomile helps me relax. Valerian puts me to sleep. Now the effects may sometimes be short lived. Did I just hear someone say, “A-Ha”? Well, let me say to the brainiac over thinkers, when you aren’t sleeping, getting even a few hours of rest can make all the difference in the world the next day. The alternative of no sleep, or worse the groggy, wish I could wake up, feeling from over the counter sleeping pills, is far less attractive. It is also potentially less dangerous.

Now that you know both sides of the issue, give chamomile and valerian a try for yourself. Then report back and let the rest of us know your personal results.

Two Leaves, Organic Mountain High Chai

Two Leaves Description:
In India, tea is served spiced, sold on the street by the Chai-Wallah, the chai guy. Our Mountain High Chai is like a trip to India in a cup. We'll leave it up to you to decide if you'd like to sweeten up your cuppa' chai with some sugar or smooth it out with milk.

Ingredients:
Black Ceylon tea*, cinnamon*, cardamom*, clove buds*, orange peel*, flavoring (*organic)

Price:$7.95 for 15 sachets. Steep twice for $0.26 per cup.

Part of the Complete Sampler Pack provided by Two Leaves Tea Company

My Review:
Chai is something I just never crave. I have not tried that many different ones over the years and I haven't felt I was missing anything. Yeah, that's really a rousing enthusiastic introduction for this tea. I used boiling water and about a four minute steep in my 12oz mug. I then added sweetener. This smells kind of nice.

The taste is lighter than expected. My previous experience is with tea bag chai. Generally I find them to be very overdone and unbalanced. This is a pleasant surprise. I don't know that this tastes like what is normally considered as chai. This is lightly orange with clove being the strongest flavor. It reminds me of a more refined version of Constant Comment with an added peppery element. I am not sure where that comes from as pepper is not a listed ingredient.

Overall I am pleasantly surprised. The addition of orange peel makes this much more appealing to my palate.

Visit the Two Leaves Tea Company website.

Two Leaves, Tropical Goji Green

Two Leaves Tea Company Description:
We give our traditional Japanese sencha tea leaves a face lift by brewing them with mango pieces and other tropical natural flavors. What results is the sort of tea it's easy to imagine sipping while dipping your toes in the ocean. And here's our little secret: we love it iced too.

Price: $7.95 for 15 sachets. Steep twice for $0.26 per cup.

Part of the Complete Sampler Pack provided by Two Leaves Tea Company.

My Review:

Last year I had my first gojiberry flavored tea. I loved it. I expect great things from this one. I brewed this late in the evening because I thought it was an herbal tea. It is not. It is sencha green tea based. That brings me to my biggest complaint with the Complete Sample Pack from Two Leaves. The outerwrap of each sachet is clear. I like that. I can see the contents, however the printing on the wrap is extremely difficult to read because it is not done in contrasting colors. I think steeping instructions and caffeine content may be on the wrapper but I usually can’t read them. Also there is no ingredient list, hence my current dilemma. Fortunately this one is light in the caffeine department.

I don’t think it is necessary to change the wrappers. If you buy a box of the sachets, all this information should be clearly printed on the box. What would help is to have a printed sheet in the sampler box listing each tea and the important information about it. The majority of people may not care, but I do. Even for those who don’t care, a colorful printed info sheet would help reinforce name recognition. Ok, off my soapbox.

The sachet smells awesome when removed from the wrapper. I used nearly boiling water because I thought this was an herbal and steeped for four minutes because I thought this was an herbal. Apparently I still have a foot on the soapbox. Anyway, the tea did not care I brewed it wrong. It turned out really well. At first I taste gojiberry. Yum. Then I taste the mango. The neat thing is the two blend together so well with the green tea it ends up tasting rather like orange. The sencha separates out a little in the aftertaste so you know it is there. The overheating and long steep did not cause it to turn bitter. I really, really liked this very delicious cup.

Visit the Two Leaves Tea Company website.

Nature’s Tea Leaf, Chocolate Mint Whisper White Tea

Nature’s Tea Leaf Description:
Chocolate Mint Whisper White Tea is an exclusive blend of a select White Peony tea with pure peppermint leaves and rich Belgian chocolate. The whole leaf tea is evenly mixed with fresh cut mint leaves that are dried naturally to preserve their flavor. Belgian semisweet and white chocolate curls are expertly combined to provide the drinker with a tea that is decadent in aroma but with a flavor that is fresh and minty with hints of rich and velvety chocolate.

Price: $8.00/2oz

This is the second of three samples I received from Nature’s Tea Leaf for review.

My Review:

The first thing you notice with this one are the curls of white chocolate. Looking closer you also notice the dark chocolate curls. The leaf scent is mildly chocolate and minty. I have high hopes for this tea.

I used almost two scoops of leaf for 12oz. that is nearly double what I normally use but this is white tea and the chocolate takes up a lot of real estate in the bag. The water was lightly steaming. I steeped for about 4 minutes. The resulting brew is light and cloudy. Actually, it looks muddy. I expected this since it is a chocolate tea. The chocolate has all melted leaving only the leaf and a white film in the press.

At the front of the sip is the white tea. While the brain is trying to determine how it tastes the chocolate splashes over it. This is hard to describe as the white tea is obvious but under the chocolate. While the flavor is light, it is not shy. Chocolate is the main flavor in the cup. I cannot separate the two types in the sip. The chocolate washes into a milky treat as the mint rises and claims the aftertaste.

This is not an in your face decadent chocolate tea. The name whisper fits it perfectly. It is like a whisper in a quiet moment. Soothing. Relaxing. I often read reviews of chocolate teas where the writer says, “I just wish it had more chocolate.” My feeling is, with this one, it would be a distraction. It is perfect as is. Disclaimer: I did add sweetener to bring a little more life to all the flavors, but I would have done that anyway.

Visit Nature’s Tea Leaf at http://www.naturestealeaf.com/

Happy New Year

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First off, I am not color blind. I know the image doesn't go well with my template. Further, I don't care. It's bright and happy. It looks like a party. I like it for that reason.

Ok, let's look back for a moment - In 2012 there were 172 posts on The Everyday Tea Blog. Of those, 156 were tea reviews. That is a lot of tea! I uploaded 15 general posts and ran one contest. It was an exciting year for this blog and my tea journey. I continue to be amazed by my favorite beverage.

Looking forward, I already have maybe 30 new to me teas ready to review. My plan is to slow the blog down a little. That's my plan. It probably won't happen. This is my second post of the year already, and as long as the tea keeps rolling in I will no doubt not be able to resist sipping. Once sipped, I must write and share with my readers.

Last year was personally a hard year for me and probably for many of you as well. The new year isn't really starting all that great. So what are we going to do about it? Sit and whine? No way! Let's start with our attitude. You are free to work at it however you will. For me, I begin this year by lifting my mug in humble gratitude, giving thanks to my God for creating the leaf that brings me so much comfort and joy. 

Happy New Year and good warm mugs of tea! May this be a year of peace, health, and prosperity for us all.

Two Leaves Tea Company, Organic Better Morning Blend

Two Leaves Description:
It's time to pry your eyelids open again - try doing it with an energizing combination of lemongrass and peppermint, while a citrus aroma perks up your nose. Stinging nettle and rose hips give this herbal tea a great taste. If you decide you're a morning person, it'll be our little secret.

Ingredients:
(all organic) Lemon balm, lemongrass, peppermint, lime, rose hips, stinging nettle, cassia, kombucha, cornflower, natural lemon flavor

Price: $7.95 for 15 sachets. Steep twice for $0.26 per cup.

Part of the Complete Sampler Pack provided by Two Leaves Tea Company

My Review:
In full disclosure, I did not have this in the morning. In my world there are three things you drink in the morning - milk, juice, and caffeine. This is none of those. I still have somewhat of a mental block when it comes to herbal tisanes. But just look at the picture. This stuff is very pretty. I opened the outerwrap and smelled mint. I'm nervous. Mint can be overdone so easy. Heated the water and steeped for about four minutes.

Took my first sip. Oh, wow! This is far better than I expected. The main flavor is peppermint, however it is not overpowering. Next, I notice the lemon. I would never think to put mint and lemon together but they really compliment each other well. I can't single out any of the other ingredients. They just lend solid support to the cup.

I had to look up kombucha, I am still not sure but I think it is a type of yeast. I also looked up cassia - it is a cinnamon. I didn't know nettle could be used in a tea. The cassia and nettle are probably responsible for the slight amount of scratch or bite on the throat. That sounds bad but it really isn't.

This is a really a very good cup. I would drink it often in the evening. Or you could drink it in the morning... if you're one of those people ;)

Visit Two Leaves at http://www.twoleavestea.com/