Townshend's Tea Company, #82 Chamomile Classic

Townshend's Tea Company Description:
A soothing tea from Egypt made from sweet chamomile herbs. An added honey-apple aroma gives the flavor of this tea a pleasant accent.

Price: $2.50/ ounce

My Review:
My wife cannot tolerate caffeine. She has her decaf teas she likes but every now and then I'll order something a little different so we can share a cup or two in the evening. This was such an order.

We prepared this in the cup using a Finum basket. I steeped for around 5 minutes. My wife selected dark blue cups so I cannot comment on the brew color. The scent was lightly apple.

To us this was a lightly flavored chamomile. Chamomile has a natural apple type flavor to me anyhow, but this one is enhanced with apple and honey flavors. It made for a pleasant though not spectacular cup.

If you like the idea of chamomile tea but find its taste a little bland, the additional flavors of this might just be what you are seeking. The price is certainly low enough. Townshend's web site could use a little modernizing and they don't take Pay Pal but I was otherwise pleased with our purchase experience.

Visit Townshend's Tea Company.

Townshend's Tea Company, #76 Superberry

Townshend's Description:
Wild herbal infusion containing copious amounts of vitamin C. Blend of elderberries, currants, rose hips and hibiscus. A flavor-bonanza. Also highly recommended as an iced tea.

My Review:
I had not heard of this company previously. I looked them up on Steepster. Many of their teas have received pretty good ratings. So I feel pretty good trying this herbal blend. The scent of the dry mix is highly aromatic. Flowery, fruity, but dark. I find it appealing. It reminds me of black raspberries or black cherries.

I used a full scoop, about 5g, in my Finum basket. Normally I reserve the Finum for fine herbal blends. This is made of large pieces so it isn't necessary. I just felt like a quick to mug brew this evening. The water was heated to highly steaming but not boiling. The steep time was about 4 minutes. The instructions call for 6+ but I am being cautious.

The brew is very dark and purple tinted around the rim. It smells really good. The taste is... tart. I am glad I did not go 6 minutes. Very tart black raspberry. OK, its really currant and hibiscus. The quality of the ingredients seems high and the blend is nicely balanced. It is just as a hot beverage, it is not grabbing me. As it reaches room temperature I am starting to warm up to it. I think I need to try this cold. It might be refreshing that way.

My wife decided she wanted to try this as it is caffeine free. As she downed her second cup, I lost possession of the bag. While this wasn't my thing, she really likes it. I would not hesitate to try other teas by Townshend's Tea Company.

Visit the Townshend's Tea Company site.