Prestogeorge's Cranberry Orange Herbal Tea

Outsides:  This tea is LOADED with big, chunky pieces of fruit.  What you see in my picture is the very bottom of the bag where all the little bits gather, but the vast majority of this is big pieces of cranberry and big pieces of orange.  Apparently this has Chamomile, Rosehips and Hibiscus as well.  I didn't have much left but still wanted to review it, so I put more tea than was necissary into the basic infuser ball and stuck it in 8 oz boiling water.  The liquid is a lovely red color and it smells of sweet citrus and cranberries.

Insides:  There's almost a juice-like quality to this.  The liquid tastes very thick and tangy, not like the normal tea (granted, this is herbal tea).  It's sour, but if you like hibiscus tea then it shouldn't be a problem for anyone.  I really like this.  It tastes like a very fall/winter beverage with the cranberry and citrus flavors and is what I expect when I think of cranberry tea.  Since this is a fruity herbal tea, it can handle hot or cold, sugar or no sugar.  I might even add some cinnamon if I'm feeling audacious.

Overall:  It's a bit sad that this was my last cup of this.

My Rating:  Try it!

Prestogeorge is my local tea shop in Pittsburgh.  It has a nice, big variety although the shipping is expensive so you should probably find somewhere else if you need a place for tea.  

Tazo Orange Blossom Tea

  

So, I got this tea from my secret Santa on my Jumpstart team who said that she liked tea and knows how much I love it.  I didn’t tell her that I hated Tazo teas and only got them by stealing them from random places, but thankfully, this comes in a pretty sweet metal tin that will hold some of the pound of Davidson’s Tea Spring Fruit and Flowers I got (I found that I’m addicted to blueberry herbal tea and I really should just get the pound).  Anyway, this particular tea appears to be a blend of jasmine green tea, TANGERINE PEEL (as opposed to, you know, orange) and goji berries with all kinds of spices such as orange essence, chamomile flowers, fennel, tarragon and more stuff that I don’t even care about.  

Outsides:  So, I got this tea in a cool metal tin.  Sadly, it is not loose-leaf but in cornsilk sachets that are not individually wrapped.  I actually kind of think that’s a giant waste of space because you have this big freaking container and you only get 15 bags of this stuff, but I digress.  Since this is green tea based, I used 6 oz of slightly below boiling water and about 2 oz of room temperature water and steeped it for 3 minutes (but the temp was so low that you can get away with longer).  The color is similar to a lot of chamomile teas and this one smells both citrusy and flowery. 

I also need to note that the tea in here seems to be at a much higher level than the normal bagged Tazo.  For one thing, it’s whole-leaf and the bigger the leaf, the better the tea.  It’s also very pretty to look at in the cup, almost like blooming tea.  And they used corn-silk instead of paper so I’m guessing this is some fancy stuff.

Insides:  The jasmine is a bit strong, but it’s still a nice citrusy herbal blend.  The base of green tea and chamomile gives this a bit of a sweet taste while the jasmine and orange are both relaxing.  The weird thing is, I don’t know if all of these flavors are overpowering the green tea or if they just didn’t use a very flavorful kind but I’m guessing it’s a bit of both.  If you add sugar, I feel that it does a good job toning down some of the citrusy and floral flavors while bringing out the green tea and I also imagine this being nice as an iced tea.  It’s a bit of a weird blend for me, but overall it is still enjoyable.

Overall:  I’m sure that for the pricepoint, it is not worth it but this is a nice tea overall and I’m glad I got it as a secret Santa present.

My Rating:  Try it!

Tazo can be found pretty much anywhere that sells Starbucks related stuff but I'll have to check with my team leader where she got it.  I do hope that it wasn't too expensive.

TasTEA Time! Prestogeorge Sleep Tight Herbal Tea

You know how you realize that you need something right as you need it?  Well, that was what happened to me.  I really needed to get to sleep and thought I had a big box of sleep time tea, but my mother removed it or it got lost somehow and alas, it was not there.  I ended up drinking some Celestial Seasonings Sleep Time tea, but I only have a few K-cups and figured whatever they had at Prestogeorge would be about 5 times tastier so I ended up buying 4 oz for about 5 bucks the next time I went.  Now, that was a risk but I figured that this tea was more for function than flavor.

Outsides:  The tea contains Chamomile, Valerian Root, Spearmint, Lavender and Lemon Balm.   I brewed it at boiling for about 5 minutes.  The tea itself is a nice yellow from all the herbs and actually smells very floral but not in an overpowering way.

Insides:  The lavender really sets this apart flavor-wise from any of the other sleep teas I've tried.  It really adds a nice delicate floral aroma to the tea and really brings out the subtle sweetness that the chamomile has.  It also ties all of the flavors together so it doesn't just seem like this random hodgepodge of herbs, but a nice relaxing garden.  Needless to say, I really love this sleep tea and it's by far, the tastiest I've had.  Oh, and it definitely calms you down and probably could help me sleep.

Overall:  I feel like if you're overly sensitive to chamomile or mint, you MIGHT not like this but the lavender does a good job masking the flavors.  It's a buy for me.

My Rating:  Buy!  

Prestogeorge is a tea and coffee retailer in Pittsburgh where I live.  You can order online from them but it's more pricy, so I encourage you to find your own local tea shops.  

TasTEA Time! Lipton Green Tea with Honey

So, what made me pick the Honey Lipton next is the list of ingredients because it definitely doesn't contain just green tea and honey.  Other than the green tea, it has orange peel, licorice root, chamomile and chicory.

Outsides:  Still paper outside, saran inside.  The tea is a normal green tea color but has a hint of orange in the scent.  Orange and chamomile actually.  If i hadn't read the ingredients before, I would have been confused.

Insides:  Surprisingly, this is my favorite one yet.  The orange give a nice tang paired with the green tea, but isn't overpowering or paired with spices.  The licorice, chicory and chamomile are more background flavors, experienced more when you let the tea sit in your mouth as opposed to a hearty swig.  The one complain is that this doesn't really scream "Honey" to me, maybe a light citrus or calming green tea.  The chamomile adds a bit to the sweetness but the tea itself isn't overly floral, which is what i associate with honey.  Still, it's good.

Overall:  I like it.  It definitely hides any problems you might find with the green tea and it's nice and flavorful.  Try it out.

My Rating:  Try it!  Here's the site:  Lipton Home.

TasTEA Time! Tazo Calm

More Tommy with Tea

What:  Tea that's supposed to make you calmer

Where:  USA

Why Should I Care:  Everyone knows Tazo.  It's that fake Asian tea company that adds mint to everything!   It's also kinda expensive for the quality I'm getting (a 20c goes for about 5 bucks.  I'm ok with paying 25 cents per sachet but not on lower end mid-quality tea without being fair-trade or organic or anything).  This particular variety is the Calm blend with chamomile, mint and other tasty ingredients.

Packaging:  It's that paper/foil packaging that I hope most of the teas I buy have.

Non-Taste Senses:  It's chamomile tea colored and it smells a little minty.

Taste:  So, this is basically a more mild version of the Night Time tea I tried.  It's not bad and if you don't like mint, you might like this one more that the Heath and Heather version.  It's just kinda....meh to me.

Overall:  I just don't think this is worth the money.  The taste itself is ok but it's not really worth getting unless you can't find any other brand of calming tea.  I mean, look at this review.  I'm not even excited talking about this.

My Rating:  Pass   If you do feel inclined to buy this, just go to a Starbucks or Seattle's Best Coffee (Why Seattle is my question).  Here's their website (which is beautifully designed).

tasTEA Time! Heath and Heather Night Time Tea

Sorry about the crushed box.  

What:  A tea that (naturally) helps you fall asleep

Where:  England/Britain

Why Should I Care:  We all adjust our diets in order to achieve certain moods.  We drink coffee to get energy, we eat meat to feel full, and we drink things like chamomile tea to relax us.  The thing is, I don't like chamomile.  I'm not completely against it but it's just...eah!  This tea is a nice blend of herbs so if you're not crazy about chamomile but stupid over spearmint, you can also rest easy.  Heath and Heather is a strictly herbal brand that specializes in making tea that promotes wellness and gives you the mood/energy you want.

Packaging:  I got the 50c which was tucked away in a foil bag within the big cardboard box.  The sachets are in paired disks within the foil bag.  It's honestly pretty meh.  The herbs pictured on the front are nice, though.

Non-taste Senses:  Chamomile is yellow in color so it's not surprising that this tea is a lovely golden color that's halfway between green tea and ceylon tea.  Also there is much rejoicing that it smells like spearmint.  Oh, there's some chamomile in there too but spearmint completely dominates.

Taste:  This is pretty much a light mint tea.  I tasted the chamomile in there but that was more of an afterthought than an initial taste.  The thing is, I don't think most people would use this as an iced tea or something meant as a delicious experience.  This particular animal of herbal tea is meant to relax your body and mind to the point of you being able to fall asleep better.  Does it work?  Yeah, I feel relaxed.  It's kind of an added bonus that it really tastes pretty good, especially compared to a couple of the other herbal teas that do the same thing.  It's fine with sugar so it's really all up to your preference.

Overall:  It's honestly a little tough grading this.  It does its job if we're talking about helping relax someone and if you like mint, then the taste is fine.  On the other hand, this isn't something you can sit down and drink with dinner.  I think it's all up to preference and if you're a normal human being that isn't overly sensitive or unhindered by herbs, try it out if you need to sleep.

My Rating:  Try it (or if you need something to help you relax, Buy it)!  I really want to try some of their other flavors (Nettle or Lavender).