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Today I had a hilarious conversation with Ben about gods, mythology is a frequent subject we talk about since it is a mutual life-time obsession of ours, so apropos of nothing when he asked ‘what is your favorite obscure random god?’ it didn’t take me long to answer. I chose Zi Gu, the Tang Dynasty Chinese angry ghost who terrorized a toilet after being murdered, was then blessed by Empress Wu and turned into the Goddess of Toilets…that is some serious (if not very ill advised) life goals. Of course this led me to research other culture’s toilet gods and I learned that the main sewer of Rome was called the Cloaca Maxima and their Goddess was called Cloacina, who was eventually merged with Venus. I think eventually I should make a bathroom shrine to all the various toilet deities, because a functioning bathroom is a very important thing!

Oh man, I am stupidly lethargic today, so clearly that means I need to review an herbal tea, though honestly I drink so much tea that caffeine doesn’t affect me, but drinking an herbal tea before a nap or bedtime I find immensely soothing. The blend in question is Spring Clean by Blendbee, a combination of Dandelion Leaf, Nettle Leaf, Milk Thistle, Rose Hips, Ginger, Strawberry Leaf, Licorice Root, Chamomile, and Natural Fruit Flavor. No caffeine, plus a lot of these herbs (ginger, licorice, and milk thistle in particular) aid in healthy digestion, and nettle leaf is said to be good for allergies. The aroma of this herbal tea is quite, well, leafy and herbal! I can smell the ginger and citrusy rose hips, the sweet licorice, the dried chamomile and leafy nettle and strawberry leaf. It reminds me of the way an herb shop (or my mom’s kitchen during drying season) smells, and I find that comforting.

I decided to classic it up a bit and brew this blend in a steeping basket stuffed in my mug, mainly because I wanted a mug of it and not a dainty teacup. The aroma of the steeped leaves and bits is leafy and green, definitely strong in the herbaceous department, along with warm ginger, zingy rose hips, and sweet licorice. The liquid smells like a blend of straw and apples (hello chamomile) along with green leaves, citrus, and a touch of honey sweet licorice.

The first thing I noticed about this blend is how light it is, there are definite notes of licorice sweetness (and slipperiness, I find licorice has a slippery texture) at the front starting the tea sweet and having it stay that way. There are also leafy notes of nettle and strawberry leaf, they taste herbaceous and green, there is a subtle underlying earthiness, and the finish has a citrus slightly sour note from the rose hips. It taste sweet, refreshing, and very clean, the flavors are light which I find to be quite enjoyable. I think it might be nap time now!

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/12/blendbee-spring-clean-herbal-tea-review.html