BlendBee

noms. i think i need to try this one as a cold brew. I enjoy the lime-ness of this one and i like that it’s very different from lime gelato from david’s tea.

LIME TEA YAY! i love lime teas as a general rule. omgsrsly picked this one up for me and even though it’s a green tea (all the good lime ones are) – i am a fan. it’s more sour than sweet, and i’m ok with that. While this is good hot, also hoping the cold brew of this one will be tasty. thank you my tea friend! like this one!

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

Sipdown! Finally updated my cupboard with the teas my boyfriend picked up for me in Europe last month so it’s high time I polish off some older ones. My neighbours were obnoxiously loud last night, so between their karaoke, random continual tap-dance-like sounds, and LULZ giggling and squealing like ZOMG, waking up at 6am this morning really sucked especially when I’ve been getting mostly later shifts which have me usually coming home past 11pm. So needless to say, I have a numb, sleep-deprived brain, which has become the norm over the past half year with this erratic work schedule, and I’m hoping that drinking a ton of coffee and tea will at least do something (but, let’s face it, it won’t).

I recall really liking this one when I first got it. I loved the stronger allspice and citrus in here, like drinking a spicier version of liquidated cola bottle gummies. But these last two cups were too sweet for my liking, understandably since a lot of the added sweetener (plus licorice root for a double whammy) sank to the bottom. So overtime, emphasis shifted from the Spice to the Sugar. Most definitely a pleasure to have in my cupboard but I’ve finally had my fill.

My Amoda order has landed! Looking back at my order, I wondered why I didn’t just pick out a couple more things because I would have gotten a larger percent off but I guess at the time, I was trying to behave. But, but, for only $5-10 more I could have gotten so much more! Sigh.

The sample smells amazing. I say this a lot with spicy blends, but it’s akin to cola bottle gummy candies, even more so than Acquired Taste’s Winter Dream sencha. There is so much good stuff in this: licorice, allspice, orange peel, pink peppercorns, cinnamon, cardamom, elderberries…

I already know I overleafed because 7g fell into my basket and here I’m only steeping a standard cup. Whoops. So the liquor is looking rather dark.

The steeped tea smells like spice cake. I can taste the sweetness from the licorice root a bit, but it’s not overpowering because there isn’t a lot in the dry leaf to begin with. There is also some brown sugar in this, apparently, which contributes to the sweetness. I normally don’t like sweeteners added to teas, but it’s not bad here at all.

It’s worth trying, it’s tasty, but the sample size will suffice. But I wouldn’t have minded getting 25g either. It’s one of those teas. More wouldn’t hurt but it’s no loss either.

Tomorrow is the day that my camera goes into the mail on its journey to be fixed. I really should have put it in the mail sooner, but I have to go to the library to print out forms and between you and me, I had no desire to go outside during all that freezing rain. There is a great amount of nervousness here, not so much over them not fixing it since there is the option to replace it if necessary, but mainly over how long it will take. Granted not having a flash is not the best option, though the double use of my phone’s flashlight and my painting light has made for an interesting effect. Another piece of camera news, I got a different flash diffuser since my other one was complicated. It worked wonderfully, but the listing was full of it when it said it would fit my camera, so to use it I have to hold it steady, which made taking photos interesting. The new one I am getting fits over the flash like a sock, so more mobility incoming.

Today we are looking at a tea that is near and dear to my heart, Blendbee’s Save the Bees, a blend that donates 20% of its sales to saving the bees! See, I love bees, some of my fondest memories involve my grandparents taking me to Ashcombe’s (A HUGE nursery in PA) where I would watch the honeybees in the hive window and then stock up on honey. I will admit to having a lot of loathing towards Yellow Jackets, but I have been in more fights with those nasty wasps than I would like to remember, they are the only bug I am actually afraid of, but bees and even a lot of other wasps, we cool. This tea is thematically apropriate for bees as well, since it is a LOT of flowers, specifically it is a blend of Hibiscus Flowers, Rosehips, Rosebuds, Marigold Flowers, Chamomile Flowers, Jasmine Flowers, Lavender Flowers, Orange Peel, Stevia Leaves, Sweet Orange Extract, and Honey Extract. This is a flower lover’s dream, and it just so happens that my favorite kind of herbal blends are heavily floral, so I am excited. The aroma is very sweet and floral, strong notes of jasmine, roses, and lavender dance with sweet oranges and honey. It smells vaguely of dessert, the blend of creamy oranges and honey with the flowers remind me of some really fancy flower ice-cream I have indulged in.

I decided to be a bit old fashioned with my brewing this time, standard big ol’ mug and a steeping basket. True, this way I won’t be able to see the full glory of the steeping hibiscus, but my steeping apparatus is really only sized for a teacup rather than a mug. The aroma of the wet flowery pile is sweet and tart, blending oranges and lavender, honey and hibiscus, jasmine and roses, it is heady while also being light. The pink liquid is a perfect balance of oranges and flowers, it is sweet and heady, with the lavender being the dominant flower and chamomile, jasmine, and rose following behind.

So, as you probably know, I used to be a staunch hater of hibiscus, but in my old age it seems I am growing fond-ish of it. However it has to be light, it has to be in a sweet blend, and it cannot be just straight…I like a little bit of tart with the sweet, it is an interesting balance. Conveniently for me, this is the perfect amount of hibiscus, just enough to add that tiny bit of tart at the start of the sip, but it is quickly overwhelmed by the other flowers and oranges. Strong notes of oranges and lavender, followed by roses and jasmine, at the finish is a delicate straw and apple note of chamomile and a stevia sweetness that lingers. I love stevia leaves, not a fan of stevia based sweeteners, but the leaves themselves are delicious, I am tempted to grow some come spring time. And speaking of warmer weather, I will have to try this tea cold-brewed and sip it while visiting Kauffman Gardens, see if the bees like it as much as I do.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/11/blendbee-save-bees-tea-review.html

I have a confession, I am addicted to those plastic drawer oraganizer…things…I blame my side addiction to organization as the cause for this. It is a dream of mine, one day to have a room separate from my tea/art room that is just a room where every wall is nothing but those stacked up drawers. Perfectly labeled and everything is sorted and probably color coded. It makes me all warm and tingly thinking about it. I bring this up because yesterday on the side of the road Ben found one someone was getting rid of and he brought it home for me, meaning my tea collection is even more organized, this makes for a happy me!

Today we are looking at a fun blended tea from BlendBee, a fun company that has ready made blends and the ability to make your own blends…something I need to try because these are always so fun! Specifically the blend I am checking out is Minty Black, a blend of Chinese Black Tea, Carob Beans, Peppermint, Licorice Root, and Natural Flavoring. I admit I was drawn to this tea because of my fond memories of summer time minty black tea slurping, though as an adult I find I am more drawn to the hot version rather than the iced version, it makes my belly happy. The aroma is pretty intense, this is not a tea to stick your nose into and inhale deeply…unless you have a stuffy nose and want to just clear those sinuses, because wow, mint! So much cooling fresh mint, I feel like I fell face first into a mint plant..and yes I know exactly what that is like. Underneath the pile of mint is some mild malty notes, chocolate, and a touch of sweet licorice root at the finish.

The aroma of the now quite soggy leaves and other bits is a double blend of mint and cocoa, with sweet undertones of licorice and a touch of malty richness. There is so much mint, lots and lots of mint, though it is not as strong as the mint-splosion that is the dry leaf. The liquid is sweet and minty, cooling with notes of chocolate and mint, with sweet undertones, it smells like a Andes mint…and fun fact, every Christmas I would get a whole bag of those in my stocking as a kid…and they almost always were gone by the end of the day and I would not want them again until next Christmas!

Ooh! The tea is brisk! It combines a brisk black base tea with strong cooling mint, talk about a refreshing tea. After the initial mintiness, it moves to cocoa notes and then a nice burst of licorice sweetness that lingers for quite a while. This tea reminds me of drinking black tea while shoving Andes mints in my face, like imagine the sensation of having the chocolate melt in the tea in your mouth, and that is what this tea reminds me of. It is very refreshing while also being soothing, just the way I like my minty teas.

blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/11/blendbee-minty-black-tea-review.html