Gnat and Bee

Sip Down and Backlog

This is a really nice mug for the start of the day. The balance of the black teas mix flavors of malt and cocoa. There’s a touch of pepper in the aftertaste.

Sip Down & Backlog

Topped off as an iced tea. Added a splash of foamed oat milk. I noted, “Iced chocolate milk with a pecan finish.”

Last month, toward the end of my first social work internship, one of my fellow interns gifted me a few teas she’d picked up at Leaf and Petal, a tea shop in rural Virginia. She and I connected over our shared love of tea early on, so when she stumbled on the shop, she said she thought of me because I was the only other person she knew who’d nerd out over the find! :)

Leaf and Petal lists the vendor for this blend as Gnat and Bee, so I’m confident I’m reviewing the correct blend. It’s a really beautiful tisane, with pops of color from lavender, rose, and chamomile. I expected the flavor to be muddled — there’s a lot going on! — but it actually works nicely. It’s a very smooth, full-bodied blend, with a hint of sweetness even though it’s not sweetened. Spearmint dominates, followed by chamomile and a bit of lavender and rose. I’m not picking up on the cinnamon chips but perhaps they’ll come through as it cools.

I like but don’t love chamomile, so the fact that it’s playing second fiddle here is very appealing to my palate.

My stomach’s been a bit upset tonight, and this is helping! A really lovely pre-bed cuppa.

Sipdown & Backlog April 20, 2024

We brewed this iced after spending the time gathering loose sticks from the yard after a windy storm. I added a touch (tsp) of honey to the brew and threw it over ice, which is the best way to elevate this blend. Gnat and Bee use homegrown ingredients for their blends, so I’ve learned that the best way to enjoy them thoroughly is by drinking without sweetener or with little honey. The lady love tried to make this as a “southern sweet” tea, but the notes were muted by too much sugar. The honey really allows the dried raspberries to pop and reduce the sourness of the hibiscus (which without sweetener carries the blend nicely).

Sipdown

My wife is sick today. She wanted hot tea with honey. I thought that sounded quite lovely, so I brewed a big batch of this (32 oz iced/32 oz hot) to top off the the first bag we purchased a few weeks ago.

Notes: The black tea base and bergamot are both forward in the sip, but the lavender really takes charge in the aftertaste. I really like that this tea holds up hot or iced.

*Adding ice brings the lavender out more, while the bergamot plays the biggest role in the aftertaste.

I’ve been sipping this tisane iced for the past two days, and I’m absolutely amazed by the blend. It has been sunny lately, which inspires iced tea. Since I wanted to find the tea to replace for the weekly office travels, I recently obtained this blend from the local market. I figured it’d ice well enough since I like cold lemongrass and ginger.

Notes: I steeped this for 8 minutes, as suggested on the website. That ginger really pops, but so does the lemongrass and lemon verbena. I added honey to today’s brew – also suggested – and it really adds to the lemon zest – so refreshing! Thankfully I grabbed a full 2 oz bag of this, so that I can have plenty for a few more sessions.

Advent tea!
A bit clove heavy for my liking, but a good tea to roust me out of bed and get me in to traveling mode this morning. Its a warming tea, pepper, clove and cardamom, but no ginger. I’d sip this again but wouldn’t seek it out to buy. Thanks Lexie for letting me try it.

January Challenge Prompt: drink a latte
Needed something anti-inflammatory the other day so I pulled this out to make a latte. My mom surprised me with a jar of this one after first her jar of it and really enjoying it.
It’s a really lovely golden milk and it’s nice to be able to support a small business. I prepared this with a small amount of water and then added some frothy almond milk. It was probably 4oz of water to 6oz of almond milk? I can’t quite remember though.
The spices are strong but balanced and the marshmallow root likely adds some creaminess. I have another similar golden masala chai blend and that one isn’t nearly as balanced as this one is and I like how this one is caffeine-free. Caffeine in an anti-inflammatory blend would somehow feel a little less medicinal to me for some reason. There was quite a bit of the spices left in the bottom of my cup but that didn’t bother me. Perhaps that’s one downside to not preparing it on the stove? This would be a delicious daily cup of tea but I’ll save it for those health flare-up days. My mom actually got an ice cream maker for Christmas and I bet golden milk non-dairy ice-cream would be delicious…

Shae Advent Day 9

Hot, this tasted like mildly flavored black tea. I added milk and let it cool to room temperature, and now I’m tasting a lot more complexity. I get some berries and a little of something else that I can’t pin down. I thought it might be chocolate, but it doesn’t look like it. Maybe some pleasant earthiness? Forest berry is an apt name for this one.

This tastes like chocolate! It must be the base tea – I don’t think I remember seeing chocolate in the ingredient list. A very satisfying cup, even if I’m not tasting much in the way of berries.

F is for… Full Moon.

Okay, okay, not bad. Honestly, this is pretty good. Certainly not what I was expecting with the huge pieces of hibiscus flower in the blend. I received this as a free sample with my most recent order from Gnat & Bee. It has a juicy, fruity flavor. I’d drink this again willingly, sure!

I remember Mastress Alita talking about this one a while back, so I was excited to see it as a sample in the gift box I bought for Christmas. I prepared it with whole milk and honey and then put it in the blender to get it nice and frothy. I really enjoyed it. Very comforting, warming. I only have a bit left, but I’ll order more of this once it’s gone.

Steeped extra strong and topped with four ounces of frothed whole milk. So nice. I can taste chamomile and mint (spearmint, maybe?).

I thought about saving this for Valentine’s Day, with the name and the rose petals, but found another that’s actually a dessert tea so I’m having this today. I steeped a tablespoon in 8 ounces of milk (1/2 whole milk, 1/2 coconut milk) for about ten minutes. It came out way too thick (maybe from the marshmallow root?) and it tasted like soap. I’ll try again another day, but for now I’m dumping this and grabbing a pint of ice cream instead.

Hmm, I really like this one. I bought it as part of a sampler right before Christmas. It came with two herbal blends, this black chai, a jar of wildflower honey, a candle (Scent: Fireplace), and a beautiful piece of handmade pottery – a large and cozy moon mug! I definitely purchased for the mug. Anyway, back to the tea. The base is bold, the spices are flavorful but not spicy. Definitely more of a sweet-spiced chai. One of my favorites from Gnat & Bee so far!

This small-batch custom blend tea shop hit my radar from Shae at some point (thanks Shae!) I saw they made their own Golden Milk and I had recently run out of the one I had from Tea Chai Te, so I decided to try theirs.

Since I’m a spice wuss, I usually use Coconut Milk to prepare this, since it is sweet enough to offset any extreme spicy heat, and I also just find that flavor compliments turmeric very well. I tend to froth 1 tsp per 1 cup Coconut Milk, and I am amazed at how foamy it gets! This is actually very nice; it does have a strong earthy, rooty turm flavor (I mean, one would expect!) but I can still taste the sweeter cinnamon and a pleasant warmth on the back of my throat from the ginger and black pepper. The only spice in the blend I’m not distinctly picking out in the flavor is the cardamom. There is also marshmallow root in this blend, which I believe may be contributing to just how creamy this blends up and tastes. Prepared as a warm latte offset with a very sweet milk, I’m getting just the right amount of spicy warmth, and since I’ve been dealing with a bought of sinusitis, that warmth of turm and ginger and spice feels divine. I love that it isn’t caffeinated so I can drink it right before bed when I seem to feel very clogged up, too.

It does get a bit grainy toward the last few sips of the cup, but otherwise this is a very rich, foamy, creamy spiced latte!

Mastress Alita’s Monthly Sipdown Challenge
August 2022 → A tea that reminds you of a family member

This is my brother’s favorite tea so I’m always reminded of him whenever I drink it. We bought a pound of it when he lived here which he left when he moved out, so I still have a huge amount left. I really need to get it to him, but I don’t even know if he drinks tea now that he’s on his own. I think maybe he humored me a bit because I like to drink tea and also enjoy making in the mornings for everyone else. So maybe we’ll just have some when he comes to visit if he doesn’t want to take it home next time he’s here.

This is a strong smoky tea but there are other elements here too – spices and flowers and chocolate. This is actually the first time I remember tasting any chocolate. Must have had a few cacao nibs in my brew basket. I think this still must be one of my favorites from Gnat & Bee, if not my very favorite. It’s a seasonal tea for fall, but I haven’t seen it on her website in a couple of years. I feel lucky to have plenty left to enjoy.

My very favorite tea from Gnat & Bee. I’m surprised I haven’t written about it here before. I drank through this cup without thinking much about it, so I’ll have to come back later for a proper review.

ashmanra’s monthly sipdown challenge
January 2023 → a malty tea

Not a fan of this one today. It’s malty, yes. It’s also earthy in a pungent, unpleasant sort of way. I may need to rethink how I steep this one in the future. I still have a few cups left and want to enjoy it at least a little before it’s gone.