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I’ve been feeling a little anxious and a bit achy today and thought this might be soothing. It’s not as sweet as yesterday’s, but it will serve.

I’m drinking this cup in an attempt to fight off a headache likely caused by the last remnants of a sickness I’ve been fighting for over a week. The tea is honeyed and sweet but with a slight bitterness in the aftertaste from having steeped too long on my desk.

I bought a box of this tea a few months ago primarily for its calming properties. It’s a good tea to drink before bed or when battling a headache. I’ve never really loved the taste of chamomile, but it undoubtedly has a relaxing effect that I find both soothing and a bit nostalgic. My mom would drink unsweetened chamomile when I was younger, and now that I’m older it reminds me of home and of her. She has a gift for knowing exactly how to make everything better, and I think I associate that feeling with this tea because of her.

So whenever I’m sick or anxious or generally unwell, I think of this tea. It’s like an aromatherapy of sorts, breathing the vapors in and letting the anxiety out. There is something intrinsically healing here. It’s a cup for comfort.

I picked up on a few different scents from the dry leaves: cardamom first, followed by a cooling sensation similar to that of mint, and finally a slight orange note. Once brewed, it reminded me of a chamomile or light green tea both in perfume and in flavor. I wasn’t able to taste any of the spices in the tea while drinking, but my taste buds have been a bit off since I’ve been sick so that might be it. Overall, this was a nice and simple cup for a calm, relaxing morning.

Truth be told, I only drink this tea when I’m feeling under the weather. It has certainly been one of those weeks. I don’t particularly enjoy the taste; it’s far too similar to a cough drop, though I suppose that is the point. I added a good bit of honey to this to up the wellness factor and sipped slowly. I’m not sure there is enough lemon and ginger here to make a real difference, but it does give the feeling that I’m doing something good for my body so it serves its purpose.

The first thing I noticed about this tea was how small the leaves are. They look like they have been chopped into the tiniest of pieces. I’m not familiar with the different methods of processing tea so perhaps this is one way to do it. However, the pieces were so small that much of it came out of my tea ball and settled at the bottom of my cup. Alongside the tea, there were long strips of yellow leaf (presumably the calendula petals). It smelled sweet, though there was also something sour that I couldn’t place.

The tea was a beautiful amber color after steeping and tasted of cake batter before sweetened. After adding a little honey, the rooibos really took center stage. This blend was barely fruity and I detected no mango. It’s a nice rooibos, but it’s definitely missing any kind of fruit flavor.

The first tea I remember drinking (and actually enjoying) was a sweet and frothy chai latte from my university cafe. A professor of mine encouraged me to try it, and for the remainder of my freshman year I must have bought one every week. I loved the warmth from the spices and the creaminess of the milk.

I picked up this tea a while back, hoping to recreate the experience. I made this cup at work so I wasn’t able to brew it as a latte. Instead, I added cream and sugar once the tea had finished steeping. I’m pretty sure this contributed to the lackluster taste. The tea smelled of Red Hots candy and tasted mostly of anise. It was watered down and bland, but definitely spiced. In fact, I tasted only spice and no tea.

I will try this again, but will definitely be making it a little differently next time. If it fails as a drinkable tea, I’ve found a recipe for Chai Latte Ice Cream that should serve as a nice way to use up the rest.

After yesterday’s poor attempt at re-steeping, I was happy to enjoy this full strength today. It is full-bodied and creamy, perfectly sweet and satisfying. This is absolutely becoming a new favorite.

I saved my tea leaves from yesterday’s brew in an attempt to steep this particular tea twice. I kept the leaves covered in the fridge, but after reading some info online I think I may have kept them too long. I steeped this for the same amount of time but used water heated to a higher temperature. The result was a very watered down cup, not really much flavor at all. I won’t be trying this again in the future, at least not until I learn about more about the re-steeping process.