Lady 0f Spaydes

St. John’s Wort Blues Away from Yogi Tea

Lady 0f Spaydes drank St. John’s Wort Blues Away by Yogi Tea

I want to be a nurse, so I guess it’s about time that I start saying this:

ASK YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE STARTING ANY HERBAL SUPPLEMENT. TAKE CARE TO READ THE SIDE EFFECTS AND DRUG INTERACTIONS (there’s alot of them) including decreasing the effectiveness of estrogen-based birth control, most pharmaceutical anti-depressant, painkillers and anything else that increases your production of serotonin.

That said, I’ll get into the review!

This is day 1 cup 1 of this tea for me. I do believe the Vicodin is out of my system, but to my dismay my last medication I have to use requires chemical birthcontrol if I plan on being intimate, which is a major drug interaction with SJW. After talking at lengths with my boyfriend, we’ve decided that it is more important to give this medication a try for my mental health than play bump bump…and so another 3 months of abstinence has been added to the 7 months of abstinence we’ve already had. This is going to be the best 1 year of dating mark ever.

Upon investigation, I am not entirely sure of the numbers in this blend. There is only 27mg of SJW extract actually in this tea and then 843 mg of the leaf and flower of which I am unsure what the ratio of whole plant to extract would be, but the normal prescription dose in other countries(the US does not take holistic care seriously)is 300mg/day, waaaay more than this tea asks you to drink.

I prepared this in a 32oz teapot with only 2 teabags and it came out BLACK. The directions stated to use 1 teabag for 8oz of hot water. I suspect that this blend is either going to be ass kicking strong or nowhere near as potent as I need it.

The flavor is of licorice and mint, I am reminded of straight licorice root and those licorice gumdrops, Crows. When I would want an awesome candy that no one else wants to eat, I always went for Crows. Not feeling drowsy yet, but I am still not gonna drive for the rest of the day, maybe the week, until I figure out what exactly this stuff does to me. I’ll log again at the end of the week and I’ll rate again in 30 days.

2013-01-22 12:19:32 -0500

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KittyLovesTea 2013-01-22 13:11:59 -0500

I believe that the majority of herbal teas are suitable for the majority of people despite their medications. Sure it’s best to double check that there are no warning labels on the packet but the only ones I have seen that have had those were from a Chinese remedy shop. The main thing to watch out for with herbal teas are allergic reactions.

Look at chocolate teas for instance, Cocoa and chocolate contain the tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloid salsolinol up to a concentration of 25 microg/g. Salsolinol is a dopaminergic active compound which binds to the D(2) receptor family, especially to the D(3) receptor with a K(i) of 0.48+/-0.021 micromol/l. It inhibits the formation of cyclic AMP and the release of beta-endorphin and ACTH in a pituitary cell system. It’s proven to increase women’s testosterone levels which is why a lot of women crave chocolate when they are menstruating.

I wouldn’t worry too much about your herbal tea causing you any problems as long as you don’t drink them in excess. :)

Lady 0f Spaydes 2013-01-22 18:20:18 -0500

For it’s effects as an herbal supplement you’re supposed to drink this 3 to 4 times per day.

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Bio

A casual tea drinker since my childhood; I recently began to truly explore international tea culture in my search for the perfect tea ritual in my extremely hectic lifestyle. I am a young pantheist college student pursuing the science of medicine with a minor in bioethics (philosophy) and I firmly believe that having a ritual for relaxation and meditation is crucial to physical and emotional wellbeing. I recently hosted my first afternoon tea party and hope to assemble a routine arsenal of tea and literature enthusiasts to share my teatime. My tastes are international and I embrace styles and ideas of different cultures across the centuries. I look forward to tea and literary recommendations from you all!

So I know there is no proper way to truly gauge teas as the best or the worst, but like with education, a standardized rubric system is very important to communicate certain aspects of a quality before one has a chance to read in-depth reviews.

It is with this in mind that I strive to follow the proceeding guidelines and rubric:

1. I shall not provide a grade based upon an improperly brewed tea. This includes: experimental blending, scalded leaves, oversteeping/understeeping and insufficient amounts of leaves provided.

2. All rated teas must initially be steeped in accordance to the guidelines provided by the tea company. Addendum/reevaluation may occur if properly documented.

3. I shall try my very best to leave personal preference out of the scope of grading. However, I shall endeavor to be very clear of my opinion of the teas that I rate.

Grading Rubric
100 point scale:

- Clearly and concisely conveys the flavors of the artist’s intent with no supplemental explanation if the flavors are within the taster’s experience (20 points)
- Requires menial ingredient adjustment (i.e.: milk, sugar, stevia, etc.) to achieve the flavors intended by the artist. (15 points)
- Is completely consistent in flavor and quality from batch to batch. (15 points)
- Requires little to no adjustment to preparation (sans accounting for regional differences in altitude, airpressure, etc…) for a full flavored steeping (10 points)
- has a very high quality tea base that compliments the blend (note: does NOT require whole leaves)(10 points)
- Re-steeps at least two to three times strongly if able. (if bagged, re-steeps twice well) (10 points)
- Stores very well (No flavor diminishment when stored in a dark, cool and airtight space for short periods of time). If bagged, is packaged promoting optimal infusion, ease of use and freshness. (10 points)
- has a clear explanation of ingredients, allergens and preparation instructions. (5 points?)
- Is very well priced in relation to the quality of ingredients and quantity provided. (5 points)