Swiss Vervaine Melange

Well I have been staying up a lot lately and today it finally caught up with me. So I’m here feeling tired but can’t fall asleep D: but then along comes Swiss Vervaine Melange! Hopefully this will help with my problem.
This tea is very odd. In a good way of course. There is just SO much going on with it. Lemony, minty, fruity, spicy. So I’m just going to say it’s very herb-ish. Well it is a herbal tea.. anyways.. I do enjoy this tea enough that it just might have earned a permant spot in my tea cupboard. Well I’m off to see if I actually fall asleep! Nighty night!

My mom picked up a couple of ounces of this one when she was in Minneapolis for the GIG (Gluten Intolerance Group) Conference earlier this month and when I was visiting the parents last weekend she let me swipe some of it.

I think the smell of it is pretty nifty – sweet, citrusy, fresh… it actually smells like a fizzy fruit flavored drink, carbonated ‘tingle’ and everything. Once brewed, the carbonated fruit beverage smell is joined by a more herbal-y smell that makes me think of chamomile and grass (neither of which are in this tea so I’m guessing it’s the verbena).

Taste-wise, it’s more in line with the chamomile/grass smell, not the fruit fizzy smell, but there’s a fruit fizzy aftertaste which is nifty. It’s fairly obvious there is mint in this, but it’s tamed down nicely by the other stuff going on. There’s also a nice (but again not overpowering) lemon flavor to this – more of an herbal-y lemon instead of fruit or candy lemon. There’s a gentle warmness that I’m guessing is the ginger, but like all of the other flavors, it’s nicely muted. And every so often I get a bit of a woody taste that is very mild but makes me associate this tea with autumn.

There’s a lot going on in this tea – sweet, tingly, herbal-y, fruity, minty, citrus-y – but no single flavor dominates. Instead they just all sort of mesh together in a mild but sweet and fairly enjoyable way. It takes a lot for me to like a full on herbal blend, but this stuff is pretty good. I don’t know if I’d go out of my way to buy it but I might steal some more from my mom.

So exhausted today. I was up until 3 finishing a paper for class… probably wrote some things I shouldn’t have, but it was a “letter to my future self” so if I want to be honest/make jokes to future me, then I will. Whatever. I’m done with it.

I bought this tea over spring break but haven’t tried it yet because the smell turned me off… it smells like a Ricola cough drop – herbal and minty. Ricolas work wonders, and I force myself to eat them, but I really like the way they taste. They’re edible, obviously, but I wouldn’t take them if I didn’t like them.

But today is one of those days where I’m just so tired, my body is aching, I have a headache… I decided why not, I’ll try it.

It’s actually really really good. The citrus is there, but it’s not overpowering. The mint supports it without clashing. There’s a apple-and-mallow center to the flavor that balances it out and makes it really smooth.

I rarely add honey to teas (too much honey upsets my stomach) but I added about a teaspoon and a half (MUCH more than I’d usually add, if I did add any) of Savannah Bee Company’s Tea Honey, and it’s actually amazing. I know I’ll refill my tin of this when I go home for the summer.

…also, don’t know why everyone thinks this is Vampire Diaries related?

My first try at this was met with some interest. I may have added too much and boiled it too high. It ended up tasting like…mallow? I don’t know what it was, but it wasn’t citrus at all! Later that night I got stomach cramps. I don’t know if it was the teas fault; so I’ve waited a bit before trying this again.
non-brewed leaves: lemon/citrus
brewing leaves: no citrus/weird mallow-sweet smell : /
steeped smell: popcorn?
This is very perplexing. But the popcorn smell/taste may have been what turned my stomach a bit. I had a bad run-in with an artificially flavored popcorn lollipop when I was a child. My guts never forgave that flavor!
This time the flavor is toned down, but still no amazing citrus! I feel so sad about this. :( I was really looking forward to some lemony bite. This stuff smells overwhelmingly strong when you smell it but it is not present at all in the flavor. Maybe I should try mixing my batch more or something. But there is also no mint flavor; which was mentioned to be in there somewhere.
Until further notice this tea is under intense scrutiny!
edit Three things must be noted before I nod off. First, the lemon started to appear at the end of the tasting. It was subdued and kind of lack luster but there. Secondly, one of the more promised effects is that it supposed to be kind of a relaxant. That part is indeed holding up. Lastly, I noticed something this time that worries me just a tiny bit. My tongue feels tingly. Not in a nice tasty way; but in an itchy way. I’m not allergic to anything but bunnies (that I know of) but hopefully this isn’t a side effect of one of the ingredients.

First off, this tea totally made me think of the incredibly hot – and talented – Ian Somerhalder from Vampire Diaries; vervaine is supposed to help protect humans from vampires. Not that I would ever want to encourage Ian to stay away from little ol’ me…

This tea is definitely tasty but a bit weak. I prefer strong, bold teas with lots of flavor and substance. This tea does have a nice citrusy flavor, calming and soothing. I brewed it up for about six minutes and the citrusy flavor stuck around rather than becoming bitter. I appreciated that. :)

It also had the power to put me to sleep! Granted I have been dealing with a migraine all day and took lots of meds for it, so maybe it was that, and the tea had more of a placebo effect but whatevs. The tea was delicious and soothing and sleep-inducing. Always appreciated at the end of a long day.

Bottom line: this is a decent tea to add to your collection, especially if you need help getting to sleep. It’s stress-relieving and relaxing. (Plus you’re safe from vampires. lol)

Thanks to the wonderful JoeCool (Nichole) for sending along a sample. I may get more once my other sleep-inducing teas run out.

Oh, and I noticed there seems to be some debate about how to spell vervaine/vervain/vervein. But basically it’s the offspring of verbana. Or in the same family of the herb at least. This is something I’ll look into for my blog – I’m fascinated by the mystery surrounding the term…

What a “Purty” Little Tea! This is my first experience with Teavana. (Thanks Meghann!!)

Very light and very clean. I can see how this would be a nice and relaxing tea after a long day . . .Pretty good.

Loved this tea so much and teavana discontinued it! Well I did EXTENSIVE research lol and actually found someone that sells it! If anyone is interested please contact me and I’ll give you the info on it! This is my favorite tea and it broke my heart that I didnt find out about it till after it was discontinued! So I went on a wild goose chase trying to find something similar and I found the actual manufacturer who only sells wholesale but I they gave me the info to one of their distributors!

I really fell for this tea – I loved the flavor, the aroma, and the way it made me feel relaxed. However, after my wife started getting migraines after drinking some other Teavana products we took a closer look at the ingredients. They have been “upgraded” from the list that is on this site. They now read:

Vervaine, apple pieces, carrot pieces, orange peels, ginger pieces, marshmallow leaves, peppermint, green rooibos, candied papaya (papaya, sugar), rosebuds, raisins, mallow blossoms, passion flower petals, flavoring (blood orange, peach) peach pieces, sunflower blossoms

“Flavorings” means MSG. I’ll take my tea without, thanks. Take a closer look at this company’s website. I can’t find a single herbal tea that does not contain “flavorings.” Prior to reading the ingredients on the web, I asked at the store what exactly “superfruit enhanced” means. They were unable to answer the question.

There are enough great teas and tea companies out there that I don’t feel the need to support this one any longer. They are misleading at best, and caused us unnecessary pain with this needless use of flavor additives. Needless to say, we won’t buy any of their products going forward.

Chose this as an after dinner tea since I wasn’t feeling so hot. The ginger and mint are apparent immediately, an interesting combination that I wasn’t sure I’d like but it seems to work, go figure. I get a vague sense of citrus, like many others, though I’m not sure if I’m getting it because other reviewers have said they got it, or if its because I actually “got it” myself. I think I like it, especially an after-dinner/before-bed tisane. I’m not sure I’d be into it at other times.

I like herbal teas but it is difficult to find ones that don’t have citrus (a migraine trigger) or chamomile (an allergen). Additionally, I’m not a huge fan of peppermint; I know, I’m picky, what can I say? This tea is a very nice, soothing and harmonious blend of mild and light tastes. Although the peppermint scent is prominent, it’s taste is (thankfully) very muted, hiding nicely underneath the ginger and the vervain. An excellent tea for the evening, either with or without a sweetener. I’ll definitely buy it again.

I have to admit, I originally bought this tea because of one of my guilty obsessions, Vampire Diaries. This however, has become one of my favorite herbal teas. The carrot is the top note with a touch of spice that lingers underneath, it almost reminds me of liquid carrot cake. I think I’ll go make a cup now..

I love this tea. It really is a melange, and I can taste every element of it in each sip. It’s fascinating to drink, and very tasty.

I am not entirely sure what I think about this tea. I personally think it smells disgusting. It tastes exactly like fruity pebbles to me.

This smells citrus and peppermint to my nose. I steeped I’t for a few minutes. This taste like citrus more then anything with some peppermint. Good.

This is a very interesting tea. On the nose its very fruity and slightly floral, but once you take a sip, the earthiness becomes evident. Dried apricots and menthol. I enjoy this tea as a treat when I want something different.

This is my staple blend. I have digestive issues and this tea really hits the spot. Better than straight peppermint for dealing with indigestion and nausea, and it tastes great to boot. The smell is out of this world; it’s so flowery and herbal. Major love for this blend.