Celestial Seasonings

Boy, this was a tricky one to rate. I’d originally bought it to send to our daughter. I’d already seen a box in her tea cupboard & saw she was low. But the bag I’d bought it in got misplaced and packed away. It resurfaced recently, so I thought I would try it, rather than send an older box!
This is where I wondered what was in it. “Huh! Eleuthero—I wonder what that is. I’ve never seen that before in any of the other herbal teas I’ve had.” Quite frankly, after reading about it on WebMD (you can look it up there), I got pretty worried why there were NO NOTICES on the box that people with certain medical conditions should NOT drink it. You’ll be glad to know that " Eleuthero is likely safe when used for up to 3 months. ..There isn’t enough reliable information to know if eleuthero is safe to use for longer than 3 months." WebMD also notes “There isn’t enough reliable information to know if eleuthero is safe to use when pregnant or breast-feeding. Stay on the safe side and avoid use.” Likewise they discourage use by people with heart conditions, high blood pressure, diabetes & certain medications, like those for blood clotting!
Quite honestly, it seems to me that Celestial Seasonings—a very reliable long-standing herbal tea-blending firm—should have SOME kind of caution or warning on their label for this tea. It’s a reminder that just because something is “natural”, comes from nature—doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be careful and look twice to make sure it’s right for us or for our families.
Eluthero is the first ingredient listed, so by law that means by weight there’s more of it than any other ingredient, then the second by second-most, and on down the line. Here is the list of ingredients: ‘ELEUTHERO, PEPPERMINT, CINNAMON, GINGER, CHAMOMILE, LEMONGRASS, LICORICE, CATNIP, TILIA FLOWERS, NATURAL LEMON FLAVOR WITH OTHER NATURAL FLAVORS, HOPS, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6) AND CYANOCO-BALAMIN (VITAMIN B12).
Even if that main ingredient has been “softened” by all the others, I wonder if someone who has low blood sugar (which eleuthero can further drop) or who takes a blood thinner (which eleuthero can also affect)—if someone with those conditions really liked this tea—could it affect them if they were to drink a lot of it, especially daily?
The "BLENDMASTER’S NOTES" say: “This soothing blend begins with eleuthero, an Asian herb popular for centuries because of the sense of calm and wellbeing it imparts. We’ve added cooling peppermint, spicy ginger and tangy lemon flavor to create an uplifting and restorative blend that can bring harmony to any moment of your day.”

I didn’t find it that enjoyable. It’s pretty odd and medicinal-tasting: woody, kind of bitter, and very hard to describe since it’s truly out of the ordinary realm of teas. I did not taste the lemon, or cinnamon, or ginger—tho maybe that weird taste kick could have been from the ginger. I don’t know how catnip or tilia flowers taste, so it’s possible I detected them, but thought it was something else. There are two vitamins added: B6 and B12—also not usual for herb teas!—so perhaps the addition of those serve to counteract or balance?

Whatever, this is a weird tea. It’s not really unpleasant, but the overwhelmingly medicinal quality doesn’t make it something I’d want to reach for again. Plus after having spread drinking this over three months, so that I didn’t risk my blood sugar levels, I’m just glad this box is over. And I never felt more relaxed than I would over a cup of regular tea.
Have a cup of good quality decaf tea with lemon & honey instead.

This was one of my favorite teas as a kid and I’m still looking for a dupe. Unfortunately, it really doesn’t age well, though (in a literal sense, I would definitely drink it again just as happily). Some years ago, my family bought a bunch of boxes of it off Amazon after we couldn’t find it in stores anymore. The boxes, even when freshly opened, smelled almost sour. Sad :( If anyone knows any similar teas please enlighten me <3

My fist tea purchase of the year. Hopefully one of my only tea purchases this year. I found it at bulk barn of all places!

I really like the chamomile/spearmint combo. This has a nice dried herb (like the smell of dried sage and sweetgrass leaves) and slightly sweet finish. The blackberry leaves give a bit of natural sweetness. The chamomile is very present and I enjoy the flavour of it. I kind of like that chamomile has an almost nectar or honey flavour happening in it but also a bit like mango or pineapple.

I really can’t make out any vanilla at all, but I still enjoy it like the plain Sleepytime blend.

After a pleasant recent experiment with chamomile and vanilla, a conversation on LibraryThing’s Tea group page mentioned cambric tea, which is really just warm milk with a nominal sploosh of tea in it.

Inspired by both, I threw a bag of Honey Vanilla Chamomile into a mug of milk and warmed it in the microwave. Sweet and gentle and tranquilizing enough I may not make it all the way through “Scrooge.” (The 1970 musical; Albert Finney and Alec Guiness; mandatory viewing at our house.) Wake me up in time for my favorite song from the whole thing, “Thank You Very Much.”

How is it, after decades of tea drinking, I haven’t tried this grocery store staple? (Or how is it that I’m so senile I forgot?)

At any rate, this was another pay-it-forward contribution at work. Flavors perform as advertised, but on its own, it was too sweet for my taste. However, paired with a bag of plain old plebian Red Rose to temper the honey, it was a decent afternoon hand warmer!

This isn’t the best of teas, but it’s familiar. While I’ve not actively sipped this tea in nearly 20+ years, I’d get a cup of this during the winters and/or while sick, in my youth. It was the closest thing to tea I’d be allowed to drink.

Something within me desired this tea while perusing the tea/coffee aisle at Walmart. I grabbed a box, went home and made a mug, and now I’m working on a third box…I’ve made it my nightly habit to drink this at the last hour of my shift. Let’s say it’s a cozy mug, which transports me back in time and space, to little ol’ me, drinking a boiling hot cup of Cinnamon Apple Spice, happy to be warm again after spending too much time outside on those cold winter (snow) days.

I really enjoy this tea and generally keep it in a rotation on evenings off work along with the regular Sleepytime and Sleepytime Extra. I sought this one out online when I head about it when I saw it existed, but had never seen it in stores. The lavender aroma is stronger than its taste. The chamomile and mint shine through a lot. Worth checking out if you like the other flavors.

This is another favorite in our household. It is quickly overtaking their Bengal Spice as the staple tea. It is rich and goes well with a little bit of brown sugar and cream. A nice relaxing cup of caffeine-free tea.

Great chai that is caffeine-free. My daughter and I get it all the time.

I wanted to like it, but it didn’t really taste at all like a sugar cookie to me. The taste was very faint and, even with a little sugar added, it didn’t really get much better. Didn’t finish my cup; sadly not one I’ll drink again.