3015 Tasting Notes
I’m kind of warming up to this one…our office feels like a rainforest in the mornings and a glacier by mid-afternoon, and a caffeine-free warmer-upper is welcome. Mostly rooibos and cinnamon (the “granny’s spice cabinet” kind, not the red hot candy kind) with a little natural sweetness from both ingredients.
Calming in times of national peril. Fortifying when courage is required. So says the product description on the Rare Tea website. Considering family events of late, I’d brew this by the gallon on that guarantee alone :)
But fortunately, it has a lot going for it beyond the description. At just a two-minute steep (heresy!) it is strong, bready (dark pumpernickel), and slightly sweet. Those of you who prefer tea that doesn’t wear combat boots would want millk.
I thought it sounded right up your alley! I hope it fulfills all of its promises!
Daughter who lives with us said to tell you – adding milk is like girls who wear combat boots with sundresses.
Should I tell her that as a child I wore Dingo boots (advertised by Joe Namath and few people on here will remember those commercials!) with maxi dresses? I made my mother sigh a lot.
Cowboy boots with leg warmers here. ;)
From a work friend who raved over it. I was pleasantly surprised not to have to squunch up my face from a lot of tartness. Read through some prior reviews as I was sipping it … some of you will remember K S, whose general pronouncement was “kool-aid.” Yeah, cranberry kool-aid about sums it up. In a nice way.
Isn’t it a wonderful thing when a kind friend who knows you’re knotted up like a bad macrame project sends a surprise to untangle you? One of those thoughtful gifts arrived today, and this herbal blend was in the box.
It’s beautiful—looks just like something the herb granny would’ve gathered in her basket just last week. Big mint leaves, fresh chamomile. And while the flavor profile is typical of a mint-and-cami tisane, the provenance of each ingredient is fair proof that they were selected thoughtfully and deliberately for medicinal purposes.
Until I read the tea description, I had never heard of Mexican Toronjil Rojo, but I’m catching a very mild anise hint with it, as advertised. We’ll test the relaxation efficacy at bedtime (when the brain turns on the moment my left ear hits the pillow), but there’s tulsi in this little leaf garden, which is one herb that actually works on me.
Thank you, friend! <3
Somebody left this on the pay it forward shelf at work, and I’m a magpie: see something shiny, pick it up. (And I never have enough good decaf options.) First test cup wasn’t bad, extremely light and grassy. Decent option for days I’ve overdone the hard stuff.
Elder care is not for sissies. We have been unsuccessfully researching care and living options for mom-in-law and I feel like a moth who has beaten its little head senseless on light bulb after light bulb without getting anywhere.
So this evening I folded my scorched wings and overheated brain, picked out a playlist of hymns that made my heart happy, crocheted to the beat, and washed it all down with a double bagger—this nice spearmint/peppermint blend, plus a tulsi chaser. Other reviews mention a cooling effect. I concur. Leaves your taste buds a little tingly.
Sounds like the perfect break that you needed. Take care of yourself while dealing with the care of your mother-in-law! :(
Thanks for the kind words!
I hope the tea helped and that a solution presented itself to you!
Tea, yes; solutions, nothing. Waiting lists, waiting periods, waiting for return calls, no clear and helpful “here’s what you should do and in what order” answers.
Enough winter. I am done.
To chase off the glooms, I’m snoodled up in jammies watching An American in Paris and dreaming of sunbeams and dandelions and warm breezes and dancing with Gene Kelly (he may be way before your time and mine, but have mercy, he had the moves).
And in keeping with the “springtime in Paris” motif, I made a cup of this strawberry-scented white tea to hang my face in. You can catch whiffs of gentle strawberry flavor in the cup, too. Aromatherapy for the taste buds.
A lot going on this week, leaving my arms and neck in perma-clench and my brain burning rubber like a 16-year-old in a vacant parking lot. So I’m trying to kill the engine and undo the knots with something gentle. This is hitting the spot. There’s never enough chocolate to suit me, but what’s in this blend balances nicely with the mint and lavender. Favorite bathrobe, fuzzy socks, Enya playing softly. For the moment, we’re OK.
We bookended Christmas Day with what is also becoming a goofy tradition…walking the aisles of Food 4 Less (because it’s open, because we’re restless, and because it was miserably, soppy damp outside) to grab one item we can’t find at our normal grocery venue.
And…surely this does not happen to you when you’re browsing at the store…we ended up with something other than yogurt—this decaf Lemon Lift. That’s a happy discovery—LL is my second favorite off-the-shelf non-seasonal Bigelow (nothing will dethrone Constant Comment).
As to its resemblance to the original, it’s close. The underlying tea, especially decaffeinated, is just a carrier for the lemon and spice, but that’s what I grab this one for, not the base.
Rocking chair, tree lights, near-silence…a pleasant wrap-up for a decent day.
