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Travel to a Ren Faire and find a tea from a tea company you’ve never heard from to find out that it’s local to home. I spent a good amount of time boring my family by sniffing all the tea samples in the shop and came home with 4. Two are “summer” flavors and two are “fall/winter” blends. As summer has decided to make an appearance today, I’m sampling this lavender coconut herbal blend. It is recommended cold brew and has steeping directions for hot. I’m starting with hot and popping a container in the fridge for cold brew.
The blend has obvious pineapple and coconut pieces in it. Large chunks even, making it a bit challenging to get a balanced teaspoon out for my kettle. I steeped at 200 for about 7 minutes. It’s sweet and even sweeter after steeping. No need for added sugar in my mind but the website recommends an Orange Blossom Honey. I love the coconut and pineapple but don’t really get the lavender in this mug.

This came as a sample with my order last Fall. I noted that the “best by date” was last week so I made myself a mug this morning. Yesterday I was watching a video about the history of using mint leaves for medicine/health through the ages. I know I definitely feel better with a good strong mint tea.
There is a nice minty scent to the tea while steeping. It’s a strong peppermint but I like it. The tea feels fresh and smooth. It definitely tastes pepperminty with a bit of sweetness too. I’m the only one in the home that enjoys mint but I cold see myself reordering this one when I’m purchasing tea again. After so many disappointing reviews, its nice to have a good one to write!

Yet another disappointing tea from this sampler. Steeped for approximately 3 minutes and has a golden yellow hue. I don’t detect any strong fragrance but I do seem to be a little congested today. There is coconut flavor but I honestly feel like I’m just drinking warmed coconut water.

This was my morning tea sample. Its a nice deep dark color and smells earthy. must say I don’t care for this cup of tea. The bitterness and astringency is very off putting. I wish I could add a splash of milk but apparently my cereal eaters drank all the milk. I handed it off to the Coffee Drinker who said he enjoyed it until the last few sips and it was even too astringent for his palate.

It’s probably been at least 5 years since I’ve been up to Bar Harbor. I definitely wasn’t aware there was a tea shop up there at the time. This one was a birthday gift from a friend and she choose well. I love blueberries, especially wild ones. Last weekend the mountains were full of bushes with wild blueberries. They’re great for snacking while on the trail.
I have had this tea iced and hot. Both are good. This morning, I sipped it hot as this week mornings have been starting off at cooler temps. Steeped for about 5 minutes and took my favorite mug out on the deck to watch the hummingbirds. The blueberry is strong. There is a decent black tea base. Noted no bitterness and the sweetness from the blueberries was just enough for me. Perfect tea for an August morning.
I also like that the string on the bag is long enough for my travel mugs and that the bags are compostable. Yay!

2022 Bird & Blend Advent calendar Day #24

Wow did I mix up my alcoholic drinks when I picked this out today. I was totally expecting a mimosa not a mojito. I think I definitely am still sleepy. Now that I’ve woken up a bit more, I can only laugh at my mistake because this definitely reminds me of mojitos. The mint is very prominent in each sip. As the mug, sits I do taste more lime and the green tea is coming through. I enjoyed the last of the cup of tea more than the beginning, when the mint was so strong.

We toured a Lavender field in early July and the gift shop had this and lavender coffees among other interesting items. I’ve tried this cold brew and hot. It has been enjoyable both ways but I think I prefer cold brew. I’m out of iced tea in the fridge so I think I might run it through the iced tea maker. If you enjoy lavender it smells lovely. The lavender is not over powering in the mug. It seems well balanced with the black.

I let smallest child pick out my tea this morning from the sample bin but fortunately they are so busy that they didn’t stick around to hear if I liked it or not. It reminds me of the instant hot cider packets that we get for camping for the kids. There is an astringency to this cup of tea. At the same time, I find it overly sweet with a strong cinnamon flavor. The orange reminds me of cooked oranges over a camp fire. I didn’t bother to finish the mug. This one is on the nope list.

I pulled this one off my tea rack for a morning cup. Since it is labled as a white tea, I used 180F water and steeped for 2 minutes. In appearance, the tea is a pale yellow. There is no discernable fragrance. Rather basic chamomile but with a dusty, chalky feel to it. Something I would expect at local restaurants for their “tea selection” that is steeped too long at high temps.