50
drank Peppermint by Celestial Seasonings
187 tasting notes

I steeped this for a good long while, and it came out really nice and strong. Very calming on the stomach, and a soothing herbal for the night. I happen to love the menthol feel that peppermint tea leaves in your mouth!

Preparation
Boiling 6 min, 0 sec
Jillian

It’s a really clean and refreshing taste isn’t it?

takgoti

I definitely enjoy a good mint. They’re fantastic after a huge meal.

teaplz

Jilian and takgoti, is loose leaf mint really worth it? Is the flavor all that different from the bagged?

Jillian

Well it depends, loose-leaf may be fresher, although I’m really not sure. I grow my own mint so I KNOW it’s fresh, but I have no idea how tea companies go about it. I do know that herbs tend to retain their essential oils better if they aren’t broken up until right before they’re used.

My advice would to maybe try some of each, bagged and loose, side-by-side and see if you can taste a difference yourself.

takgoti

I’ve only had bagged mint…twice? I think that’s about right. One was from Tea Forte and one was from a company I don’t remember. Both of them were a sharper kind of a mint taste. Maybe edging on artificial a little.

That being said, mint is one of those things that I don’t think makes a huge difference from one to the other. For me, it’s more about the blend, and companies that know blend flavors well will likely have better mint tea.

This is just a very long winded-way of saying that you have a lot of choices, because all teas are going to vary from company to company.

If you want to read up on what some people are saying, a few that I can recommend with some authority are:

1. Tavalon’s Serenity. No one else on here seems to have tried it, but I had a sample of it and I rather liked it. The mint was subtle and worked very nicely everything else.

2. Samovar’s Moroccan Mint. This is my favorite mint tea because it’s got a prominent, but softer mint flavor. Sometimes it feels like I’m drinking mint chocolate chip ice cream.

3. Adagio’s Foxtrot. I haven’t tried this one yet, but a few number of people on Steepster swear by it.

Hope that helps?

teaplz

Definitely helps from both of you. Thanks so much, guys! I can’t help but love the flavor of peppermint tea.

Jillian, fresh mint must be awesome to have! I bet you can make killer mojitos with it.

And tak, thanks for the super list! Tavalon used to have a tea lounge here in NYC; I’m pretty mad that they closed it and haven’t reopened yet, because I’d be able to go down and try this without shipping costs! And you are definitely the Samovar advocate, missy. :P

teaplz

P.S. gasp Samovar’s shipping is $8.69 to my neck of the woods. That’s pretty steep!

Jillian

I’ve got a bunch of fresh herbs that I grow and it’s really nice to have fresh ingredients for seasonings and whatnot. Actually, mint if dead-easy to grow if you want to give it a shot yourself. :)

P.S. $8.69 is nothing! Samovar’s shipping fees are something like $20 bucks to ship here in Canada (and they used to be $40!).

takgoti

@teaplz Hee, Samovar is definitely my tea bff, but I wouldn’t recommend anything I didn’t think was worth recommending! I’ll admit that whenever I put an order through with them I usually go over whatever their free shipping quota is. I don’t think I’ve ever paid shipping from them.

If you’re thinking seriously about ordering from them, the coupon code cozytea will get you 20% off through December 1st. And if you REALLY want, I can send you some samples of some of the tea I have if you want to get a feel for looseleaf before you take the plunge. No pressure, I just know how intimidating it can be!

@Jillian I kill plants. It’s what I do. And hey, at least $20ish is a start! I think that’s pretty standard to ship out of/into here. I blame customs.

teaplz

Okay, Jillian, your shipping cost woes beat the pants off of mine. :( That stinks!

takgoti, I cannot let you send me samples of your tea, because I’d have absolutely nothing to send back to you at the moment. It’d be tea giveaway, not tea swap! :( I might have to pass on Samovar for now and focus on cheaper loose leaf.

takgoti

Hee, I made the offer knowing you probably wouldn’t. It’s really not an issue for me to send you a little bit of what I got, but I don’t want to guilt you in to anything. I’ve gotten started on many things because of the generosity of others to share what they had, and I really don’t mind paying it forward. If you’re game, take a look at my cupboard and see if anything interests you. If not, no worries!

Jillian

@Takgoti, Yeah it IS better than fourty-friggin’ dollars but the fact is that I don’t see why they have to charge that much just to essentially go through customs. Shipping rates from other American tea companies like Harney and Sons and Adagio are quite reasonable. Not to mention that if companies in China (ie. Tea Spring) can ship their teas to ANYWHERE in the world for a flat rate of 5 or 6 bucks, then why the Hell are these few companies gouging international customers so badly?
/end rant

takgoti

@Jillian I dunno, but I know that if I look up how much it would be to ship a 1 lb box from here to Canada it’s at or around $20 depending on size. I’m guessing that it all has to do with what they can work out with their shipping company/ies. I have zippy insight on the internal mechanics of how companies work that kind of stuff.

teaplz Also, I should add that my email's heather.takgotigmail.com if you want to reach me there.

teaplz

Jillian, Golden Moon (http://www.goldenmoontea.com/Shipping_W304.cfm/) has shipping to Canada that’s $5 a pound. I’m getting their sampler set in the mail, and I just figured I’d tell you that that seems fairly reasonable a price.

takgoti, awesome! I’ll be e-mailing you soon, then! How much does it usually cost to package up/ship tea? I’ve been curious about this.

Cofftea

@Jillian herbals are always best home grown IMO as well. Definitely can’t beat the price, especially for an organic version:) While I don’t drink herbals solo, I REALLY want to get into planting herbs and edible flowers to blend w/ my store bought teas. Kind of like baking a cake yourself- you get even more satisfaction out of it when it comes time to eat (or in this case) drink it. I wish I could grow the tea myself too… :(

takgoti

@teaplz I use boxes that I have lying around and other whatnot, so all I pay for is the shipping. Usually it’s somewhere around $7 domestic.

silvermage2000

Sounds good teaplz nice review I do enjoy mint teas.

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Comments

Jillian

It’s a really clean and refreshing taste isn’t it?

takgoti

I definitely enjoy a good mint. They’re fantastic after a huge meal.

teaplz

Jilian and takgoti, is loose leaf mint really worth it? Is the flavor all that different from the bagged?

Jillian

Well it depends, loose-leaf may be fresher, although I’m really not sure. I grow my own mint so I KNOW it’s fresh, but I have no idea how tea companies go about it. I do know that herbs tend to retain their essential oils better if they aren’t broken up until right before they’re used.

My advice would to maybe try some of each, bagged and loose, side-by-side and see if you can taste a difference yourself.

takgoti

I’ve only had bagged mint…twice? I think that’s about right. One was from Tea Forte and one was from a company I don’t remember. Both of them were a sharper kind of a mint taste. Maybe edging on artificial a little.

That being said, mint is one of those things that I don’t think makes a huge difference from one to the other. For me, it’s more about the blend, and companies that know blend flavors well will likely have better mint tea.

This is just a very long winded-way of saying that you have a lot of choices, because all teas are going to vary from company to company.

If you want to read up on what some people are saying, a few that I can recommend with some authority are:

1. Tavalon’s Serenity. No one else on here seems to have tried it, but I had a sample of it and I rather liked it. The mint was subtle and worked very nicely everything else.

2. Samovar’s Moroccan Mint. This is my favorite mint tea because it’s got a prominent, but softer mint flavor. Sometimes it feels like I’m drinking mint chocolate chip ice cream.

3. Adagio’s Foxtrot. I haven’t tried this one yet, but a few number of people on Steepster swear by it.

Hope that helps?

teaplz

Definitely helps from both of you. Thanks so much, guys! I can’t help but love the flavor of peppermint tea.

Jillian, fresh mint must be awesome to have! I bet you can make killer mojitos with it.

And tak, thanks for the super list! Tavalon used to have a tea lounge here in NYC; I’m pretty mad that they closed it and haven’t reopened yet, because I’d be able to go down and try this without shipping costs! And you are definitely the Samovar advocate, missy. :P

teaplz

P.S. gasp Samovar’s shipping is $8.69 to my neck of the woods. That’s pretty steep!

Jillian

I’ve got a bunch of fresh herbs that I grow and it’s really nice to have fresh ingredients for seasonings and whatnot. Actually, mint if dead-easy to grow if you want to give it a shot yourself. :)

P.S. $8.69 is nothing! Samovar’s shipping fees are something like $20 bucks to ship here in Canada (and they used to be $40!).

takgoti

@teaplz Hee, Samovar is definitely my tea bff, but I wouldn’t recommend anything I didn’t think was worth recommending! I’ll admit that whenever I put an order through with them I usually go over whatever their free shipping quota is. I don’t think I’ve ever paid shipping from them.

If you’re thinking seriously about ordering from them, the coupon code cozytea will get you 20% off through December 1st. And if you REALLY want, I can send you some samples of some of the tea I have if you want to get a feel for looseleaf before you take the plunge. No pressure, I just know how intimidating it can be!

@Jillian I kill plants. It’s what I do. And hey, at least $20ish is a start! I think that’s pretty standard to ship out of/into here. I blame customs.

teaplz

Okay, Jillian, your shipping cost woes beat the pants off of mine. :( That stinks!

takgoti, I cannot let you send me samples of your tea, because I’d have absolutely nothing to send back to you at the moment. It’d be tea giveaway, not tea swap! :( I might have to pass on Samovar for now and focus on cheaper loose leaf.

takgoti

Hee, I made the offer knowing you probably wouldn’t. It’s really not an issue for me to send you a little bit of what I got, but I don’t want to guilt you in to anything. I’ve gotten started on many things because of the generosity of others to share what they had, and I really don’t mind paying it forward. If you’re game, take a look at my cupboard and see if anything interests you. If not, no worries!

Jillian

@Takgoti, Yeah it IS better than fourty-friggin’ dollars but the fact is that I don’t see why they have to charge that much just to essentially go through customs. Shipping rates from other American tea companies like Harney and Sons and Adagio are quite reasonable. Not to mention that if companies in China (ie. Tea Spring) can ship their teas to ANYWHERE in the world for a flat rate of 5 or 6 bucks, then why the Hell are these few companies gouging international customers so badly?
/end rant

takgoti

@Jillian I dunno, but I know that if I look up how much it would be to ship a 1 lb box from here to Canada it’s at or around $20 depending on size. I’m guessing that it all has to do with what they can work out with their shipping company/ies. I have zippy insight on the internal mechanics of how companies work that kind of stuff.

teaplz Also, I should add that my email's heather.takgotigmail.com if you want to reach me there.

teaplz

Jillian, Golden Moon (http://www.goldenmoontea.com/Shipping_W304.cfm/) has shipping to Canada that’s $5 a pound. I’m getting their sampler set in the mail, and I just figured I’d tell you that that seems fairly reasonable a price.

takgoti, awesome! I’ll be e-mailing you soon, then! How much does it usually cost to package up/ship tea? I’ve been curious about this.

Cofftea

@Jillian herbals are always best home grown IMO as well. Definitely can’t beat the price, especially for an organic version:) While I don’t drink herbals solo, I REALLY want to get into planting herbs and edible flowers to blend w/ my store bought teas. Kind of like baking a cake yourself- you get even more satisfaction out of it when it comes time to eat (or in this case) drink it. I wish I could grow the tea myself too… :(

takgoti

@teaplz I use boxes that I have lying around and other whatnot, so all I pay for is the shipping. Usually it’s somewhere around $7 domestic.

silvermage2000

Sounds good teaplz nice review I do enjoy mint teas.

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Bio

28-year-old NYC girl just starting out on her tea adventures! I used to hate tea. If you asked me a few years ago what I thought of tea, I’d tell you it tasted like hot, dirty dishwater. Not anymore! I acquired a taste for tea when I started drinking peppermint tea for my upset stomach problems. From there I graduated to teas like chamomile and Lipton. But Lipton wasn’t strong enough!

I’m getting the hang of this loose leaf thing. Black’s my default, but I’ve found that I really love teas that fall into every category. I’m a purist – I always drink my tea neat. I prefer unflavored tea over flavored tea, and really dislike anything flavored with artificial-tasting substances. I’ve grown up a bit in my tea drinking, and I find that novelty appeals to me less and less.

I also am the happy wife of the boy that created the tea randomizer, which can be found here: http://www.jaydeee.net/pickatea.php

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New York City

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