Celestial seasonings - sleepytime: blackberry pomegranate green tea

The name of the tea is quite a mouthful! The tea itself is a bit better in quality than you expect from a grocery brand level bagged tea. There are tea bits and flakes and fruit bits and flakes, the tea aroma is very light. When you open the packet in the box the aroma smacks you in the face but once it's steeped you have to really put yor nose up to it to get a whiff. Doesn't smell fake or chemical-y, mostly like pomegranates. The flavor is also a light flavor, I steeped for the full 6 minutes allowed by the directions and it was a light pomegranate-ish flavor.

I'm not usually a green tea fan, but this was enjoyable with a dab of honey.

Quality 2/5

Flavor 3/5

Packaging 2/5

Aroma 2.5/5

Overall 3/5 

Numi: Aged Earl Grey

Anyone who knows me knows that Earl Gray is my absolute favorite tea. Bergamot is my favorite scent and flavor by far. I am so disappointed by Numi aged earl gray and I expect better because their other teas blow my socks off. The scent of the dry tea bag should have set me up for disappointment. It doesn't smell like much, black tea with the faintest whiff of bergamot. After a 4 minute steep the tea is a beautiful deep black. There isn't really a scent. The bergamot taste can only be described as murky. And there's a little bit of a burnt after taste. I am happy I didn't steep for the full 5 minutes allowed by the instructions.  Overall a disappointment. 

Packaging 3/5

Aroma 1/5

Taste 1/5 

Quality 3/5

Overall 2/5

Sinus blues

Of course the moment I decide that I'll start reviewing tea again I am hit with the sinus infection from the deepest depths of hell. I can't taste, I can barely breathe. Hopefully I kick this bad boy to the curb in a few days.

Until then it looks like garlic sandwiches are in the cards for me. Gross, I know. What are your top non pharmaceutical remedies for sinus infections? 

Here's a sneak peek at my newest tea!

To be continued...

I have been on too long of a break! On my break I have honestly been indulging on my two new family members!

Owen (2 months) and Ella (23 months). Yes it has been two whole tea-less years but I am back in action. I still have some tea left in my last stash (I truly wonder if it still good after 2 moves and being shoved in the back of my cupboard for so long) and I plan on getting some new flavors going next week, hopefully some Christmas flavors.

I have been surviving on Earl Gray and green tea since I started my too - long vacation. I'm ready to mix it up!

-Alex

Zhena's Gypsy Tea: Pomberry

Steep time: 5 minutes

Ingredients : Top-Tier Sencha Green Tea, Hibiscus Flowers, Rosehips, Orange Peel, Cinnamon Bark, Lemongrass, Peppermint Leaves, a Superberry Blend of Pomegranate and Cranberries, Organic and Natural Flavors.

Aroma: Smells like berries. I can smell pomegranate and it's very sweet.

Packaging: Tea is packaged in a plastic bag, and clear fiber teabag.
 
Tea Leaf Quality: Large green leaves, berries and chunks of the bark, flowers and lemongrass.

Taste:  Good. I was expecting more pomegranate, I was hoping for more... something. It tasted mostly of green tea, but the flavor that was present, was very good. Not harsh pomegranate, there wasn't a "bite" to it, it was smooth. 

Aroma: 8/10
Packaging: 10/10
Value: 10/10

Taste: 7/10
Tea Quality: 10/10

Overall 9/10

Zhena's Gypsy Tea: Pomberry

Masala Chai @ Tandoori Nights, Fresno CA

This isn't my usual post but holy cow, this Indian specialty tea was
served at the end of my meal yesterday, and it was fantastic! My
husband even liked it and he doesn't like most things tea.

It was a bit sweet, more like a malt, was a tad spicy, and very
savory. It smelled great. Spicy, sweet and creamy.

Definitely a 10/10

Kungaloosh: Cozy Christmas

Steep time: 5 minutes

Ingredients : Black tea, oranges, cloves, cinnamon, natural flavors.

Aroma: Reminds me of Stash Holiday Chai smells very good, with all the sweet and exotic spices, the main difference between the two is the orange, which gives it a nice citrus kick.

Packaging: Loose tea is packaged in a special sample packet, lined with aluminum to keep it fresh.
 
Tea Leaf Quality: Large tea leaves, orange pieces, and cloves.

Taste:   Very good! It was rich, and deep, though the ingredients seem simple, the mix between them and the "natural flavors" gave me a few different layers of taste. I love the mix of orange, cinnamon, and clove it was great alone, and enriched nicely by my french vanilla creamer.

I have yet to taste a tea by Kungaloosh that wasn't a perfect 10.

Aroma 10/10
Packaging 10/10
Value: 10/10

Taste 10/10
Tea Quality 10/10

Overall 10/10

Kungaloosh: Cozy Christmas