Lemon Lavender Mint Herbal Tisane from Choice Organic Teas

Scent in package: very minty/lemony
Brewed in: Teabag
Steeped: 5 min. @ boiling
Cup: ceramic teacup

(New digital camera – excuse me while I play with sizing and lighting!)

Occasionally, I like a mint tisane. There’s something very soothing about it when I’m ill, or late at night when getting ready for bed. Choice Organic Teas was kind enough to send me two of these teabags, and I drank one while I was ill, finding it very soothing. The other I drank last night to refresh my memory and review with normal taste buds.

The scent of the dried herbs is very soothing and refreshing at the same time. The mint and lemon are energizing, while the very subtle hint of lavender in the background creates a calming baseline. The fragrance changes as the tea brews and then cools…the strongest point, just after the brewing is done, releases all three scents in a very nice aromatic chord for the nose. As it cools, the mint slowly overwhelms the other two scents, and the same can be said of the flavor.

At first sip, the flavors dance on the tongue, and each can be distinguished from the other even as they mingle. The lavender solidifies the other two, and the lemon adds a very nice, light citrus burst to the mint. As it cools a little, the scents come together for more of a licorice-taste. In the final stage, when the tea is just getting cold, the mint takes over and the other flavors simply disappear.
It’s a very complex blend, unexpected in an herbal tisane. I enjoyed it quite a lot, and while relaxing to a “well” body, it’s also very comforting and soothing to an ill head. I’d highly recommend this tisane…a very interesting and lovely blend.

Himalaya Green Tea from Choice Organic Teas

Scent in package: slightly grassy, typically green
Brewed in: came as teabags
Steeped: 3-4 minutes @ steaming
Cup: porcelain teacup, café mug

I was contacted shortly before Christmas by this company asking if I’d be interested in sampling a couple of their teas. Being broke, I said sure, and a week later or so, I received an envelope with two samples of teabags in them – Himalaya Green and an herbal tisane.

I’m not big on China green teas…but I’d never tried a Nepalese green, and thought I should. I brewed this up last night for the first time (since I can finally mostly taste again), and I have to say, I thought I must have done something terribly wrong. I used tap water, and brewed it at “steaming” for about 4 minutes. The brew was dark gold, rather than yellowish as one might expect from a green tea, and I was apprehensive about tasting it.

It was awful – I had two sips of the bitter soup, so astringent that it actually felt like it left a film on the roof of my mouth. Needless to say, I tossed the rest of it.

This morning, I grabbed the second bag and used filtered spring water at a lower temperature…just steaming for only 3 minutes steeped. And I hate to report that while the color is much better (a light golden brew typical of green teas), it’s still very bitter, like green tea steeped too long or too hot (or both). While I’m not fond of green tea in general, I know they’re not generally so bitter when brewed correctly…and I have to wonder if the fact that this particular tea is macerated into little tiny bits in a teabag is the crux of the problem. I suppose I could have steeped it for only one minute, but it hardly seems worth the effort. Unfortunately, this tea doesn’t seem to be offered in loose form, so there’s no way to find out how the original form stacks up to this teabag.

While I’m sure we all want to help save the Himalayan Kingdom (10 cents per box sold is donated to the cause), do yourself a favor. Make a donation directly, and skip this particular tea.