Alvita

Oh, now this is the best tulsi! Pungent, herbal-sweet, clove-dominant. That’s incredible. There are strong peppery-cinnamon and licorice-basil notes, too. Really tingles my tongue. In fact, the citrusy aftertaste and tingle feels like Sichuan peppercorns.

Saying this isn’t going to do any favors, but something about it reminds me of working at the bowling alley. The shoe disinfectant?

A pleasant if unremarkable caffeine-free tisane. Neutral grassy flavour similar to pandan, with lower notes of stone or sulphur. Effective balancing chaser to salty meals, which is primarily when I brew it. Not really “nice” enough to serve at a tea party.

I don’t like the taste of this at all, but I don’t think that has anything to do with this brand/type but rather milk thistle tea in general. It’s very cloudy/milky, and not the most pleasant going down. (To me it tastes like ramen water before you add the flavor powder.) However, it has good health benefits, so if you’re drinking it solely for that reason it’s clearly strong in milk thistle.

Here’s an herbal tea I had in my tea cabinet and decided to break out today. I’d heard good things about the benefits of passionflower, which led me to buy this one. I’ve been experiencing tension in spades, so why not check this one out?

I used one teabag for a large mug. The tea liquor color is a murky yellow. It’s hard to describe the flavor of this. The tea company says smoky, which I’m not really getting. To me it seems vegetal/grassy with a slight bitterness in the finish. I don’t mind the flavor, but I may try it next time with sweetener to see what difference it makes. I don’t love the flavor of it, but that’s ok. Hopefully it helps me relax :)

It has a unique and slightly bitter taste to me. I like rosemary in bread, and thought I might also like it in tea form. I tried adding honey to sweeten it, but didn’t like it any better. I may try pairing it with something later; maybe it would be better with a meal of some type.

I am still trying to figure out a way to make this more palatable but it hasn’t been easy. yesterday I was at the herb store and got some plain lemongrass. I tried mixing the two this morning, but it was still too bitter and I ended up needing sweetener. I suppose that might negate the healthy effects of the herb… so I guess my best solution for now is to mix it with licorice root. I have a goal to drink one cup of this a day in addition to Kyolic garlic caps to boost my immune system. It’s vile but I am drinking it anyway!

I bought a box of this when I was sick. I’ve read a lot about Pau D’Arco and how it’s supposed to be used for infections like the cold and flu. It’s from a tree bark and the flavor is pretty earthy with a bitter aftertaste and hurts my stomach. I cannot recommend it for the flavor at all! The woman I spoke with at the herb store yesterday told me the bitter flavor is good and I shouldn’t adulterate it but I couldn’t get it down without sweetener. Today I tried mixing it with some ginger root and that seems okay. Hopefully it is healthy, but after I finish the box I think I’ll try this in capsule form!

I tried the organic version of Alvita’s Ginger Root tea.

The smell is faint but it’s there. Ginger has a slight, spicy, and distinctive smell to it.

The taste is lovely. It’s mild with a slight, bitter, spicy punch to it. However, I have a high spice tolerance. For others, my calling it slight may seem biased.

What’s good about this tea is its purity. Many brands will add copious amounts of sugar to exterminate the bitter, unique spice of ginger. Sugar being added to ginger tea is annoyingly common. I like Alvita’s Ginger Root tea because you can clearly taste the ginger in it. There is no added sugar, or anything else but ginger. If you do dislike it, then a sweetner might help you. There’s a note on the box even suggesting to “add sweetner if desired.” So if you don’t like spicy tea then you might want to have some honey or whatnot ready, but if you do like it, then prepare to enjoy a quality tea.

A delicate tasting but minty tea. It’s caffeine free, too. The ingredients list nothing but “Spearmint leaves.”

It’s extremely pleasant on the sinuses. Breathing in the steam, especially if you’re not feeling well, is soothing. The smell is minty and strong, but it’s got a sweetness to it. It’s not as strong, mint-wise, as the smell of peppermint. However, it’s still palpable despite being softer in fragrance.

The taste is also comparable to peppermint. Again spearmint comes out as weaker and sweeter.

Take care to store this tea in an airtight container. While this product comes in individual tea bags, it doesn’t come wrapped so make sure to store it completely sealed or otherwise it absorbs smells from the outside way too much. When it comes to fennel tea, I prefer to brew the whole seed instead of crushed ones like this one.

Honestly, I liked the Traditional Medicinals version better. I assumed they’d be the same, but this one somehow seems more like “hot leaf juice” + paper bag :( Especially when brewed as directed (3 min in 6oz water).
Letting it brew longer, adding honey, and letting it cool seems to mellow it out and let it all meld into something drinkable. Next time I’ll go back to the other brand, try Yogi’s, or take my own advice and buy the loose herb in bulk.

This is one of my favorite teas with it’s strong, spicy, rooty, peppery flavor. Lacks any kind of aroma, but this is some good stuff!

A review of Fennel Seed Tea by Alvita

Date: 11/07/2012
Company: Alvita
Tea Name: Fennel Seed
Tea Type/ Herbal
Region:
Steeping Vessel/Amt. Leaf: cup/ tea bag
Plucking Season:
Liquor Color: clear broth like
Leaf Characteristics: I like the smell that comes from this tea bag, it is like onions and dill or pickle juice since I have had this tea before. I know what to expect and it is most pleasant.

1st Steeping:
Water temperature: 190 Fahrenheit
Time: 3 minutes

Note: I have enjoyed this tea quite a bit and it is not from doing anything differently. I take one tea bag in a cup and add the boiling water to my cup and left to steep for a few minutes. The teas’ color is very light, like a mild broth when it is first brewing. It smells of the fennel seed and I refer to this smell as dill-like or pickle juice or a very mild onion soup but this is pushing it.

Were I incline I could use this when cooking with onion and celery to add a dash of this fennel seed tea to what I am making. No, I have not tried it as such. I have simply made nicely cup of hot tea to sip and sip while thinking of pickled juice.

I am silly and depressed since nothing that I do is noticed. I am always the one on wrong side of things and my side adds to a big zero and this is perhaps due to not holding employment as father-in-law was kind in reminding me. “You are annoying; you want to talk about annoying…etc.” Quotes do not have to do with tea review.

A review of Fennel Tea (caffeine free) by Alvita

Date: 10/13/2012
Company: Alvita
Tea Name: Fennel Seed Tea
Tea Type/Varietal: Herbal
Region:
Steeping Vessel/Amt. Leaf: cup/ tea bag
Plucking Season:
Liquor Color: very light brown
Leaf Characteristics: tea bag smells strongly of fennel and makes me think of anise.

1st Steeping:
Water temperature: 200 Fahrenheit
Time: 3 minutes

Note: I place one tea bag in a cup and add the boiled water into my cup over the tea bag and left to steep for a few minutes. Tea’s aroma is very noticeable sweet and the tea’s color is a very light brown.
I find this Fennel tea to be fragrant and warmly soothing. I am having this cup of tea after being out today and it was colder than I expected since my spirit is low. So it is a cup of herbal to ail my frail mental state.

2nd Steeping:
Water temperature: 200 Fahrenheit
Time: 3 minutes

Note: I am using this same tea bag for a second steeping and after this cup I will add another tea bag and continue as with first cup of tea. It is herbal tea meant to soothe and comfort.

This tea taste similarly to Dill and Anise, if not familiar with Fennel tea; since I was not.

It makes you relax