New Earth

Picked this up today from a relatively new shop in my neck of the woods. Their window said “Teas” along with “Candles, Hookahs & Clothing.” I didn’t have high hopes, but figured I’d at least give it a look. It’s a standard head shop for this area. Incense, hookahs, rolling papers, Bob Marley candles, tie dyed scarves and t-shirts… And about 5 black teas, all flavored, not much info on the jars about the teas. There were a few more white teas, also mostly flavored. A whole shelf about 10 feet long loaded with herbal blends. Makes me somewhat nervous to buy an herbal blend from a head shop – who knows if the blender really knows anything about herbal interactions and amounts that could be either good or bad for your health… Just because they slap the name “tension tamer” on it and say it’s all natural doesn’t mean it’s good for you. I am confident that they don’t blend their own blacks or whites but I am also confident that they do blend their own herbals because they also sell all of the herbal ingredients in bulk. :)

Anyway, I thought I’d pick up a few teas just to try, the prices were cheap and I expected the tea to be cheap as well. And… I was pretty much right. This isn’t horrible, but I won’t buy it again. It’s just unimpressive, given the other excellent teas I have in my stash. :)

After the cup cools somewhat, the cranberry comes out pretty well. Mildly sweet tasting and I’m assuming that is the vanilla mellowing out the tart cranberry flavoring. It’s somewhat dry after the sip and it gets drier with a longer steep. Not bitter, really, just dry. Might be pretty good iced.