teaqueen Send Message

Method: Loose leaf, scooped into a paper sachet
Steep Time: 5 min
Water temp: Boiling
Brew Style: Mug/ Western

Warming, soothing on the throat, sharpness of ginger and turmeric rounded out nicely by sweet cocoa notes. Brothy mouthfeel. Earthy notes from rooibos base. Comforting and perfect for sick days.

Method: Mesh sachet, doubled
Steep Time: 2 min
Water temp: 175 F / 79 C
Brew Style: Mug/ Western

I finally caught COVID… or should I say COVID finally caught me? Anyway. Glad I got the updated booster; I think it’s helped to make this virus present as an annoying head cold for me, rather than the headache, fatigue, body ache, fever, loss of smell, shortness of breath scary time that it has been for most.

I’m fortunate.

I’m also fortunate that I can work from home instead of having to use up all my paid sick time, or worse, have to go on unpaid leave.

I miss the Recover Wellness blend that Teavana used to make, before Starbucks bought them and reduced them from their own standalone stores to a select handful of their “greatest hits” bagged blends, none of which include the Wellness blends. The Recover stuff is what I’m really craving to kick help kick this.

Anyway, I must quit my whining and try to scratch the itch with these ancient Youthberry sachets instead. I double-bagged it for good measure because it’s several years old.

The flavor isn’t very strong, but I do taste the nice, perfume-y orange, rose, and tart hibiscus. It’s sweet, but not cloyingly sweet. Nor is it medicinal. But it feels like it’s good for me. At any rate, it’s not hurting anything, and the hot beverage is helping clear the congestion a little.

Method: Loose leaf, scooped into a paper sachet
Steep Time: Entire duration of experience
Water temp: Boiling
Brew Style: Mug/ Western

My knees do NOT like it when thunderstorms are coming. My usual dose of CBD oil tincture isn’t even touching the weirdness I feel in them today. It’s not pain, per se, but it’s like a really annoying weak feeling. Hoping this rooibos will help with any inflammation and make the weird weakness go away.

Dry leaf smells earthy and sweet. This bag of dry leaf is very very VERY old, so I was pleasantly surprised to learn that scent-wise, it hasn’t lost much potency.

Steeps a muddy reddish color.

Liquor smells of earth, metal, clay.

Liquor has a drying mouthfeel. Notes of metal (iron), vanilla bean, and hay. I overscooped the leaf in anticipation that it would not be as potent, since it is so very old. This was a good call; the flavor strength of the infusion is just right.

Stay hydrated and cool, friends!

Method: Teabag
Steep Time: Entire duration of experience
Water Temp: Boiling
Brew style: Mug/ Western

Dry leaf smells spicy.

Steeps up beige-y yellowish brown, the exact color of fresh gingerroot.

Liquor smells of ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and black pepper.

Liquor has a brothlike, extremely warming mouthfeel. Sharp ginger, cinnamon, and black pepper notes are most prominent, rounded out by a sweet, haylike aftertaste from the licorice, star anise, and turmeric. It’s medicinal, good for when you feel under the weather.

Method: Loose leaf
Steep Time: 1.5 – 2 mins
Water Temp: 65 F
Brew Style: Western, in my Kati mug

Let me preface this review by mentioning that I have had (and enjoyed) an actual Bee’s Knees cocktail before, at a speakeasy-style theme bar. So I went into this with that experience in mind. I also do not generally like white tea, but this flavor intrigued me enough that I decided to overlook my prejudice of its base and give it a go anyway.

The dry leaf does not have a strong scent, which surprised me, as this is an alcohol-flavored blend. It smells mostly of juniper, dry hay, a bit of a chamomile-esque note, and maybe a hint of vanilla.

The tea steeps a pleasant yellow color; cheerful. The liquor’s perfume has notes of juniper, spice, honeysuckle, clover honey, and a hint of alcohol. There’s also a faint delicate fruity quality to it that must be from the lemon peel.

Upon the first few sips, I get mostly hot, medicinal, boozy juniper, as if I’d heated a shot of gin. Very herbaceous and fairly bitter. As the tea cooled though, the alcoholic edge wore down and I got delicious sweeter notes of honey, vanilla, lemon, and some of the floral, fruity white tea base.

Method: Teabag
Steep Time: Entire duration of the experience
Water temp: Boiling
Brew style: Western, in a glass mug

Finishing this box off. It’s good to clear some tea shelf space!

Teabag/ dry leaf doesn’t give off much of a scent. Mostly just the paper.

Liquor is a pale translucent yellowish color. It’s not really possible to oversteep this, so I just let the teabag stay in the water the whole time. Steeped, it gives off strong lime and ginger notes, with a hint of sweetness.

In an older note of mine on this blend, I mentioned a note of coconut on the sip. Not sure where that came from, as I’m not getting anything like that today. I taste predominantly lime. I’m still reminded of Coca-Cola, even though I’m not tasting any of the sweetness that I smell. The ginger has definitely faded in potency over time; however, I still get a pleasant tingling sensation from it in the aftertaste. I can feel this tisane settling warmly in my chest, similar to the way a good homemade broth does.

Normally, I’m not a huge hibiscus fan, but I think this white hibiscus is much less tart than the regular red type. It’s a nice vehicle for the lime and ginger. This is a great, low-maintenance blend for chasing away the sniffles and chest congestion, or for those times when you simply crave a warming, spicy herbal blend.

Probably won’t repurchase unless I’m sick, but this is definitely a solid grocery-store option in the event that that happens. It’s pleasantly medicinal, if that’s a thing.

Method: Loose leaf
Steep time: 4 mins
Water temp: Boiling
Brew style: Western, in my Kati mug

Dry leaf doesn’t really have much of a scent, which is unsurprising, because I’ve had this for a few years now. Steeps up a cool-toned muddy brown color. The liquor smells exactly like yerba mate— earthy, smoky, and pleasantly sour.

The flavor profile for this medium roast Lost Maples is more delicate, complex, and green than the dark-roasted Marfa variety by the same company. I’m getting notes of hay, grass, toasted barley, very slight caramel (really more like burnt sugar), and then a bitter little punch of an aftertaste that quickly dissipates.

Personally, I prefer the more full-bodied and bready Marfa blend for breakfast, but this makes for a fairly pleasurable mid-morning pick-me-up. Re-steeps well, too.

Method: Sachet
Steep time: 5 mins
Water temp: Boiling
Brew Style: Mug/ Western

The dry leaf smells exactly like smoky bourbon, complete with an alcoholic bite. I also smell pine tar and a hint of vanilla bean. Once steeped, the liquor is a golden/ amber brownish color (looks like bourbon). The steeped liquor smells strongly of smoke, alcohol, and peat.

Surprisingly, the flavor is not as smoke-forward as the dry leaf and the ingredients list suggest. It’s smooth, slightly sweet, with notes of honey, caramel, cocoa, pine, and earth, with a very light touch on the smoke. In the aftertaste, I get the same delicate earthy vanilla bean I detected in the dry leaf.

I agree with what another reviewer said— this can’t be a pure lapsang souchong base, given how mild the smoke is in its flavor. It most likely does have another, milder black tea blended in, to take the edge off the smoke and allow the other notes some room to shine. However, I disagree with that same reviewer when he says that this tea is not well-balanced. I think H&S did an amazing job capturing the essences of both bourbon and tea (two very different worlds that often intersect at the points of relaxation and contemplation). This was indeed a relaxing and contemplative experience, with plenty of pleasant surprises to stimulate both bourbon and tea drinkers equally.

Raspberry leaf is so nice. Mild, fruity, satisfies like a cup of regular tea, but without caffeine, virtually impossible to oversteep. I ignore the pregnancy marketing angles and just drink it for the flavor.

Head fuzzies this morning. Hoping it’s not the onset of a migraine, although it feels that way. Advil and tea is how I choose to stave this off, whatever it is (the result of too much craft beer and Spanish wine this weekend, probably).

As far as bagged options go, Twinings is hard to argue with. This chai is well-balanced, tastes exactly how you’d want and expect it to, is low-maintenance, and takes milk and honey well. Twinings’s decaf black tea base is also done very well with this blend; it doesn’t have that horrible flat chemical aftertaste that so many other grocery store decaf options do. I’m sure it’s the wonderful, warming spices that are helping hide it, but whatever gets the job done is fine.