Relax

Really rough day today on the emotional stress. In an attempt to calm down and sooth the frayed nerves, I lugged myself up off the computer chair and went to the tea cabinate. And I stared at it. And stared at it. And stared at it.

See, I try to limit the caffeine in my system as much as possible, except lately I’ve been buying more camelia sinensis tea; and in a not-so-great headspace, caffeine isn’t exactly a so-great choice of consumption.

So I dug out my bags and my tins and my boxes, and I reached all the way to the back and pulled out… this. Relax, from Pukka, which I’m not sure I have had or seen in a good couple of months. And on a whim, since it’s what’s there, it’s in my hand, I need something tasty, I figure, “Why not?”

And Steepster, let me tell you, I can’t imagine why I haven’t been drinking this tea every day for the past eight months.

It is deliciously sweet from the licorice, with the marshmellow root being the strongest flavour. In the bag it actually smells predominantely of fennel and ginger, a bit spicey, but once brewed it is wonderfully mellow and sweet. You might get a bit of a nip at the back of your throat, but it’s nowhere near a masala chai. After my first cup I marched right back to the kitchen to make myself two more.

The liquor is yellow, definitely from thet chamomile, fennel, and marshmellow root. Its in cup scent is mostly the sweet herbs and chamomile, though you can get a little bit of the cardomom and ginger.

I really, really recommend this tea. I can’t confirm any of the health benefits Pukka promises, but I do know that I’m feeling a little better after having something really tasty and rediscovering a much-loved tea. I can see Relax quick becoming one of my indulgent teas, since it’s just so sweet and soothing without any sweeteners. And, little tidbit, it goes incredibly well with a nice glass of wine! Pick some up if ever you have the opportunity.

Pukka! stop putting marshmallow root in your teas! it tastes like Stevia! No, i will not relax!

Loljk…it’s not that big a deal, but this tea is just meh… after trying Detox, nothing else in their line is exciting.

This is just an average chamomile tisane….so this is what the real deal tastes like, huh?
i can handle it.

Much more herbal than i’ve been led to believe since i’m a big drinker of Celestial Seasonings Honey Vanilla Chamomile (which is packed! with flavor, by comparison)…but that’s not what i find disconcerting.

The marshmallow root in this (and i recognize it!) gives an unpleasant & artificial sweetness right at the back of the throat & towards the sides of the back of the tongue (where I believe the ‘bitter’ taste receptors are). I recognize this note because it was used in their Harmonise tea, which also made for an unpleasant bitter-sweetness that was only heightened by the presence of tart hibiscus (but that’s another story).

So in this tea, Relax, you essentially get chamomile, a hint of licorice/fennel & stevia in the aftertaste. Though i appreciate that this is an Ayurvedic blend & hope to get some kind of health benefit out of it, i don’t think i’d purchase this again.

Pukka Days of Christmas #16

I wonder why tea companies consider that having a chamomile based tea makes you relax. For me it´s more likely an infusion I might take if I have eaten too much ;-) Anyway, here we have another “relax” named blend, with chamomile, fennel and marshmallow root (honestly, I don´t have a clue what this ingredient is)…and although I didn´t see a relaxing effect, it´s a drink I took almost w/o paying too much attention to it. So, not bad but on the other hand not standing out either.

Aroma dominated by chamomile and fennel.
Nice sweetish taste, also dominated by these two, plus a bit of licorice.
Very soothing and relaxing bland. I liked it, though I prefer my teas that have a bit more character.

While I didn’t notice any drastic relaxation from this, it does seem to help de-stress a little bit. Very strong licorice flavor, so if you’re a fan of licorice, I would definitely recommend drinking this tea at the end of a long day. Given that I don’t really enjoy the taste of licorice, I wouldn’t personally buy this again.

As the color, dull
So the taste uninspiring
Why do I lic’rice?

Why do I keep brewing the random teas I’ve been given without first looking at their ingredients? xP Well, here I am with another licorice tea. At least no one can say that I never try them. Here goes…
The dry bag smells yummy, a bit of spice (ginger?) and sweet (marshmellow root? Not too licorice-y…).The liquor is a vaguely cloudy dull goldenrod.
With my first sip….I am hit with a storm of flavors…and a sickly sweet remains in my mouth. Nope, can’t stand it. The initial flavor is interesting, but not worth the licorice-sweet aftertaste.

Sample Sipdown!

I am normally not a huge fan of chamomile, but I really want a good night’s sleep tonight, so this tea, which I got a bit of from Jude seemed like it would do the job.

I can taste the chamomile, and perhaps the fennel, but not much else. It’s kind of medicinal tasting, which is what I want right now.

chamomile cotton
fluffy marshmallow pillows
oat straw hay mattress

As a lover of all the ingredients in this herbal infusion I was stoked to happen upon this on the grocery store shelf. Tasting this tea did not disappoint — lots of licorice flavoring with an undercurrent of chamomile and marshmallow.

However, I will warn anyone who doesn’t know about the side effects of real licorice root: hypertension and edema are rather common with even moderate consumption. This tea has enough in it that after 3 nights of drinking this before bedtime I found myself with bad hypertension for about 4 hours despite no history of it.

So, if the flavors appeal to you go for it, but know what you could be getting yourself into.

Yellowish tea with sharp smell. Taste of liqourice…
sigh not the tea I was craving for, but it’s decent.