Serenity

I got this as a sample and decided to give it a soak tonight. First off, I almost want to buy this for the sole purpose of being able to yell SERENITY NOW! whenever someone asks me what I’m drinking. And while we’re on the thread of non-practical reasons to like this tea, it also reminds me of my most favorite canceled television show ever, Firefly.

As for the tea itself, I’m officially impressed. The concept of a Tea Sommelier is pretty cool, but with the way that this tea come together it makes me think that the people at Tavalon have someone over there whose work is more akin to that of a mixologist. I could easily pull out every single one of the components they listed in the description of that tea, and they unfolded very nicely. The chamomile, the vanilla, and the rooibos give it warmth, the lemongrass adds a brightness, and the peppermint leaves you feeling clean at the finish. The combination of it all, at points, reminds me ever-so-vaguely of Red Vines [who, for those unfamiliar, makes the best red licorice in the world and would stab the heck out of Twizzlers in a knife fight]. The tea is not sweet, but the aftertaste makes you think that it is.

I don’t hate chamomile, but I don’t love it either, so this isn’t something that I could drink on a regular basis. When I find myself in the mood for a little chamomile action, however, I can most definitely see this being a tea I would crave.

Sorry, but I’ve got to do it.

SERENITY NOW! SERENITY NOW! SERENITY NOW!

Fin.

Hrm. After all of the excitement of this afternoon, I needed something to calm down with. So I rifled through the teas that takgoti sent me, and surfaced with this little caffeine-free number. Serenity! That’s what I need right now!

It’s a very pretty tea, definitely, with the sunny chamomile framed by red rooibos and the stalks of lemongrass. The whole scent of it is very herbal. I’m mostly getting chamomile in the nose, but there’s a hit of sweet-tart from the lemongrass.

So I steeped this one up, and it makes the mess only chamomile can make. It steeps to a very pretty light yellow liquid, and the smell… the smell is a bit bizarre! Slightly medicinal, which I think is probably coming from the combination of the chamomile and the rooibos. There are vague sweet hints as well.

The taste. Hrm. I think this is something that could grow on me, but I’m not enjoying it to the utmost degree right now. This is very refreshing, and if you’re into iced tea, I think this one might be a winner. The chamomile and the lemongrass are definitely the star players here, alternating between apple-sweet and a sort of smooth-tart. Lemongrass has that very specific taste that I associate strongly with Vietnamese food, which was definitely welcome. I think the rooibos added an earthy sweet component. I couldn’t really pick up any vanilla, and the peppermint was less in the flavor and more in the afterfeel.

Mostly, though, the components mushed together in a somewhat odd way. Not dissonant, but not symphonic, either. At points this got almost too sweet for my tastebuds, in an almost cloying way. I can’t imagine craving this. It’s almost… too herbal-ish. And I like a lot of night-time teas better (like straight peppermint and chamomile, or even something like Ocean of Wisdom). So yeah, I’ll finish this up, but I can’t imagine ordering more from Tavalon of this.

Thanks to takgoti for sending some over, though! :D