two leaves and a bud

I got this tea in a swap, and of course the Earl Greys are the first teas I hit. Steeped for about 3 minutes, added just a little sugar.

High quality tea. I could barely taste the ‘hint’ of bergamot. I do think I can taste hints of jasmine though there shouldn’t be any jasmine.

Now to see how the leaves stand up to a second steeping.

I hardly ever drink chai. I don’t hate it. I just never crave it. This one makes me think Constant Comment light. I like CC so I am OK with that. This has a touch of pepperiness. Don’t hate it. Don’t love it. It’s chai.

Seriously? The rest of you thought this ok at best. I found the hibiscus to be just a background filler note. The main flavors were pomegranate, strawberry, and lemon. I didn’t really notice the chamomile or apple. I did add sweetener and that may make the flavor difference. Anyway, I liked it.

The other reviews were only luke warm on this. I LOVED it. I am a major fan of gojiberry. The addition of mango is a good choice. These two combined with the sencha make this taste a bit orange in mid sip. I bet this is awesome iced. 6 months from now I may care about that.

Oh wow, this is way better than I expected. I don’t get the name. There are three things you drink for breakfast – milk, juice, and caffeine. This is none of those. It’s good anyway. It’s mainly peppermint and lemon. This would be great to enjoy in the evening – or morning… if you’re one of those people ;)

I have had several chamomile blends. This is the first straight chamomile. I thought it was pretty good. Sweet like honey. Appley. Not much else to say. Its chamomile and a good one.

After several days in a row of just a few hours sleep each night, I fixed a cup of this last night around 8. By 9 I was collapsing into bed. Woke up at 6. Was it this blend? Probably more just exhaustion but sure doesn’t hurt having a calming cup along with it.

Tasting note 1313. That being the address on Mockingbird Lane of the Munsters I thought I would tie the two together. In a 1964 episode titled Herman The Great, and totally unrelated to the plot, Lilly, preparing tea, says, “This Chinese tea always acts up when we put it in the Russian samovar.” I’ve been saving that for weeks just for this note.

Tastes like berries to me and help knock me out for 7 hours. Yeah sleep.

The last couple weeks have been so hectic and stressful. Been at the doctor’s office more than we have been home. My wife has been in severe pain with acid reflux. They eliminated everything else before treating her. Thankful, but that was crazy. Then we have the building projects underway. Reroofing the mobile home should be done Monday then they start the porch on my house.

Point is, neither of us have been sleeping well. Last night we each had a mug of this at bed time. The next thing we know the puppy is fussing to be let out at 7:00 AM. Yeah Sleep!

This is the best relax your brain, make you tired, tea I have found. It won’t make you sleep if you don’t want to sleep. It just helps make it possible. None of the flavors jump out. They all play nicely with one another. Not strong enough to overpower prednisone but I slept more than expected and awoke refreshed. So good enough.

Went shopping with my wife all day yesterday. Mostly we were looking at grills and patio furniture. Of course since we were in the big town of Bloomington, my wife had to hit Joann’s which is a fabric/craft store. I stayed in the car. Lastly we went to Sahara Mart which is a world food market. They have the largest tea aisle I have ever seen. It is mostly bagged tea. They did have a full range of Ahmad both bagged and loose but I resisted. I bet they had a dozen 500g boxes of Green Tea with Earl Grey but I resisted. I did however grab a box of Better Rest from Two Leaves. It is kind of pricey at $7 for 15 sachets. However when you are barely sleeping it seems like a small price to pay.

We used two sachets last night. I don’t recall how I described this the last time I had it, except I gulped it down. Last night we finally agreed it tasted like a Rock N Roll from our local shaved ice shop. A R&R is black cherry, grape, and blueberry. Now none of that is in this herbal but it still reminded us of those flavors. Really easy to drink. Looking at the way Steepster lists ingredients (alphabetically) many of you would avoid this as it lists anise and fennel early in the list. In truth, I caught the fennel, but just barely and I did not know there was anise in it until I read it here.

I was so tired last night that I could not tell if this relaxed me or not but I went to bed at 10 and woke up at 6, so a good night! My wife however said she was up most of the night. She came back to bed just before I got up. She is stressing over a wedding she was volunteered to help create decorations for. The bride to be thinks there is plenty of time – 2 1/2 months – and won’t resolve anything or help shop. She really does not understand how much time and work is involved. I’d walk away. As for me, I’m not stressed at all. Our one year old mattress seems to not like me. I hurt all over when I get up in the morning.

Sorry didn’t mean to write a book.

I kept the sachet from Sunday night and used it again Monday night. I left the lights on enough to tell this is a deep bronze color. Even a second steep on the second day zonked me right out. I really have to look for this in the local stores. Gulped it again last night as well. My new favorite herbal. Did the trick for me. Your mileage may vary. Upped the rating a bit (yeah second steeps!)

Most herbals I don’t really care for. Some I kind of like enough I will drink. This one I gulped. Seriously, It was gone way before I intended. It doesn’t look like chamomile in the sachet. It looks more like splinters of wood. It turned dark in my cup. There wasn’t enough light in the room to tell what color but my guess is purplish red from the rose hips. The taste is light peppermint and licorice with honey poured over the top. There is no licorice (or honey) in this so it must be the combination chamomile and valerian. In fact I couldn’t single out the chamomile either. I don’t know what valerian is, but I want some. It is on my herb garden list for next year. This relaxed me and shut down my mind. I slept for 6 hours (I haven’t been sleeping much). I would have slept longer if not for that pesky alarm.

Bagged

Aroma when Dry: Slightly sour, malty.

At end of steep: warm, twiggy, malty, toasty.
Tea liquor:
At first: light brown
At end of steep: deep earth brown

Staple? No but, inviting me to try others, loose leaf for sure.
Time of day preferred: Midday, afternoon

Taste:
first notes: Rich, smoky, toasty quality.
As it cools? Bitters quickly, but not unbearably stays smokey, malty.
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No.
Lingers? Yes, with a smoky maltyness

A pleasant balanced cup. I would like it more if the Sencha was not so light bodied.

Not a bad Earl Grey. A little too light to inspire me to switch from my regular steep. I did a long review on my blog.

I am not sure I could have identified this as a Darjeeling. It tasted like malted milk balls to me. No one else seemed to experience this. Maybe my taste buds are off today. Hope they stay off :) The more typical muscat flavors came late in the sip and stayed in the lingering aftertaste. No bitterness. A nice smooth cup.

it’s 7:30 PM and I am having an Assam. Ok, multiple cups. The coffee cake demands it. :) see previous notes.

This one came in the complete sampler kit that was a gift from my ‘buds’ at Two Leaves (har, har, I kill me). The sampler is a neat way to try out some new teas. I grabbed this one for my morning cup. I have never had a whole leaf Assam before. I thought I wouldn’t much care it. I’ve always called Assam beige. Then again all I have had before is dust in a bag. This one I really like. Its fruity kind of like cherry and sweet. There is no bitterness. The malt is a nice touch. Got two mugs from the leaf gorged sachet.

I will say this certainly had a lovely chamomile smell to it once steeped. That was after a full boil on the water and waiting 4 (er 6) minutes for the tisane to steep. I had a pretty busy/slightly stressful day at work. Which meant chamomile and peppermint were in order. Most of what I can taste in this tea is the chamomile, peppermint, and perhaps the lemon balm. If the other flavors are there well then they must be shy on taste. But I can tell you I can feel the soothing properties of the valerian and rose hips.

By soothing I mean it is or should be nap time! That’s what I look for in a good sleepy time tea. Something not super medicinal smelling, big on taste, and even bigger on the ability to make me want to go down for the count. Well, this tea certainly makes me want to call it a day, four hours early! So it looks like trying out their Organic Tamayokucha or even the Organic Assam (also from the sampler) might be in order. That is if I WANT to make it to my 10pm bed time.

For the full review please visit: http://thepurrfectcup.com/2012/10/24/organic-better-rest-blend-two-leaves-tea-review/

It’s better with a cold brewing than hot, otherwise it’s too tart without a sweetener. It’s not exactly what I had expected upon buying. The mixed berry from Clipper Tea is much better. I haven’t made it in a while because of above reasons.

I waited several attempts before reviewing this, and I’m not in love. I think I was expecting it to be more citrusy and refreshing (along the lines of Tealuxe’s Unity Blend that I enjoyed the other day) and no such luck. I’m a tea newbie, but I’d say it’s more savory than I would’ve like. Also, since I prep this tea in my tumbler and drink it throughout the day I have to add: this tastes like swamp water when it’s cold. Definitely try to enjoy it while it’s still warm!

It’s a staple in my cupboard; it was better years ago when saffron was used.