Yogi Tea

Another one of Yogi’s that I was lured into. The lime mint went so well, so I felt brave. I’ve been eyeing this at the shop for a while because I wondered if it might offer a little bit of help with Certain Female Issues, henceforth referred to as TMI.

I’m giving it a go. It’s not like there are a hundred bags in the box, so I should get through it quickly enough if I stick at it, and I have to stick at it, otherwise I can’t tell if it’s working, can I? Well, I’ve experimented somewhat with it now and discovered that I can drink a small cup but not a whole mug.

This stuff has ginger in it. Ridiculous amounts of ginger. One cup of this and my mouth feels like someone made a fire in there. I have also discovered that it needs drinking fast, because the more it cools the stronger the ginger tastes and the more difficult it gets to drink it. So a weak-ish brew in a small cup and drunk fast.

Good thing I didn’t buy this because I thought it would taste awesome, isn’t it?

As for how it worked with TMI, well, it… sort of did and didn’t. Okay, I don’t know if that was the tea or not, but the point of it all is that I had the same issues, only some of them behaved a little differently. Mostly they seemed a tiny bit milder. Or at least easier to shift with paracetamol. Or rather, possible to shift. That might not be the wonder cure I was hoping for but it was enough that I’m willing to try this out a little further. I need more time to see if there was a difference here or not.

But this stuff will never ever be a comfort drink. Bleh.I realise that this was probably not the exact right blend for this particular experiment, but it was what was available and so as close as I could come. Given the right foulness of the ginger in this, I might in the future see if I can find something closer to the mark in one of the health food shops that are available to me. I’m thinking either the moon cycle one or some raspberry leaf. (I know I can definitely get the latter, as I have seen it before, but I’ve heard that’s right foul tasting as well. When it comes to TMI, we just can’t win, can we?)

Now some time later, I’ve given up on this. There is just TOO MUCH ginger in it. I found I could drink maybe half a cup if it had only just had two or three dips of the bag in it and wasn’t allowed to cool off in any significant way. Obviously that’s not the way its meant to be drunk and other herbs and things in it couldn’t come to their right when I was trying to temper the ginger. I just couldn’t get that much ginger through my throat! Blech! As for TMI, well, we’ll just try something else. Or live with how it usually is. I’ve managed that for 20 years already, I’m sure I can manage it for 35 more.

Husband gave it a shot and as he is more tolerant of ginger than I am, is making a valiant attempt at it. Therefore this is now only referred to as Manly Man Tea of Manliness! He too is having doubts as to whether he can finish it of, though. I’ve told him to just bin it if he doesn’t want to drink it.

I bought this mostly because I needed an easy and convenient bedtime tea for when I don’t feel like messing about with rooibos. Lately I’ve been using peppermint bags, cheap brand, but I actually bought those for those occasions when one needs something medicinals. Husband seems to enjoy his chamomile at bedtime though, so I’m trying to follow his lead here.

So, I’ve been eyeing the brand for a while, but never bought any before. The ingredients list is soooo long, and that scares me a bit. Plus it contains confirmed dislikes such as ginger.

This one seemed the most inoffensive of the choices on the day in question, so I decided to give it a go.

To my relief, it’s not actually that bad. It’s very lemon-y and lime-y, and although the ingredients list is as long as my arm (nearly), I can’t really taste any of the other things in it. Peculiarly, Husband, who normally enjoys almost anything that just smells remotely of lemon and is also fond of mojito, didn’t care for this one at all. Me, I find it okay. It’s hardly a revelation in a cup, but it’s quite tolerable.

So, at 3 am last night, I decided to put the herbal content of this tea to the test. I needed to get some sleep but had been restless all night.

I took 3 bags of this stuff and steeped it in about five ounces of water for 10 minutes. When it was done, I threw in some sweetener and ice and drank it all at once. Even with the ice, the brew was dark. Strangely, it wasn’t too strong. I guess it tastes a little bit more like caramel once you triple the leaf.

The resulting sleepiness I got from the tea reminds me a lot of melotonin or Neuro Sleep. A strange heaviness and sort of comfortable feeling. I fell asleep hard and had some detailed, if somewhat stressful dreams until my alarm went off. I was still feeling the effects throughout my first shift of the day. It was very slow to wear off, leaving me really sleepy at work. So, the medicinal content works, no doubt.

Ok. Lost my post 2 times now. Starting to go crazy. Here’s the gist:

I wandered into the grocery store looking for Tazo’s Rest, but couldn’t find it, so I settled for this despite previous negative experiences with Yogi teas. When selecting bedtime teas, I usually go with blends that contain valerian root, which this doesn’t have. Plus, I don’t even like rooibos, but here I am, tempted by the promise of caramel.

I gave it the full 10 minutes, as the packaging says to steep for 5-10. The tea brewed up to a dark ambery brown, like black tea, and reeked of chamomile. To be short, it doesn’t taste like vanilla or caramel. The main flavors I detect are chamomile, rooibos, nutmeg, and cinnamon. This is followed by that general “Yogi” herbal taste that I’ve noticed in everything I’ve tried by this particular brand.

As far as herbal effects go, I do feel a bit of a sleepy, comfortable feeling. I can’t tell if it’s the placebo effect or not, but I do feel more relaxed and ready to fall asleep. It’s not as strong as Yogi’s Bedtime (which contains valerian), but it still has an effect. Maybe I’ll steep two bags at once next time and see what happens.

This is a tea that I enjoy every once and awhile, which was initially a surprise since I’m not too keen on licorice. The mint is the first thing to stand out, and the sweetness of the licorice doesn’t really surface until you take a breath between sips, though I do find that the closer I get to finishing a cup (or the longer I let it steep) the more prominent that flavor becomes. All in all, a pleasant blend to enjoy from time to time. I should try preparing it to the specifications and see how much the taste differs.

I truly wish I got the floral taste that other people are reporting, but to me, this tastes like a medley of terrible yet unidentifiable herbs. I think this is one of those teas for people who are willing to consume disgusting things if they believe it will make them healthier. As for me, I’m sure I can find something else that doesn’t make me want to gag.

This is the only tea Ive been unwilling to drink because of taste. Very fennel-y, im guessing. Tastes like celery seed.

This is has been my go to tea for the last 3 months. Its delicious, not boring so I can drink it day after day, not sweet. Just a nice herbal cuppa tea.

This is OK, a mild chai. I like it because it has no caffeine, but its not strong enough to stand up to the addition of some honey and milk.

This has to be one of the most abnosome tea I’ve seen yet. It’s sweet and quirky. The taste is a bit watery if you expect it to be like hot chocolate. You can make it into chai with milk though and that’ll make the taste smoother.

After trying a few samplers of Yogi,I think this one is my preference as a much lighter choice.Blueberry with green tea makes the tea base like indian spices (Yogi Teas almost share the same kind of spice base ,though there is some little adjustments between each one in my opinion ……)much more lovely and softer and juicier.

This is an interesting one for me. I don’t typically drink herbal teas, so this is unusual for me. It has a lovely cinnamon aroma and a pale yellow green brew. The taste is obviously very herbal, but dominated by the cinnamon with a touch of spiciness and almost menthol like notes. I like it for every once in a while, but I don’t love it.

Thanks, Jackie T, for sending me a variety of individual yogi tea bags! I was curious about them and this beats buying whole boxes of tea bags any day. Some of them weren’t bad either, although this one.. I think the level of of spices and ginger assume that you’re pretty plugged up already if you’re drinking this. It can be sharp and zingy, but it has its niche.

Licorice, peppermint, and eucalyptus really stick out to me here, with the ginger and spices creeping in at the end. There is a fresh-sweet aftertaste. This gets huge points for being refreshing.

I decided to get this tea recently when I ordered some stuff from amazon.com. They ended up shipping it in a box all by itself – I can’t believe that makes sense but maybe it comes from a different warehouse than the rest of my order.

Anyway, I tend to like apple flavored teas and I thought this might make a good dessert tea. It’s a mix of assam, rooibos and spices. I’m really glad this blend doesn’t have stevia in it. It reminds me a bit of an apple pie which is nice and the ingredients are all natural which is good. This is an easy one to sip on plain as well. I get a lot of cinnamon apple flavor. It’s pretty tasty considering the price I paid for it which wasn’t much.

Indian food may be my biggest vice. The way I eat curry you’d think there was some sort of famine on the Northwest coast, or something. I’m angry at myself..

Which is why I chose to make this as my first “tea” of the day. I was expecting it to not be pleasant. I’ve had dextox drinks before and while I can’t attest to their life changing cleaning powers I do know they can taste pretty awful. This one is actually nice, like a spiced and more delicate chamomile herbal. The ingredients do not list chamomile so it may be the dandelion? The sarsaparilla root definitely makes me think of rootbeer, which is another thing I appreciate.

I steeped the bag in a cup for ten minutes in boiling water but the result is a very mild, spiced floral concoction that I’d actually be happy to drink often. I don’t know what a Forsythia Fruit or half of the other ingredients are but I guess that’s what Google is for.

The only thing that would’ve made this herbal brew better is magic. Magic to forget about the huge container of veggie korma sitting in the fridge. Magic to ignore the fact that the whole house smells like delicious food. Curry, why are you like this? I should get out of the house for a bit and mail Cavocorax’s matcha parcel.

Thank you Jackie T for this sample!

I came across this lone bag of Egyptian Licorice while cleaning out my purse, & so of course I had to include it in the sipdown extravaganza!
I’ve loved this tea for a long time, & will probably restock at some point, because as far as an evening tea is concerned, this is among my most favorites, oozing with licorice, ginger, & a variety of other spices.
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And here it is, Sipdown No. 100!
I’ve enjoyed Licorice teas for about 30 years, & I still do. Licorice root has blood sugar balancing qualities, & I love the sweet aftertaste.
And with that, little terri’s Sipdown Extravaganza! draws to a close, ending with 330 teas.