Monthly Archives: January 2015

The Good Earth – Literally

Good Earth, inspiration, roses, Tea 2 Comments

GoodEarth

Another brand of tea I don’t have nearly enough of is, Good Earth.    I discovered this gem nearly ten years ago and I have been happily sipping ever since.  I have so many in my stash, they date back to the old packaging, pictured above. Major faux pas.  The Organic White Tea Sweet Citrus has been rebranded, along with many of their teas.  Some have been discontinued and new ones have been created…

…And here is the new look.  Awesome right?

I will be taking a trip to my friendly, neighborhood store to check out the slick labels and new flavors.   But in the meanwhile, a recap of this lavish cup is in order.

There’s so many ingredients that I won’t list them all.   White Tea, Lemongrass, and Chamomile are the three off the top. I couldn’t detect the latter.  And had no idea it was in there.  And even after a cup, I still can’t trace it.  The Lemongrass, for me, was easy to taste.   Rose Petals and Rose Hips are included, but I suspect in smaller amounts.   With a melange of flavors, the Jasmine Tea that is included, was not found on my radar.   Nevertheless, this is a comforting cup.  It’s the right amount of sweet that isn’t overpowering.  And that is what drinking your favorite cup of tea is all about.  It’s all about your taste buds and preferences.    It’s your cup of tea, pun intended?

There’s a lot to like about the packaging too.   A breathtaking drawing of a butterfly is on the front.   On the back, there is a Caffeine Meter, which compares the milligrams of caffeine, per cup, against other teas and coffee.  Fun!

And the tea tag itself, has inspiring quotes applied to each bag.   Per it’s In The Know section, you can enter a quote to be selected, and other great perks by joining their FanFare club.  I just signed up, while I write this review.

As you can see, this is a tea that is evolving.  From it’s tea, packaging, and tags, there is much to like.   I just need to keep up with all this myself.   There is so much to talk about, that I only scratched the surface.  And a review of one of their newer teas will be coming soon.   In the meantime, I will be enjoying this inspirational beverage :

GoodEarthBrewed

Take good care.

Best,

Ideen

Tazo – Always A Friend

Tea 1 Comment

TazoChinaGreenTips

Since I have become a bigger tea drinker over the last 10 years or so, Tazo, was one of the first brands I really got into.   It’s served in many coffee shops, restaurants, and hotels.  So it’s hard to miss.    And just because it’s ubiquitous, doesn’t mean it isn’t good.  Quite the contrary.

What is great about all these tea companies is, they all don’t share the same exact flavors.  And Tazo is no exception.

Tonight I pulled out the China Green Tips.  It has been one of my favorite and staples for years.    It had been so long since I had a cup of this flavor, that it was in their old packaging.   It doesn’t mean the quality has eroded.   It still has that smokey, bitter taste, that I adore.

I don’t go on their website quite enough.  And do they throw some fun information at you.

There is only one ingredient listed for this tea and it’s the tea itself.  How great is that?  No bells.  No whistles.  No nonsense.   And the additional information about suggested best brewing temperatures, scenarios, and caffeine levels are endearing.  It makes me want to learn more.

Pictured above is one of my favorite tea mugs to go with one of my favorite teas.  No accident that it’s green. Having a nice drinking mug goes a long way with enjoying your favorite cup of hot goodness.

There will more to come with Tazo as we have only just begun to scratch the surface.  I have been a fan of a plethora of their selections for a long time.  And they got some amazing ones.

More to come….

Thanks so much.

Best,

Ideen

The Stuff That Lifts You Up

echinacea, fun, herbs, joy, life, love, Tea 1 Comment

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When you find a tea that makes you feel good, or for the season we’re in, makes you feel better, it’s one of the great joys of this life.

Tea will be a lifelong learning process for me, so I won’t know everything right away.  Nor would I want to.  But my disappointment does come from never hearing about Traditional Medicinals until just a little over a year ago.

The Seasonal Sampler photographed above, was a Christmas present during the holidays in 2013.   What became a discovery has now become one of my favorite brands of teas.    The charming label certainly helps.

The sample package consists of Gypsy Cold Care, Echinacea Plus, Throat Coat, and Breathe Easy.  Now the names are pretty self explanatory and the intended results are obvious.  Echinacea enhances the entire system, so it’s basically a combination of what all the other teas intended, and then some. At least that’s my interpretation.

All four teas I have enjoyed immensely.    And I am glad that my indoctrination process came from the sample package.

As I go along, in future posts,  I will hopefully review all the teas in the Sample Package.  Perhaps I will do a couple at a time.

Tonight I enjoyed the Breathe Easy.   The licorice root and eucalyptus is detected right off the bat, and gives it a distinct bitter type of taste.  And I love it.  I actually went against my habit of adding nothing to my beverages, but per the package suggestion, I added a little honey.  It’s the perfect contrast to the taste of the tea itself.   I see that fennel is listed as an ingredient.  Either I don’t taste it or I have no idea what fennel tastes life.   I concede it’s more of the latter.

How good does this look?

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I have had issues with breathing and my respiratory system for a while, and the cold weather only enhances that.  It’s a combination of stress, poor eating habits (especially during the holidays), my environment, and other things I do to myself. This herbal tea, and others like it, have brought upon major improvements to my health.   Of course a lot of this comes from within. You could call it a placebo, but I feel so much better after just one cup.    And I feel great writing about it.

I was happy to read that this company just celebrated their 40th birthday.  I am just perplexed it took me this so long to find out about them.  Oh well, all the more important to play catch up.   Of course this journey of loving tea is a marathon and not a race.    And how about their awesome mission statement?

Traditional Medicinals is a brand I am happy to support and will be excited to learn more about. And share my thoughts of their teas and their message in future posts.

Thanks so much.

Best,

Ideen

Comforting

Comfort, Tea, Yogi Leave a comment

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Pictured above is the tea that raised my spirits and made me whole last weekend.

I was headed towards a serious cold and was willing to accept whatever the universe was going to hit me with.  But I decided to go back to a place where I believed I was already feeling better.

Yogi has been a brand of tea that has been good to me and so many of us, for years.   I will never take them for granted.

I am a big believer in doing whatever it takes to lift you up and make yourself feel as best as you can be.   I don’t always follow that myself.   But tea drinking has usually been the equalizer in curing whatever has been ailing me.

I have had issues with my throat feeling cluttered with grossness for quite some time.  It’s a combination of stress, poor eating habits, poor drinking habits, and the particles of the universe.   It could be none of these or a combination of a few.

But drinking these teas which pack all the good in the world, further remind me, that I need to be good to myself.  Not just when I am feeling sick, but all the time.   It’s my body telling me to be more at ease.

I am drinking a cup now and the comfort level increases by the second.  See below and my drinking mug, with the horses, is equally as comforting.

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Just the way the bag is relaxing at the top is comforting as well.  Ah so much goodness!

Elm Bark with Muellin are two things I have never heard of.  I will be doing some digging into how these ingredients add to this and other amazing teas.   The Wild Cherry Bark, I honestly do slightly detect.   If maybe just a hint of cherry flavor.  The Licorice root is the most recognizable flavor and is so sweet.  There’s some cinnamon and a multitude of other flavors that I can’t detect (or can I).  But nevertheless, this tea is amazing.

And my throat, along with the rest of me, feels so much better.

There’s an infinite amount of things in the world that can make you feel good. I am grateful that one of them is this.

More to come.

Best,

Ideen