I was handed a sample of this tea flavor from my family and felt I should review it. It is a sample of the flavor, and is a prepackaged tea bag. How good is it? What ingredients do they use in this blend?

Intro.

This tea brand, if good enough, could bridge a personal gap for me when it comes to tea. When I buy myself tea it is always loose leaf, meaning I have to prepare it myself in tea bags to steep or in strainer mesh balls. This is a tea that claims it is premium, full or loose leaf and comes prepackaged in a tea bag. This means that it is more ready than my previous teas, but not instant like the last tea I reviewed. Although I am unsure about how I feel with the control of concentration when it comes to how full the tea bag is to be slightly concerning. But if the tea itself is good enough then I am happy giving that control over, or I could always brew more than one tea bag if I need it twice as strong. So with that, let us see if it is good enough to buy again.

Packaging.

Their packaging on the front of their samples is really nice. I judge this slightly differently in the sense that it is a sample packet, and most samples are minimalist at best. I can appreciate that their sample is true to their original, full size packaging. Which, by the way, is an interesting take when it comes to tea. When I buy quality tea, because not so quality tea is quite the opposite, I am able to see the tea leaves that were used. Either through the listing or through a display case in the store. Their website and their sample has no way to see the actual leaves without opening up the container. I can understand this in a physical store, because the way tea must be stored it can’t have light hit it. Meaning see through packaging is not optimal, yet I am baffled there is no picture on the website. For example, both Rishi Tea and Dollar Tea Club sell using an image on their site of the tea leaves and blend.

Normally, I really like to see the tea leaves when making a purchase, but I believe with their sampling method they may not need to. If the taste can hold up and is consistent within reason of brewing method alterations, I would not necessarily need to see the tea leaves before I bought the tea. All of the premium tea sites I buy from offer samples, but I can not say from experience if most do, so I can see this being reliable. I believe that seeing the leaves does not lead many consumers to actually make the purchase, and that the leading purchase driver is the incentive of a cheap taste test, although I personally still like seeing the leaves myself.

Ingredients.

Next I want to look at the ingredients in this blend. Especially with tea, each and every flavor and leaf added will affect the flavoring almost drastically, whether for good or bad. I am also no dietician and am not educated in nutrition, I am just someone with access to google. With that said lets break them down:

• Rooibos leaf, this can be a tea itself all on its own, so it is very much added for flavor. It is the first listed ingredient meaning it is the most plentiful, but by how much I am unaware.
• Organic Hibiscus, this is one of my more favorite herbal tea flavors alone.
• Blue Butterfly pea flower, which is a tea type as well as the tea that changes color when tea is added, which they advertise on their website.
• Organic Lemongrass, Another type of leaf addition.
• Organic rose Hips, a type of fruit and the first fruit addition to this blend
• Apple, the most confusing but welcome addition to this blend.
• Organic Lavender, quite low on the list surprisingly.
• Sweet Black Berry Leaves, another type of stand alone tea flavor.
• Hibiscus Extract, a second addition of Hibiscus to this blend, it can help heighten the concentration of antioxidants in the tea.
• Organic Lemon Balm, Which I am hoping wont make this blend too sweet since this is the second addition of Lemon as well.
• Bamboo, I have never tried as an ingredient to anything.
• Blueberry, the second to last even though it is touted on the front of the packaging.
• lastly is Schizandra Extract, which is a flavoring berry used in Chinese tea for medicine.

Smell.

The smell of tea can be a big part of the tea experience. It can affect the taste as well as the atmosphere of the tea. For many, the smell of the tea gives them relaxation and anticipation for a great tasting beverage. This is often the flavor that settles on the back of my tongue personally. So what does it smell like?

I think that this tea definitely smells fruity. As far as smell goes it is a tea that touts a strong Blueberry and sweet type of smell. This for me was sort of a let down, as for me I love the smell of lavender in a tea that contains lavender. I am aware that Blueberry on the packaging is listed first and should be expected to be the girth of the smell and flavor however.

Taste.

This tea is a bit subdued, yet it is quite good. It has a sweet undertone to it that makes you think of the fruit, but then has a sort of lemony aftertaste. I would say that for me, again it is a let down that the lavender is unnoticeable. This may make it more appealing to those who are wanting the benefits of lavender but hate the taste however. For me, Lavender is easily my favorite herbal tea so it was a bit interesting. I knew full well that Lavender is a somewhat weaker taste, and that fruit can often overpower any blend. The surprising factor is the lemon, which they tell you to add to change the color, which I did not do for this particular blend; yet they have two whole lemon ingredients already. That was something that I could taste as an after taste that lingers in the back of my mouth.

Closing.

As a lavender tea, I am disappointed. Although as a fruit tea, I am pleasantly surprised. I really liked the notes of lemon and blueberry, as well as the sweetness of the tea overall. I find that if you like sweeter teas that are not artificially sweetened, I could highly recommend this. I really like this tea and it is something that may very well bridge the gap in my earlier stated issue. I would have to rate this tea a nice 8/10. This is a tea that I could certainly have again and something that I can highly recommend. All I say is if you want a lavender tea for the lavender taste, maybe try something else.

Thank you so much for reading this article today. I was quite tired as I got crummy sleep, so if this is not the best article of my work I am sorry, but I appreciate the read no matter what! If you liked this article please check out my other ones and give me a like and a follow I would highly appreciate it. Also, follow me on twitter and send me comments there or here and I will reply to each and every one. Thank you once again and catch you next time!