Celestial Sleepytime Tea

"In 1969, Celestial Seasonings began blending fresh herbs picked in the Rocky Mountains, transforming the best of nature into delicious and healthful teas. Today, our veteran team of tea experts source more than 100 varieties of the finest quality teas, herbs, spices and fruits from more than 35 different countries to craft our distinctive blends.

The comforting aroma and flavor of spearmint from the Pacific Northwest blends with soothing Egyptian chamomile to make this the perfect cup of tea for bedtime. The ingredients come from all over the world --and all over the world, generations have wound down their day with this classic blend. With herbal ingredients that have been soothing for centuries, Sleepytime helps you relax by blending the best of nature. There's no time like Sleepytime!

Blended in Boulder, Colorado." -Celestial

Ingredients: Chamomile, Spearmint, West Indian Lemongrass, Tilia Flowers, Blackberry Leaves, Orange blossoms, Hawthorn Berries, and Rosebuds.

"Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each." -Henry David Thoreau.

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First things first, if you look at the ingredient list for this tea you will notice that there are no rooibos or Camellia sinensis leaves. That is because this is a herbal tea, not a 'true' tea. It is not made from any parts of a tea plant or tea bush. In truth, even rooibos is considered more of a herbal tea than a true tea. Most herbal teas are made from fruit, flowers, and herbs. These are the kinds most people make when they make homemade teas, mostly because a camellia sinensis or rooibos plant would be rather difficult to grow in your backyard.

Since this is a sleepy time tea, that means it is caffeine free. Also, the great thing about it is that you can drink it during the day. There is no reason not to drink it. Unless you, like many people, find chamomile (or some spell it Camomile) to be sleep inducing. I am lucky enough that it does not do this to me and I can drink this wonderful brew all day long.

Camomile itself is a wonderful plant. For one, I think it's pretty. And if your yard is like mine, then you probably have wild camomile getting ready to poke it's little yellow buds through the ground. Not as attractive as the flowering camomile types, but it works just as well. When it comes to tea...camomile is camomile. Caffeine free camomile teas (whether it's blended with other stuff or not) is great for restlessness in children and flatulent related colic. It's also a good wash for open wounds or sores, though I don't recommend that. In nature, these flowers/buds can be seen blooming mostly in June and July, so keep your eye out.
This is my first bagged tea review, but the instructions are pretty much the same. Instead of 1 tsp of loose leaves, you're going to plop 1 bag of tea into your hot water and let it steep for 4-6 minutes. This tea doesn't really go 'bitter' if you let it sit too long or even if you squeeze the bag, but it does get cold and can give you that dry mouth feel.

The color is really nice for a bagged tea. It's a very lovely golden color. Almost as bright yellow as the camomile flower itself (though not the petals).

As for the taste and smell. Even though I feel the camomile is the real player in it being a sleepy time tea, the biggest scent and taste is the spearmint. Spearmint is, of course, a mint plant. The Mentha spicata plant. Spearmint, like many mints, is very fragrant and aromatic. It is also not very hard to grow. It can grow in full sun shine or the shade and likes wet soil, so if you can get your hands on some, go a head and stick it in your garden. The bright green color is always a nice addition and so is the lovely smell. Drinking this tea is like nibbling on a spearmint leaf (which you can do!). A neat little fact/being proven tidbit about spearmint tea is that it is used as a treatment for hirsutism in women.

The taste itself, other than the spearmint, is actually rather thick. It feels dense on your tongue as it goes down your throat. Personally, I wouldn't add anything to this tea, but honey wouldn't be bad. Also, since it doesn't have any tea leaves in it to get bitter, it does well if you drink it slow or iced.

Over all, this is a lovely tea. Not as good as fresh made or loose leaf camomile and spearmint tea, but a very good substitute and for use in a pinch. It's a nice way to unwind for the day. Sit with a nice, hot cup of sleepytime tea and a good book while cuddled up in a nice thick blanket after a hard day of work or dealing with a cold or rainy day...I can see nothing better than that.

This is a tea that shouldn't be too hard to find at your local grocery store, but if not you can easily get it on Amazon.

Chocolate-Butterscotch Rooibos Tea

"TeaCo's Rooibos Tea is made from the leaves of the Red Bush plant which is grown in South Africa. It is not derived from the traditional Camillia sinensis plant like most other teas, therefore it is considered as an herbal drink. It is traditionally drank with sugar and milk, though many drinkers today prefer it plain or with a bit of honey.

Rooibos tea is high in anti-oxidants and many minerals. It is also caffeine free. Studies have shown Rooibos tea to help prevent cancer, increase immune functions, and reduces headaches, insomnia, and irritability.

Ingredients: Rooibos tea, Chocolate chips, Butterscotch chips, and Natural flavorings." -TeaCo

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Once again, I would like to point out that while I believe in the health benefits of tea, most of the studies done are not 'proven' or done in a controlled setting/environment. The health benefits of teas are things that I prefer to think of as 'home remedies'. Yes, it is high in anti-oxidants, but depending on your diet, activity, and life style...drinking a cup of tea a day while sitting around eating nothing but pizza and candy, the tea isn't going to help. For me, tea is a light feeling drink. It makes you feel warm and happy and makes it easy to jump up and move around or sit back and relax.

Now, while tea may be good for you and better for you than most drinks...don't force yourself to drink it. It's not medicine. Don't chug it down while holding your nose like you would for nasty tasting cough syrup just to get the good benefits of it. All, natural, teas have anti-oxidants. So if you're going to drink it for that, find a flavor and type you like.

Remember, Rooibos is naturally caffeine free! The next step up from this tea type for caffeine is white tea.

Anyway, today I have brewed myself a cup of TeaCo's Choco-Butterscotch Rooibos. With Loose Leaf Teas isn't great to have a tea ball, unfortunately they can fail. Rooibos is a 'broom' like plant. This basically means that the 'leafs' are thin and almost needle like. When dried out and made to be used for tea they became like tiny, little splinters that seep through every little opening...even that of a mesh tea ball. They slip through the crease of the two ball parts and even through the mesh itself. I'm sure not all Rooibos does this, but this one sure does.

After a few little experiments, I find the best thing to do is to make a tea bag or empty one and fill it up with the tea, the stuff that into the tea ball. That should prevent any tea leaves from seeping out. On the other hand, you can forgo the tea ball and bag all together and use a French Press or Infuser. Both of which would work wonderfully for this kind of fine leaf tea.

Unlike green tea, Rooibos takes a 5-7 minute seeping. The longer it seeps, the darker the color and richer the taste. Over seeping (more than 10 minutes) will leave you with bitter, cold tea. So watch the clock or set a timer. This specific blend has chocolate and butterscotch chips in it. I recommend either using very hot water or just putting the chips in the bottom of your cup. I put them in the bottom of my cup and just stirred till they melted. Doing as I do tends to leave the water looking a little cloudy rather than that clear, red color that Rooibos gives, but it doesn't hurt the flavor one bit.

As for the color, when not putting the chips in the bottom of the cup, it should be a rich, deep rusty color or a beautiful, dark amber color. It really is one of the most beautiful colored teas I've ever seen. The chocolate/butterscotch chips even give it a 'shine' and makes it almost glitter. It's really amazing. Just like the Pom-Green Tea from before, you may need to bob the tea ball or bag a little to get the color to mix with the water.

The taste is almost as wonderful as it looks. It's rich and smooth. Naturally sweet and warm. Not a bit of bitterness in it at all. It's almost creamy and buttery. I don't know how it would taste iced, but I wouldn't dare put ice in it. It really does taste perfect at a lukewarm temperature. Even the smell is nice. Before putting the chocolate/butterscotch chips in, you should dunk just the tea in with the hot water and take a good smell. It's hard to describe, but it smells warm, buttery, and just made me smile. While you can really smell the butterscotch just from opening the canister, you can't really smell it once it's mixed in the water. The Rooibos itself smells fantastic. It's dusty and deep.

As I've said before, I don't really add anything to my teas other than what is in the bag/canister...but yes, traditionally it is drank with milk, honey, and/or lemon. I don't like adding milk to tea, I think it tastes funny and sour. But I do like honey with plain green tea and lemon in nearly anything. While I don't think this blend needs anything added, I can see lemon giving it a nice tang to balance out the sweetness.

Overall, this is a wonderful tea experience. The flavor is deep without being over powering. It doesn't leave any kind of 'weird' after taste. While I still think green tea is a good starter for people just starting to drink tea, this would not be a bad start either.

What is Tea?

Most people don't know the difference between white, green, black, and oolong tea. Rooibos is even stranger on it's own! Other than taste and color, most people probably couldn't tell you very much about these teas. Strangely enough, all these teas (except rooibos) are harvested from the same plant. The Camellia sinensis. The difference between these teas have to do with how much oxidation the leaf in question goes through. Not to go into too much detail about oxidation, but the simplest terms are: Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in oxidation state by a molecule, atom, or ion.

On a small side note, we also have 'Kukicha' which is twig tea and made from the stems and twigs of the camellia rather than the leaves.

For those that have never seen a 'tea plant', here is a nice picture:



It's a beautiful plant and if you ever get the chance to actually handle one, I highly recommend it. To get an idea of how big one plant is...the flower is usually about 2-4 centimeters with about 7-8 petals. The leaves are about 4-5 centimeters long and about 2-5 centimeters wide, and contain about 4% caffeine. As for height, they can grow higher than six feet and are considered a tree or a shrub.

White tea is taken from the buds and younger leaves. It's allowed to wither naturally in the sun light before placed through production to prevent further oxidation. White tea also tends to contain more of the natural 'goodness' that is in tea. White tea also contains less caffeine than other teas (with the exception of rooibos).

Green tea leaves are just barely more developed than white tea and put through the bare minimum of oxidation. This gives it that 'bitter' taste people associate it with. Unless specifically stated on the packaging, green tea contains caffeine.The amount varies per cup and how many leaves you use and such, but a good way to judge is the average serving of brewed coffee contains 145 mg of caffeine, the same serving size of green tea provides 25 mg. That isn't perfectly right, but it's about as close as you can get. The average serving would be an 8oz cup.

Black tea is a very highly oxidized tea. More so than white, green, and oolong. It also contains the most caffeine. Despite it being called a 'black' tea, the color is actually a rich reddish color. Strange since rooibos is the 'red tea'. Where green tea tends to lose it's flavor after sitting on the shelf for a year or so, black tea travels and sits much better. It can hold it's flavor for several years of shelf life. This makes it one of the most widely traveled teas (in the past and before better shipping methods emerged). Some of the most well known tea blends are made from black tea. Such as Earl Grey, English Breakfast, and Irish Breakfast. If green tea provides about 25 mg of caffeine per average serving, black tea provides about 45-60 mg; so this is not the tea for people trying to avoid caffeine.

Oolong tea is withered under a strong sun and then highly oxidized to get it's flavor and 'curled' look. It is one of the only teas that you can use the same leaves more than once. Most teas lose much of their flavor after the first brew, but oolong can be used 2-4 times and still maintain much of the flavor. While it's hard to pin point how much caffeine is in oolong, it is less than black and green tea.

Another, strange, tea is Pu-erh tea. I've never tasted this tea before, but I've seen it and plan on tasting it sometime in the future. The strange thing about this tea is that it's compacted very tightly into a ball. It's sometimes called 'dark tea'. While with other teas you just want to heat the water, not boil it, with Pu-erh you have to boil the water. Since many forms of Pu-erh are sold in brick or large ball form, you'll need a knife/letter opener/pu'er knife to pry chunks off.  Or you can steam it and flake pieces off for brewing.

Rooibos is one of the only teas not made from the Camellia plant. It is grown in South Africa and considered the 'red bush' or 'red tea'. It is also considered an herbal tea. Rooibos comes in two specific types. Red and Green. Red is more easily produced and oxidized, while the Green is unoxidized and much harder to produce (it's produced much like green tea is and is more expensive than the 'red'). It is commonly drank with a slice of lemon  and sugar or honey to sweeten. Though many do drink it naturally because it is said to have a sweet, nutty flavor on it's own. The color of natural rooibos tea is a beautiful, deep amber color. This is also one of the only teas I've had to fight with. The fine, needle like leaves slip through even my mesh tea ball. I had to wrap it in cheese cloth and stuff it into my tea ball. Rooibos is also naturally caffeine free!

Rooibos Plant:



Well...I've rambled on long enough. I hope some people found this informative.

~Teacup Fairy

Loose Leaf Pomegranate Green Tea

"TeaCo's Green Tea is a 'True' tea with leaves coming from the Camellia Sinensis plant. It is created by the leaves going through very little oxidation while being processed. There are many health benefits to drinking green tea. Green tea is anti-oxidant rich and has been linked to lowering cholesterol levels. Studies have also shown that green tea is healpful in preventing or reducing cancer, arthritis, infection, and cardiovascular disease.

TeaCo's Pomegranate Green Tea is made from the finest ingredients possible. This freshness is unmatched in the tea industry and provides the consumer with one of the most unique drinks imaginable.

Ingredients: Green Tea, Pomegranate Peel, Hibiscus Flower, and Natural Pomegranate Flavoring." -TeaCo

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Now, while Green Tea does have health benefits, it does not mean that drinking a cup a day is going to keep you healthy forever. The health aspects of Green Tea are widely debated. Over a decade of studies to determine all the health aspects of tea and yet there are very few real-world evidence. Most of the facts are coming out of labs and not from word of mouth reports. There are very few studies actually done on humans to determine the exact effects of Green Tea.

Despite that, it does have important antioxidants and compounds that help in maintaining good health. The antioxidants in Green Tea are similar to the ones found in grapes and berries, red wine, and dark chocolate. It is also unknown just how much Green Tea would need to be consumed in order to reap the full benefits of the leaves.

Still...it's good to drink.

Today I've brewed myself a cup of TeaCo's Pom-Green Tea. For Loose Leaf Tea you're going to want some way to get the leaves and pieces out of the cup (though they are not harmful to digest). You can use a tea ball, French Press, tea strainer, cheese cloth, or even make your own tea bag. I use a combination of tea ball packed with a homemade tea bag. To make the tea bag you can either purchase empty bags and fill them yourself or pay $1 for those boxes of 100 Iced Tea bags at the store and empty them yourself. I empty them myself and save the Iced Tea leaves for use in the summer when I need to make pitchers of Sweet Ice Tea for parties and what not.

Measure out your leaves 1tsp per 8oz of water. My cup holds 10 oz and I like my tea a little stronger, so I put 2tsp. Heat your water and dunk your bag or press into your infuser. Let steep for 2-5 minutes depending on how strong you like it. The longer is steeps, the stronger the flavor. Be aware that the longer your tea steeps, the more bitter it can become too. For a first time taster, I would say about 3 minutes steeping should do to get you a nice, light flavor.

The color should be a light, tannish color. You may need to bob the tea ball or bag a little to get the coloring and flavor to disperse. If you look in the cup before that, you can see the tea water settling at the bottom of the cup. But don't worry, once mixed up it won't separate again. The longer you let it steep, the darker the color will be.

As for the taste, since I like mine a little stronger, tastes a bit like biting into a Pomegranate seed. It's a light flavor (even after 5 minutes of steeping) and you just barely get them smell of the fruit after steeping. While steeping the scent is a little stronger. Those with not-so-good sense of smell may not smell anything at all. The taste washes all over your tongue, getting more bitter as it reaches the back and down your throat. Strangely enough, if you have ever bitten your cheek or lip while chewing or anything like that...it kind of leaves that irony taste in your mouth for a few minutes after drinking.

While I don't add anything to my teas, this is a tea that can have honey easily added to it without damaging the flavor. The honey may make it easier for some people to drink it since most people are more used to sugary flavors. Again, I don't do this, but I have in the past and I don't enjoy it. Still, many people do and it doesn't hurt the flavor. It will get rid of that irony after taste and does cut some of the bitterness if you over steep. I would say that about 1/2 to 1tsp of honey is more than enough for a 8-10oz cup.

Personally, I think it's a nice starter tea. Like most Green Teas, it can sit and cool without losing it's taste. Personally, I like dropping a few cubes of ice into it.

Once again, if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments and I will get to you in due time. Also, if you would like to purchase this exact tea, you can get it from: www.teacoteas.com in their green tea section. You can also find it on Amazon from other brands. I recommend Biglow, Yoga Teas, and The Republic of Tea.

~Teacup Fairy

Welcome to the Teacup Fairy

Okay...so with a little encouragement and a lot of embarrassment to get over, I've decided to fall in a friend's wonderful footsteps with his Beer Blog and write about tea. I love tea. Whether it be bag, loose leaf, store bought, or home made...tea is amazing!

Now, to start off, I just want to say that I am not an expert. My opinion of tea and such is in no way to be take as factual. I will do my best to provide truthful and honest information, but when it comes to the taste of the tea and what I prefer is all my opinion. I do like to think that I know a lot about tea, but there is a world of tea that I've never delved into. I do hope, one day, to sample at least a little bit of everything.

You might be wondering what exactly I'm going to put in this blog, well, I'll tell you. Not just my opinion on the teas I sample, but pictures of them before and after brewing. Also, I hope to do my best to describe the taste and smell of the teas. I would also like to delve into the health benefits of tea. The differences between bagged and loose leaf. Tea balls and infusers. And even try to answer any questions people may have. I'd also like to teach people how to make their own teas (it's not that hard) and what types of herbs and such that you can find right in your yard to make them with.

Tea has a long history, after all, what's easier than finding some plants and tossing them into warm water? I don't wish to go into great detail about it's history, but it's been around for a very long time. There are dozens and dozens types of tea and I couldn't possibly give the exact, historical details of everyone of them...but I will try my best to provide accurate information.

Anyway...most of my tea comes from Teaco. They are a wonderful, little tea company that is still getting to it's feet and nestled in the hills of West Virgina. The company was founded by a mother and daughter team that worked painstakingly in their kitchen to create tea blends, mostly specialty dessert and cocktail blends. They are, currently, still expanding and are one of the largest specialty tea companies in the United States. They are currently working on making their first bottles of bottled tea for market. Most of this information can be found on their web page as well as their page. They hope that by the end of 2011 that they will have 20 stores open nationwide. You can find a list of their currently opened stores and soon to be open stores on their website.

Now, as much as I love TeaCo, they can be expensive. Good, quality tea is usually a little pricey, but they are not the only options. Grocery stores can offer a wide selection of good, bagged and loose leaf tea...you just have to look hard enough. Always check the ingredient listings on the box. If it has artificial or chemicals in it...[b]put it back![/b]

Also, you should have the right tools for making tea. It's not complicated. A tea kettle, either a simple ]metal one, glass one, cast iron one (be aware that cast iron does season and develop a taste), or an eletric one. All of them are good and have their own benefits, but they all do the same thing...boil water. If you're going to use loose leaf tea, you're going to need a tea ball, these come in many shapes and sizes. I prefer the ones with mesh because there is less chance of any small bits floating out. You can also use a French Press, but the longer the tea stays in the water the stronger the flavor becomes and eventually becomes bitter. I don't like using them, but whatever floats your boat. I'll go into more detail about infusers and French presses later on. Last, but not least, you will need a cup! Any cup will do, but I prefer a nice, big coffee mug.

If you're going to make homemade tea, there are a few more 'tools', but I'll get into that later when the weather warms up some more and I can actually find some stuff to make tea out of outside (other than the dandelions, which do make good tea!).

That is all I have to say for right now. I think I've rambled on enough for one post. I will, hopefully, not embarrass myself doing this. If you have any tea related questions, please ask them in the comments. I will reply in due time.

~Teacup Fairy