41 Tasting Notes
This is my review of this tea 2 months after (2/24) my initial log:
I am sitting on the floor taking a homework break after I gleefully found my lost (and my only) tea ball. Yay! I chose this tea because I realised that the majority of my collection is Earl Grey and rooibos. What a testament to my preferences, eh?
The scent of this tea makes me think of peaches and almonds and I can feel my muscles relaxing. I didn’t even know that I was stressed. I taste yummy sweet peaches and a vegetal note from the green tea base. I am so please that I chose to drink this tea! I don’t want to store the leaves in the fridge, so I may steep a second pot and bottle it up and try it iced.
Oh tea ball, how I missed you. Don’t ever run away from me again!
I am backlogging my technical log from january and then I will post my revisited review.
Observation 1: The dry leaves remind me of peaches and apricots. There are small peices of leaves, bits of sugar and various unidentifiable bits in the blend.
Observation 2: Naked, the tea is a bright yellow greeen. The taste of peaches is very prominent. There is an apricot aftertaste.
Observation 3: With sugar,there is a nice nuttiness to the tea. I am quite fond of this tea with sugar.
Observation 4: (note: I didn’t know milk + green = blech yet) With milk the flavors are drastically detracted.
Preparation
I received this tea from Teaequalsbliss and I am backlogging from I want to say Tuesday. This is an excerpt from my tea journal:
After a long day of riding the bus it is finally time for me to settle down and do some homework in well earned quiet. :)
I was torn between two teas, this one and Mount of Olives’ Sweet Apple Spice. I chose the latter, but I guess it did not desire to bue consumed as the bag was rotting through and the staple rusted onto the paper. Poor packaging is often won’t to do so.
The moment I dropped the cozy chamomile into the hot water I was greeted by the oh-so-familiar scent of chamomile. Mmm. :) The packaging suggested sweeterner and although I am not the biggest fan of sweets, I do adore sweet beverages so I oblige with a sprinkle of sugar.
… and I forgot what chamomile tastaes like. The flavoring of this herbal has a nuttiness to it that I am not sure that I am fond of- kind of unpleasant, but I am not one to not finish a cup. Either way, the aroma is pleasant which I think is the majority of the experience of a chamomile anyway.
C’est la vie. :)
Its about time for me to update this log eh?
Before I get into it I shall post a disclaimer:
I am not a doctor, I don’t even have a CPR card. Any testimony or information posted here is of my personal experience and/or the information that I have personally researched. ASK YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE STARTING ANY KIND OF TREATMENT OR REGIMEN, YES EVEN IF IT IS AN HERBAL SUPPLUMENT. Whether your doctor agrees with your lifestyle choices or not they are your most reliable source for health risks and interactions associated with increased intake of ANYTHING in your diet. There is a plethora of drug interactions with SJW or any medication that can range from mildly irritating to life threatening. Take initiative and be the informed patient rather than the bewildered victim.
Alright, let’s start!
So I have been taking tthis consistent for a month now and so far, so good! The tea recommends that you steep 1 to 2 teabags in an 8oz cup 4 times a day, but I lack the patience, funds and time to do so. As a consequence, I make a teapot (32oz) aand use 2 teabags, as I am under the impression that teapots inprove steeping by about 100%. I then pour it into a bottle and measure out exactly 8 oz to drink in the morning (between 7 and 10) afternoon (between 3 and 5) and at night (between 9 and 12).
Rather than making me drowsy as warned, I find this blend notably relaxing more than anything. Thus far I have experienced no physical sideaffects and find myself able to focus more and get up and do what I have to. Behavior changes when I skip a dose are fairly quick and evident however. I am reminded of when I used birth control and how while my body was adjusting I would have outbursts of crazy lady for no reason during the first week of every pill cycle. So it is very beneficial for me to just keep several doses available in advance.
The biggest notable difference to me is that I have regained the ability to just get up and do things. It’s easier to get out of bed and I don’t wake up miserable without any particular reason. When I actiively think of the taste it’s annoying. I like licorice root, but tasting it 3 times a day for god know how long is not my idea of a good time. If I get too sick of it, I may switch over to a pill. It’s not bad cold, but I find my experience drinking the tea is better if it is warm and overall the taste is rather unobtrusive.
My boyfriend notes that I seem significantly less unhappy as well as commenting that I “don’t seem so quick to give up on everything all the time.”
Would I recommend this stuff to anyone for depression? No. What I would recommend is speaking to your doctor about taking it after you’ve done your own research and find out if SJW is the right antidepressant for you.
So far so good! I’m really pleased I deccided to go this route rather than a standard SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) with all their horrible irrepairable side affects and my lack of health insurance.
P.S: I’m not rating this mix because I don’t think a number rating is the important tidbit to gather from this drink, nor would I know how to.
Preparation
Glad to hear that this is helping you! I don’t suffer from depression to my knowledge, but i’ve lately had some pretty severe problems with self-motivation, and need to figure out how to fix that. This is perhaps not the solution for me, but something to keep in mind!
Yeah everyone needs a push every once in a while, I’m certain you’ll figure it out. Sometimes it cab be as simple as introducing mmore B vitamins to your life.
Hmm, I’ll look into that. Thanks!
what is the perfect excuse to procrastinate on finishing my homework? The delivery of a surprise tea parcel from teaequalsbliss! Mmm ceylon tea packed full of caffeine, grant me the strength to finish all this stupid statistics homework. Thanks a ton teaequalsbliss!!!
Preparation
This is one of the first loose leaf teas I purchased, but now I am
drinking my last bit of this tea. Definitely the best chocolate flavored tea I have had yet. Goodbye sweet tea!
I have logging to do from the Victorian Tea Room as well as the Emilie Autumn Tea and Cupcake Social, but I am super exhausted and with school starting this week, I have way too much to do to really spend any time logging.
Preparation
Guess today is a Yogi Tea day. I received this from kittylovestea. Basically a few weeks ago she wanted to clean out her bagged tea selection and I volunteered for one of her mystery parcels. There was also a very pretty hippy necklace that I love and have now attacked my boyfriend with. He doesn’t seem to mind.
This smells spicy! It would appear that the bag ripped in transit, but it has done nothing for or against the strong scent and color.
The taste is not as strong concerning the accent notes I am accustomed to in rooibos, but it is notably strong and equally smooth. I think I can tastee a bit of the paper the company wrapped it in, but overall there is this amazing quality of age and grace, akin to one of those big ancient tome-sized dictionaries that sit on a pedastal. I think a lot of the nuances I am enjoying about this tea have to do with it being god-knows-how-old. I taste rooibost, dust, paper, cinnamon, sweet and old leather almost. More akin to a fine cigar than an herbal tea!
Shame there was only one teabag of this.
Preparation
I want to be a nurse, so I guess it’s about time that I start saying this:
ASK YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE STARTING ANY HERBAL SUPPLEMENT. TAKE CARE TO READ THE SIDE EFFECTS AND DRUG INTERACTIONS (there’s alot of them) including decreasing the effectiveness of estrogen-based birth control, most pharmaceutical anti-depressant, painkillers and anything else that increases your production of serotonin.
That said, I’ll get into the review!
This is day 1 cup 1 of this tea for me. I do believe the Vicodin is out of my system, but to my dismay my last medication I have to use requires chemical birthcontrol if I plan on being intimate, which is a major drug interaction with SJW. After talking at lengths with my boyfriend, we’ve decided that it is more important to give this medication a try for my mental health than play bump bump…and so another 3 months of abstinence has been added to the 7 months of abstinence we’ve already had. This is going to be the best 1 year of dating mark ever.
Upon investigation, I am not entirely sure of the numbers in this blend. There is only 27mg of SJW extract actually in this tea and then 843 mg of the leaf and flower of which I am unsure what the ratio of whole plant to extract would be, but the normal prescription dose in other countries(the US does not take holistic care seriously)is 300mg/day, waaaay more than this tea asks you to drink.
I prepared this in a 32oz teapot with only 2 teabags and it came out BLACK. The directions stated to use 1 teabag for 8oz of hot water. I suspect that this blend is either going to be ass kicking strong or nowhere near as potent as I need it.
The flavor is of licorice and mint, I am reminded of straight licorice root and those licorice gumdrops, Crows. When I would want an awesome candy that no one else wants to eat, I always went for Crows. Not feeling drowsy yet, but I am still not gonna drive for the rest of the day, maybe the week, until I figure out what exactly this stuff does to me. I’ll log again at the end of the week and I’ll rate again in 30 days.
Preparation
I believe that the majority of herbal teas are suitable for the majority of people despite their medications. Sure it’s best to double check that there are no warning labels on the packet but the only ones I have seen that have had those were from a Chinese remedy shop. The main thing to watch out for with herbal teas are allergic reactions.
Look at chocolate teas for instance, Cocoa and chocolate contain the tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloid salsolinol up to a concentration of 25 microg/g. Salsolinol is a dopaminergic active compound which binds to the D(2) receptor family, especially to the D(3) receptor with a K(i) of 0.48+/-0.021 micromol/l. It inhibits the formation of cyclic AMP and the release of beta-endorphin and ACTH in a pituitary cell system. It’s proven to increase women’s testosterone levels which is why a lot of women crave chocolate when they are menstruating.
I wouldn’t worry too much about your herbal tea causing you any problems as long as you don’t drink them in excess. :)
For it’s effects as an herbal supplement you’re supposed to drink this 3 to 4 times per day.
drinking this complex tasting liquor with my boyfriend tonight. I love how everything is blended into this inseparable experience of taste and scent that can only be described as Jardin Sauvage. It really plays true to its name; I feel transported into a truely wild/overrun garden. :)
