Traditional Medicinals

Mastress Alita’s Monthly Sipdown Challenge
March 2022 → A tea with spinach/artichoke notes

I’ll admit, I wasn’t looking forward to this particular sipdown prompt. I like sugary sweet tea (not too terribly ashamed to admit it), so drinking a tea that tastes like vegetables doesn’t sound all that great to me. Even if they are vegetables I like to eat. I did a search through some Steepster notes and found one saying that this nettle infusion has a spinachy flavor, so I figured I’d try it and call it an allergy tea. I’m not having any allergy issues at the moment, but it’s spring now so it surely can’t hurt.

It’s really not so bad, though it is an unsettling shade of green. Like a seaweed green, both green and brown all at once. The flavor is sort of metallic alongside the veg. Isn’t nettle rich in iron? Could that be it? Not one I’d drink for fun but not as terrible as I was expecting either.

EDIT: Oops, forgot to list the prompt at the top!

What you could find in a tea bag filled with spearmint only?

Yep, it was minty, quite sweet. Easydrinking liquid, no flaws. Probably quite fresh. I prefer peppermint though, when it comes to mints.

Thank you derk for new tea bag to my collection.

How strange that Nature does not knock, and yet does not intrude? — Emily Dickinson

I don’t like pure spearmint, fresh or dried or gum/mints, but sometimes I get wild and eat or drink something that doesn’t sit right with me thinking maybe my tastes have changed. (My definition of wild has changed wildly in the past few years.)

It turns out I’ve made this into my morning wake-up and nightcap every day this week. It’s so sweet and so spearmint and so clean. I can see myself reaching for this when I want mint but not something as strong as my preferred peppermint.

Bananas, though. I will never enjoy a ripe, yellow banana from the peel.

I think I saved a bag of this from a recent tea box. It’s herbaceous in an interesting way. I suppose it probably tastes like itself, though I have nothing to compare it to. I had it plain, and it was nice and refreshing on a busy day. I wouldn’t order a box since I don’t go for herbaceous teas very often, but this one is perfectly fine.

Grabbed a bag of this from the recent tea box. Even though it expired in 2017, it still tastes pretty nice! Earthy and fresh. Not one I would buy a box of, but the flavor was quite refreshing to drink while I was exercising today. General earthy rootiness, not bad. Not a hint of lemon though.

Not a big fan of the taste. I’m not really fond of chamomile. However, as a relaxing tea, it works OK.

I like this tea, however, I love licorice and that is the main flavor I get from this. It is a good evening tea because there is no caffiene, so I drink it before bed.

Another tea from derk! Thank you

Again “simple” day – simple drinks as peppermint tea.

I let the bag in all time, so really long steeping time.

Another very fresh and refreshing peppermint. I can’t compare it to Czech brands, which are weak and dirty in taste.

Very tasty, long mounth-feel. Highly drinkable. If I have to compare with Celestial Seasonings, it’s bit worse, but still highly recommended!

What can I say? It’s just one of those days.

Updated to add – This made me feel horribly sick. Do not recommend.

SIPDOWN of tea sent by derk, thank you!

“Friendship is a sheltering tree.” Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Nice quote!

It’s 9 pm, I am very tired after 7 hour long inventory check I did today. Went through 250 lady panties, same amount of bras, some socks and tights, lots of pillows and covers, some candles and some candleholders. Amost all the time wearing facemask and gloves. Gloves which we use when counting freezers!

So I am terribly tired (woke up in 5 am), pretty much everything hurts, some minor panic attacks as my nieces visit comes closer.

But to the tea, that is what matters here most I guess.
It’s nice. Refreshing, but as well calming down, it makes me bit sleepy which is good thing, there are some nice notes of passionflower reminding rather passionfruit in taste. Naturally it is quite herbal there as well. I think it is great tea for times like this one.

Thank you derk, once more :). And moreover I just love the wrapper too.

I have prepared this tea to calm my nerves before tomorrow exam. Linear programming. It’s not so hard, but again, procrastination won this round – so I have all my teas (as I said yesterday) in Excel file. I don’t know if I should feel happy about that, because it is really cool, but I spend whole morning doing it. Then, I was rather cleaning, washing up and.. now it is evening, I took a bath (I usually shower) and I was trying to study before.

Anyway to the tea. It’s from derk again, so again kudos to you. It is nice blend of herbs, based on passionflower and chamomile, but it is nice and mild tea. Because it contains lots of other herbs too, I was afraid it will be too herbal. But it isn’t. It was like honey with nice chamomile (what, me liking chamomile?) and sweet note of passionflower.

To be honest, I think it worked well to intended purpose (but bath was good idea too). I am not very sure about the exam, but I will wake up early tomorrow probably and do some last-minute study.

I had big plans today to drink lots of yummy, delicious tea. Instead, I woke up sick so I’m “enjoying” medicinal herbals instead. Not my fav and I don’t know that they are working, but I’m trying my best to keep from getting worse before work on Monday. Next up – one specifically for headaches. Hoping it helps.

Prepared according to direction and not for medicinal use.

It’s fairly light and nutty. Gently sweet with some bitterness on the swallow and a slight tart finish. There’s a creaminess that confuses me. It’s a strange one, like oat straw or milk thistle, like it’s vegetal-based, pervasive and binding rather than butterfat-based and distinctly apparent as I experience in many Taiwanese oolong. I assume it’s from the latex in the dandelion.

As a side thought, I really wonder what the chemical signature is for the cream aroma/flavor in Taiwanese oolong and how it compares to that of animal-based cream. Oh how’d I’d love to analyze the compounds in all the teas I drink by running infusion samples through a GC-MS machine.

I’m happy to have this tea back in my cupboard. Surprisingly, this organic premium offering was cheaper than all of the others.

I love the sweetness and intensity of this spearmint. Very tasty and smoothing without giving heartburn like some peppermint can do (menthol can cause heartburn).

This is my chosen replacement for DT’s spearmint. It does come in paper teabags, however it was the cheapest option on amazon that wasn’t a 2 kg bag.

This is a nice, simple, sweet spearmint. Exactly what I needed.

The antidote to today’s reuben sandwich.

I have this thing with peppermint where I found that I like dried loose-leaf prepared best when steeped at 175F for only a minute or two. But I went ahead and followed package directions for this teabag: boiling, covered, 10-15 minutes. As soon as I poured water over the bag, the brew turned a pretty green. When I took the lid off 15 minutes later, it was brown. I feared for muddy peppermint.

Instead, it was good, clean fun :) Can’t go wrong with that.

As far as peppermint teabags go, I still prefer Two Leaves and a Bud brand because it’s serious menthol. I can never find it in stores here, though. Since Traditional Medicinals is located just down the road, I’ll be supporting them even if they do source their leaf from afar. Sprouts was out of stock of this today so I get to compare Celestial Seasonings next.

Made a cup of this tonight with some frothed milk. I wouldn’t usually think to add milk to an herbal blend, but my husband made it with milk the last time and it was so good. I think this might be my new favorite way to drink herbals. Maybe a little cinnamon on top next time?

I didn’t love this one last time I had it, but James made a cup for me tonight that was delicious! He said he added honey, cream, and cinnamon to it, so it probably tasted nothing like the tea itself in the end. However he prepared it, it was quite tasty!

I should start by saying that medicinal teas are not my favorite. I truly only drink them when I’m not feeling well. My husband, on the other hand, loves them. So when I mentioned to him earlier that I’ve been struggling with a headache all day, I shouldn’t have been surprised to walk through the door after work to see him holding a steaming mug of this tea. Surprisingly, the taste isn’t bad at all. I would even say I actually enjoyed it. I continued to sip on it throughout the evening, but honestly I didn’t finish it. I have to say, it didn’t help my headache one bit; however, I’m truly grateful that he took the time to make it for me knowing that I was feeling sick and he wanted to help me feel better.

I’m currently enrolled in a health coach training program and they talk sometimes about how important it is to prepare your food with love because that love then covers the meal. Now I’m not sure about the science behind all that, whether or not your food can actually change based on the love put into it, but it makes me happy to think we could pass our love and kindness through simple acts toward each other such as making a warm cup of tea on a cold day.

I received this bag in a previous Sips By box. I accidentally steeped it for a long time, but it’s not sour. I’m drinking this cold with sugar, and it’s a really pleasant cup. I like this better than some loose leaf ones even.