Chamomile Citrus

Backlogging a bunch of cups of this…

I am just getting over a cold and I drank a ton of this tea to help combat it. It tastes like fruit loops not even kidding. That is what I think when I drink this tea every time. It is decent. Not my favorite, but it works well as a soothing tea.

Also I love the look of this tea in the bag. It is so colorful and pretty! There are so many different visible ingredients!

Found a variety pack on sale last weekend so I grabbed it since I have never had Mighty Leaf tea and variety packs are fun. Decided I’d try this one out so I can have some more tea but not worry about sleeping later tonight. Not too excited about the chamomile aspect but yay for the citrus.

The bag is pretty. I kind of want to stick it in my lingerie drawer but I really wouldn’t want my under-things smelling like this tea. It’s kinda weird. Chamomile and citrus, yes. I just can’t decide if they blend really well so they aren’t distinct or if there is something else that makes them smell weird. But brewed up the smell is less funky but maybe stronger chamomile than I’d want in my idea herbal.

The taste is citrus-y then some chamomile (thankfully not too strong) and then something warm/tangy. Looking at the ingredients, I can probably also taste the rose hip (or at least something that makes me think of my marinara tea, also known as Lupicia’s Rose Hip herbal) but I don’t think I would have pegged what that taste was without reading the ingredients. There is a sweet ending so back to the chamomile. And as it cools, the chamomile becomes stronger.

Eh. I don’t hate this but I don’t really enjoy it all that much. It’s a bit too sweet and light and frou-frou for me. I feel like I need some ginger or licorice or something to make it more interesting. Pretty bag and leaves though so points for that.

This sample is courtesy of threewhales! Thanks!

I really wanted to love this tea because I’ve never found a chamomile blend that I was crazy for. Initially this tea tastes pretty great – all orange with hints of mint and a smoothness from the chamomile. However, eventually the orange starts tasting old and kind of dry which isn’t very good. I also may have oversteeped this slightly, so I could be to blame for the less than great tea. It IS drinkable, but not my fave.

Anyone has any suggestions for a great and tasty chamomile blend?

This is going to be long. I can’t help but be grateful for finding a place such as Steepster for allowing me to record my falling in love with this tea. I’ve only had ONE CUP and I know I’m in love for life. Hubby had convention and they served up Mighty Leaf so brought me back Chamomile Citrus tea bag packet and some other Mighty Leaf flavors. This was my first choice to try. I had no idea what was going to happen as I opened the package. I was expecting regular tea bags like Bigelow and Celestial Seasonings, but what came out was a beautiful, silky tea bag filled with beautiful herbs that were whole and lovely. It was love at first sight. I couldn’t believe it. Not only did it look pretty, but it smelled heavenly! When I finally got around to making this tea (after showing my newly discovered tea bag to the hubby and son) I was swept off my feet. Everything about this tea is wonderful, from the smell, to the lovely color of the tea, and of course, the smooth taste. If you must know how serious this is, I refused to throw the tea bag away until the next morning so I could sniff it- I know, I’m crazy. It’s ok to think it… ****edited to add the disclaimer that despite my professed love for this tea, I am hesitant to create such an expensive tea drinking habit! The box at Publix is $8 for a box with 15 bags!! Yikes!

I cannot say that I hate chamomile tea, but my past experiences have been limited. I’ve had chamomiles that tasted like hot water with a faint spritz of hay seed. Back when I was in college there was the dreaded proffering of Celestial Seasonings Chamomile by those who took their earthy, hippy status seriously. Fortunately, tea has come a long way since then.

Mighty Leaf has me jonesing for more.

I just got a variety pack of Might Leaf tea-bags and decided to accompany “The Amazing Race” with a nice soothing tea. I decided, quite staunchly, that I was going to get the chamomile out of the way—the way I occasionally make myself do an unpleasant chore first thing in the day and spend the next 6 months using this one burst of virtue to justify my inherent sloth.

First I had to admire the tea bag. I imagined an artisan lovingly crocheting the string with a tiny crochet hook. As the tea brewed, citrus emerged. The typical old hayseed odor never appeared.

I was starting to get alert and to pay attention to this tea. I had regarded it as a chore to be endured and I now felt that I had arrived at the “sens de la visite” as French signs point out tourist attractions.

Mighty Leaf has concocted an impressive mélange of flavors to support whatever the essence of chamomile is. I still remain uncertain what was the chamomile–maybe the supporting cast is the star here. The citrus is strong, vibrant, but not a bit brash.

I made an immediate note to promote this Chamomile Citrus to full-time status at my house and to adopt it as a favorite evening child. I know that I really like this tea because I’m already slightly nervous that I only have one tea-bag left and the stores do not open for another 7 hours. I’m a convert!

One of the Mighty Leaf teabags I picked up on the road trip. They’ve definitely got the aesthetics down, with the attractive fabric mesh bag stitched along the sides, providing a gauzy view of the whole chamomile buds, chunks of orange peel, and other bits and bobs (looks like lemongrass and rose hip?) inside. This smells very fresh and citrus-y during the steep, and after five minutes comes out a pretty orange-rose color.

It’s funny, I like chamomile but am only getting very slight hints of it in this cup. Most of the space is taken up by the orange peel and lemongrass, with the chamomile coming through as just a warmth and sweetness in the background. I’m having it in the middle of the afternoon, but I imagine it would be very calming as the last cup of the evening.

I really enjoy chamomile. It is one of the few beverages that I can drink at night and have it actually help my sleep, rather than hinder it with caffeine. Having been around teas for a very long time, I have already made the mistake of calling things, like chamomile, teas. Therefore, I am here today to save you all from this same mistake. Cue canned audience clapping. In short, chamomile, and any sort of herb or plant infusion is called a “tisane.” The term “herbal tea” is a misnomer, as most “herbal teas” do not contain actual tea.

Moving on from the semantics lesson, here we have Mighty Leaf Tea’s delicious-smelling blend of chamomile, mint, orange peel, and several different flowers. Like many of Mighty Leaf Tea’s offerings, this mix came in a large sachet for what they deem to improve the steeping of the ingredients. The dry ingredients smell predominantly of mint – not an unpleasant aroma, given that mint tends to be quite relaxing, and I am drinking this and then heading off to bed.

Mighty Leaf Tea recommends steeping this tea for five minutes, though because of the composition, if one were to accidentally (or intentionally) leave this tea for a longer period of time, no harm would be done or unpleasant flavours gained. My five minutes of waiting being over, I move on to breathe in the succulent aroma…of oranges. The oranges have taken precedence in the scent of this brew! Hints of the other ingredients are present, though more subtle.

On to the drinking! In the flavour, the flowers and the orange peel are at the forefront. The orange is more of an undertone, while flowers and the ever-present strains of chamomile tantilize the taste buds. If one is looking for a simple cup of relaxation, this may not be the blend to which to turn. On the other hand, if a fun drink with lots of flavour and no caffeine is desired, look no further. I thought it to be a definitely tasty brew and would rate it at an 83/100 on my personal enjoyment scale.

Amount: 1 teabag
Additives: none, wild huckleberry honey
Water: 1 mug (12 ounces) filtered boiling water
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes
Served: Hot

Notes: Soothing tea, lovely without additives, great for calming down before bed.

Smell: floral, minty, not a very strong odor
Flavor: sweet (unsweetened) floral, not much changed with honey, MilitiaJim was surprised by the mint flavor (he doesn’t like mint), the citrus flavor was evident
Body: medium
Aftertaste: vegetal
Liquor: nearly see through yellow-brown

I’ve practically been bouncing off the walls since I watched Canada win gold in the Men’s Moguls – the first gold medal won on Canadian soil, whoot!

So in an effort to calm down and get to sleep I knocked back a cup of this. It seems to be working, or maybe it’s just the late hour. Anyways, I’m off to bed – ’night all! :D

I got a free sample of this with my birchbox one month and finally tried it. The chamomile is relaxing and the citrus provides a little zing. I like it! I wasn’t in the mood for straight chamomile.

This smells nice, too! The bag has lots of whole chamomile flowers too. Cold it gets a little too citrusy for me. This is much better warm. Overall, I like this a lot! It’s getting me all chilled out before Monday morning comes. Oh gosh, feeling less chill… so much to do!