Tea Review: Simply Balanced Orange Spice
Thirsty Thursday #16
Hi, again! I told you I'd see you again soon! Today I'm going to talk about a tea, well, herbal blend you can get at your local Target. It's the Simply Balanced Orange Spice.
It's a fair trade and organic blend. Since there is no tea or yaupon in the blend, it is caffeine free.
The box is filled with individually wrapped tea bags. Each package has the steeping instructions.
Tea bag in the tea pot. Wow! I can smell the spices already. Very exotic.
Setting the timer for 4 minutes.
We filled the tea pot. The pot holds two fancy tea cups or one mug of tea. Now we wait. (humming, tapping foot)
[timer beeps]
Done!
Have you ever noticed how long four minutes feels. (giggles) But if I had walked away to do something else it would have blinked by. Check out the gorgeous amber brown liquid.
And the spices! (takes deep breath) Yum! I hope it tastes as good as it smells.
First sip is plain.
Not bad. The spices are well balanced with the citrus of the orange. I can pick out cinnamon and clove. I bet there is a bit of nutmeg too. I'll have to check. (looks at box) Okay, it has orange peel, hibiscus, chicory, cinnamon, clove, and rosehips. So no nutmeg.
Second sip I'm adding some bamboo honey.
Mmmm, That's better. Just an extra, light touch of sweetness. But you have to be careful what honey you choose. Buckwheat honey would have been too heavy.
The Simply Balanced Orange Spice herbal blend is really tasty.
I think it would be best to drink on a cold winter day or a dreary day when you need a pick me up...not so much of energy boost, but brightness and warmth.
Xyra's Note
- It has been my experience that one should not over steep a citrus based herbal. They tend to get really bitter.
- The little teapot yielded great, robust, spicy flavor for the entire pot.
- We have not tried to re-steep at this time.
Taking over is fun, but you know I think I'm going to take a vacation tomorrow,
See you again soon!
This sounds really good! I need to start trying different teas, some of these sound so much better than just ordinary tea.
ReplyDelete"Ordinary tea." (giggles) I've learned there is big difference between the ordinary teas you can find in the grocery stores. you just have to keep trying until you find a blend that appeals to you (and you can take the duds to supply your church for funerals and other events).
DeleteHave you tried Celestial Seasonings Mandarin Orange Spice tea? (I have some). It sounds similar. The chickory is probably what you read as nutmeg - very earthy.
ReplyDeleteNot yet. We had some STASH orange spice. It is fabulous, but hard to find.The last box we had we found at Zern's.
DeleteYes, the chicory - very earthy. Also an element you don't want to oversteep. It was used in the old west as an alternative for coffee; gets bitter.
Yes, it does. I have a rose tea w chicory that smells Heavenly. It tastes ok but it smells like forever. (I will have to give you some of both!)
DeleteSounds interesting! :)
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