Friday, March 28, 2014

A New Black Tea and Herbal Tisanes to Try

The Plymouth Historical Museum sells [and serves at their events] a signature tea called "Mary's Blend" - A cherry and almond flavored black tea in honor of Mary Todd Lincoln.  I bought a small tin [$3.95] to bring home.  


I made a cup yesterday, and enjoyed it.  According to one statistic I recently read, 84% of tea consumed in the United States is black tea, most of which is flavored.


You truly meet the nicest people over tea.  When I finished my Hudson's presentation a lady named Laura came up and introduced herself to me.  She said she has been reading my blog ever since I visited the tea shop where she works, TranquiliTea, also located in Plymouth, MI I blogged about my April 2013 visit here.   

From reading my blog Laura knew I was leaving the next morning for Kentucky, so she gave me a gift bag filled with organic herbal tisanes to take along to try.  

Chartreuse herbal blends is a relatively new company established in 2006, and is based in Trenton, MI not far from where I live.  The herbal blends are currently sold at Whole Foods stores in seven states,  several local stores, and, of course, at their web site.


I took the tisanes with me and placed them by the tea station at the hotel, but there was such a wide variety of teas already there, and we kept so busy that they didn't get sampled. So I've been trying them one at a time now that I'm back home.  I like that they're a "Made in Michigan" product.

The first one I tried was Tucson Bold - it contains organic hibiscus, rose hips, lavender peppermint and stevia.  The steep time is 10-15 minutes for the fullest flavor.  The hibiscus makes the infusion a deep, ruby red color that's enjoyable either hot or iced.


The second one I tried was Moroccan Spice.  Of the two I've sampled this is my favorite so far. It also contains hibiscus and rose hips along with cinnamon, orange peel, lemon balm, and wood betony [all organic].  The steep time is five minutes longer, 15-20 minutes.  I think the spices in this blend help balance the tartness.  The infusion is a light red.


The company blends 13 different tisanes, and I have five more from Laura to try:  Evening Spa Blend, Mountain Green Blend, Brazilian Berry Blend, Pride of Africa Blend, and Dandelion Detox Blend.

Thanks for your thoughtfulness, Laura!  I wish I would have taken a picture of you at the Mad Hatter tea to share on my blog.  I will the next time we meet up.


5 comments:

  1. Very thoughtful of Laura to gift you with some teas to try and I'm glad she's reading your blog now too.
    I prefer a flavoured black tea and there are so many to choose from.

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  2. What a nice gift from Laura! Both of the flavors you featured today sound good to me, I will look for them next time I make it to Whole Foods.

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  3. I too am a fan of flavored black teas. My grandmother drank cup after cup of Lipton green tea every day - and lived to be 100. Her experience put in my mind that tea is a healthy drink!

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  4. Great product labeling for both!

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  5. How funny ... I looked at those Chartreuse tins and thought, "Didn't she have those in Kentucky?" I guess we pretty much had tea overload last week, not that I would have ever believed that possible!

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