February’s Teas
We made it through January! This month we are sending you a delicious box with our own take on Valentine’s Day. Ditch the chocolate hearts this year for Tisano’s Cacao Tea! Made from the shells of the cacao beans, this tea is a fair-trade product that uses previously discarded shells to make a delicious, heart-warming chocolatey tea without all the calories that come with chocolate hearts and (yes, it’s coming) bunnies and eggs. Aromatica’s Walnut Green shocked us with its sweet, subtle flavours and delicate taste. It won first place in the 2011 North American Tea Championship, and we think you’ll see why. Make sure to carefully follow the brewing instructions to get all the flavour in the tea. Rishi’s Blueberry Rooibos, nicknamed ‘Crackberry’ in the tea industry, is one of our absolute favourite herbals! It’s incredible both iced and warm – drinking it too hot will deprive you of the refreshing fruity taste that will satisfy all you non-fruity tea drinkers, trust us! Lastly, Florapharm’s Apeldoorn’s, our 2nd top rated black tea from the 2014 Tea Sparrow Tea-Off, is such a warming, wintry and delicious black tea that stole the hearts of both co-founder Zeta Newis and my wife Ariella, and is among their absolute favourite teas. So curl up and enjoy! Spring is just around the corner.
Happy sipping,
Michael Menashy
Aromatica Tea’s Apeldoorn’s House Blend
Description: A perfect mellow and comforting black tea. Great for the morning or afternoon.
Ingredients: 2nd flush Assam black tea, ginger pieces, vanilla bean, and cinnamon.
Health Benefits: Most people don’t realize black tea comes with many of the similar health benefits as green tea, including reduced risk of stroke and heart disease, among many others. As well, black tea is said to increase energy, aid in digestive health and to promote healthy skin and hair. Black tea’s tannins are also great immunity-boosters.
Zeta, “Wow, a lovely surprise. Dessert, vanilla custard, apple spice black tea.”
Tisano Tea’s Organic Cacao Tea
Description: In the west we are only now discovering the antioxidant power and health benefits of Cacao – the bean that all chocolate is made from. Cacao contains over 300 compounds such as: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, fiber, iron, zinc, copper, calcium and magnesium. Our organic herbal tea is made from the delicate fibrous shell around the cacao bean.
Ingredients: Organic cacao bean shell
Health Benefits: We were so happy to discover this tea. It is unique, packed with flavour and boasts a long list of health benefits, including boosting energy and stamina, immune support and promoting a healthy heart.
Michael, “20 out of 10! Tisano has reinvented teas.”
Rishi Tea’s Organic Blueberry Rooibos
Description: African rooibos and real, wild blueberries in perfect balance provide tart, juicy and naturally sweet flavors that taste great hot or iced. Blueberry Rooibos is artfully hand blended in small batches using only 100% naturally caffeine-free botanicals and artisan herbal tea-blending techniques.
Ingredients: Organic Fair Trade Certified™ rooibos, Organic blueberries, Organic schizandra berries, Organic Fair Trade Certified™ hibiscus, natural flavors of blueberry and strawberry.
Health Benefits: This incredibly flavoured caffeine-free tea is growing quickly in popularity but did you know that it also contains high amounts of antioxidants? Although the antioxidants found in rooibos tea are different from those in green tea, they are still known to fight off free radicals in the body. Rooibos tea is also known to fight off cardiovascular disease, liver disease and lower blood pressure.
Jenny, “Blueberry Paradise. Sweet, iron berry, earthy, tart, goodness. This herbal tea has it all.”
Aromatica Tea’s Walnut Green Tea
Description: 1st place winner of the 2011 North American Tea Championship, this tea’s sweet nutty flavor is both smooth, simple and satisfying.
Ingredients: Chinese green tea, sencha, brittle, coconut rasps, candied pineapple bits, walnut pieces, flavour, almond pieces.
Health Benefits: By now, the health benefits of green tea have been well-established. Here are just a few of the reasons we love it so much: it’s been shown to fight cancer and heart disease, lower cholesterol, prevent diabetes and stroke and to fight infection. It’s tough to beat that!
Ariella, “Sweet, subtle flavours and delicate taste. Love it!”