365 Days of Tea - Day 45: Simple Loose Leaf's Seven Seas Herbal.

Simple Loose Leaf is a monthly tea box subscription. Its $15/month but not only do you get 4-6 samples of various high quality teas, your ID can be used to buy more tea at half the price. I honestly think that's a pretty good deal. That is, if their products are actually good.

Pretty standard packaging. They are resealable, too. My only concern  is that they appear to be a little stiff, and I worry that they might break up the leaves a bit more than they should be. Generally I think that it's fine though.

It comes with these reusable muslin tea bags, which is pretty cool. I like the feel of them, but I'll admit that I haven't used them yet. I will use them in the future, I'm curious if it effects the tea's flavor.

It looks quite pretty. Bits of tea leaves, cinnamon chips, ginseng root, peppermint leaves, echinacea, sarsparilla root, and licorice root. This is called "Sevens Seas Herbal."

It carries mild peppermint aroma, but it is not alone. It has some sort of secret root-ness that lingers just for a moment, then quickly disappears. Its actually pretty interesting, its less of an aroma and more of an aromatic sensation.

This is where things get even more interesting. As the tea goes on to your pallet, it tastes pretty mild, pepperminty, with hints of rooibus tea. It isn't done yet though. There is a surprising sweetness, not quite licoricey, and not quite mentholy. It kind of lingers on the roof of your mouth as you swallow. It's definitely a flavor experience.

I really enjoyed Simple Loose Leaf's Seven Seas Herbal, and I can't wait to try the other few I have. I wish they would get different packaging, but the company is fairly new as well, so things will improve over time. Andrew Flocks, the person I am in contact with about the company, is a pretty nice guy, too, and that really says something. Not all my experiences with customer services were as easy as it was with him.

If you use "LFT50" while ordering your first box, you'll get an awesome discount.

Can be found @

Simple Loose Leaf DOT COM

365 Days of Tea - Day 8.

I was suppose to get one of my review tea boxes today at least according to the 3 days shipping and what the tracking said, but it hasn't move an inch since it was "sent". Oh well, hopefully I'll get it on Monday. I'll do an unboxing as soon as I get it though.

(Man, what a bad photograph - sorry!)

It seems like I have a lot of sweeter, less "pure tea" teas. Which is true, but it isn't entirely my fault. My girl friend more or less picked most of them when we were at teavana last. With this tea and a lot of the other teas that contain cinnamon - I would usually assume the cinnamon would be the strongest flavor and scent. I would also expect this to taste like apple pie. Hopefully not the kind from that one movie.

It looks like bark mulch. You can see a lot dried apple skins and cinnamon bits. I also realized it contains dried oranges as well. The rooibos tea itself is rather hidden in the rough, but its still there. It also feels very mulchy to the touch, but not sticky. You can see larger apple pieces in the back, too. That will probably add some natural sugar. I have high hopes for this tea.

 It brews a really deep red - it actually started to change colors right when I put the tea in. It really had a "apple red" glow. Its like a thin apple cider beer color. Typical 6 minute steeping time.

Smell - If you could take all those spices from your mom's most amazing apple pie, that is exactly the smell you'd get. You can smell cinnamon, but it isn't nearly as strong as the regular teas with cinnamon in it. Its quite a light cinnamon smell. It also mixes with a slight orange smell, and it all gently graces your nose. None of it is overwhelming at all, and its actually quite warming to the heart. Hop on the nostalgia train with this tea.

Taste - It is almost strange to me when a taste tastes sweet, but doesn't contain any unnatural sugar. This tea is unexpectedly sweet. It comes from the apple pieces so it isn't too overwhelming or teeth-hurttingly-sweet. Its a delightfully sweet. The cinnamon is actually a back note, to my surprise. Its a very subtle cinnamon flavor that you don't really notice right away. The base favor is definitely apple, with a tiny bit of sourness from the orange, but the sourness is complimented by the apple's natural sweetness.

Overall - If you miss mom's apple pie and for whatever reason have a desire to drink it instead of eating, I would highly recommend this tea. I can imagine myself drinking this tea on a cold night in the winter, and it would constantly remind me of the holidays. Its a good heart-warming tea, for even non-tea lovers to enjoy.

(3 out of 5 tea leaves.)

It's a seasonal tea - at this time it is not sold online.

365 Days of Tea - Day 3.

Day 3 begins. So when I pick the tea of the day, I decide completely at random. I take the teas I've already reviewed from my shelf and put them a side then just grab a tea tin and roll with it! I usually have no idea what I'm getting myself into but I think that is what makes this special. Though, I do not have 365 teas to select from, I will have to find the financial means to acquire them. I also like the idea of readers sending me samples of their favorite tea to review as well it'd be a nice surprise to see what other people like out there. At this time, though, my readership isn't substantial enough for that. 

(Random Stock Photo. Don't sue me.)

I wanted to talk a little bit about what I brew with. Its a pretty typical tumbler (I wonder if you can guess the brand. lol.) It has this metal strainer looking piece that you put the tea leaves in, and you can push this button down and sip right out of the top. Depending on the tea, I don't even remove the leaves from the tumbler. Some of the herbal teas are best like this. I also realize I have a lot of herbal teas. For my reviews, however, I stick to the instructions because that is how it is expected to be consumed. I try not to alter any of the tea in anyway, so I can get as much of the intend favor as I can. Ideally, I'd like to get Breville One-Touch Tea maker, but that is a little... out of my price range. Maybe I should make a gofundme? Haha 

I don't have the typical label photograph today. Sorry!

Apple Lemon Pomegranate Rooibos Tea is today's favor. Rooibos is actually a legume. I'm drinking bean tea. Delicious. Rooibos is from a small area in South Africa, and its fermented and oxidized. 

You can see that there is also lemon grass, and strawberries in here, too. I'm drinking a fruit salad. There also appears to be some flower petals, apple stems, and yellow-ish seed things. I can't really tell the difference between the lemon grass and the tea, but supposedly it is in there. Since this is a rooibus tea, and they are usually closely related to herbal teas, steeping time was 6 minutes. (As stated in the instructions)

Color/Smell - It has a very strong fruity smell. I can usually pin-point what each component is adding to the smell, but in this case, I can only slightly tell the difference between the lemon smell and the rest. Its a good scent though, at least I thought so. It doesn't really brew dark at all. Its a rather golden hue, even after 6 minutes. After brewing the smell is all but gone. Rather disappointing.

Taste - Rooibus tea leaves don't really carry a lot of favor, but that is why it is usually pared with other herbs, dried bits.I should probably try my own infusions someday. It carries a very sweet taste, but its light. The sweetness isn't there in full force right away though, it kind of rolls onto the tongue. The rest of the favor is mostly a light lemon taste. I don't notice any notes from the pomegranate, but it might be adding the general sweetness. Afterwards it kind of leaves a mild strawberry sourness it in's wake.

Overall - It is a pretty light tea, I was expecting a lot more favor considering the brew time and the amount of stuff involved. I would imagine if you brewed it all day in really hot water, then added some sugar, it would make really good ice tea. This is a tea I would probably drink in the morning, or when I have an upset stomach. It tends to be rather gentle on you. I did enjoy it, but its definitely not my favorite. Actually, you might even consider putting some of the raw tea in a loaf of bread, or scones. Or brew it really strong and use it in place of water.

(2 and a half out of 5. Mildly-Recommended.) 

Can be found here.

Its my girl friend's favorite tea, she might kill me for this.