Hiatus

Hey all!

I'm going to be taking a hiatus for a while. I'm very scatter brained right now, and just feeling a little overwhelmed with everything I need to be doing with life.   Add that to feeling a little burnt out, I just need some recovery time for me to focus on getting my life a little more organized.

I may still post some stuff, but there probably won't be any tea reviews for a few weeks at least.

Thank you for your love and patience

-L

Shirley Temple

I'm trying this one with my amazing cousin!

It's fucking fantastic there are like no words. With about 4ish tbsp of honey, and 50 grams and like 7 cups of water it is so amazing you have no idea. It's like true blue fruit punch, without any sort of juice or soda added.

(I typed up something huge, but my computer deleted it so fuck that)

Electric Lemonade

I made electric lemonade and it was great! My friend Fiona came over and she liked the plain lemonade more so than I did.

I used almost 50g to 5 cups of water, then added about another 2-3 cups of water once I put it in the fridge. I also added 3 tbsp of sugar.

To me, that wasn't sweet enough. But once I added some white cranberry juice, it was once of the best things ever. Sweet and tart, but not bitter. I was also 10000% upset that it wasn't electric pink, but hey. Can't win everything!

7/10 would do again!

Up next, shirley
temple!
-L

#bad at time managment

Okay so, this weekend I got too busy with wedding prep stuff. So I really didn't type up the post I prepared.

So I'm making it today, and posting it Tuesday.

Have pictures of my dog to soothe you.

Hiatus - Kayla

All posts from Kayla will be on hold until further notice.

I have some very important family matters going on and until I am back in the right frame of mind, I am giving myself a break from tea updates.
I do not know when this will be.

My apologies.


~Kayla

Huckleberry Tea (type 2)

So this is the second type of huckleberry tea I've gotten, and I think it may be better than the first one I tried. It's more huckleberry and less tea. It's actually one I want to try sweetened and iced. I would have today, but it's been cold. And I really don't want to drink cold tea when it's been cold and raining.

But, mostly I've been obsessing and spending time with my new puppy! Her name is Honey and she's perfect in every way.

-L

28 Day FitDetoxTea - Intro (it's super long)

So, I decided -out of boredom and slight desperation- that I would give one of those "detox" teas a go.
But not for what you might think!!!

I chose FitDetox because, while their ad work is misogynistic bullshit pictures of sexualised women showing of their hot bodies (which they most certainly did not obtain by just drinking tea, but nevertheless make you feel like a fat piece of shit - but I digress), they don't really seem to bullshit, it's "100% organic", and there are no laxatives.

It's a two-tea system. With a Morning Detox, and a Bedtime Cleanse.
All about helping your body do its natural detox. (detoxing just means pooping/peeing - the only way to actually detox) And they are quite honest about it. You need to DIET and EXERCISE to lose weight.

Their claimed benefits:

• Suppresses Appetite
• Speeds Up Metabolism
• Improves Skin Health
• Increases Energy
• Reduces Bloating
• Clears Skin

As someone with IBS and hormone madness, those benefits seemed rather nice (read: OHGODSYESPLEASEGIVETHOSETHINGSTOMENOW)

Funny enough, GREEN TEA. GREEN TEA has been scientifically proven to aid in weighloss when you consume about 5-8 cups a day (which I will have tried a 14 day challenge of before this challenge)! But this tea doesn't contain any green tea - something I think would TOTALLY work for them.

It's all about the detox - cleanse that colon!

INGREDIENTS:

Detox Tea Ingredients:
Organic Fennel Seed, Organic Nettle Leaf, Marshmallow Leaf, Marshmallow Root,
Calendula Flower, Hawthorn Berries.

Cleanse Tea Ingredients:
Organic Peppermint Leaf, Organic Basil Leaf, Olive Leaf, Organic Fennel Seed,
Organic Nettle Leaf, Marshmallow Leaf


Pricing: It's is kind of expensive considering the simple ingredients... Even with the constantly marked down 28 day package from $64.95 down to $54.95, and the "today only" (not really-it's always there) extra 20% off. This is also in US dollars, so as a Canadian, I really didn't save a single damn dollar from the price I was looking at initially. (Whommp whomp)
But shipping is free! And I got my tea in 13 business days. Coming from Australia with free shipping, I didn't find it that bad.


IMPORTANT

My review will NOT be based on a weightloss regime. I will not be following the meal plan, I will not be following the exercise plan.
I am trying this tea to see if it will help with my awful digestion problems - NOT weightloss.
I want to share how it works and what it does for my DIGESTIVE HEALTH without changing anything about what I normally do.



Thanks very much for suffering through that incredible intro.
On Monday: DAY ONE OF FITDETOXTEA 28 DAY CHALLENGE

Stay tuned.


K

Whoooooops

Okay so I'm being bad.

I don't have a review for today. For at least more of a reason than I forgot! #stillembarassed #whyamiusinghashtags?

1) We're meeting our potential new puppy today (Monday), and out of excitement I slept like 4 hours Sunday night. So Monday is being spent being lazyish
2) I've been super busy with new house stuff, I still have laundry to fold and put away
3) I'm getting a cold
4) Wedding planning. Enough said

I'm sorry and promise to have a review for next week! It will still be summer teas, because I'm remaining in denial.

-L

Summer iced tea!

First post in the new house! Yay!

So I made an iced tea concoction, and have been adding it to everything, including drinking it plain. All of them were great.







It was amazing to mix with Okanagan Peach Cider (yay booze and fizz!), to mix with water (perfectly flavored water, with no added sugar!).

Not to mention it smelled amazing! I'll be doing more specific ones on each of the teas involved, so no worries!

 -L

Green Tea Challenge ON HOLD

I got a sinus infection this week...

Now I am on cortico-steroids after three days of anti-biotics... The steroids have a side effect of weight gain. And I am definitely feeling it. And it's for TWO WEEKS. ugh

So, until I am off of the drugs, I can't really get results I can trust from this...



But I WILL say. My skin has seen a HUUUUGE improvement. Cleared up my acne and less dryness in my skin.
So, that's a plus


Sorry for the inconvenience.

Organic Japanese Sencha

Let me preface by saying there is nothing wrong with this Japanese Sencha by DavidsTea.

It's just boring as hell. It's nice and earthy and enjoyable, but just kinda boring after trying, again, Tea at Seas green. I know, I know, they are different types of green. But the flavor on the Tea at Sea green was so much more complex and enjoyable, this one just pales in comparison.

So this particular green gets a 6/10, just because it pales in comparison to others.

-L

14 Day GREEN TEA WEIGHTLOSS?! Challenge - Day 1

It has been SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN (mmmm, gotta love that phrase) that green tea does aid weightloss!

As someone who has recently started to gain more weight than I ever have before (for no damn reason other than hormones... stupid hormones... getting old... grr) I figured I would put this to the test!

For the next fourteen days I will -attempt to- consume 6-7 cups (the scientifically determined amount from the study, which used extract in capsule form - but drinking tea is so much more pleasant) of green tea every day!!!


Tea of choice: Rose Congou Green from DavidsTea. Green tea from China with rosehips and rose petals.
Mostly because I have a TON of it (250 grams - no idea how that happened), but also because rosehips are super good for you and help with digestion!

I am going to make it cold in a big jug in the fridge for at home drinking, then take a bag to work every day (which I should get 2-4 cups out of) to drink hot. a little of each world.

My prediction: I will have to pee a lot... and might  lose some appearance of cellulite on my thighs/butt.


No before/after pictures until the end.

I will do a half way pint update next Friday!
Until then,

Happy steeping!
And wish me luck!

~K




Challenge begins tomorrow morning - AUGUST 14

Green Seduction

Oki Doki! Green Seduction from DavidsTea!

Let me tell you, I was NOT seduced by this tea. It smelled vaguely like pomegranates, if they weren't the freshest, and it was really quite bitter.

I brewed it as I would any green tea - a short steeping time and lower temperature, but it was still pretty blah and pretty bitter.

I think was it was missing was something to sweeten it, like some apples or something like that. Because it was just so... one noted and bitter.

Blaaaah. 3/10, would not do again.

-L

Red Velvet Cake

Red Velvet Cake from Davidstea was not one I expected to like to be honest.

But I really, really did. It smelled amazing right off the batt. Like cake batter, which for a tea saying it's cake, is a good sign.

I brewed it like a regular black tea, and it tasted almost exactly like it smelled. It just needed SLIGHTLY more sweetness, which could have been achieved by adding some vanilla agave (I can't find mine as I am packing up my room right now, and it's vanished among the disorganization. Hella ace idea to mass do reviews while moving!).

It scored a solid 7.5/10. Simply because it's a tea you'd need to be more in the mood for, and drinking hot tea on a hot day isn't always the most fun - and today is a hot day.

Would do again.

-L

Starbucks: Peach GreenTea Lemonade

I had a giftcard and some curiosity, so I thought I would give it a try!


My thoughts?
Pleasantly surprised.

The main flavour is actually green tea, which tastes like a pretty floral jasmine. And the peach and lemonade just mix with it super well.
I'm a slow drinker, but my "venti" was gone in the five minute drive home.

One downside? The tea tastes like it was slightly over-steeped (a bit bitter and burnt), but that is probably more of a random issue one would encounter depending on the barista who brewed that day.

I really like this drink.
The only reason it doesn't beat my number one cold drink (cool lime refresher) is because LIME!!!!
But it is a very strong second.


~K

Dragon Pearls

I'm not going to lie, I wasn't really in the mood for a really floral tea today. So I didn't enjoy Dragon Pearls by DavidsTea as much as I thought I would.

I brewed it as a green tea, and added only 8 pearls. I think next time I'll steep it longer, but put half as many pearls in.

If you love jasmine, you\ll adore this tea. Because it simply reeks of jasmine.

I enjoyed it, but in a more 'meh' sort of way. So I'll try it again another day, and then add an out of 10 rating, for now it's a massive ??/10.

-L

Electric Lemonade

Ingredients: Apple, green mate, apple pomace (pomace, citric acid), sweet blackberry leaves, blueberry, red currants, raspberry, strawberry, natural red currant, lemon and strawberry flavouring. 


First, I would like to say I made a huge mistake...
I thought, "Hey, I will make a whole jug of this so I can drink it in the morning for a nice boost!" not knowing it's strength.

I didn't make it strong enough.

You have to use about 50% more than you might for other teas, and REALLY let it steep.


Despite being weak, I like it.

It tastes like lemon and raspberry with mate.
It's good, I just need it to be way stronger.


Nothing special, but it's a really great addition to the boring DT mate collection. 

Buddha's Blend

I really enjoyed Buddha's Blend by DavidsTea, but not as much as I enjoy Three Wishes by DavidsTea (so long as it's not iced!).

They taste pretty similar, honestly. It's just a little less fruity, and little more like a green tea. So really, I have no complaints about this, save for maybe add something to amp up the fruit flavor???

#boringassreview

-L

(I took a picture but since I had to get a new phone because I broke my last one it somehow went missing)

Rooibos Chai

Okay I know what you're all thinking. I've reviewed this tea before as a sample!

Which is true. But I, in my silliness, did not prepare it as one should a chai tea. This time I did.

I used three full scoops of the loose leaf tea into a tea bag, plopped it into a double-boiler with milk, let it steep for quite a few minutes on medium. Added three sticks of honey (I would have preferred my agave, you need less of it, but the honey was on hand). Ran myself a nice bath, and then soaked for a bit with the lovely tea.

And man, is this lovely. If you find a regular chai to be too much, then this will be nice for you. It still has that chai flavor I personally love, but it's slightly more laid back and smooth.

10/10. Would steep again.

-L

Quangzhou Milk Oolong

Not gonna lie, I kinda don't like this tea. Like at all. Quangzhou Milk Oolong by DavidsTea is so blaaaahhh to me.

I steeped it as you would any oolong, did two flushes- even though the second flush was better, it wasn't as good as the Tea at Sea oolong I have. And just realized I've never reviewed it even though I adore it. That's going to have to happen!

The first flush was so blaaaah. I tasted basically no milk or honey, just some basic green tea flavors.

The second flush gave a bit more of the milky taste, but not by much.

3.5/10, no thanks on doing that again!

-L