Not too long ago, I started a series of posts about teas I have been drinking from a local tea house, Loose Leaf Tea Market. I’m a big fan of supporting local businesses, I’m a big fan of organic tea, and this place was both. I joined their affiliate program and shared a bit about some teas I’d liked.
The affiliate program has ended, but I still love their tea, so I’m taking the opportunity today to share teas I’ve had from there. None of the links are affiliate (right, because the program ended…) and all should open in a new tab, and I think if you’re looking for tea, you should check them out regardless. They’re located in Phoenix and do ship worldwide.
Oddly, I’ve never had a plain black tea from them. My palette doesn’t always discern well between varieties of the same, but I had Ceylon tea once, a type of black tea, and I liked it a lot. So if/when I buy black tea from them, I’m going to try their Ceylon.
We did order a canister of Go Chai, black tea with spices. Not one I would recommend, and this is why (in my opinion): the spices need to steep longer than the tea. So my first cup, the tea was brewed well but the spice didn’t really come through. My second cup, the tea was bitter but the spices came through. I made a small batch of sun tea with it to see if that worked, but it didn’t and I ended up using that to make ice cubes. I have over a dozen cups left in the canister, but when I make it again, I’ll expect that it’s black tea with a hint of something, not actually chai. (If you’re local and want to try it—now that I’ve given it such a great review—I’m happy to share.)
BUT! We subsequently bought a canister of Naked Chai, which is just the spices. I can mess with that in a variety of ways, and steeping spices for at least five minutes before adding the tea leaves has made for some pleasantly flavorful chai.
Moroccan Rose Mint green tea is the first tea I had from them—I received it as a gift—and I have drunk a lot of it. Tasty and not overwhelming. As I’m looking through the tea pantry while writing, I see we’re out of this tea. I probably didn’t order more because the tea pantry is otherwise full. Perhaps that needs to not matter…
We ordered a sample pack of green teas; Climbing Daddy drank most of them a while ago and doesn’t remember much about them, which is fair. I don’t remember much about most teas that I drank more than a day or two ago, and even then, unless I’m being very particular about noticing it, I can’t give you more than “it was good” or “we need to buy more of this.”
The samplers are great. I love getting just enough for a mug or two so I don’t have to buy a large quantity and then be stuck with it if I don’t like it. Besides the samplers, all (I think) of their teas have samples available as one of the purchasing options. And whenever we’ve bought a couple of canisters, they’ve always thrown in a few sample packets of other teas as well.
That’s how I came to try Sleek & Slender, which I’ve now bought several times. I don’t think drinking this tea is going to do anything in the realms of either sleek or slender, but it’s tasty and is what I’m drinking today as I write.
Climbing Daddy bought a canister of Nick’s Coffee Quitter. He said it’s strong and tasty, but it’s not coffee. Our conversation was entertaining and led to this summary: it’s like a really good-quality bean burger, but it’s not an Impossible Burger. (“Nick’s” doesn’t appear to be part of the name any more.)
Two other teas I tried from samples and love are Daily Calm and Hug in a Mug. Neither is caffeinated, so they’re perfect for the afternoon, or for any time of day, if you’re not looking for a caffeine hit in the morning. Rocket Kid likes Hug in a Mug and calls it “a party in my mouth!” It’s definitely more in your face than Daily Calm, but I feel like that should be the order of operations there. We have canisters of both in our tea pantry.
As we try the samples, we keep the envelopes of the teas we really liked in a clip on the side of the fridge. If we need to order more tea and aren’t sure what we’re going to pick up, we consult the packet clip. Right now in the clip are three I’ve mentioned already (Sleek & Slender, Hug in a Mug, Daily Calm) and three others: Jasmine Green, Ultra Violet, and Anxiety Relief.
We have seven samples still waiting to be tried, but I think I’ll wait until the tea pantry is run down a bit before trying them. I’m certain there are at least one or two that will get added to the rotation. The only one I distinctly remember not liking was a holiday peppermint something or other, only sold seasonally. I was excited to get a sample because it looked so good but it wasn’t. I didn’t even finish the mug. Otherwise, everything has been at least good enough to finish the mug.
As a general rule, I avoid natural flavors in my foods, so there are some teas that I did drink the sample but I won’t buy larger quantities, even if it’s delicious, because flavors were added. I don’t know many people who follow this rule, so you are likely not confined in the same way.
Even with some delicious teas eliminated, there are still more than I can drink, so maybe that’s just a helpful sorting tool!
If you’re looking for tea, give one of these a try, or one of the dozens of others you’ll find on their website. You’re unlikely to be disappointed.