That’s right once again Mother Nature has NO IDEA what she wants to do here in the Northeast. Rainy and freezing one day, and high in the mid 70′s the next. Make up your mind woman, my sinuses can’t take much more of this. That and everyone and their brother seems to have something be it cold, strep throat, or something in between the two. I have this to say about that: KEEP IT TO YOURSELF!!
Huh?
So there I was sitting in the tea shop just this morning looking through the three samples I had brought with me from WTE - trying to figure out which to review. When it hit me like a cold gust of wind (turns out someone left the back windows open). The answer was almost staring me in the face in the form of a blend from Tiesta Tea.
Now before I go on a little about Tiesta Tea. I met these guys at World Tea East and I have to say they were a lot of fun. Young and fresh faces here in the tea world.
One of their handouts from the event read:
“Reinventing the world of tea with style & taste”
They are relatively new to the tea world (founded in 2010), they were still in college when the company formed! BUT these guys know where they want to go with their company and it would appear the sky’s the limit. They’ve already been awarded as a World Tea Expo Champion for 2011 for their innovative tea packaging tins. These tins have a thin UV window down the side so you can see your tea and of course see how much tea you have left to enjoy. I think that some amazing progress for such a young company.
Tiesta Tea Founders - Photo Thanks to Nicole (AmazonV)
I got the chance to speak to Dan Klein a bit about the product and I could tell from chatting with him (for the little time we had) that he was passionate about the product he was selling. This wasn’t just some job for him. I must also tell you all that it wasn’t until I took a look at my collection of business cards later that I realized Dan is also the CEO of Tiesta, sorry for not noticing that sooner Dan!
I went back to their booth on day two of WTE with Nicole and we had the chance to talk to talk to Patrick Tannous another founder of Tiesta Tea. He was really fun to chat with and up on his social networking – before we knew it Tiesta Tea was following us and we were following them.
But from what I know of how the younger generations communicate that’s how to have to be to get ahead in any business. Social Networking (Facebook, twitter, etc) is key and these guys really know how to put it to good use.
The company offers five of what they call (on their site) Karma Blends: Energizer, Forever Young, Immunity, Relaxer, and Slenderizer and each blend has at minimum 10 types of tea within that Karma Blend. Each of these blends are aimed at helping your body in one area or another.
So this morning I’m trying out one from the Immunity Karma Blend. Teas from the Immunity blends:
“Help your body recover from excess physical exertion and eliminate many of the toxins in your body.”
The sample I have is their Red Rose Rooibos a combination of rooibos, linden blossoms, rose petals, orange bits, and lemon bits.
Let me tell you the citrus was very predominant upon opening the pouch. So much so that I had to actually set it down and take a step back. That’s not to say I didn’t like the tea, it just really made me sit up and take notice of it.
As the tea steeped I took a few more sniffs to see what I would get this time. Well, I couldn’t place what it was, so I’m guessing the linden blossoms. But seeing as I’m not still clear on what it is linden blossoms are/taste like, I can’t say. Moving on, the first sip is in a word, interesting. I can’t pick out any one flavor in this tea which isn’t a bad thing at all. In fact it tells me the flavors all play nice with one another without one vying for my attention over the others. As I finish the cup I’m picking up a sweeter flavor which might be the rose petals or I might be way off base.
Tiesta Products (Photo thanks to Nicole (AmazonV)
I had just enough for a second cup. This time I added in a little agave to see what it would do to the tea, if anything. Let me tell you a little kicked this tea up a notch in a big way. For me it seemed to amp up the flavors quite a bit and they really came alive. This time around I am noticing more of the rose petals, but it’s not really coming out on top. It just seems to be there with the occasional “hey here I am”.
Rating: 75/100 – I might pick some of this up at the start of cold and flu season. But it isn’t one I would have on hand all the time. Not because it was bad, I just seem to be moving away from having flavored tea all the time. So rather than let it go bad I’d buy it to have in the season I’d use it most in (and use it up).
Where to buy: Tiesta Tea and in stores in and around the Chicago, IL area.
Cost: 2oz bag $6.00, 4oz bag $10, and 4oz tin $13
These guys are a company to watch and if you see something you like place an order from them.
And yes I placed an order this evening.
Cold Weather: Good excuse to order tea
Hot Weather : Good excuse to order tea
A large box of tea has just arrived. I must pop in and explain to Lady Devotea that I had to order it due to the mild spring we are having.
Yes, that must be why I order so much tea…it’s the seasons!
@thedevotea: you forgot to add other weathers
Rainy Weather: good excuse to order tea
Windy Weather: good excuse to order tea
Snowy Weather: good excuse to order tea.
Every excuse is good to order tea.
There’s actually some evidence that rooibos, beyond just being good for the immune system in a general sense, actually helps improve breathing, which would be another reason to drink rooibos or blends containing it if you have a cold. If you’re a skeptic, check the sources on RateTea’s page on rooibos, particularly, this study.
And lemon may also not just be a flavor…some of the chemicals that impart the lemon aroma have been shown to have anti-viral activity, including against human viruses (although the cold and flu viruses have not been studied in this context yet).
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