fruity teas

Tea Time at Reverie: Plum Deluxe’s Self Care Herbal Tea Blend

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I love it when I find tea companies that impress me so much, I know I’ll be a paying customer in the future. Plum Deluxe has become one of those companies, and partly due to today’s sample. Check out my review of their scrumptious Self-Care Herbal Blend at A Bibliophile’s Reverie!

Also, as I announced back in May, this is my final Time Time for ABR. Thanks again for reading and sharing these reviews, and for talking tea with me there for the past 2 years!

A Bibliophile's Reverie

plumdeluxe_logo_straptea

Our final sample from Plum Deluxe is the Self-Care Blend, an herbal tisane that caught my eye for two reasons. First, how can you go wrong with a name like that for a tea? Everyone needs a reminder to slow down and take care of themselves, and tea serves as a good reminder of this. Second, this unique herbal blend features apricots and elderberries, two fruits that are known for their healing properties. It’s an intriguing combination – in fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen apricots or elderberries paired together before, in tea or in food. So, I’m very curious how they’ll brew up together.

Let’s have a cup or two of Self-Care together and see what it’s like, shall we? 😉

The Basics

self-care-square-477x477 Photo courtesy of Plum Deluxe

Bingley’s Description:“A curious pairing of elderberry (tart) and apricot (sweet), this all-organic tea has mellow flavors and…

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Tea Time at Reverie: Tea Maineia’s Peach Apricot Black Tea

/ saraletourneau / 4 Comments

Just in time for the warmer weather, here’s a deliciously fruity black tea that’s wonderful either hot or iced. Check out my review of Tea Maineia’s Peach Apricot Black Tea (and the book pairings I recommend for it) at A Bibliophile’s Reverie!

A Bibliophile's Reverie

Tea Maineia logo

Sometimes the best advice for choosing tea is, “Follow your nose.” In other words, if you like the way a tea smells, you’ll most likely enjoy its taste, too. That principle was a big reason – no, THE big reason – why I bought a packet of Peach Apricot Black Tea from Tea Maineia during my visit last fall. I’ve had several cups of this fruit-packed black tea since then, and I’m thrilled to say… well, you’ll have to read on to find that out.

The Basics

Tea Maineia Peach Apricot Photo courtesy of Tea Maineia

Tea Maineia’s Description:“A tasty combination of mellow peaches and deep full flavored apricots are blended into this classic Ceylon tea.”

Ingredients: Ceylon black tea, papaya pieces, peach pieces, apricot pieces, blackberry leaves, sunflower petals, calendula petals, and natural flavors

Steeping Instructions: Use 1½ teaspoons of tea for every 8 oz of water. Heat water to nearly…

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Tea Time at Reverie: Longbourn Wedding Tea from Bingley’s Teas

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Happy first day of spring, everyone! How about we celebrate the start of a beautiful season with a tea of promise – a wedding tea? In fact, Longbourn Wedding might be my new favorite from Bingley’s Teas. Check out today’s Tea Time at A Bibliophile’s Reverie to find out why this sparkling white tea is so delicious.

A Bibliophile's Reverie

Bingleys logo

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”

Ah, marriage. It’s the revolving point of Pride and Prejudice. Many of the unmarried characters in the story, including men like Mr. Darcy, feel some kind of social pressure to make that ultimate commitment. Plus, everyone in the Bennet family has different reasons behind their marriage choices, from lust and convenience (Mr. and Mrs. Bennet) to love (Jane Bennet) and mutual trust (Elizabeth Bennet). But in the end, Lizzie and Jane become engaged to their ideal partners – which means it’s time for not one wedding, but two!

So, how do we celebrate such a special event here at Tea Time? With tea, of course! This brings us to our next sample from Bingley’s Teas. Named after the Bennet family’s estate,

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Tea Time at Reverie: Tea Maineia’s Cold Comfort Herbal Blend

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Today’s Tea Time comes courtesy of the Maine-based tea shop Tea Maineia, as well as my first head cold of the winter. (No worries, I’m feeling much better now!) But really, it’s funny how your health or frame of mind dictates the kinds of tea you crave. In this case, I tried Tea Maineia’s Cold Comfort, a blend of green tea, fruit, and herbs known for their healing properties. Read more of my thoughts on it at A Bibliophile’s Reverie. 🙂

A Bibliophile's Reverie

Tea Maineia logo

During a recent trip to Maine, I visited Tea Maineia in Winterport, about 25 minutes south of Bangor. What a charming place! Not only does Tea Maineia carry a wide variety of teas (black, oolong, green, white, and herbal / rooibos), but it also sells teapots, mugs, and locally made condiments and other foods that pair well with tea. It also has a bright, welcoming environment inside, and the owner is friendly and wonderfully knowledgeable. If you’re ever in the Bangor area, I highly recommend checking out Tea Maineia!

And of course I couldn’t leave without purchasing some tea. 😉 So, for today’s Tea Time, we’ll cover one of Tea Maineia’s several herbal tisanes. Cold Comfort blends green and rooibos teas with fruit and herbs often used for alleviating symptoms of the common cold. How does this unique infusion brew up? And did I find it comforting during a recent head cold?…

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Tea Time at Reverie: Sanctuary T’s Spring Harvest Green Tea

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Are you as weary of winter as I am? Then here’s a fruity green/white tea blend that will remind you of spring! Aptly called Spring Harvest, this bouquet from Sanctuary T combines Japanese sencha with delicate white tea and tropical fruits for a crisp, sweet cup that blooms like the first flowers of April. Read my complete review of Sanctuary T’s Spring Harvest – and find out which books I paired with it – at A Bibliophile’s Reverie!

A Bibliophile's Reverie

I’ve had enough of winter. It’s only the first week of February, but after a January full of bitter cold and slushy roads – and then being buried under 3+ feet of snow within the past 2 weeks – I’m already counting down to spring. If I just close my eyes, I can already feel warmer temperatures, see new leaves on the trees, and smell the fresh flowers and the sweet dampness of earth after a rainstorm. Of course, that’s all in my imagination.

Sanctuary T logoChasing away the winter blues was my priority for this Tea Time. Luckily, Sanctuary T has a remedy in the form of tea: Spring Harvest, a blend of green and white teas with passionfruit flavoring. Turns out it was a rather delectable choice!

The Basics

Sanctuary T Spring Harvest loose Photo courtesy of Sanctuary T

Sanctuary T’s Description:“It may be raining outside, but that doesn’t mean you can’t relax like…

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Tea Time at Reverie: Marianne’s Wild Abandon from Bingley’s Teas

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Completely forgot that I could actually reblog my tea reviews from A Bibliophile’s Reverie! So, going forward, I’ll share future Tea Time At Reverie articles here for your convenience. This one was posted about a week ago, and features a delectable black-green tea blend inspired by one of Jane Austen’s characters from “Sense and Sensibility.” Here’s Marianne’s Wild Abandon from Bingley’s Teas!

A Bibliophile's Reverie

We’ve been fortunate to receive samples from a number of teasellers since Tea Time At Reverie debuted in June. While we offer equal amounts of gratitude and enthusiasm to each vendor, we’re super-excited that some of our future reviews will cover select teas from Bingley’s Tea’s Jane Austen Tea Series! What better way to connect Tea Time to A Bibliophile’s Reverie’s main purpose as a book review and literary discussion blog than to talk about teas inspired by Jane Austen’s novels?

Bingleys logo

Our first Bingley’s Tea review is based on one of Austen’s most memorable leading ladies. Marianne Dashwood, the middle sister of the Dashwood family, embodies the “sensibility” of Sense and Sensibility. She’s spirited, spontaneous, and hopelessly romantic. A tea named after Marianne would have to reflect her dramatic character. Enter Marianne’s Wild Abandon, a black-and-green tea blend that captures the personality and – of course! – sensibility of…

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