Trying Something New...
As an avid tea drinker for most of my life, I haven’t strayed very far from my basic black tea. I’ve occasionally gone for a chai tea or green tea, but even those are in the same family of black teas. In the past, I haven't particularly enjoyed herbal teas such as chamomile or peppermint teas. There’s just something so homey about a nice cup of black tea with cream and sugar, and I no herbal tea seemed like it could ever replace that perfect black tea flavor.
Unfortunately, the caffeine content in the black, green, and chai teas was not an idea characteristic for the teas to possess when I would consume them later in the evening. As a result, the caffeine would keep me awake later at night that I would like to be, thus making me more tired the next day. Since this has become more of an issue in college, I decided to give a new caffeine-free herbal tea a try: Honey Lavender by Yogi Teas.
I prepared the cup of tea as I would black tea, but omitted the cream. I followed the instructions on the package as well, only brewing it for about 5 minutes total. Upon smelling the cup of tea, it definitely smelled good (since I love the smell of lavender) and I was very excited to give it a try. After taking a sip, I was immediately shocked by how delicious the tea was. It was both sweet and aromatic, and definitely had a strong lavender essence. For a caffeine-free herbal tea, I was honestly very impressed. It had a more relaxed flavor, and wasn’t so intense that the flavor was overwhelming.
Generally speaking, I did enjoy this tea very much and therefore I plan to repurchase it in the future. It is so far the only herbal tea I like enough to drink on a regular basis. However, when compared to my usual black tea, it would still come in second place. As it is an herbal tea that milk shouldn't be added to, it lacks the creaminess that I love about my black teas. Despite this, it definitely serves its purpose as a caffeine-free tea that solves the problem I often encounter from drinking caffeinated teas too close to bedtime.
I would recommend this tea to anyone who is looking for a caffeine-free tea but often does not like herbal. It offers a unique blend of flavors that is both warming and relaxing. It is perfect for college students—fittingly so, it is marketed as a “Stress Relief” tea, perfect for getting through this finals week as relaxingly as possible!
