Every so often, I come across brands that sound like they have unique blends, and Urbal Tea is one of them! I found the brand while scrolling through Tumblr, and Nick, the founder of Urbal Tea, offered to send me some samples to try. I will be trying 3 tisane blends today, and leaving 3 for another day!
I have a short laundry list I need to get out of the way before I start the review:
- Since Nick is a herbalist, his goal is “to promote the healing powers of tea and to educate anyone who is interested in experiencing this ancient form of healing.” While I love trying all types of teas and tisanes, I review teas based on taste, not health or wellness claims from the company.
- I like reading the website and the label to do some basic research about teas and blends that I’m about to try. There was a 5-minute difference for max steep times for the blends (ex. 15 mins on the label but 20 on the website). These discrepancies could have happened because I have had these tisanes for a while and the company changed the recommend steep times.
- As noted in the example above, the recommended steep times ranged from 5 to 15/20 minutes. The website noted the longer the brewing, the stronger the taste. Therefore, I steeped each tea for 15 minutes.
- For Kiwi Strawberry Energy and Good Sport, the label recommended using a tablespoon, so I did.
Now that all that is out of the way, let’s go try the tisanes!
Lemon Spearmint Energy
Description: “A full-bodied cup with herbal notes and fresh spearmint sweetness, this one is the perfect pick-me-up at any time of day.”
Review: When I opened the packaging, there was a lovely soothing spearmint aroma which was slightly earthy. However, the wet blend smelled more like lemongrass, which came through in the taste of the liquor. The yellow liquor also had a hint of earthiness. While it had stimulating ingredients, it carried a soothing and relaxing taste, as opposed to the sort of livelier tones that are more typical of stimulating teas (3/5 rating).
- Type: Mate tea
- Origin: Unknown
- Caffeine: Simulant
- Ingredients: Nettle, yerba mate, green mate, eleuthero, ginkgo, alfalfa leaf, spearmint, lemongrass, calendula, cornflower, sunflower, gynostemma, rosemary, cornflower and sunflower petals
- Company: Urbal Tea
Kiwi Strawberry Energy
Description: “A burst of strawberry and kiwi combined with the vitality and stimulating properties of mate, gynostemma, eleuthero and more.”
Review: When I smelled the dry blend, there was an unmistakable strawberry/berry aroma. After steeping, the liquor became a bright ruby-red (think fruit punch) and smelled like one. At first sip, the liquor was more tart and floral, but the strawberry taste came through the tail end. It was a bit tart for me, but I could see this making a nice iced tea because that may remove some of the tartness (2/5 rating).
- Type: Mate tea
- Origin: Unknown
- Caffeine: Simulant
- Ingredients: Nettle leaf, yerba mate, green mate, eleuthero, rosemary, ginkgo leaf, alfalfa leaf, gotu kola, gynostemma, oatstraw, apple pieces, dried strawberry and kiwi pieces, hibiscus, rosehip, natural flavors
- Company: Urbal Tea
Good Sport
Description: A blend to balance, replenish, adapt and improve recovery (specifically, the adrenal glands) after exercise and stress.
Review: Some of the ingredients in this blend are similar to Kiwi Strawberry Energy. However, the blend smelled more earthy, with a faint sweet fruity aroma. While the liquor was also a ruby-red, it wasn’t as vibrant or as tart as Kiwi Strawberry Energy. Rather, it had a mild medicinal taste to it. What I said about Kiwi Strawberry Energy also holds true here – this was a bit tart for me (2/5 rating).
- Type: Mate tea
- Origin: Unknown
- Caffeine: Simulant
- Ingredients: Strawberry, lemon, licorice root, borage, gotu kola, astragalus root, eleuthero, cat’s claw, hawthorn berry, goji berry, pau d arca, ashwaganda root, green mate, tulsi, wild yam root, apple, rosehip, orange pieces, hibiscus, calendula, and natural flavors
- Company: Urbal Tea
Final Thoughts
The dry blends had very enticing aromas, but Kiwi Strawberry Energy and Good Sport were a bit tart for my liking. Maybe I steeped them for too long? That being said, since none these had artificial flavouring, that is a plus for me. I have 3 more to try in the future, so look out for that!
Read my review of Urbal Tea’s Brain Booster, After Dinner, and Sleep Tight!
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