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Tea provided for review

Around a month ago, I tried three tisane blends from Urbal Tea. I had their Lemon Spearmint Energy, Kiwi Strawberry Energy, and Good Sport. Therefore, this will be part two, with three more tisane blends!

Like last time, I do have a short laundry list before we dive into the review:

1. 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.” However, I review teas based on taste, not health or wellness claims from the company.
2. Last time I reviewed Urbal Tea blends, I steeped the tisanes for 15 minutes each because there were some discrepancies between the labels and the website. I found the blends a bit too tart for my liking. Nick kindly replied on my Instagram and mentioned that longer steep times lend to stronger tastes. Therefore, this time around I adjusted the steep times to 5 minutes instead.

Now that everything is cleared up, let’s go try some tisanes! It just so happens that the names of the blends tell a story, so we will go from work/school to finishing dinner, and then sleep!

 

Brain Booster

Description: “This tea wakes you up and heightens your mental function and alertness.”

Review: I have to admit, there are a few ingredients that I haven’t ever tried before in this blend. Therefore, when I smelled the dry blend, it smelled mostly of berries, with a hint of hibiscus. However, the aroma leaned more toward grape juice after steeping.

Over the years, I’ve had my fair share of hibiscus in my blends (I’ve even tried it plain once!). Sometimes, I find it overly sweet and that it overpowers the other flavours, and then other times, it adds the perfect touch of tartness. That being said, one thing that always happens is how the flowers will change the liquor into a dark purple-red and this was no exception.

As I mentioned earlier, I haven’t had all of these ingredients, so the liquor tasted mostly of hibiscus. Even after steeping it for only 5 minutes, it was still on the tart side for me. I have a feeling the blend might taste better chilled (2/5 rating).

• Type: Herbal tea
• Origin: Unknown
• Caffeine: Caffeine-free
• Ingredients: Gotu kola, peppermint, ginkgo, rosemary, sage, eleuthero, parsley, lemon balm, elderberry, hibiscus flower, apple pieces, blueberries, currants, cornflower, natural flavors, raisins
• Company: Urbal Tea

 

After Dinner

Description: “Unwind after a meal with the sweetness of peppermint, the bite of ginger, the airiness of fennel and a sweet licorice root finish.”

Review: Being a ginger fan (especially in my teas), I was happy to see it as the first ingredient.  When I see ginger on the list, I expect a strong kick, which I understand may not be for everyone.

The dry blend had a strong ginger smell, so it already seemed promising. It became more earthy and herbal when wet. The liquor was a light greenish-yellow. It had a very strong herbal taste with some earthiness.

It also tasted rather sweet and reminded me of corn water! If you’ve never had corn water before, I recommend it, especially if it has chilled in the fridge. I find chilled corn water very refreshing and cooling.

I know some people like to drink something after dinner to unwind. I could understand the name of the blend. As for me, I was hoping for a stronger ginger taste (2/5 rating).

• Type: Herbal tea
• Origin: Unknown
• Caffeine: Caffeine-free
• Ingredients: Ginger root, raspberry leaf, peppermint leaf, rosemary, nettle leaf, fennel seed, licorice root, orange peel
• Company: Urbal Tea

 

Sleep Tight

Description:  “A soothing blend of herbs with a pleasant taste and aroma, that will help you fall asleep.”

Review: In the past, I have personally found that chamomile relaxed me before bed. Therefore, I could see how this would help with falling asleep. The blend had an overwhelming chamomile smell when dry and was much more herbal like after steeping.

The liquor was actually a dark yellow but slightly murky. I think the big takeaway for this blend is that if you are not a fan of chamomile, you will not like this one. I did get a hint of lavender at the tail end. This would be a nice blend for someone who enjoys chamomile, both in smell and in flavour (2/5 rating).

• Type: Herbal tea
• Origin: Unknown
• Caffeine: Caffeine-free
• Ingredients: Catnip, passionflower, skullcap, oatstraw, valerian root, hops, chamomile, lavender
• Company: Urbal Tea

 

Final Thoughts

I think these are blends that may need a bit of fiddling with steep times. Since the range is so large, there is a significant difference between 5 to 20 minutes, which directly affects how it tastes. I can see that going two ways:

1. It gives you a lot of variation, and the ingredients have quite the flavour. I’ve tried blends or teas before in the past where there wasn’t (to me personally) a large noticeable difference between steeping for a short or long period of time.
2. It can take longer than the normal to find out what works for you regarding how long to steep it. For example, I know that when I steep green teas, I tend to steep on the lower end of the recommended time, because I find that green teas can become bitter quickly, and I am not a fan of very bitter teas.

That being said, the ingredients list for these blends are very long and there are a few I haven’t tried before. I also can’t speak to the wellness or health claims. I found that the tisanes tended to taste more ‘herb-ish’ to me, so if that is a taste you like, this may be something to consider!