The office supplies I received from Shoplet.com is a box of assorted organic teas by Numi Teas. The delicious flavours included are:
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| Berry Black is no longer available at Shoplet. |
What makes Numi Teas so special?
Most importantly: the ingredients. Numi Teas use quality ingredients to make their teas; blending USDA organic full leaf teas, fresh herbs, and real fruits, to achieve the flavor and wonderful taste you will find in their teas. This is unlike many teas that are blended with added oils and “natural and artificial flavors”. It’s nice to know some companies are still making their products with the highest quality and best care they can.
Even better than that, Numi Teas support and create partnerships with farmers (fair trade). And they are making effort to be environmentally friendly - Numi Tea cartons are made of 85% post-consumer waste, are recyclable, and the tea bags are made of biodegradable filter paper.
As someone who cannot consume a lot of caffeine (mostly because I’ll be bouncing off the walls and awake all night), I am thrilled that Numi Teas are labelled with a relative caffeine content: caffeine free, lower caffeine, medium caffeine, and higher caffeine. What a wonderful thing to add for we caffeine-sensitive folk! Plus, some people have no idea what the difference between a white tea and a black tea are, so this scale can be very helpful.
I tried out three flavors to begin with! And before I begin, let me say, I have learned from my experience with teas to ALWAYS pay attention to the brewing instructions. No, you cannot brew a black tea indefinitely like you can with a rooibos (well, you could, but it would taste very bitter). So for the following products, I was careful to follow the brewing instructions on the packet. I didn't add any sugar or milk either, so as not to change the tea's flavor.
Numi says, "Our organic Moroccan Mint, known as "nana mint," flourishes in North Africa. With a flavor as light and lively as a newly picked leaf, it has a sweet spearmint flavor that is refreshing and soothing any time of day."
When I opened the packet, I immediately got a strong smell of real mint. And then I inhaled the packet deeply (because I like to sniff things) and it was a wonderful, sinus-clearing mint. Brewed correctly, this tea produced a straight up mint taste. It is very clear from the flavor that there was nothing else added. It truly tastes like I plucked some spearmint leaves myself, and boiled them to make my own tea.
Likes
A nice, moderate mint tea - not strongly minty, and not so weak that you can't taste it. A great, breath-freshening, caffeine-free pick-me-up for the office.
Dislikes
Personally, I like mint blends (such as with peppermint and/or tarragon) so I found this tea to be a little too mild for my tastes.
“Egyptian chamomile blossoms with Australian lemon myrtle leaves for a sweet organic brew that imparts a lingering calmness with citrus murmurings.”
This tea smells just like chamomile when you open the packet! When I smelled it, I was thinking, "Okay. Time for bed." I associate chamomile teas with pre-bedtime and I always look forward to a nice, hot cup of soothing chamomile tea before sleep.
Likes
I do not expect a chamomile tea to be strong as it is a mild mix to begin with. This was my favorite tea of the three flavors I tried for this review. It is difficult to describe the taste of chamomile apart from "soothing" and "smooth", which is exactly what this tea is. There is also a faint citrus taste that makes the tea more crisp and exciting than just plain chamomile.
Dislikes
None!
Numi says, "We age organic Assam black tea with real Italian Bergamot for several weeks so the tea absorbs the orange scent. Enjoy a robust (flavorings-free) Earl Grey with subtle citrus notes."
This packet had the scent of earl grey indeed - black tea and Bergamot. I was actually expecting the tea to be an outstanding Earl Grey. I am a big fan of Earl Grey so I was really looking forward to trying this.
Likes
If you are not a big fan of strong teas, this may be a good choice for you. Especially if you have never really tried Earl Greys. The flavor is moderate - not overbearing or bitter.
Dislikes
This is a mild Earl Grey, to my tastes. One can certainly detect the Bergamot flavor in the tea but to me, a cup of Earl Grey should really smell like Earl Grey - filling the room with its wonderful, amazing scent. Unfortunately, I did not have this experience! I did not dislike the tea, but I prefer a stronger Earl Grey.
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| Moroccan Mint in a double-walled glass mug |
Price
Numi Organic Tea: Moroccan Mint $6.41/box (18 tea bags)
Numi Organic Tea: Chamomile Lemon $6.21/box (18 tea bags)
Numi Organic Tea: Aged Earl Grey $6.37/box (18 tea tea bags)
Overall
Numi Teas are a nice, mild set of teas to have for yourself, or to give as a gift to others (a classy, tasteful gift!). You can rest assured you are drinking premium ingredients and wonderful teas that are created with care.
To learn more about Numi’s wonderful practices, check out their site. You'll be glad you did! It's chock full of information (and even recipes!)
Full disclosure: These office supplies were sent for review by Shoplet. I was not paid to write this review, but I do get to keep these lovely products.
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12 comments:
Too bad I don't like herbal or floral tea, otherwise I would love to give them a try. Did you know in my immature youth days that I yelled at a renowned chef, who described my dad's tea as "floral." Little that I knew, floral does not always mean flowers added!
I would love to try your dad's teas!! I actually had no idea that floral teas don't necessarily have flowers! You are a fountain of knowledge!!
Can you take any caffeine at all? If you can tolerate a little bit, I can send you my dad's tea. To be honest, tea processing is similar to science and alchemy altogether. The floral aroma is brought out by the processing without additive. Floral tea with flowers tend to be of less quality (i.e. tea harvested in summer).
OK, I'll try some. My current favorite (herbal) is Tulsi's Lemon Ginger -- have gone through about 40 boxes over the last several years.
Oooooh!!! I just looked that up - that looks fantastic! I will have to try some out myself! Yum. The ingredients look yummy.
I'm telling you, you need to write that book about random knowledge! I had no idea and that's so cool! Especially as someone who enjoys tea, I think it's great to learn more about it. I can handle a little bit of caffeine but generally shouldn't... although I can make a 1/4 cup or something at a time :D
I think my random knowledge is all limited within certain fields.. it should be a book of cocktail conversation or ice breakers.
I have to say that Numi teas are a great product, unmatched by any other bagged tea that I am aware of. And if you enjoy their teas but have never entered the world of loose tea I suggest taking a trip to your local Teavanna retail store. It will bring a whole new light to tea drinking (and will break the bank if one is not careful). They really do have beautiful blends with whole dried berries and other fruits along with a multitude of other ingredients. Plus something you seem to be very particular about, minimal packaging being bulk product.
Great review for your blog and I thank you very kindly for sharing your thoughts with us. One topic I believe that should always be talked about with regards to tea drinking is the numerous health benefits different teas have to offer. It really is a good choice of beverage compared to almost any other option other than distilled water.
LOL! Oh you know me well. It's true, I am big on minimal packaging. But only because I figure, why waste resources on packaging?? I was reading through Numi's site and I really am impressed with their quality and care. I think part of the reason the flavors are milder is because they don't use artificial flavors. Either way, they are quite nice and I am happy to support a conscientious company.
Funny you mentioned Teavana - I picked up some teas there not too long ago (rooibos). I haven't really considered the health benefits but I drink sooo much tea so it has to be doing me some good. Oh, and thank you for your wonderful comment :) I'll have to do a "health" update soon... as lame as it will be...
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