Friday, July 18, 2014

Review: Tea Sparrow Subscription Box



I love tea. Drinking tea is simultaneously a very personal experience and a social one. The brewing of the perfect cuppa is something that the tea enthusiast takes very seriously and everyone will tell you that "their" brew is best. Brew a pot of tea to calm your nerves, awaken your spirit, warm your body, cool your temper. Brew a pot of tea in times of sorrow and in celebration. If you aren't a tea drinker, I suggest you give it a try. I'm guessing you'll find that the process of discovering tea will lead you to a love for it.

The wonderful people of Tea Sparrow love tea. They have turned their passion into a shared experience. Providing a monthly subscription box of teas and herbal brews from around the world.

Each box is personally curated by one of their tea experts. They peruse various tea blenders, looking for exciting loose leaf teas to add to their monthly collections.

Each collection includes 4 pouches of loose leaf tea and herbal blends. Your monthly box will cost only $20 and that includes shipping and tax for Canada and the Continental US.

Loose leaf tea is a labor of love. It requires more care and attention than simply plopping a bag in a mug and sloshing hot water over it. Various tools are required to brew a pot of loose leaf tea and each tea blend has its own requirements to produce the perfect cuppa. Tea Sparrow has taken the time to include detailed instructions on how to handle each unique blend.


My monthly box featured the following four teas:

Red Rose Rooibos- An herbal rooibos blend with linden blossoms, rose petals, orange bits and lemon bits.

Treasures of Japan: A caffeinated green tea blended with Sencha, Bencha, GenMai, Cha, Kukicha, Gyokuru (these are all various preperations of green tea) strawberry pieces and red currents.

Passion Peach: A caffeinated black tea blended with peach pieces and natural flavors.

Spring Kiss: An herbal tea with lemongrass, peppermint, raspberry leaf, cardamom, licorice cornflowers and rose flowers.



Each box of Tea Sparrow teas will contain a different collection, so rather than go into great detail about what I received I thought I might go into a bit of information about the types of tea and their differences.

All true tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant and the variations on tea come from how the tea leaves were picked and prepared. There are six primary types of tea; Green, Yellow, White, Black, Oolong and Post-fermented.

Herbal "teas" are blends of flowers, dried fruits and spices and are not true teas but have adopted the name tea due to the process of pouring heated water over dried leaves. Rooibos tea (pronounced Roy-boss) is an herbal tea that comes from the Calicotome villosa plant from the Western Cape region of South Africa.

I am traditionally a black tea gal. I love a good strong cup of Earl Grey with a little sugar and just the slightest splash of milk. That being said, I wasn't a fan of the Passion Peach black tea in my Tea Sparrow box. I can't quite place it and I'm sure others would love it,  but it wasn't for me.

I did however, really enjoy the Spring Kiss. It had a cool, calming flavor that was perfect for just before bed time.

Treasures of Japan was my second favorite. It had a very fruity, tart flavor and a nice kick of caffeine. Its a great breakfast tea or mid afternoon pick-me-up.

The Red Rose Rooibos is a great after dinner tea. Rooibos is naturally caffeine free and has wonderful digestive properties.

A Tea Sparrow subscription box would be a wonderful way to introduce yourself to the world of tea. You can sign up for your very own subscription at www.teasparrow.com or visit their Facebook page to find out more!




Shared with;
~ Anything Goes, Fabulous Finds Linky Party, Freedom Fridays, Friday Favorites, Fridays Unfolded, Handmade Hangout, The Party Bunch, Shabbilicious Friday, Weekend Re-Treat
~ My Favorite Things Saturday, No-Rules Weekend, Say G'Day Saturday, Serenity Saturday, Show & Tell Saturday, Super Saturday, Weekend Re-Treat.
~ Creative Style, DIY Sunday Showcase, Sunday Showoff.
~ Making Your Home Sing Monday, Meandering Monday, Mommy Monday, Monday Funday.
~ Anti-Procrastination Tuesday, Be Inspired, Handmade Tuesdays, Healthy Tuesday, Knick of Time Tuesday.
~ Cast Party Wednesday, Homemaking Party, Link Up What You Think Up, Moonlight & Mason Jars, Wake Up Wednesday, What's It Wednesday, What We Accomplished Wednesday, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Whimsy Wednesday, Wonderfully Creative Wednesday, Work It Wednesday, Works For Me Wednesday, Your Whims Wednesday.
~ Fabulously Frugal Thursday, Home and Garden Thursday, It's a Party, Thrifty Thursday.
   
                 

6 comments:

  1. Both the Red Rose Roobios and the Spring Kiss sound really good to me!

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  2. I'm not huge on tea, but the roobios does sounds great!

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  3. I'm a big tea drinker, and this box looks really lovely!

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  4. I have become a tea junkie and this subscription box looks really cool. It would be nice to get different flavors to try new things instead of just sticking with one flavor.

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