As all of you know, I am a bit of a coffee freak. I love it. But sometimes, and with any good food or drink, you really need to mix it up and try something new and exciting. Low and behold, the loose leaf tea. I discovered a tiny shop at the mall the other day. Teavana. It looked trendy and hip, as if they hired all the people left over from the Apple store. I was skeptical but I also knew I wanted to try something new. Something that had more to offer than the stale Lipton bags looming in my work cafeteria.

I purchased a blend of Jasmin Dragon Phoenix Pearls Green Tea with Rooibos Tropica. The Jasmin green tea is a very young leaf “scented” with jasmine blossom over and over again (8x) and the rolled into pearls. As the pearls are infused, they unfold, releasing the aroma and flavor of jasmine. As for the Rooibos, or “red bush”, it is actually a part of the legume family and is known for their high levels of antioxidants and lack of caffeine. The rooibos I bought was a blend of Green and Red Rooibos, strawberry, peach, sunflower and cornflower petals, and orange peel. Let’s just say there was a lot going on in my cup that night.

The Jasmine was $12 for 2oz. The Rooibos was about $5. I needed a tin to keep them in so that was another six… It was a little steep for the whole thing, about $24.00, but the tin is reusable and the whole mix at 4oz should get me at least 30 cups of tea. I usually have my tea straight, but this tea was begging for just a hint of sugar or honey. I highly recommend getting some of this if you are interested.

For more information on Teavana’s teas, go to teavana.com. They also have a pretty cool app if you really want tea reference on hand at all times…