Saje

Sipdown (282)

Nope. Not for me.

It’s sort of citrus but a lot of wood and herbal and not for me.

Hopefully I get a caffeine boost from it at least.

Thank you Roswell Strange for sharing! Always fun to try new things.

Sipped on this earlier in the week and it was a really refreshing change of pace from other teas I’d enjoyed recently – more fresh, natural and “clean” tasting with crisp and soothing citrus, woody eletheuro and a gentle grassy note from the yerba mate. Quite pleasant!

Had this one on the weekend!

I haven’t had it in a while because in my head I was remembering it as being rather unpleasant but I brewed up a cup on a whim and I was kind of surprised with how much I ended up liking the cup. I mean, it’s not something that I could drink all the time – but the flavour was less herbal/medicinal than what I was remembering. More of a very light and refreshing citrus note, with woody and sweet eleuthero undertones and a touch of grassiness. Very drinkable.

I’m beginning to feel super skeptical about the whole energy “boosting” powers of this tea. I made a cup of it at work near the end of my shift because I was mentally tapping out, and it didn’t really do anything for me… other than taste really strongly of ginseng.

Drank this one a few days ago when I was still feeling quite sick, but I apparently forgot to write about it. I’m still not feeling 100% better now, but a lot more than I was. Slowly but surely I’ll get there…

Thought process behind picking this one was that even if I couldn’t taste it well the energy boost I’d supposedly get from it would be beneficial. I don’t know that I did end up getting an energy boost – or at least it wasn’t noticeable to me. Who knows, maybe I’d have been even worse off had I not drank it? I did REALLY pick up on the sweetness of the eleuthero though; despite everything tasting weak/‘cloudy’ due to the sickness that sugary sweet note just really cut through the haze.

In a good way.

So the DT that I work at is RIGHT NEXT to a Saje, and our staff is actually quite good friends with the bulk of the employees there – we just shop at one another’s store quite often and the other keyholder at DT besides myself is married to one of the keyholders at Saje.

I mention this because the only reason I even went into the Saje in the first place during my lunch break was to say hi to some of the familiar faces working in the evening. I ended up walking out having bought a new oil for my diffuser though, and more tea. Damn it, self! We’re trying not to spend money on tea right now! I mean, I got a mall discount though – so it was cheaper tea? Yeah – that’s what I’m gonna tell myself to feel better about the impulse shopping.

Anyway – I brewed this up in the morning to try it out and I’m sipping on it slowly now out of a ‘tea for one’ pot. It’s actually sort of surprisingly good, considering the only ingredients are yerba mate, green tea, lemon balm, and eleuthero root. Flavour wise, it’s definitely got a very grassy/woody taste pretty indicative of the green tea in the blend; however there are lemon undertones from the lemon balm that add a nice soft/gentle fruitiness/citrus quality and the eleuthero does a great job sweetening the whole thing up to a point where the green tea is actually super tolerable. Eleuthero is sort of related to ginseng (often called Chinese Ginseng) and I’m definitely getting that sort of ginseng like sweetness from this infusion so I’m feeling that connection/relationship for sure.

Yeah – overall it’s like a mix of sweet grass/birch wood with very soft lemony undertones that’s fairly sweet just overall as well. Really natural tasting, and quite smooth! I don’t know that it’s the sort of flavour that I’d reach for often, but as a supposedly “high energy” blend I think it’s definitely doable for an early morning kind of thing when I might be feeling something more natural/somewhat light bodied in flavour instead of a sweeter/more overtly flavoured blend.

Last of the “ear infection” trio! This was mostly pure mint with a very small amount of a citrusy and spicy pepper undertone. I neglected this mug a little so most was drunk when it was cold, but it was still nice. Probably would have been more soothing/comforting and aromatic had I enjoyed it freshly steeped though.

Another “recovery period” tea – hot, with some turmeric infused honey.

I made this at like three or four in the morning; I remember because I simply couldn’t fall asleep because of the pain I was in. I’d slept for maybe two hours, broken up into 20 minute at a time chunks. I finally caved and made a cup of tea, because what else was I going to do!? This was soothing; this tea is almost always soothing – and the honey was nice on my throat, which was actually a bit sore/raw from all the crying I’d been doing.

Something must have clicked; I fell asleep for like an hour and a half after finishing the mug. It was the longest stretch of time I’d managed to stay asleep in about 36 hours. Definitely achieved some respite from the pain I’d been in, and this was a bit of a turning point for me into getting to a place of feeling somewhat normal again.

Something reliable and soothing/cooling to sip on post shower, just to stretch out that feeling of relaxation/stress release a little bit longer. Felt some chili heat in this cup, but only marginally. Love the lemon/mint balance.

A cup from last night, before bed.

I was still feeling very queasy, so I opted for some peppermint before bed in an attempt to feel a little bit better. It was a very smooth cup, with dominant peppermint and only a little of the crisp, sweet lemon notes. No chili spice in this cup. Still weirds me out a little how a blend with literally THREE ingredients can be so all over the place in terms of flavor representation…

Anyway; I wasn’t really feeling better at all by the time I went to bed, but thankfully I woke up today feeling just fine! So it all worked out in the end.

Home sick for the day.

Not entirely sure what I’m sick with but I just know that I feel all kinds of unwell. I’ve had this migraine since last afternoon that feels like my head is in a vice, and at the same time I haven’t been able to keep any food down because my stomach is so queasy. For good measure, I also having the most stuffed up nose. I feel like this giant… mess.

So, drinking a lot of this tea today. Lemon and peppermint just felt like the safest flavour options I could possibly through at whatever this thing is. Maybe it’s placebo, but I feel like it’s working just a bit…

So, I pulled this one out to drink because I was having headaches again and it’s a nice, herbal blend with a lot of mint that I find very soothing/relaxing (though not ‘detoxing’). The lemon in it was actually nice, and somewhat helpful too. Added just a hint of honey.

I’ve been watching a lot of RuPaul’s Drag Race lately though, so I’ll be honest the entire time I was drinking this cup I was also definitely humming this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrobLyMZ0Qw

Day two of being sick, and one of those really rare for me days where I only had a single cup of tea all day…

Very lemon mint heavy, with a little bit of honey added to it. Kind of reminded me of a milder version of DT’s Cold 911 – same sort of soothing/relaxing mint and herbal thing going on, for sure. Just sweeter, ‘cause lemon. I liked it though; it was a cup of tea that felt good. So that’s important! I did just leave my teabag in though so it got MIGHTY intense and you honestly couldn’t even tell there was honey in it because it was so mint heavy and strong.

This was my last tea of the day, yesterday.

I’ve had this a few times now where the chili has been either really present or really absent. While I enjoy the profile and simplicity of this one overall, I don’t love the inconsistency in flavour. I mean, it has three ingredients!? I should in theory be able to taste all of them, right? Last night, I really only tasted the peppermint and lemon myrtle again – but I half want to give this the benefit of the doubt too, since I’m sick and I think my ability to taste is probably only at like 70% its normal capacity right now…

Regardless, the tea did the thing I was wanting it to: it relaxed me, and had me out like a light not even ten minutes after finishing the mug.

Hot cup from yesterday, with a bit of honey added to it.

This was really heavy on the lemon myrtle this time around, with softer background notes of the peppermint leaf and chili flakes. I had picked it because I was having a bit of heartburn and I thought it might have been really soothing to sip at – I think that would have mostly been true were it not for the chili flakes. I could totally feel them in the back of my throat…

Also, I don’t think I dissolved the honey well because my last few sips were almost sickly sweet from honey which I imagine probably had just sunk to the bottom of the mug.

Another cup where the chili in the blend was weirdly absent…

While I’m not loving the lack of consistency with this tea, I do really enjoying the soothing combination of lemon myrtle and peppermint – especially as something to sip on late at night or before bed. It’s very, very relaxing. Detoxing? Doubtful – but totally relaxing.

Tag a long tea for a jaunt to the pet store; the stupid rat/guinea pig go through bedding like crazy. They’re not really stupid though; I love ‘em. They just make my room smell like hay and farts, and that’s annoying sometimes.

Here’s a cute, recent, picture of Eilert though!

https://scontent.fyto1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/18402887_10210327085587455_8893620876656087205_n.jpg?oh=649310a95747a7c5519484ae07ce3115&oe=5975C2B3

Anyway…

Last time I drank this I kind of complained that I couldn’t taste the chili in it at all, but the flavour definitely came through in this mug! I don’t know if it’s because I let this steep longer since we were driving to the pet store or if I just a better representation of flavour in the leaf I had scooped out of the tin. Also, a bit more lemon myrtle in this cup as well. Lemony peppermint with spicy chili finish…

Doesn’t sound great, but actually was pretty solid.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfYf6RIxZ3Y&index=1&list=WL

Story Time!

So, the mall which houses the DAVIDsTEA I work at has a lot of vacancies right now – but we recently filled one of those vacancies with a Saje! I don’t necessarily agree with all of the wellness claims/health benefits that Saje typically tends to market their products with, likely because I don’t believe in alternative medicine at all, but I still find a lot of their products really cool and I like the “aromatherapy” aspect of their brand.

So, Friday was their “Grand Opening” and I stopped in early in the morning on behalf of DAVIDsTEA to see if they would want a brewer worth of tea to sample out/give away to the people browsing the store since DT is allowed to sample out teas at special events and things like that. They very politely declined though since they sell their own tea and it would soft of be like competing against themselves. Totally makes sense – no hard feelings at all! It just wouldn’t make sense business wise.

I was, of course, curious about their tea though since I’d never seen it here on Steepster before or really heard mention of it. So on my break I went and checked everything out. My friend/coworker Kandyce’s fiance Seth is actually working at Saje so he showed me a few of the different teas, and I picked this one out – not because I believe in Detox teas at all or really any of the “wellness effects” of this blend but because I thought that of all the teas that they were selling this was the one that sounded most unique and appealing taste wise.

So, when I went up to buy it that guy at the counter was one of the people who had been in earlier in the day when I had stopped by to see if they would want a brewer of tea. Remember, they had VERY politely decline – and as he was ringing me in he said echoed again that he felt really bad they had to turn down such a nice gift, and that it was so well meaning of us. Like I said, no hard feelings; we hadn’t realized they sold their own tea and so it totally made sense from a non-compete standpoint. He told me he wanted to give me a discount though, as an apology and while I said that certainly wasn’t necessary it was definitely appreciated. Next thing I know he’s handing me my bag and telling me to have a lovely day!

“Oh, I need to pay you though!”

“Nope, no need! This one’s on us!”

And that’s the story of how I got $17.00 worth of tea for free.

ACTUAL TEA REVIEW STARTS HERE:

So, this is a pretty simple herbal blend overall: the only ingredients are lemon myrtle, peppermint, and chili powder. I guess when it comes to their tea, Saje’s whole thing is “simple is better” so all of their teas are five ingredients or less, fair trade, and organic. The latter two things there I ALWAYS support and I can definitely get behind the first if the flavour is good/solid. I don’t really like blends bogged down with unnecessary ingredients either.

First things first, validity of ‘detox’ blends aside, I like the flavour of this one A LOT better than I like the flavour of DAVIDsTEA’s Detox. To me, the former tastes a little bit like Pledge. Thankfully, the bulk of people buying it aren’t doing so for the flavour.

The flavour of this one is simple – mostly it’s peppermint. The lemon myrtle is nice too; it’s both a brightness in the top note but also a lemony undertone which pleasantly compliments the mint. It’s cooling, and very refreshing when put together. Again though, just to reiterate, very simple. It’s the sort of thing that I think I’d get very bored with over time but as an occasional tea I think that it’s straight forward enough to provide a bit of relief in between all of the other crazy concoctions I often find myself gravitating towards.

Thank you Saje for the free gift!

EDIT: Because I forgot to actually say it out right, but I didn’t taste the chili powder at all. Maybe I just didn’t get a scoop of leaf that had much/any in it – but this was all lemon myrtle and peppermint to me.

Ooof, I had a really late lunch or really early supper, depending on your point of view. Perogies with sour cream and bacon bits. So yummy, but I ate too much and much too quickly, so now my tummy isn’t feeling so great.

This mint tea is helping. Considering my dislike of bagged teas, this isn’t bad at all. It has peppermint, spearmint, licorice and ginger (all organic). Everything is balanced nicely, and I don’t even mind the licorice because it gives the tea a certain sweetness. (Typically, I detest licorice.) Mint tea is just about the only tea that I never feel the need to sweeten anyway. And my tummy is feeling slightly less heavy and less bloated.

Lesson learned: eat meals on time, or else have mint tea on hand :)

I was a little nervous for this one after the fiasco with Saje’s Chai Comfort. Turns out that this is the tea that I sampled in the store. And it is as nice as I remembered it being. It has wonderful citrus notes, but I can’t find the vanilla and lavender that are supposed to be in there. I’m on my second steeping; it’s still nice and strong even though it’s in a bag.

So Saje is redeemed with this tea. One more flavour in my stash to try (Mint Miracle)…we’ll see how that one fares another day.

So here’s try #2 with Chai Comfort…making it the “traditional” way according to the package instructions. One bag per cup of soy milk, simmered for 30 minutes.

First of all, 30 minutes feels too long. By 10 minutes, it was already fragrant and a nice brown from all the spices. I held out for 25 minutes, then I couldn’t stand it anymore. (All my tea drinking still hasn’t taught me patience.)

This method is so much better than the regular steeping method. It’s rich from the soy milk, and there’s a spicy kick that builds as you get further into the mug. No sugar needed at all which is a bit of an oddity for me. I really enjoyed this mug of chai. I’ve raised my rating from 39 because of this. It would be higher if the tea was good with both methods.

I guess it’s a bagged tea kind of day for me. I wanted something without caffeine but wasn’t in the mood for my usual fare.

Saje, for those of you who don’t know, is a Canadian natural wellness store. They’re known for their bath and beauty products, as well as their natural remedies and essential oils. They have a tea line too called RemeTea. I tried a sample of the Chai Rooibos in-store; it seemed pretty good so I bought the sampler.

There’s a reason I don’t like bagged teas. The flavour never seems to get into the whole drink, if you know what I mean. Even the bagged version of Coco Chai Rooibos, while still delicious, doesn’t taste quite the same. The other problem is that I have no idea how the sample in the store was steeped.

Following the instructions for steeped tea and adding sugar and milk gave me a tea that was like spicy water. I can’t detect the rooibos at all, and the spices are very mild. I may try the other method (traditional chai) with my other bags to see if there’s any difference.

This is certified organic and fair trade for those of you who are into that kind of thing. I probably won’t get this again, unless the traditional method is way better than this.