Herbal Balance

Thanksgiving with family was much easier than I expected. I think my brother actually was able to enjoy his day. We all ate too much. This morning I had pumpkin pie for breakfast because I could.

I decided to have an herbal in the middle of the day as this one is billed as restoring the digestive system. Seemed like a good idea. I often have peppermint tea at night (Candy Cane Lane!) and sometimes chamomile, I like it, I just like other stuff better. This one combines peppermint and chamomile and it works. It does have fennel and licorice root but before you go, “Eeeewwww”, they are very light background flavors and are muted by the lemon balm and peppermint. At first this is peppermint. Icy cheek tingling peppermint. Then you notice the apple like chamomile late in the sip. Below it is the mellow fennel/licorice root. At first I thought the lemon balm only served to mute the last two ingredients, then I realized I was catching it in the aroma all along. To me it says a lot when an herbal can bring this many layers to the cup. Very much liked this one.

When I have an upset stomach I tend to shy away from caffeine, which typically only makes things worse. Instead I look for a tea that contains a digestive aid such as peppermint, chamomile, licorice root, ginger, or fennel. Herbal Balance happens to have 4 of the 5 ingredients I generally look for, as well as lemon balm, which works as a mild sedative. Overall the flavor and scent of this tea is mild and soothing, just what you need when you aren’t feeling well or have had a stressful day. The strongest flavors come from the peppermint and licorice root, although I can taste the subtle flavor of chamomile as well. The fennel and lemon balm hide out in the background contributing a little bit of flavor, but are mostly included for their herbal properties. This is a nice tea to relax with at the end of the day, as long as you aren’t turned off by the fact that it contains licorice root. I know many people don’t care for the strong, sweet taste of licorice, but it has always been one of my favorite herbal ingredients. I know I’ll be keeping some of this on hand for a more natural way to soothe myself after a long day trying day (or a 18 hour trip through various airports.) I don’t know a single person who hasn’t come back from the airport completely stressed out, do you? Perhaps I’ll start packing this in my carry-on when I travel.

You can read the full review on my blog
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2014/6/17/tuesday-tea-herbal-balance-the-persimmon-tree-tea-company.html