Review: Traditional Medicinals Herbal Tea

Remember when I told you [seven hundred times] how much I like coffee?

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Well, I like tea quite a bit as much. I easily drink it as often, and in as crazy a quantity. Green tea, black tea, white tea, herbal tea…pour it in my cup, please.

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I’ve often wondered if what initially drew me to drinking tea was the warmth of it. Being a person who tends on the cold side, I craved that piping hotness. It was a way to warm my insides. Over time, I’ve come to love the aromas and the flavors, which only make me drink it more, seek it out more.

Now, I can appreciate tea for the ritual. Drinking three cups a day for well over five years, the part of it I love most is the way it slows me down and makes me sip…s-i-p…siiiiiip. It’s a calming, soothing act. It forces gradual savoring, which is why I especially love to drink a mug of tea alongside a richer dessert.

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So, given my love of tea, it should come as unsurprising to you that my house is full of various blends. Like Teavana, only much less cool and the inside smells like a pug. And every day, I’m able to go to my cupboard as the kettle rolls to a boil and select something new to suit my mood.

Recently, Traditional Medicinals sent me a big package of their herbal teas to sample. Amazing considering the variety offered and the fact that I do already enjoy the brand. I’ve purchased their teas a handful of times before while shopping at Whole Foods, and not once have I been disappointed.

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Opening the box, I found a few teas that seemed like exactly the kinds I would have bought on my own: peppermint, which I love for its refreshing zing, and chamomile with lavender, a tea I love to drink at bedtime.

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(unrelated: eeeep! How dry are my hands?! Unpainted nails!) Then, digging deeper, I saw dozens more. A whole wooden box full of unusual tea packets, organized by their wellness qualities. I noticed I could choose a specific tea based upon symptoms, like nausea (ginger tea), bloating (fennel tea), and cramping (raspberry leaf tea); and by categories like digestion (peppermint), joints (nettle leaf), skin (organic burdock), and detoxification (roasted dandelion root). Each type of tea came with its own brief list of real ingredients and a bit of information about its wellness and qualities.

**Per the Food and Drug Administration: These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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What I loved immediately about the variety was that it reminded me of how rife tea is with antioxidants and health benefits. Because I love tea for its ritual and its taste, I often forget the ways that it can heal and affect all on its own. Sometimes in the midst of routine, I forget that when I’m drinking chamomile tea at night—thinking that it’s just a good way of winding down, it’s the chamomile itself that is helping to naturally calm me, to ease me into sleep. Often, I forget that the peppermint tea I love so much is also helpful in making me feel more invigorated as I approach the midday slump, while it can also aid in calming my occasionally aching belly. It’s a nice reminder, and a nice way to feel like I can connect my behavior with good health.

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Thank you, Traditional Medicinals, for the lovely assortment of teas. They will be very well loved and enjoyed. My two favorites so far are the ginger and the fennel, which are both gently spicy, naturally sweet, and smell fantastic.

Full Disclosure: Traditional Medicinals sent me these teas free of charge. I chose to review them on my own, with my own true and honest opinions.

What about you? Are you a tea drinker? Do you drink tea for its wellness/health qualities? 

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32 thoughts on “Review: Traditional Medicinals Herbal Tea

  1. Cadi

    I LOVE Traditional Medicinals teas! I have a pal who works for them and occasionally brings us big bags full of teas – for which I always feel most fortunate. I have an afternoon tea ritual myself, and keep a special cup and saucer on my desk at work so I can brew my cup and enjoy it. People think I’m a complete nerd for being so fancy with my tea, but I like that it’s a special moment.

    Next time you’re down with a cold try their Throat Coat and Gypsy Cold Care teas. Both are amazing and I couldn’t imagine getting over a cold without them!

    Reply
  2. andrea @ my kinda perfect

    i love tea. i remember when i was younger and had little tea parties with my friends, my mom would always give us a treat — real tea! it was the herbal variety (and generally kid-friendly flavors like orange or berry), but that was fine with us then…and is still fine with me now.

    i often find myself craving a cup of tea over a cup of coffee. (now, don’t get me wrong – i love coffee too.) there’s something about tea that makes me warm, comforted, and often nostalgic.

    i have tried teas ‘with purpose’ for health benefits, but i generally find myself with my old stand-bys: english breakfast or orange and spice herbal tea. and i’m a creature of habit, always a splash of milk with a splenda packet. (unless it’s green tea, and then i prefer it with a little honey.)

    Reply
  3. Colleen

    I drink tea because it’s delicious and soothing. It is a bonus that it’s also good for me. I would love that variety pack. I wish they sold it!

    Reply
  4. jenny

    I love their throat coat tea. It’s the first thing I grab when I feel a cold coming on. So comforting. And it really does help. All of my friends who are singers have it around constantly.

    Reply
  5. Rocio

    Wow that tea package is awesome, labeled, in a wodden box and tells you what each tea does. Plus some great teas, what more could you ask for?

    Reply
  6. Jessica McKnight

    I love tea! I never started drinking coffee until last year, so I’ve always been a fan of tea. Only recently though have I begun to drink it without sweetener. I used to do Equal or sugar or honey, but when I started Weight Watchers, I didn’t want to spend the points on that so I taught myself to drink it plain. Sometimes I still swear that the sweeteners help to bring out the flavor of the tea, but I’m getting better at appreciating the flavor on its own :) A current favorite is Celestial Seasonings Honey Vanilla Chamomile…

    Reply
    1. admin

      That honey vanilla chamomile sounds fantastic for nighttime because it’s got that warm sweet flavor going on, which I’m always craving before bed. I’ve got to try it

      Reply
  7. Beth C.

    Put me down as another fan of Throat Coat, I always have it in the house. It works better than any medical sore throat remedy I’ve ever tried, especially if you add a little dollop of honey.

    Oh, and Jessica, I agree that a tiny bit of sweet can bring out the flavors better, and if you keep it small, a tsp or less, the honey is 0 points. That is usually enough to do the trick as far as making it rich and tasty, but it doesn’t make it sweet-sweet (I learned that trick from my leader :) ).

    Reply
  8. Katrina

    Add me to the list of tea lovers. I’ve have Traditional Medicinals a couple of times…I think after I picked up samples at a trade show. On a daily basis, I drink Yogi Tea. I’m also completely in love with David’s Tea.

    Reply
  9. suzanne

    I love all teas! Lately I’ve been trying different ones from Davids Teas! Love that place.
    Green tea is definitely one of my favourites and we have a honey lemon herbal tea at work that I love.

    Reply
  10. Jess

    There is nothing better or more beautiful than enjoying a cup of one of Tea Forte’s whole leaf teas which come packaged in a delicate pyramid silken infuser. Not only do I enjoy the strong aromas and calming qualities of the tea, but the packaging is just gorgeous.

    Reply
  11. Shawna

    I just recently discovered Market Spice Tea served at Gene Juarez salons in the Seattle area. They sell it at my local grocery store and I couldn’t be happier!!!! So, so DELISH!

    Reply
  12. Gloria - The Ginger Snap Girl

    I’m so happy to see a tea post. Coffee has never been my thing, but I adore tea. Especially so after the last few years. I too enjoy it several times a day. It’s definitely a ritual and I love it with dessert. It’s the perfect compliment to something sweet. I have been into the Mighty Leaf teas lately, specifically their green tea tropical blend. I will have to check out this brand. A girl can never have too many teas!

    Reply
  13. Danielle

    My favorite Traditional Medicinals is “Gypsy Cold Care”! The blend has an amazing flavor and is so soothing when you are feeling the beginnings of that scratchy throat.

    Reply
  14. Jamie

    I love Traditional Medicinals teas! I have different boxes for each of our ailments and we all reach for them when feeling the need. We enjoy tea daily in addition to our coffee habit that sometimes gets a bit out of control.;)

    I have a very sensitive and picky palate, so I have shied away from the fennel tea because I don’t like the licorice flavor or smell. I’m curious, does the fennel tea taste and smell like licorice at all?

    Reply
    1. admin

      Hey Jamie,
      You know, the fennel actually does taste and smell a bit like black licorice. It’s got that warm, spicy sweetness, which I can completely see as a bit polarizing in taste preference.

      Andie

      Reply
  15. Katy Brannen

    I am a coffee lover, too, but it hurts my stomach a lot of the time, so I’ve started to drink tea most days. It’s fun to try the abundant varieties and tea is so comforting, like you said. While visiting London, I fell in love with Earl Grey, traveling in South Africa I drank rooibos everyday, and while living in NYC we frequented several asian hole-in-the wall restaurants that always had a proprietary green tea blends. I always thought that one had to choose sides and either be a coffee-drinker or a tea-drinker, but we’re proof that you can be an equal-opportunist ;)

    Reply
    1. admin

      It’s so cool to hear that you’ve explored tea in different areas, making it that much more special and unique.

      It’s so true about not having to choose sides between coffee and tea. And I love that tea helps me to balance out some of the caffeine I consume in coffee, since I tend to opt for the naturally non-caffeinated varieties.

      Reply
  16. This American Girl

    I have been drinking throat coat since I was a kid and SWEAR by it. The key is to make it extremely potent. This is an example of tea as medicine as I hate the licorice-y flavor. Beautiful photos and adorable anecdotes as usual my love :)

    Reply
  17. Kathy

    I like to drink tea after dinner–for some of the same reasons you like to drink it. It makes me slooowww down and sip. I usually choose a slightly sweet flavor, and that feels like a treat. I won’t say it qualifies for dessert, but it helps.

    Reply
  18. Elaine

    I have been drinking Traditional Medicinals tea for years. I have been to 3 stores looking for the Chamomile Lavender blend… No luck yet but I will keep looking!

    There is nothing, to me, as uplifting, soothing and/or inspirational as a good cup of tea. Why, oh why, can I not find a man like that???

    Reply
  19. Jan K

    I too love teas, I change it up quite a bit, right now I am drinking Stash Holiday Chai, I love anything chai and also chamomile. I also enjoy a local tea company’s offerings they are just north of Traverse City, MI called Light of Day Teas

    Reply
  20. Caralyn Rubli

    I love tea. Have just started trying herbal teas. Tried Chamomile it was a disaster, instead of calming me it turned me into a shaking ball of anxiety in the corner of the couch. But other than that. What I’ve tried so far has been good.

    Reply
  21. Carla Nails

    Try Herbatussin from Traditional Medicinals when you 1st feel ill or get scratchy throat. Be sure to steep it covered. Drink warm as possible with honey & lemon

    Reply

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