taste testing raspberry tea- Brisk vs Golden Peak

Want to know why people are so over weight???  It is the sugar in the drinks we drink!!!  I am not a huge fan of bottled teas- they are too artificial tasting and too sweet.  And after doing some research on the sugars of teas I no longer want any of them!!!  I have given up soda, and now I thinking maybe all bottled drinks in general. Loose leaf tea and Kombucha is the way for me!

I was was thirsty and busy at work so in a weak moment I went to a local gas station and picked up two teas to taste.

If you drank this entire of bottle Lipton tea you'd have almost 3x time sugar that a woman should have in a day. 8 oz has 23 grams of sugar!!!  A woman should not have more than 37.5 grams of sugar for the ENTIRE DAY- according to the American Heart Association.

Gold Peak was my pick over the two teas, but I still had to add water to it too- it was waaay to sweet for me.  Gold Peak 12 oz had 32 grams of sugar.  DO not waste your sugar on these overly sweet teas!! 

All in all of the two teas I liked Gold Peak Tea best, but I am giving up bottled tea now.  Just too much sugar and the the taste is not like real tea anyway.

PURPLE TEA!!!!! JusTea Purple Rain

WHAT?!!  A new tea!!!  And purple tea to boot!!  I can not believe that they have discovered a new tea.  

A true tea comes from the camellia sinensis plants.  It depends on how it is processed after it is picked to determine what kind of tea it becomes.  Purest  tea drinkers would say that only White Tea, Yellow Tea, Green Tea, Oolong Tea, Black Tea, and Pur-erh Tea are true teas.  Because Herbal Tea and Rooibos Teas as not from a Camellia Sinensis plant they can not be teas.

I am still researching all of this because I am fascinated by it all!!! Maybe the JusTea guys will invite me to Canada to be an intern and learn from them all about their teas :)  This purple tea comes from Kenya.   It is grown on the volcanic rich soil.  I love Kenya- my mom lived there for almost a year helping her brother with mission work...Kenya has a special place in my heart.

The jury is out on all on the health benefits.  I have read that some believe it is healthier than a green tea- but all seem to at least confirm it has less caffeine.  Some say boasting nearly twice as many antioxidants as any other tea.   I even saw on line that you can change the color of the tea.  I need to try that too.  But, I do love the color it is right now.

The tea is really pretty and it smells so amazing!!!

I found JusTea while just looking for new teas on line. The fun thing about buying this tea is that they send you a hand carved spoon with your tea.  I loved that.

The tea is a beautiful color.  I picked the purple rain blend since it had hibiscus in it, if you all remember I love hibiscus in my tea.  I like a sweet tea with the tartness of hibiscus.

https://justea.com/

From the Website, "JusTea has formed partnerships with small-scale farmers who grow and pluck tea to exacting standards. The farmer gets paid a fair price and you get fresh, quality tea."

I really like the flavor of this tea. I really really like that by buying this tea I am helping the tea farmers in Kenya.  You need to try this tea!!  Let me know what flavors you try and what you are liking the most.

Inca Tea Mango Kombucha

https://incatea.com/

Okay, you know I want to be truthful in what I think about tea- even when it is not positive.  And this one was a dud for me!  

I love Kombucha and I've been making it for over a year now.  I have given up soda and I like Kombucha in it's place. I like to try new brands and see if I can get flavor combinations that I may want to try myself. I also like to blog about the ones I try and help others find the best brands out there.

This tea was on sale so I thought I would try it.  I have to say I was NOT a fan.  I did not even finish it. It tasted like beer. I have only had beer once...I tried it my Senior year of high school and I thought it was disgusting!  So, I guess if you are a beer drinker you may enjoy it.

I do like to give two to chances before I swear it off, but I think I am going to make an exception this time and not try the kombucha again.

I will however try the bagged tea and see if it is better tasting. All the teas are made with the ancient Incans recipes in mind.  I learned on the website that, "Each blend is made with real purple corn and 100% natural ingredients. All of our teas are Non-GMO, Gluten Free and Rain Forest Alliance Certified." I would like to try the tea and see what I think of those.  I wonder if the corn is giving the tea the earthy beer taste.

from the website:

"Mango has always been a favorite fruit of the founder so he decided to add a little twist to the original blend . It’s a refreshing blend of mango, sweet herbs, and citrus flavors."

Bestsellers Coffee and Books in Mason MI

http://www.bestsellersbookstore.com/

I made my first trip to Mason, MI.  I went there with my parents and aunt to visit my cousin and her family. 

Saturday we headed to downtown Mason.  My dad and I split a Ruben sandwich and a check pea salad from the Vault- it is next door and the same owner who owns the Vault owns the Bestsellers Coffee and Books store.

The lunch was very good!

Cousin was telling me that they also had fun drinks.  I decided to see if they could mix their chai with lavender.  The helpful gal behind counter said that they have never done it before, but she would give it a try.

It was delicious!!!  It was a great Chai (she called it a Tiger Chai) and she added just a perfect smidge of lavender.  I was thrilled with a hint of lavender flavor and the spicy tiger chai.

The bookstore was a great place for lunch with the family. There was a lot of laughter and memories made this weekend.