Time for a cup of tea

This weather has not been at all spring like and some days I think that the only thing that keeps me going is a warm blanket and a sweet cup of tea.

Today I will be talking about my two most recent discoveries one of which is a health tea.

Teapigs liquorice and peppermint. I have been getting teapigs for a few years now. The bags are completely biodegradable (you can pop them in your compost if you have one) and a honestly think that this type of  tea bag improves the taste. I really like that you can sea all the herbs inside as well.

Now I can be funny when it comes to peppermint tea. I really love the fresh mint taste, and when I get the dried peppermint tea bags they somehow don't taste nearly as good, so I just get fresh mint from the herbs section and use that. But when I saw this liquorice peppermint blend on my last trip to whole foods I was intrigued.

Once you brew your tea the peppermint scent is dominant, at first I was thinking hm there isn't any liquorice in this. But when you have your first sip you know it is there. It is freshness of the peppermint instantly followed by delicious sweetness. It is nothing like what you expect liquorice candy to be (which can be an acquired taste), it is much more subtle, like what I would imagine a flower nectar to taste. Every time I have this I feel relaxed and happy. My favourite thing to have after a stressful day. This is great for people who like the idea of herbal teas but find them to be not sweet enough or bland, honestly you will not need any honey with it. And you really don't need to like liquorice candy to enjoy this.

Content skin tea. Now this is a health tea. It is a blend of herbs (red clover, marigold, alfalfa, cleavers, hibiscus, orange peel) to help your body be in balance (from digestive and hormonal perspective) and because of that, it could help promote healthy skin function.

HOW TO USE: A heaped teaspoon in a cup of boiling water will do the trick. Leave it for at least 5 minutes to steep and enjoy. If your skin is going through an break-out phase, steep the tea for 15-30 minutes for a more potent medicinal effect.

I used to buy different herbs from Neal's Yard and make my own tea blends for skin health. As I have mentioned before I don't do detoxes per se. I try to eat healthy all the time and when I feel that my body needs extra help I will have a few more vegy juices, and will drink more cleansing teas. I do not have a sweet tooth (I do enjoy deserts but I can easily skip them), my weakness is salty and fried foods. Obviously that is really not good for you (and I don't have them very often) so the teas help keep the balance.

What I notice with content tea is whenever I have it, I just somehow feel much better (a lot more alert and relaxed). I haven't really had any major break outs for about a year now so I can't say how helpful it is in that respect, but judging by the herbs used (and my previous blending experience) I would say it would be beneficial (especially if it is digestive related skin problems that you have).
I wouldn't say that this is a delicious tea, but if you have tried a few health teas you would know that some of them taste truly awful. This one doesn't, it is most definitely drinkable and actually enjoyable after a fashion, once you are used to it. It is my go to when I haven't been sleeping well, eating well or had a few late nights (or maybe an extra glass of wine on someones birthday, alcohol is really not good for your skin regardless of the antioxidant in wine).  Also if you suffer from hormonal break outs this would be a great thing to try to balance them. I've grown to like it much more than any of the health blends I ever made. I wouldn't advise sweetening it (after all you are trying to cleanse your system) but if you really need a sweet blend you can add a little bit of honey.

You can also use this as a warm compress on your face or chill in a spray bottle and use as a toner in the summer.