I drink quite a lot of tea during the day. A coffee is rare for me. I generally have a black coffee after my lunches over the weekend. It's not that I dislike coffee, but i find it quite heavy in flavour and it can give me bad dreams if I drink one too late in the evening. So I drink tea like it's going out of fashion. I drink tea right from the get-go until my last cup around 8pm.
I have tried many brands of tea, as well as many blends. I haven't, however, heard of Tick Tock Wellbeing, which seems strange been as though they were established in 1903. Benjamin Ginsberg started undertaking experiments with wild rooibos around that time. I have three Tick Tock Wellbeing teas to try that have been created in the spirit of old Ben's (… not Kenobi) botanical experimentations.
Presumably these three teas are supposed to be drunk throughout a day. I have twenty teabags of each tea. They really haven't got the hang of how much tea I drink. The boxes state to infuse the teas for two to four minutes, which I'll incline to ignore. I generally leave the teabag in a mug for a good ten to fifteen minutes whilst I'm faffing with whatever I'm doing at the time. There is Bounce, which possibly could be used to bounce you out of bed in the morning. There is Balance, which could be a midday kind of drink, and then there is the more obvious Bedtime. I'll start at the possible beginning…
Bounce
I like the monkey drinking a cup of this Bounce on the front of the yellow box. Yellow for the sunshine, which has been missing for the last week or two. It's made with green rooibos, lemongrass, ginger, and cinnamon. I was a little worried that this Bounce may taste too strongly of Lemongrass, which can have a habit of tasting like washing up liquid if excessively used as an ingredient in some foods.
There was a hint of lemongrass on opening the box of loose teabags. I was kind of expecting the teabags in packets. I guess it's because the box looks so posh. It does save on packaging though. After brewing this tea has so many flavours in it that it is difficult to pick out many of them. Bounce is like a spa break in a mug. It tastes super healthy with light flavours of rooibos, citrus, fruity leaves and spice. I was worried it might taste like bathwater and was relieved it didn't. It's a bit too relaxing to call it Bounce though, as that implies a 'get up and go', where to me this blend is pure relaxation.
Ingredients;
Green rooibos, lemongrass, ginger, blackberry leaves, orange peel, lemon verbena, cinnamon, eucalyptus leaves, liquorice, and hibiscus.
Balance
There is a deep red flamingo on the front of this pinkish box, with a setting sun behind it. That's why I figure this is an afternoon type of tea… besides, Balance, gives thought to the middle of the day where some of the trials of the morning, such as my crazy workout sessions, are over, lunch has been eaten and my stomach needs something to help with digestion. Balance sounds like it fits the bill (pun intended), as it is created with rooibos, fennel, turmeric, and cardamom.
I usually have a ginger tea straight after my lunch to help with my digestion. I decided to have a mug of this Balance instead, hoping it may have the same soothing effect. On opening the box there was a slightly stronger fruitier smell to the teabags inside. After brewing and leaving to cool this Balance has a strong dark colour to go with the smell, and a taste of rooibos and turmeric, with a fruity leafiness from the blackberry leaves, an added cardamom spice and then a little aniseed at the back of the flavour. This is a stronger tea and seems to find its place in the afternoon rather well.
Ingredients;
Rooibos, blackberry leaves, fennel seed, lemongrass, aniseed, turmeric, and cardamom.
Bedtime
The sleepy cat on a branch reminds me of a tired looking furry animal who plonked itself down on a branch in front of us at Longleat safari park during our visit a year or so back. Tick Tock's Bedtime blend is made with traditional bedtime ingredients such as camomile, lemon balm, lavender, and of course rooibos as its staple.
I decided to drink this Bedtime tea later on in the day. The clue was in the title, but then again, I don't drink tea too late in the day, so late afternoon had to do… besides, I'd already had my nap! There was predominantly an aroma of rooibos and lavender on opening the box. After brewing the dark tea smelt much the same, having a strong flavour of rooibos mixed with camomile and lavender, a sweetness from the liquorice and honeybush, as well as the aniseed at the back of the flavour. I'm not sure about Bedtime, but this tea is an all round flavoursome late afternoon tea for me.
Ingredients;
Camomile, apple, rooibos, honeybush, lemon balm, liquorice, lavender, aniseed, and blackberry leaves.
