Take a look at my Bircher muesli photoset on Flickr and, beyond the obvious cereal motif, you’ll see another theme: tea.

I am an avid tea drinker, and Yogi tea has been a long time favourite every since I was introduced to their Bedtime tea several years ago. Someone must have made me a cup, because I definitely wouldn’t have purchased this stuff on my own. I’m a bit of a tea purist, preferring straight up black, green, liquorice, or rooibos to crazy blends. More importantly, it annoys the hell out of me when companies put health claims in the title of their branding. But when I tried the Bedtime tea, I was an instant fan.

Did it “promote restful sleep”? I don’t know about that, but it tasted nice and was a good caffeine-free tea option for the evenings. I also thought it was cute that their tea boxes always had a picture and description of a single yoga pose to compliment the intension of the tea (favourite was the “elimination” pose on the “Get Regular” tea).

Fast forward to a few weeks ago – Yogi got in touch and offered me some tea. Sure, why not? I was pretty chuffed that they were willing to ship the tea to the UK, and also send some tea to my sister Stephanie, a fellow tea fan, in Chicago.

The package they sent contained the MOTHER LOAD of Yogi tea. True to form, health claims were everywhere, and I was more than a little skeptacle.

The box contained three types of tea:

• “Stress Relief” (made with Kava, caffeine free)
• “Blueberry Slim Life” (made with green tea)
• “Skin Detox” (also made with green tea)

My initial thoughts before trying the tea:

“Well, the green teas are probably made with poor quality green tea that they’ve masked with other flavours and a catchy name. I don’t even know what my skin would feel like if it WERE detoxed. And as for stress relief, well, drinking tea is always quite relaxing so this claim I’ll buy.

Stephanie was drawn to the Stress Relief tea, too. She’s been crazy busy lately. We recently launched a new business (anyone need a screencast?) and on top of that, she’s been horse training, working, and studying in the evenings. She tested Yogi’s Stress Relief after a long day to see if it really did the job:

The morning started at 7AM and now it’s 9PM and I am just about to start some school work. I spent the day at a horse clinic which involved lots of new exercises with the horse. Needless to say, I am exhausted but somehow my mind is racing and I can’t seem to relax and concentrate on my school work. My muscles are tense and overworked…what a day!

What do I usually do to relax? I love to drink some tea and watch one of my favorite television shows. It doesn’t always work, though, so tonight I tried Yogi Kava Stress Relief tea to try to unwind.

The tea is made from Kava Root, Carob Pod, Sarsaparilla Root, Cinnamon Bark, Ginger Root, Cardamom Seed, Stevia Leaf, Barley Malt, Hazelnut Flavor, Cinnamon Oil, and Licorice Flavor. My reaction upon my first sip was that the sweetness of the Stevia leaf really comes out and combines strongly with the cinnamon and cardamom. The flavors work well together. After the sweetness passed, the after taste was pleasant, a bit earthy, and the other flavors were more noticeable.

So here I am an hour later…I must say I feel pretty relaxed.

Was it the tea itself, or the simple act of resting that helped Stephanie relieve the stress of the day? Who knows. But we both agree that the Kava is definitely drinkable and, like many of Yogi’s teas, very earthy. If you dig on licorice, fennel, or similar teas, you’ll like this. And people with a sweet tooth will appreciate the Stevia. And since its caffeine free, it’s great for the evenings and I admit – the tea, along with my usual nighttime ritual of reading in bed, does help me de-stress and wind down.

What about the other teas? Well, despite my purist nature when it comes to green tea, I actually really like the Blueberry Slim Life. No, it hasn’t caused me to lose weight, but it smells really good (like blueberries!) and is a refreshing change from my usual hot-black-tea-with-milk. Drink this if you like blueberries. Don’t drink this if you’re looking for an easy weight to “slim”. It won’t work.

What’s this about a freebie?

I like Yogi Tea. Maybe you will too?

Yogi Tea has kindly offered to give one of my readers a box of their tasty tea.

To win the tea, all you have to do is leave a comment and I’ll pick a winner at random on Wednesday, April 28th.

What’s your favorite tea? How do you enjoy your tea? Are you a tea or coffee person? Or are you an iced tea fan? How are you today? The comment can be about anything. Just have fun, and have a great Wednesday!