Some fun new teas I'm sipping

When my tea friend Susan sent me some goodies for my birthday last month, she included some delightful new teas, and I have been slowly sipping my way through them. She found these charmingly packaged Tea Party Collection teas at Aldi, and I shared them with my little tea friends from the neighborhood, who were as delighted as I knew they would be! I liked the fruity flavors of the ones I tried—Raspberry Cookie and Lemon Macaroon—and they liked theirs too!

I was even more intrigued by these yaupon teas she sent, many of them thoughtfully labeled by hand! (I'm so impressed when anyone takes the time to handwrite anything anymore. The gift of time means more and more to me with each passing year!) The yaupon tea I tried last night was the Dark Blend from Yaupon Brothers American Tea Co. in Florida, and I enjoyed its slightly earthy flavor so much!

Once I emailed to tell her my package had arrived, Susan thoughtfully replied with a photo of the beautiful packaging from the ASI Mindful Mint American Yaupon Tea, from the Yaupon Tea Company based in Savannah. According to their website, "Yaupon is a tree that grows native in the southeastern United States. The native tribes of the area made a stimulating tea from the Yaupon leaves, as it was revered as traditional medicine. Yaupon is the only caffeine source native to North America. Yaupon contains anti-oxidants comparable to blueberries, has chlorogenic acid, polyphenols and flavonoids. Yaupon also contains theobromine, the alkaloid found in dark chocolate. Yaupon’s taste ranges from a smooth black tea to a light green tea." Have you tried yaupon tea before? It's been years since I'd come across any, so I was super happy that Susan was kind enough to share these with me!