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(To keep things on topic, my most recent pu'er was more Nor Sun loose, as I was thinking how nice it would be to have pu'er at work without having to break apart a cake and bring it in my own tin.) More of the same. A very convenient traditionally-stored raw/ripe blend pu'er, nice for work brews, n...

./download/file.php?id=11240 ./download/file.php?id=11239 Celestial Seasoning's alfalfa-mint was "Mellow Mint", which also added papaya, comfrey, and licorice. Another old competitor, Portland's Dragon Herbarium (https://dragonherbarium.com) has an alfalfa-mint loose-leaf, as does St. John's. I thi...

./download/file.php?id=11249 smokerstea-1.jpg smokerstea-2.jpg smokerstea-3.jpg A box of Smoker's Tea, circa 1988, if anyone was curious about the ingredients and preparation. Maybe compare with its Chinese contemporary, West Lake Stop Smoking Tea. :D (http://www.itmonline.org/jintu/smoking.htm) ht...

This is the sort of tea they were up to in 1975, a special blend sold to fund the anti-nuclear movement. Other teas were "High Time", "Morning Upper", and "Back to Reality". As for what SoNoMore Atomics used the funds for, I suspect it was to pay the bands that came to their rallies, folks like Air...

Vaguely medical but mostly recreational. rosemary-gladstar.jpg Maybe some good context -- a lot of these hippie herbalists weren't formally trained, they were pulling it together themselves through interacting with their peers. From a 1991 interview with Rosemary Gladstar, one of the founders of Tr...

./download/file.php?id=11230 Not sure if this was another Rance Barela package, but the back is fairly helpful... ./download/file.php?id=11229 Mostly because it partially gives away the secret that allowed Celestial Seasonings to pull ahead from the other hippie blends, "natural essential oils and ...

Had some Foojoy organic "Shui Hsien Wuyi Oolong" that was getting pretty tired (bought from a vendor who doesn't seem to sell much, then several months being neglected for other teas), so I decided to give it a go with gongfu brewing. A fine second life for an old tea. :D More of the same. :) Almos...

One style worth calling out is "Mu tea" (sometimes Moo tea or M.U. tea) -- this was an herbal blend developed by George Ohsawa that became a part of the early macrobiotics movement in the U.S., as described in his 1965 book, You are all Sanpaku . Supposedly this was the blend that got Mo Siegel int...

When the original is gone and all that's left is the copy, does the copy become the new original? Another frequently copied blend is "Lazy Daze". This was apparently one of two blends produced by a company called Golden Sun Inc., "Lazy Daze" and "Gentle Nites". I'm guessing that Gentle Nites was a ...

Another old competitor, Portland's Dragon Herbarium (https://dragonherbarium.com) has an alfalfa-mint loose-leaf, as does St. John's. lovetea.jpg Dragon Herbarium might be the original source for "Love Tea" -- Dragon was known as Love's Herbarium under its original owner, Richard Love. Of course, i...

alvita-loose.jpg alvita1952.jpg Another is the somewhat odd-sounding combination of alfalfa and mint. I think the first seller was California Alfalfa Products, now known as Alvita (https://www.alvita.com/). This was an herbal tea grandfathered in from earlier health-food movements (you can spot the...

sanpaku.jpg One style worth calling out is "Mu tea" (sometimes Moo tea or M.U. tea) -- this was an herbal blend developed by George Ohsawa that became a part of the early macrobiotics movement in the U.S., as described in his 1965 book, You are all Sanpaku : MU TEA This is the most Yang of beverage...

Celestial Seasonings' history goes pretty far out and back around again... including connections to a new age UFO cult and a very disturbing advocacy for eugenics :? https://www.foodandwine.com/drinks/sleepytime-tea-and-little-known-religion-behind-it and-it-is-divine-ad.jpg There was a lot of that...

celestial-packaging.jpg Some of Celestial's first carton packaging, courtesy of the package-designer. Lemon Mist and Brazilian Breakfast are both long discontinued, but can still be found in a modified form through Celestial's old competitors, like St. John's Botanicals (https://www.stjohnsbotanica...

chamraj-golden.jpg Chamraj Golden Tips from Nilgiri by way of Upton Tea Imports. Not an all-buds tea, but rather a mostly-buds Nilgiri of the old pekoe variety. Nice aroma, but a bit harsh for my water. Tried brewing it up with some hard water and it was more pleasant. Maybe a good tea to try if yo...