Worth It Wednesday + Review: Arbor Teas

I am so behind on my posts! So sorry, but life has a way of zooming by me right now. I think it's the newness of being a SAHM when everyone else is gone all day... I have no clue what month it is half the time, let alone the day.

Anyway, onward through the fog!!!

Today is a twofer: I ordered a few teas months ago, and finally got to try them, so I can review this as well. YAY!!

Today's Worth It Wednesday is Arbor Teas.

I have been on a crazy tea kick for about a year now, and I am always on the lookout for quality products without a steep price. This mama is on a budget! I stumbled onto Arbor Teas by accident. I went on a search binge after reading an article about loose leaf teas (yes, I am that lame, lol).

I only had a small amount of money to work with, but wanted to try something new. I looked at a few other companies (including a few well-known ones) but they were too pricey. I cannot afford to pay $15 for a full-sized tea I have never tried. If I don't like it, it gets wasted. I am the only tea lover in my house.

Wait... OMG!!! Arbor Teas has sample sizes?!?! Yup. You have the option of getting a small package of tea for a reasonable price. I ordered Crimson Berry Fruit Tisane and Vanilla Bean Black Tea. Both came in a mini bag (about the size of an average smartphone) with 6-8 servings. Both have instructions on the bag for how much to use and how hot your water should be.

Crimson Berry

I will admit, I am not a big fan of many fruit teas. I decided to give this a shot because it was the beginning of Summer, already hot, and reviews said this was good iced. The first time I made it, it was way too strong... because of a user error. I used too much tea and steeped it too long. Oops. I tried again, this time using a little less than recommended, for less time, and added sugar. Perfect. It is tangy and sweet without being bitter. This is a great tea for during the day.

Vanilla Bean

I chose this flavor on a whim. I wanted something rich and comforting. This is like a blanket to me. I love this tea! I have never had a vanilla black tea before, and I doubt I will find another one I like more than this one. The vanilla flavor is very mild, so the black tea flavor is more pronounced. It is a little strong (because black tea is strong, duh), but with a sweetener or even a dash of milk it is a perfect replacement for morning coffee. I also like it before bed (it does have caffeine, so if you are sensitive to its effects, I do not recommend drinking this at night).

The Company

Arbor Teas is a family-owned business out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. That being said, the customer service is amazing! I had issues with payment (my bank's fault), and I emailed them to make sure I didn't get overcharged. I wasn't really expecting a fast response, but Sarah responded within an hour. She not only addressed my worries, she told me that she had already packed up my order! Amazing.
(As a disclaimer, because this is a small company, and the family has small children, this may not always be the case. However, I mention this experience because it shows that they CARE about their customers, which is always worth talking about.)

Making Loose Leaf Tea Easier

This was a big concern for me when I was shopping. I didn't know if I had a tea strainer, and I was looking to spend less than $20. My solution: T-Sac Paper Filters. I had never heard of these before, but I am so glad I found them. It provides the ease of the tea bags you get in supermarkets while giving you the benefits of loose leaf tea. (If you don't know how loose is better, bag teas have preservatives as well as a muted flavor, among other things.) I like the convenience of these filters, and just like with a strainer, you can use the bags twice to get more bang for your buck. Then, you just toss them in the trash. Eventually I will get a strainer or diffuser, because I hate having more garbage. But, for now, this is a good option.

My Recommendations

If you like tea, or even if you want to try to incorporate tea into your daily life, I highly recommend trying out this company. Even if you try a sample and hate it, you only made a small investment. (If you don't like strong flavors, a good option is green tea with flavor. It's naturally lighter than black tea with a milder flavor.)

Also, Arbor Teas offers a Tea Of The Month Club. Each month, you get a full-sized tea (you can see the list on their page) sent to your door. When you do the math, it comes out to $16/month. Not a bad price. Avid tea lovers should check it out!

A Tale Of Two (Lost) Kitties

This is not a happy post. If you are sensitive to animal loss, please do not read.

At 3am, We lost my Goober. I knew it. I woke up to my father moving around in the living room, but couldn't bring myself to check. He had gotten worse the past few days, and even as we planned to take him to the vet, I knew he probably wouldn't make it through the night. Yesterday was spent sitting next to him, making sure he knew how much I loved him.

He had diabetes, and had been in the vet twice the past month because he wouldn't eat. This time around, it got bad way too fast. I had been handfeeding him. I figured out he couldn't see much anymore. Yesterday he could barely move, where he day before he was walking, even though he had been shaky.

It's hard when you feel helpless. Our car doesn't work, so we had to find someone who could take us to the vet.  He just couldn't hold on anymore. He was an older cat, and his entire life had been full of medical problems. His body had had enough.

This hurts even more because a month ago, my dad lost his best friend, Buster. Buster was one of a kind. He was wild when we got him, and it took a lot of work to tame him. He was a jerk, and insisted on having his own way, and we loved him. He had diabetes, but the day before he died, he went into shock. He had gone into remission. On top of that, he had an infection that caused problems.  He was having frequent seizures, and my dad decided to end his suffering. He held Buster, and even though the tech said he wouldn't know dad was there, in between the seizures, he put his paw on dad's chest like he always did.

Buster was Goober's father. I raised Goober from birth, and he and his brother were my partners in crime. His favorite food was peanut butter, and he could smell it a mile away. He was my shadow and his absence will be felt just as we feel Buster's.

 

 

This photo is Buster, Goober, and Peabody, taken a few years ago in my room. They sat on my bed for about an hour looking out the window, and I still don't know why. Peabody passed a little over a year ago.

 

I am no stranger to pet loss. Over the years, I have had 16 cats, 3 dogs, and 7 lizards. Each one hurt when they were gone, whether they died, ran away, or was taken by someone else. I still remember each one by name, and remember what they looked like. I will always love them. I will also always know that they felt love from me. And that gives me peace.

Worth It... Tuesday??? A Chomp Plate giveaway

I know, I'm a day early. I just needed to share this with you! I'll also find something good to share tomorrow. But this is too good to miss!

I found a giveaway for something called a Chomp Plate. Simply put, it's a plate that turns into a storage container. Anyone with kids knows that they ALWAYS have leftovers. This makes it way easier to save the food they can't eat.

Go enter now, mainly because I am unsure of the end date!