Simply Balanced Organic Black Tea Breakfast Blend

We love how organic, fair trade foods are going mainstream. Simply Balanced is a organic brand at Target chain stores that might surprise the average tea drinker. The Black Tea Breakfast Blend is a very affordable black tea blend (although the box doesn't identify the blends, we'd guess a little bit ceylon with a large dash of orange pekoe). No tricks, no surprises--this is a smooth tea that, while a bit mild for our personal tastes, brews up the same smooth cup, time after time. It would make a nice introductory tea for a novice tea drinker; a calming, soothing cup for those too-sick-to-get-out-of-bed days; and a great way to earn some karma points by helping protect Mother Earth and support fair trade practices.

We tried it with a slice of the delicious chocolate truffle babka from Panera and were quite pleased with its creamy, silky texture. Oh, and the babka--delicious. Some chocolate babkas are bitter, but not the Panera babka. (We'll confess we really love the pecan braid that just appeared in the bakery case--yum yum yum.)

Teatulia Black Tea

Organic teas and fair trade teas are our preference here in the parlor, and lately we have been drinking Teatulia's Black Tea (in the eco canister). We love that it's organic, we love the compostable 'tin,' we love that we're helping people in a very poor country earn a living.

That's why we are saddened that we don't absolutely love the tea. The tea itself is a bit bland; maybe it's too smooth. There is not signature note of a Ceylon or an Assam that stays behind, which we were expecting from a single estate tea. We prefer a strong tea that says something. But Teatulia wins hands down over any supermarket teas, which are equally bland and aren't trying to save the world, so it will find a place in our tea caddy nonetheless.

We've been drinking Teatulia Black Tea while eating a delicious almond coffee cake on the patio. The autumn weather makes al fresco breakfasts a delight. The black tea is very smooth and muted, and compliments the sweet almond cake very well.