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.)