Tag: kyth + kyn

Digest by kyth + kyn
Herbal Infusion / Straight
$9.98 for 25g

First Impressions

Coming in a now-familiar kraft paper pouch is kyth + kyn’s Digest. The packaging is a plastic and foil lined kraft paper pouch that’s resealable – one of my favourite features in any good tea packaging. Digest is said to help with poor food decisions (on the front of the packaging, kyth + kyn wrote “For all those times when that extra slice of cake ended up being a terrible idea” – clearly they have never met me because an extra slice of cake is never a terrible idea).

The aroma of Digest is primarily that of peppermint, which isn’t surprising when you look at the blend itself. Digest consists of: peppermint, ginger root, and chen pi. For those who didn’t grow up in a Chinese household, chen pi is also known as sun-dried tangerine peels. They’re left to dry and are commonly used in eastern medicine.

Preparation

kyth + kyn recommends steeping Digest in hot water for 3 to 5 minutes. I opted to steep at 200°F (93°C) for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Digest steeps to a really pretty golden orange. The aroma is pretty much primarily the peppermint, which isn’t much of a surprise considering how prominent it was in the dry leaf. The flavour of Digest is a mix of citrus sweetness, peppermint, and the warming qualities of the ginger. It’s really quite pleasant, and does warm me from the inside out. I can see why this blend would be geared towards indigestion/stomach issues, since the peppermint and ginger are both quite known to help with those. The chen pi is an ingredient also used for enhancing digestion.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Digest once, and found that the peppermint was considerably weaker compared to the initial steep. The ginger and citrus notes from the chen pi were present and more noticeable. If you’re looking for the peppermint taste, I would say that Digest is good for just one steep. If you’re happy to drink an infusion of primarily ginger and chen pi, then do one more steep.

My Overall Impression

I liked kyth + kyn’s Digest. I tried this initially at the 2018 Vancouver Tea Festival, and more recently when I was feeling under the weather. While I didn’t have indigestion or stomach issues, I wasn’t feeling particularly hungry due to being sick and I think that having that peppermint and ginger infusion helped to settle my stomach a little bit. It’s definitely not a blend that I would have every day, because I tend to attribute those flavours to when I’m feeling sick. Digest is a blend that I’m going to keep in my ‘sick time’ tea blend stash because it definitely has a place there. I’d probably rate it higher if I was having bloating or indigestion, because then I would really be able to test the herbal qualities of the ingredients found in Digest.

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Cure by kyth + kyn
Herbal Infusion / Straight
$11.99 for Mini (makes 10 cups)

First Impressions

Cure is described by kyth + kyn has a blend to help with all your #yolo life decisions, in relation to drinking, and it made me laugh when I first heard it (and after tasting it, I really wanted to buy it). If you saw my previous review of kyth + kyn’s Glow, the packaging is fairly similar. Cure comes in a kraft paper pouch that’s resealable, has as plastic liner inside to help keep all the ingredients dry and keeps everything from getting stale.

The first ingredient that I really smelled when I opened the pouch was the ginger. I found that it was quite strong, and I could also smell something else that was almost spicy that was not the ginger, but I’m not familiar enough with the other ingredients to really know what it is… It smells good though, whatever it is!

Cure consists of: winter melon seed, pueraria, mulberry leaf, and ginger root.

Preparation

kyth + kyn suggests steeping 1 to 2 teaspoons in hot water and to steep for 3 to 5 minutes. The recommendation is to add honey or other sweetener to taste. I opted to do an initial steep in 200°F (93°C) water for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Cure steeps to a beautiful orange colour that has a strong ginger and spicy aroma that is very similar to the dry leaf. I found that the ginger flavour is pleasant, with a bit of natural sweetness surrounding it. I can taste that there are other ingredients in it, I don’t know what winter melon seed or pueraria are supposed to taste like, but I presume that one of them offers that spicy flavour that I’m getting from the tea. It’s not like a chili oil or hot pepper type of spice, but more of a spices type of spicy (think chai, but not in ingredients that I’m familiar with). The warming qualities from the ginger are nice and really warm me up!

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Cure twice, adding an extra 30 seconds for each steep, and I found that the flavours were quite nice still. The flavours stayed pretty comparable to the initial steep and I thoroughly enjoyed it each time. I’d probably really like this one if I had it when under the weather or had a stomach bug because I think it would help settle the stomach quite easily.

My Overall Impression

I loved kyth + kyn’s Cure. I found that the herbal blend did a very good job with resteeping, the ginger flavour was very enjoyable and it balanced well with the other ingredients. I wish I knew what the other ingredients tasted like or smelled like on their own so I could describe it better, but I found that the flavour was delicious and I didn’t have to add any sweetener to it to make it palatable. I do love the ginger in this blend though, and thought it was tasty.

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Glow by kyth + kyn
Herbal Infusion / Straight
$11.99 for 1 bag (5 servings)

First Impressions

I was first introduced to kyth + kyn in November, at the 2018 Vancouver Tea Festival. The idea behind kyth + kyn is to modernise traditional Chinese medicines, in particularly when it comes to the teas and soups. This concept really spoke to me because a lot of the ingredients being used in kyth + kyn’s tea blends were familiar to me. They’re ingredients that I grew up drinking (begrudgingly…), but now that I’ve grown up, I’m more appreciative of the flavours and the purpose behind the ingredients.

The ingredients for Glow are in separate plastic bags (resealable), which come in a sealed paper pouch that is also resealable and is plastic lined. Glow consists of dried red date and dried goji berries – each in separate bags. The aroma of the ingrediets are sweet, they remind me of walking into Chinese medicine shops as a child in Chinatown – there’s just something really familiar about it. Red dates have more of an aroma than the goji berries do, but I think that is par for the course.

kyth + kyn lists some of the positives about the ingredients on their product page for Glow. Red dates are high in vitamin C, help to regulate blood circulation, and contain flavanoids and sapoins (which promote sleep and relaxation). Goji berries have been in the news a lot lately because they are a super antioxidant, and they also help to promote healthy liver and kidney function, promote healthy skin, and also help to relieve stress and anxiety.

Preparation

kyth + kyn recommends combining 1 tablespoon of red dates with 1 teaspoon of goji berries in hot water, and then allowing it to steep for 15 to 20 minutes. I did measure out the ingredients and then tossed it into my teapot. I used 100°C (212°F) water since the temperature wasn’t specified. I let Glow steep for 20 minutes (and nearly forgot about it because it’s such a long steep time!).

First Taste

Glow steeps to a beautiful bright yellow, although it’s more of an orange in the teapot. It reminds me a bit like sunshine. The aroma from the tisane is mildly sweet and smells like dates primarily. The flavour of Glow is a nice balance between the red dates and the goji berries. There’s a slight tartness from the goji berries that is off-set by the sweetness from the dates, which lends itself to be quite tasty. I found the flavour to remind me a bit of apples, it just has that freshness to it that reminds me of biting into an apple.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Glow. It is an herbal tisane, so I found that it didn’t resteep well at all – which was to be expected. The first resteep was very watery compared to the initial steep, I would say that Glow is good for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved kyth + kyn’s Glow. Perhaps it’s because this tisane blend reminds me of my childhood, or because I just really enjoyed it – but I’m giving Glow a full four cups for the flavour, the balance between the goji berries and red dates, and for just being a good cup of tea. I love how kyth + kyn outlines the properties of the ingredients so I know what I’m drinking and what it’s good for. Pro-tip, you can eat all the ingredients if you want to (or toss them into a soup to get more out of it).

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