Product Review: Stash Herbal Iced Tea and Truvia Natural Sweetner

I am having the most wonderfully lazy Saturday. I am not ashamed to admit that it is 3 p.m. and I am still cozy in my pajamas (I also swear that I am showering and getting myself together right after this blog post)!

For a lazy day, I have done a lot. I cooked an amazing breakfast for the boyfriend, cleaned up the kitchen, created a Feel Good Foodies Facebook page, and made two liters of delicious herbal iced tea. I'm a member of Influenster, an online community where trendsetters can provide feedback on products. They essentially send me products that I can review and share with you readers! This week they sent me a box that included Stash Premium Tea and Truvia natural sweetener - the perfect start to a whole lotta iced-tea-goodness.

Since my juicer has been broken, I haven't been getting nearly as much fluid or nutrients compared to what my body is used to. Herbal tea is a great way to stay hydrated. I made two different iced teas: Wild Raspberry Hibiscus, and Mango Passionfruit. I learned in my three years as a Starbucks barista to double brew iced beverages - this basically means that since you will add ice, which will melt to water, you should brew your beverages with twice as much coffee or tea, and no additional water. This method prevents your drink from getting a watered down taste. 

So for each tea I used:

• Two herbal tea bags (this will work with any flavor you prefer)
• One packet of Truvia (I like my iced tea sweet, but not too sweet)
• A few slices of lemon (I used 3 per liter, and squeezed a little extra lemon juice in at the end

Put teabags and sweetener in a glass/jar/whatever you want to brew your tea in. Heat water in a teapot, and once boiling fill jars (or whatever you're brewing in) with water, about halfway so that the teabags are just submerged in the water. Add your lemons and let sit for 4-6 minutes, then fill the rest of the jar with room temperature or cold water.  If you desire more lemon juice, go ahead and squeeze it into the jars, and then refrigerate and enjoy! I like my tea strong, so I left the teabags in for about 10 more minutes while cooling in the fridge, but the 4-6 minutes should do the trick. 

I usually use TAZO teas, and the Stash tea was just as good, and definitely less expensive! I can't wait to try the other flavors from the sampler box. I was already a big Truvia fan prior to receiving the samples. Truvia boasts that unlike most stevia-based sweeteners, which are typically a mixture of many components from the stevia leaf, Truvia natural sweetener is made from Truvia stevia leaf extract, the best tasting part of the stevia leaf. I've tried other stevia sweeteners, and I really do like Truvia's taste the best.