The world is changing, and so are people’s drinking habits. Tea has been a staple of society for centuries now with caffeine being one way to get your day started – but what about when you need an extra boost? If handling stress or staying awake at work seems impossible without another cup in hand, there’re other options available! Zest tea offers 150mgs per serving (about 50% more than traditional teas) which will give anyone the energy they deserve.
Zest Tea – High Energy Tea
I remember working 3 jobs and using those 5-hour energy drinks, then getting about 4-5 hours of sleep then opening a Starbucks to then be surrounded by even more Caffeine. I’m always chasing caffeine to focus and stay energetic. I needed help in kicking the bad habits of unhealthy consumption of various sources of Caffeine, like sodas and candy. I remember finding Zest Tea in 2018 when I was in Pittsburgh. Zest is based out of Baltimore, Maryland so I felt like being as close to them as I was, I had to support them and give them a try.
Besides there aren’t many companies that offer what Zest does with their Teas and Beverages.
Over the course of two months, I ended up buying all their tea blends. At that time, they had just four flavors; Earl Grey Tea blend with hints citrus flavor in it similar to what you would get from an orange or lemon but not too strong so it’s refreshing and there’s also 100mg L-Theanine which helps prevent crashes when drinking caffeine overnight while sleeping soundly through any morning alarms because this ingredient has calming properties as well, making them perfect before starting work.
Expansive Product Line
You can now enjoy a refreshing drink that’s packed with nutrients and has the perfect amount of caffeine for your needs. Sparkling Teas, Loose Leaf Tea Bags as well as CBD-based teas come in many flavors so there is something to suit everyone! They’re great whether you want carbonation or not; we even have an easy method on how they filter out all those extra calories found naturally present within sparkling water without sacrificing any flavor whatsoever.
The flavor is rather mild, but the tea has a full-bodied feel. I’ve only tried it once before when they first launched and didn’t care much for that particular type then either; however, after trying their newest flavors with more robust tastes (like Sparkling Tea), this one seems to grow on you quickly!
I’m usually able to get about 3 cups per Tea Bag. You typically get about 15-20 sachets for $9.95 or up to $12 depending on where you purchase from. They are commonly available at Walmart, Amazon or directly from Zest. I find them to be cost effective compared to Tea brands like Traditional Medicinal or Yogi. Needless to say, I love my Teas. It’s pretty incredible that I get 2 cups and maybe even 3 with 1 Tea Bag of Zest. If it was others, I’d need to pony up for 2 Sachets per cup.
My typical cup consists of either Blue Lady, Apple Cinnamon, or Pomegranate Mojito with 1 tablespoon of Honey and a little Stevia. Remember if you’re buying local Honey and adding it to hot tea, you’re stripping the nutritional benefits of buying local. I recommend buying store bought commercial Honey for Hot Tea. Otherwise, you can wait until your Tea isn’t boiling past 130 degrees and you might not kill the beneficial nutrients. I’m not that patient.
You can check out their CBD Tea for $29.95 with 20 Tea Bags. Keep in mind this is direct from them which you get free shipping on orders over $40.
Give Zest Tea a try. This is my go-to Caffeinated Tea with my favorite blends of Honey. Learn more about which Honey products are my favorite in my Honey Reviews, and be sure to check back for new products I’ll be trying out.
Round Rock Fresh Raw Local Honey has a special place in my heart. Not because of their company, product or even the Honey itself. It holds meaning that reaches back a few years ago, before I started The Honey Review.
Round Rock Honey is one of the first products I received back when I told my Uncle Doug about my excitement for starting thehoneyreview. It’s one of the first Honey products I tested and researched. I’ve had it several times since then, how well has it been favored in my opinion?
“Honey From the Rock”
Read below for my review of Round Rock Fresh Raw Local Honey.
Round Rock Fresh Raw Local Honey Review
Honey: Its Wildflower, Clover, Common.
Color: Light, Filtered Golden Tan.
Aroma: Mild Floral Notes, Subtle Oak and Nuttiness.
Flavor: Very Sweet, Buttery, Slight Acidity.
Texture: Very Smooth, High-Tech Filtration, Not Gummy.
If you’re native to the Austin Area, chances are you’ve seen Round Rock Honey before. It’s commonly available at HEB and most Farmers Markets. They source from over 90 various sites across Texas with thousands of Hives statewide. While this is not local Honey by my standards, it is local by State (However Texas is enormous). Round Rock Honey does bottle Honey locally on Site for HEB, and is very active with Farmers Markets. But who knows where that Honey comes from or whose it is?
The Owners Konrad and Elizabeth Bouffard started with just 4 Hives in Austin. Now they run a commercial operation with a physical store and web store.
There are Beekeeping Classes, Tours, Soaps and Skincare products, and most recently Christmas Trees? In fact, their Beekeeping school is one of the largest in Texas. These guys like to educate, and I’m cool with that.
Round Rock Honey sells Beekeeping Supplies and Nucs as well for new or existing Beekeepers.
They’ve been promoting Tours of their Facility in Round Rock since 2014. Availability of Factory Tours has dwindled since the Pandemic in 2020. But you may be able to book one or two every month.
They are $5 per person. Keep in mind this is just a factory tour with no live hives, just a demonstration of beekeeping practices and the manufacturing of Honey. I always appreciate companies that allow customers to check out the factories to give you a glimpse of how it’s made. Hershey has been doing this for decades, and my favorite, Ben & Jerry’s in Vermont.
In a way, I’d compare Round Rock Honey to Kelley’s Local Texas Honey. It’s local of Texas state, but not neighboring local or county local. Making them commercial and bordering a Honey Packer. They’ve expanded into another sister label called Goodbees as well, which is the same product, with a different name. Wine companies do this all the time. It’s so they can expand marketing through a different name, while funneling the profits into the same entity. And I’d say if you’re selling well at HEB, you know how to market. Maybe it has something to do with Taxes, I’m not sure.
The prices are definitely on the expensive side. Almost at $1 per lb. Comparing Round Rock Honey to Kelley’s Local Texas Honey at HEB, you’ll find that Round Rock Honey charges $7 for 8oz or $9.11 for 16 oz. Kelley’s, however, charges $4.68 for 12 oz or $7.91 for 24 oz. I’d say you get what you pay for in this case. To an extent… Even Kirkland Honey at Costco just states its Local Texas Honey and that’sa 3lb jar for $8.99!
Effective Marketing leads to sales, it also educates potential Customers.
Round Rock Honey has very clear and concise wording on their product line. It encourages those that should know important details like the processing treatment. Round Rock Honey states they don’t heavily filter or heat their Honey. They pull frames of uncapped Honey from a big Centrifuge at room temp. Because I’m a beekeeper, I know this is the proper treatment, however many consumers don’t.
If you read about the product on HEB’s website, Round Rock has a lot of updated and direct information. There’s a lot of copy and paste with the same statement being made multiple times even on their own website. I guess that’s something they really want to emphasize though.
Producing wildflower honey is difficult, and yields unpredictable, but in the opinion of Round Rock Honey owners Konrad and Elizabeth Bouffard, it is more important to focus on quality than on quantity! The emphasis on quality at Round Rock Honey extends to the harvest and packaging as well. Honey is “robbed” on a regular basis (season & weather permitting), and promptly bottled. Although all our honey is poured through a stainless-steel sieve to remove bee legs and wings as well as wax caps, it is never heated or filtered. We remove honey from the hives by centrifuge, at room temperature. This is done so that pollen, trace minerals, and complex sugars that occur naturally in our honey are never compromised.
I appreciate they use their names, proper terminology, and why. This all reflects why they advocate for Tours so often and promote their beekeeping school. This is awesome. Kelley’s, however, their description is adequate, but not as informative.
Kelley Honey Farms products are 100% U.S.A. We are proud to provide our consumers with all-natural raw products, harvested completely in the United States of America. Our Texas bees produce honey from all regions of Texas including Greenville, McKinney, Weatherford, Lubbock, Pleasanton, Edinburg, Liberty and Chicota. Moving 14,000 hives to the best nectar flows across Texas produces Kelley Honey Farms over 1,000,000 pounds of honey per year.
Kelley’s drives the point of being a USA product and not imported, which is fair, we get a ton of imported Honey. And they state the counties at which they harvest their Honey. It’s more than Round Rocks I’d assume as Kelley’s has 3 different brands under the same name, and a much lower retail price. Round Rock doesn’t even bother to state counties, so that’s nice of Kelley’s.
Now this is just a comparison of two local Texas Honey suppliers, but its a good point to make in how different they are with some similarities. I thought Kelley’s branding was very misleading in my initial review. They didn’t have an active social media, they are missing important details on their labeling, they don’t offer tours or schools, and have several brands that somehow offer the same exact product for questionably low prices.
I like the core of what Round Rock Honey is trying to resemble, but unfortunately, I’d still say they’re a commercial Honey Packer selling the idea of Raw Local Honey to those who don’t really know much about Honey or Bees.
Misleading, but not a terrible product. That being said, as much as I want to love their Honey, I don’t love their prices or that they don’t sell local Honey. It’s overwhelmingly misleading with these Honey producers with commercial factories. In fact, I’ve never bought my own bottle of Round Rock Honey, it’s always been gifts. But free Honey is always sweet.
Tiny 4 oz plastic jar. $5
Round Rock Fresh Raw Local Honey
The Honey Review
Honey
Color
Flavor
Aroma
Texture
Summary
It’s real Honey, It’s Texas based. It’s rather generic, being only wildflower. They have a wide range of products though. Orange Cinnamon Honey, Bourbon Barrel, which I may try in the future. They offer factory tours, hive tours, classes, and even had enough overhead to do groupon offers. They provide educational information on their products.
Round Rock Honey has become a product of commercial Honey Packers and promote their Honey at 6 Texas Farmers Markets. It’s hard to source how local this Honey is, but Texas is enough for people.
