Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: M&K’s Tea Company on Etsy
Tea Description:
Soothing lavender, sweet cinnamon, adjective ingredient! You get the idea. But this herbal infusion is a special one, with a taste that is all its own. You’ll have to try it to describe it! But, as far as we can tell, it tastes something like lavender, chamomile, licorice, and a hint of cinnamon. This blend is part of the Original 20 M&K’s Blends. Additionally, this is the first M&K’s blend officially invented.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Usually when I find a lavender tisane like this Lavender Daze Herbal Tea from M&K’s Tea Company, I expect it to be a combination of lavender and chamomile – and this is such a blend. But what makes it different from other blends is that M&K’s didn’t stop at just lavender and chamomile. They added honey roasted licorice root, star anise, ginger, lemon verbena and cinnamon! Most of these ingredients are not ones you’d find in the average “nighttime” lavender and chamomile blend.
So I didn’t know what to expect with this tea. I brewed it in my Kati Tumbler, using 1 1/2 bamboo scoops of tisane and 12 ounces of near boiling (195°F) water and steeping for 8 minutes.
As I surmised based on the list of ingredients, this isn’t the typical nighttime lavender/chamomile blend, and it certainly doesn’t taste like it either.
The licorice is really strong with this blend. Maybe too strong. I love licorice, but the licorice notes here overpower the other flavors a bit too much because I’m tasting mostly just licorice. The sip starts out with a soft cinnamon-y note, and then the licorice hits and it lingers throughout the rest of the sip and into the aftertaste.
Just after I notice the cinnamon, I pick up on the subtlest of hints of lavender, ginger and citrus. But again, they are so faint because bam! The licorice hits and overpowers the rest of the blend. I do taste whispers of honey, but mostly, I taste licorice.
And as I’ve said, I LOVE licorice, but I think that with this combination of ingredients and what seemed to promise a really interesting fusion of flavors, I find myself just a wee bit disappointed because I would have liked to experience a more balanced cup.
It’s good, don’t get me wrong. If you like licorice, you’re bound to enjoy this and I am enjoying the licorice notes here. I just think it would have been more interesting to taste more of the other components to this blend.
