IBack in my single girl days, three important facts prevailed: I lived with one of my bffs (thus, hijinks often ensued), we ate a lot of Mexican food, and we watched a lot– A LOT of Downton Abbey. For the purposes of this story, only the first two are applicable. But still. One night, we were craving tostadas something fierce, so we ordered dinner from our favorite local taqueria. On a whim, we added a to-go order of Horchata to our meal, thinking we’d just get a few cups’ full.
Upon picking up, we were greeted with our brown bag of food… and a literal giant Sno-Cone jug filled with horchata. Well then. Apparently if this was the best way to transport our creamy, spiced beverage home with our tostadas, who were we to say no?
As soon as I sniffed the loose leaf in my bag of Old Barrel’s horchata rooibos, I was immediately transported back to that delicious (and slightly confusing) memory. The dry scent is spot-on creamy vanilla and warm cinnamon. Brewed, it’s even better– absolutely none of the medicinal bitterness that can sometimes accompany a rooibos, and it’s made even more delicious and authentic by the addition of some cream and a touch of honey.
Would I drink a Sno-Cone jug sized cup of this tea? Probably definitely yes. Although I think I’ll just stick to a tea cup for now– but it would taste great with tostadas.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Old Barrel Tea and Spice
Description
Vanilla rooibos with cinnamon. Delicious with a splash of cream and sugar. Rooibos is caffeine free but you can try Horchata Oolong if you prefer something caffeinated!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Apple Cider Tea from Harlow Tea Co
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: Harlow Tea Co
Tea Description:
This loose leaf tea blend is a perfect mix of fruit, spice, and everything nice. The honeybush tea does not contain caffeine, making it perfect to relax with at any time of day.
Ingredients: Honeybush tea, candied cinnamon apples, cinnamon chips, chicory root, hibiscus flower, dried apple, and dried plum. Does not contain caffeine
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Apple Cider Tea from Harlow Tea Co, an Etsy store, may have just made my whole day! This tea is exactly what the doctor ordered. Harlow Tea Co is a gem of a tea shop I recently stumbled upon. They offer quite an array of hand blended teas for their customers to enjoy. I love their attitude when it comes to creating their tea blends.
“Tea should be made in small batches right? Harlow Tea Co. believes so. No machines, or heavy equipment is used to make these tea blends.” I just adore tea companies that use this motto and passion. One reason why I love 52Teas so much.
First impression of this tea, I was very happy with what I was seeing. Large chunks of apple-both candied and dried on a bed of honeybush. When I took a quick whiff of the dry leaf, this definitely had those familiar cinnamon and apple notes that you get from apple cider.
So I brewed this tea up like an herbal-boiling and steeped about 5 minutes. The end result was a lovely pale liquor that I couldn’t wait to try. I allowed the brew to cool for a few minutes and took my first sip.
Fresh juicy slightly tart apple flavor with a sweetness that really does resemble and remind you of an apple cider. The cinnamon isn’t overwhelming and really heightens the flavor nicely. The honeybush is the perfect base for this tea, allowing the other flavors to really shine while also adding a creamy note. Each sip is sweet and smooth, delivering a solid flavor.
To say I was impressed by this tea isn’t doing this tea justice. I have had about 7 infusions out of the same tea leaves today and yesterday (each day adding a minute to my steeping) and tho the blend is probably at the end, I”m still loving that apple cider flavor I’m getting.
This blend is a perfect example of an herbal tea done right!
