The last few days have been felt like an overload of sweet, milky teas– to the point that even my beloved English Breakfast with cream and honey was starting to feel too sickly sweet for me. (#teareviewerprobs– admittedly, best. problem. ever.) And so, I knew my body was telling me it was time for a little tea/tummy reset.
I knew exactly what I was looking for, digging around in my sample stash– this blend from Harlow Tea Co has been calling my name for days. A honeybush blend with plum and vegetal, herbal notes, I knew it would hit the spot without feeling like dessert overload. Right off the bat, the leaves smell beautiful– fruity and herbal, balancing the flavor-makers like plum with some more medicinal herbs like lady’s mantle, all juxtaposed against the smooth honeybush.
Brewed, it hits all those same notes for me. Fruity, but not too sweet; just herbal enough to feel like I’m doing something good for my body to boot! The one flavor that seems predominant to me is that of plums– prunes, to be exact. It makes sense, as there are large dried plum chunks in the dry leaf, and I adore prunes as a snack.
That said, if these GI-enablers aren’t your favorite flavor, I’d say this tea might not be for you. For me, though, it’s a home run. My stomach is happy, my tea drinking habits are feeling balanced again, and I’ll definitely be rebrewing my sample as many more times as I can get away with (and knowing Harlow, it’s bound to be at least a few). To balance!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Harlow Tea Co.
Description
This caffeine free tea is a great tea for any tea drinker, someone brand new to tea or have tried it all.
Honeybush tea is vey mild, but gives great flavor without caffeine. Floral hints from rose hips, hibiscus flower, and lady’s mantle is balanced with the fruity aroma of dried plums.
Does not contain caffeine
Lady’s mantle is considered in many cultures to be used as a woman’s healing herb.
Ingredients: honeybush tea, dried plums, lady’s mantle, rose hips, and hibiscus flower.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Strawberry Coconut Honeybush-Rooibos Blends from 52Teas
When I first discovered 52Teas I got a sampler pack and among it was a Strawberry Pie Honeybush blend. I instantly fell in love. Something about the way 52Teas does strawberry honeybush is just so right. So, when I saw this blend in the teas CuppaGeek sent my way, I was really intrigued.
As per 52Teas recommendations, I brewed this low and slow and let it cool before giving it a taste. With the very first sip, I was taking a trip down memory lane. The familiar strawberry honeybush deliciousness was back. Sweet but sharp and true to the delightful berry. But what’s that? A creaminess? Must be the coconut. All of this floating on the rooibos-honeybush base that provides a solid foundation for the flavors to stand on.
This tea is sweet, but not too sweet and the perfect to end off the evening. Though if you are in the mood for something a little sweeter, this also makes for an awesome tea smoothie. I blended this up with some frozen strawberries and bananas, a little chocolate pudding, some milk, and two teaspoons of a banana, bourbon & vanilla bean jam from a local jam shop, Kitten and the Bear. It’s a mason jar full of liquid dessert. The coconut helps elevate the overall creaminess of the blend and mixes perfectly with the vanilla bean of the jam. The strawberry, just as it was in the hot cup of tea, is the true star here though. Juicy and ripe and dipped in milk chocolate is the berry flavor the smoothie is highlighting. Amazing!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
I had originally planned for this to be just a honeybush blend – but when I got to my tea studio, I realized that I didn’t have enough honeybush in stock so it became a honeybush-rooibos blend. I actually think I like it better as a blend because I really like how honeybush and rooibos complement each other. They seem to bring out the best in each other!
So here is a naturally caffeine free blend of organic honeybush and rooibos – together they create a sweet, nutty, slightly honeyed tasting base to support the flavors of a sweet-tart strawberry and creamy, delectable coconut. The brewed tea is sweet, smooth and delicious with a finish that’s offers a tingly berry tartness – evoking thoughts of fresh berries!
Taster size is approximately 1/2 ounce
organic ingredients: honeybush, rooibos, coconut, freeze-dried strawberries and natural flavors
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Carrot Cake Cheesecake Honeybush from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
In honor of my significant other’s birthday, I’ve created a dessert-y tea to celebrate two of his favorite desserts: carrot cake & cheesecake. I decided to use a honeybush base for this because I thought that the natural nutty flavor of the honeybush would work well with these flavors.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
One of the reasons I love 52Teas so much is the unique flavors they have. I mean who else would create a honeybush based carrot cheesecake. . .and thank goodness they did!
This is a brilliant tea blend with all the cinnamon, carrot cake, and cheesecake goodness you can hope for and more. The dry tea blend smells wonderful and it is one of those aromas you want to bottle up into a candle. That aroma would be amazing closer to the fall season.
I am not always a huge fan of honeybush based blends. Sometimes I feel like they tend to be a bit more like my arch enemy, red rooibos, but sometimes they are done just right. This is one of those blends that is done right.
Prepped per the instructions on the package, this tea comes out perfect each and every time. I have drank so much of this tea that I have gone thru a few tasters and am currently on a larger size pouch of the tea. I’ve tried the blend hot, iced, and cold brewed. Here is what I thought of this tea:
Hot: This tea sings cinnamon with a sweet creaminess mixed in. There is a subtle nuttiness that you get here and there but what you really get is this gorgeous cinnamon flavor. Not too overwhelming. Just very soothing, especially as a late evening cuppa. Simple soul warming cinnamon. Perfect to curb those late night cravings.
Iced: Probably my least favorite method. Again, the cinnamon was there are prominent but there weren’t any other flavors really popping thru either. Everything just seemed a bit muddled. I was sad and was hoping for more of a pop of a dessert flavor.
Cold Brew: This is the ticket to this tea. Cold brew this tea and you will be greeted with a lush creamy sweet yet tangy cinnamon slightly cake like tea. Do I have you drooling yet? I was surprised by how well this turned out. I didn’t get the cheesecake flavor but I loved and adored the flavors that were coming thru. Really well done and I made a huge pitcher of this tea and it was gone in no time flat. Both my hubby and myself thought this was the best of the three experiments.
Even tho I never picked up on the cheesecake notes from any of the three methods, I still am immensely happy with the flavors I did get. Can’t wait to enjoy more cold brew of this tea blend when I get home tonight!
