Herbal teas are great for me because I can have them at night without worrying about being awake until 3am. I also think it’s a huge plus when the ingredients are all actual plants instead of mystery flavors and sugar. So I was pretty happy to give this sample of a honeybush tea blend a try. It only has five ingredients and they all actually grew out of the ground.
The dry leaf smells exactly like dried cranberries, to the point that I’m surprised they’re not an ingredient. The tea brews up the same color as a slice of blood orange. The brewed tea tastes entirely of juicy plum and hibiscus. I couldn’t taste the honeybush in it at all. The risk you run with hibiscus is always that it will drown out everything else. That seems to have largely happened here, though the plum does hold its own. I also got a pleasant second steep out of it, which doesn’t always happen with herbals. If I had more leaf, I would try steeping for 4 minutes instead of 5 to see if that helps tone down the hibiscus a bit.
I don’t know that I love, love, love this blend, but you might if you really like plum and hibiscus!
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
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Woodland Trek by Beach House Tea Company. . . . .
I steeped this tea for 8 minutes at 212 degrees with 1.5 teaspoons of leaf in about 6-8 ounces of water.
After steeping, the tea is an interesting peachy color-pinkish-orangeish-amber. It smells mostly of honeybush and a little of hops. The flavor combinations available here are quite intriguing!
First sip: SUPER sweet. It has a light, airy quality to the flavor. It’s not as “earthy” as I’d expect with so much honeybush in it (honeybush and rooibos usually ground a flavor pretty well in my estimation).
The flavor is also much more complex than the fragrance, rather than being dominated by the honeybush and hops flavors. It has the sweetness and woodiness of honeybush, but also a touch of lemony/citrus flavor (which brightens it considerably), just a hint of minty or piney freshness maybe, and some other difficult-to-describe notes.
After consulting the list of ingredients (it’s a relatively long one for a tea blend, although not super-long like a processed food or something) I’ve worked out that the sweetness is probably boosted by the marshmallow leaf (although honeybush is sweet on its own too) and the licorice; the bee pollen is probably what I see dancing in the tea liquid, giving it this peachy color; and the cedar is probably what I was mistaking for minty/piney freshness. All taken together, these notes make a fascinating flavor that’s worth exploring!
I’m really glad I got to try this tea–the dried leaf didn’t smell nearly as appetizing as the tea liquid turned out to be, and I’m glad I gave it the chance to bloom (figuratively speaking, that is–this wasn’t what they call a “blooming tea”).
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Honeybush/Rooibos
Where to Buy: Beach House Tea Company
Description
Woodland Trek 100% organic loose leaf tea is crafted with honeybush tea with a rich undertone of licorice and sage and snap of organic Oregon hops and a hint of sweetness from bee pollen. This outdoor-rich blend with organic cedar tips invites you to reminisce memories of evenings spent camping or hiking the cascades.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
On the Third Day of Christmas 52Teas sent to me. . .
On the third day of Christmas 52 Teas gave to me….Chocolate Hazelnut Strawberry Honeybush tea! When I scratched the label off of this one and started to be able to make out the name, you should have seen my face! I didn’t get a chance to try this blend back whenever it was available at 52 Teas because I don’t believe I had heard of the company yet. The other day I saw someone mention it on Steepster and I was really interested in trying it and wondered if I would ever get the chance. Imagine my shock when I saw it as Day 3’s blend!
I don’t think I mentioned yet in these reviews, but I’m currently pregnant with my second daughter. I’m due in February! Because of my pregnancy, whenever I see a tisane (herbal, honeybush, rooibos, or fruit infusion) blend, I’m always really psyched because that means I can drink it as much as I want, whenever I want, being as they are naturally caffeine-free! So, I am very happy that this beautiful myriad of flavors are part of a honeybush base.
Now, I am not usually a fan of chocolate in tea, but something that 52 Teas does is use cacao nibs and shells instead of actual chocolate chips, so I am not as afraid of their chocolate blends as I am with other companies. The chocolate is light here, not overpowering or artificial tasting. The strawberry and hazelnut are light, too. No one ingredient overpowers the other. Instead, there is just a little hint of everything combined with the sweet and herbal taste of honeybush. It’s really enjoyable, even though since I am a huge hazelnut-lover I wouldn’t mind if the hazelnut flavor was a little stronger. Other than that though, this is definitely something I would choose to drink again. I have been really happy with all the teas in this holiday countdown box and I have no doubt the fun will continue!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Kumquat Cheesecake from 52Teas. . . . . .
One can always count on 52 teas for their unique blends.
This is a winner and needs to actually be made into cheesecake as it would be delicious. They did a wonderful job of capturing the kumquat flavor without any of the bitterness that can be found in the rind. Fruity with hints of citrus and cream.
The honey bush blends perfectly with the aforementioned flavors like a selfish ninja. You know it’s there but it won’t truly show. The liquid is a beautiful color.
When you brew be sure to use something clear. The rose color is quite a delight.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Honeybush, Red Rooibos Vanilla, and Red Rooibos Chai Spice Tea Bags from Top Quali Tea. . . .
Being the insane tea drinker I am, I want to love all of the amazing dessert honeybush and red rooibos blends that are out in the tea community. It seems that banana flavored teas for the most part have red rooibos in them. Just makes me sad since I am not a huge fan of red rooibos and sometimes even stray away from honeybush.
But when these huge boxes of honeybush and red rooibos tea bags arrived at my door, I had to prep my tea pot up because I was bound and determine to experience these teas.
The first one I tried was the Red Rooibos Chai Spice. This tea bag smelled amazing and I could barely pick out the red rooibos familiar smell. Familiar Masala Chai notes swirled around me while I steeped this tea. Unfortunately, first sip in, I was greeted with the familiar red rooibos taste and I couldn’t go any farther. The spices in this tea were delicious which made me sad this same recipe of spices wasn’t attached to a green tea or even honeybush- that would have been dynamite. As a side note, my hubby really enjoyed this tea. He thought this tea was smooth with a spicy kick.
Next up was the Red Rooibos Vanilla. Again, I prepped myself up a cup with fresh boiled water and allowed the tea to cool for a few moments. I loved the sweet notes the vanilla gave off, but I was also picking up that familiar red rooibos smell. I did take my first sip-and again- unfortunately- I just wasn’t able to go any further. The vanilla was quite nice, but I couldn’t get past the medicinal woodsy flavor the red rooibos was giving of. My husband also tried this tea and really liked it. He loved the sweet vanilla tones.
For the finale, I prepped the Honeybush Tea Bag . Brewed hot, this tea was a nice change of pace. I added in a lemon and enjoyed quite a nice cuppa while I helped my son with his homework. The honeybush was simple but mingled well with the lemon giving me this lovely honeybush lemon treat to finish out my day with. Cold brewed with lemon and limes, I was able to keep my tastebuds happy while I crossed off tasks at work. The honeybush in both instances gave way to a sweet background. I can see this tea being great cold brewed with fresh herbs like mint and fruits-I’m thinking strawberries- to enjoy over the last few days of summer we have left. My husband and I both felt this was the best tea of the three.
Even though I may not have been a huge fan of all of these teas, for the price you really can’t go wrong. I can see where these could be a huge hit with the rest of the Sisters and I can’t wait to see what they have to say. I’m hoping they expand their line to include possibly some herbal teas that do not include honeybush or red rooibos.
Here’s the scoop!
Where to Buy: Top Quali Tea
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
