Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Organic honeybush is the perfect compliment to this melding of delicious and aromatic organic flavors, including date, orange, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and pecan. This might seem like a strange thing to flavor an iced tea like, but just wait til you try it!
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
I just ate some Spicy Sriracha Cosmos and let me tell you, my mouth is on fire! Acha-cha! Spicy!
So, I needed something cold and refreshing and easy to drink (read: gulp!) to help cool my palate. Since I brewed this Date Nut Bread Iced Honeybush Tea from Southern Boy Teas last night so it could chill in the fridge overnight, I figured it was the perfect thing to help me cool down my mouth.
And not only did it do just that, but I was happy to say that the flavors came through LOUD and CLEAR even though my palate might have been somewhat impaired after eating those spicy nuggets of fluffy goodness. (It’s the very good kind of burn!) After a tall glass of the tea, my mouth was feeling back to normal, but I wanted to wait a while before I finished the review so that my palate was back to a functioning level.
So now that my taste buds are refreshed and ready to taste things again – I’m really amazed at how much this actually tastes like date nut bread! I taste the dates – this is a strong flavor. The nutty flavor comes from a hint of pecan flavoring as well as the natural nutty flavor from the honeybush. I taste notes of a cake-y/bread-y type flavor, as well as notes of brown sugar and butter and just a dash of cinnamon.
There is a bright note to this that didn’t taste immediately like “orange” to me until I got to the aftertaste. The aftertaste has a sunny orange flavor. I like that while I can taste the orange and cinnamon here, these flavors were added carefully and offer more of a gentle note rather than overpower the tea.
It’s a surprisingly refreshing iced tea. Not flavors that I would normally think of when I think “Iced Tea” but it works and works very nicely!
The Woman Custom Blend from Adagio Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black, Roiboos & Fruit/Herbal
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Tea Description:
Incredibly seductive to any man (or woman): the scent of fresh cookies, hints of cherry, and just a whiff of smoke.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is one of Cara McGee’s Sherlock fandom blends, created to represent the character Irene Adler – otherwise known as The Woman. The description is perfectly suited to the character; beautifully sweet with a fruity edge, trailing a puff of smoke. I used 1 tsp of leaf, and gave it 3.5 minutes in boiling water. No additions. The resulting liquor is a medium brown, and smells like a mild Lapsang Souchong.
Upon taking a sip, the first flavours to emerge are the cherry and vanilla. It’s a sweet beginning, maybe even a little cloying (although only momentarily). It’s saved by the smoke, which emerges in the mid-sip and takes the sweetness down a peg or two, adding a slightly acrid, sour note that isn’t at all unpleasant. I say this as someone who’s not usually a fan of smoky teas, so it’s a big compliment coming from me! It’s possible to detect the woodiness of the honeybush slightly at this point, too, and that again helps to mediate the sweetness of the cherry and vanilla. It makes the whole cup more layered and complex, too – rather like the character herself. The cherry and vanilla emerge again right at the end of the sip, once the smoke fades. This time the sweetness is more welcome, and it’s possible to appreciate how flavour-accurate the cherry is (no pseudo cough medicine here), and the light creaminess contributed by the vanilla. It’s actually a pretty delicious combination, and it reminds me a little of ice cream.
As a fandom blend, I think this tea emblematises Irene pretty well. She is beautiful and alluring, with a sweet, decadent edge. The smoke is characteristic. The combination of the two hints at something more complex, a little darker and more dangerous. Irene isn’t straightforward character, and this isn’t a straightforward tea. So far, they’re equal.
The main thing this tea has taught me is not to be scared of smoke. This would make a good introduction to Lapsang Souchong for those who are uncertain about it (as I am). It’s relatively mild, and although it does have a fairly significant impact on the flavour of the overall cup, it’s not at the expense of the other flavours. They still have a part to play, too. On the whole, I’d say this is a very well balanced blend, with a good combination of flavours. It also plays well to the fandom aspect. I found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable blend, and I’ll have no problem finishing my tin! An Adagio gem.
Apricot Meadow Herbal Tea from Plum Deluxe Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Tea Description:
One of the best parts of a monthly tea experience is to try unique blends; this month, see what happens when unexpected ingredients come together. Apricot + lemongrass? Who knew! Spicy, sweet, yet gentle.
Lemongrass is a very interesting herb – it really transforms flavor when it is paired with other flavors. It’s a lot of fun to experiment with – you can actually make it into a tea all on its own, but we think this combination is perfect excuse to slow down and laze on a sunny spring day. You’ve earned it!
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Plum Deluxe’s subscription plan here.
Taster’s Review:
I have been wanting to do a tea subscription for a very long time but with not really digging red rooibos I was always leery of committing. Plus with some of the subscription plans you get a lot of tea and I am really the only one that drinks it in my house, so I wasn’t sure if my cupboard could handle the overflow. But I finally took a chance and decided I would check one out. I emailed a few companies with a few questions and Andy from Plum Deluxe was the first one to reply. I have asked him so many questions at this point, I bet he thinks I’m crazy.
I received my first package and it is adorable. Along with my 1 oz of the tea of the month, I also received a sample of another of their blends and a cute little reusable bag with the companies logo on it. I love tea mail days. I dug in right away.
The dry leaves definitely smell like a fresh apricot. Threw 2 tsps into my Breville, set it up to 212F and steep for 5 minutes.
This really is a beautifully and well done herbal tea. I highly recommend it. The sweetness is there and you can really taste the apricot. The honeybush really provides a great sweet addition. There is almost a spicy tang to it as well. But its gentle and warming. The package says its great iced so I tried the herbal that way as well. Same steeping parameters but added some ice. Wow. I can see this as being a great summer tea. The apricot and honey flavors are really pronounced maybe even more so than when I enjoyed this hot. I might have to hold off one drinking anymore and save it for later in the summer months. I’m excited to see what next month’s tea will be.
Strawberry Pie Iced Honeybush Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Our premium organic caffeine-free honeybush blended with organic strawberry, cinnamon, brown sugar and pastry flavors. A delicious caffeine-free treat. Don’t miss your chance to grab one.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
From the moment that I tore open the pouch of this Strawberry Pie Iced Honeybush Tea from Southern Boy Teas, I knew I was in for a treat! I could smell the strawberry right away! And the berry with the cinnamon produced an aroma that was absolutely irresistible! YUM!
And this really is yummy. The nutty, honey-sweet honeybush with the notes of buttery pastry, earthy cinnamon and sweet brown sugar notes create a really delightful ‘pie-like’ flavor. The strawberry tastes sweet with hints of tart, just like the real thing. It tastes like the glazed strawberries in a strawberry pie (or a strawberry shortcake!)
It makes a really refreshing iced tea. It tastes a lot like I remember the “My Sweet Honeybush” version of this flavor tasting: sweet and delicious. I think that ‘hot tea’ version of this tea also had more of a vanilla-y taste to it. I do taste some vanilla-ish flavor to this, like a creamy sweetness, but it’s not as strong as my taste buds want to remember based on reading my past review.
However, I don’t feel like I’m missing that vanilla note in this tea because I rather like that this is about the strawberry and the pie. Very refreshing, pleasantly sweet and dessert-like. Nice!
Brownie Batter Honeybush from 52Teas
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Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
A certain someone who shall remain nameless *ahem, LiberTEAs* keeps telling me that our chocolate blends need MORE chocolate. More chocolate, she insists, more, more, more. So, I decided to see just how chocolatey a blend I can make: and here it is. This is our premium organic, caffeine-free honeybush blended with organic cacao nibs AND chocolate chips and organic flavors of brownie batter and extra chocolate. =) Do I need to say more?
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
So I was quite pleased with myself when I read the above description because it’s nice to see that people listen to me when I say that more chocolate = better. Sometimes I think I say these things just to hear my fingers tap on the keyboard.
But no. Frank from 52Teas heard me. And so he created this Brownie Batter Honeybush tea.
To brew this, I used my Breville One Touch, adding the whole 1/2 ounce to the basket (I usually like a little extra leaf when it comes to honeybush tisanes). Then I poured 500ml of freshly filtered water into the jug of my tea maker. I set the temperature for 195°F and the timer for 10 minutes. Since honeybush doesn’t have the tannin content that Camellia Sinensis does, it won’t get bitter like tea when steeped an extended length of time. And by lowering the temperature to just below boiling, I find that it eliminates that funky ‘sour wood’ taste that is often noted in both rooibos and honeybush.
My first two sips were a little muddied because the cup was still quite hot. After allowing it to cool to a drinkable temperature, the flavors really come forward.
The flavor is really chocolate-y. The honeybush flavors come through too, and the nutty flavor of the honeybush really ties in well with the idea of brownie batter. I find that the flavors develop as I continue to sip – now that I’m nearly finished with this huge mug of tea, I’m experiencing more chocolate with each sip than I did at the start.
Very yummy. If you’re a chocolate fan, you’ll like this one. The chocoholic in me is quite satisfied with this drink!