I was in the mood for “something different” this morning and chose this one. Taken with a half teaspoon of sugar. Really nice on a hot day. The spice is subtle, and the citrusy flavors, especially the lemon verbena, are really refreshing. It finally hit me why I like this so much – I just got a memory of when I was in Florence and went to the Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella.
http://www.italian.it/santamarianovella/smnuk.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/26/travel/shopper-s-world-florentine-potions-for-sale.html
There I bought the most amazing lemon verbena perfumes and soaps, made from centuries-old recipes and herbs gathered from the Tuscan countryside. The perfume is long gone, and the soaps were given out to friends as souvenirs, but I have loved lemon verbena from that day forward.
This tea has the most lemon verbena taste I have experienced yet!!!! It may have gotten its inspiration from a market in Seattle, but to me it will always evoke Florence and the olde recipies of Santa Maria Novella.
