Herbal Infusions

I am still not finding any coconut in this tea and I think it could use it as the combination of lime peel and black tea can get bitter. Luckily Herbal Infusions samples are large enough that I have a couple more cups to try and get it right before I officially write this off.

When I opened the package, the smell of lime was quite strong. I got excited for a sweet and zesty citrus tea. Brewed, the lime though present and very natural tasting, is very toned down and it is lacking the citrus zest I was so excited about. This tea tastes more like lime peel. There is also a lack of coconut in this cup. All in all, this is not a bad tea but it is not the punch of flavor I was anticipating.

Spoiler alert for those wanting to keep the Herbal Infusions 12 Days of Christmas teas a secret!

This is day two of the 2013 lineup, and I’m a bit leery again of this tea. It has a LOT of ingredients, and of course I can only guess as to what they are. There’s definitely rooibos and cornflowers, and then the rest is a mix of… I don’t know what. Cavo did an excellent job with the pics; there’s something chunky and green, some large form of what looks to be a brown fruit (fig?), and a few other things that meld into the rooibos but aren’t obviously rooibos.

It smells interesting. Hard to explain. Fruity in a deeper, full way – again I think of figs, or something like them. Dates? Maybe even candied yams. Brewed up I didn’t notice the smell, and then had to help my son construct a superhero Lego universe, so this went cold on me.

Cold, it smells like rooibos. Drinking it is… confusing. My interpretation of pumpkin pie is very different than whomever blended this tea. I’m getting more yam pie than anything, with some really unusual flavoring I’m struggling to place. There is something flaky and cakey in the blend, which is nice. I assumed there would be spices in here (cinnamon, nutmeg, something) and I’m getting nothing along those lines.

I’m really unsure what to make of this, so am holding off on my rating.

And that’s the end of this. I had to drink this and finish it up because with the RiverTea additions, I am really struggling for space! Those tins are cute, but it’s time to make way, make way!

And I better get on it before my Adagio teas arrive…

I would reorder this again if it was ever reblended though. Eventually. It’s a nice winter tea.

Yes – I need this nice soothing cup. I think this was my favourite of the Christmas teas. Oh, after the Snowflake EG.

I’ve only got one cup left…. I’ll have to save it for something special.

I could only drink half of that DT Cold 911. I imagine it’s one to drink when your sinuses are so full that that would be the only tea you’d still taste.

It was too strong for me.

I like this one though. It’s one of my top picks from the Herbal Infusions set. That minty coolness at the end of each sip is quite nice!

This is 5/12 Christmas Teas! Maybe I can finish the night at 9? I’m so slow. Also so busy getting stuff ready and dealing with the kiddo. :)

I was hoping this would help to settle my stomach as I have had TOO MANY cookies today. I can’t believe I’m 32 and this is still a thing I do, but they were so good, and there are so many more treats to eat and I just can’t do it. Just…. can’t.

I better go for a big walk tomorrow!

Also, I better have room for turkey in two hours.

Time for a nice mint tea. I assumed absinthe meant mint, and I was right. Mint and a little bit of licorice sweetness providing a little bit of coolness to my mouth. This is great.

ETA Wooo! This was my 1000th tasting note!

Sipdown! I gave the rest of this to VariaTEA as well as a ton of other samples. I didn’t count them. I just kept adding. Mwahahah.
Hopefully she finds more of the Herbal Infusions teas that she enjoys!

This one is sorta flat. I’m less enthused about it now that I’m not drinking it on Christmas day. Sorry Santa’s Milk!

Ok, here’s 4/12! You can tell I’ve tried it if the pic has been updated to show the tea. :P I said I’d do it – I’m a lady of my worrrrd. (Imagine the Joker saying that – worrrrrd. Man, I love the Dark Knight)

So I over-leafed this because I hate weak tea and I didn’t know what to expect! With the milk & cookie prompt, it’s easy to imagine cookies as I get a touch of creaminess in the blend, as well as maple goodness and sweetness.

There’s something that makes me think of baked goods in the base as well but I’m also getting a little bit of bitterness to it. Not in a bad way – I think it helps add to the thick/baked mouthfeel.

I like this one, but so far it’s my least favourite of the bunch.

I brought this tea with me for my commute home to keep me warm and happy. It’s so good. I wish I could buy more.

I only have 1 cup left. Sad! But every tea I sipdown at work means another one adds to the rotation!

I’m so sleepy. I need MOAR tea to wake up. Or I’ll drink another coffee after this cup because it’s only 8:30 and we’ll probably be up to 2:30.

This is a great cup.

Yay! Another smooth sweet cuppa EG! I think this one might have been my favourite of the 12 Days of Christmas blends from HI. (Which is surprising because I’m not a huge EG fan). It’s just really good though.

You know what else is good? S3 of Sherlock aired TODAY! I’m hoping to watch it tonight or tomorrow….
#sherlocklives

And here’s my 3/12. I don’t think it’s realistic to hit 12 by the end of the day but it’s fun to try! :)

This is a really nice Earl Grey. The marshmallow lends a vanilla sweetness to it that lingers long after each sip. It’s very creamy too. OMG

I’m going to have to re-steep this before I move on to the next!

I’ve done it! I have finally finished my giant bag of this tea. It will be missed now that it is gone but it just isn’t worth it to buy the whole Christmas selection at Herbal Infusions just to get a small bit of this. So, this creamy and fluffy and sweet last cup will have to be our goodbye.

This is finally coming to an end and it will be missed. One more cup and it’s gone. Before I finished it though, I had to make sure I had one last eggnog latte. That’s what I am having tonight and it certainly doesn’t disappoint.

I forgot midway through how many scoops I put in the steeper so I think I overleafed this. Add to that the fact that I realized I was out of bananas after prepping this and had to resort to other fruits in my smoothie, this made for a weird drink. It was brisk from the tea and more tart than usual from the fruits. This left a disconnect that was only heightened by the seemingly out of place chocolate pudding/ peanut butter. It wasn’t terrible but it also wasn’t the nightly smoothie I have come to know and love.

Anyways, I should be asleep but DAVIDs sucked me in with their 2 for $35 nordic mugs so that order happened and once I had tea on the brain, figured I would come write my note. I will probably regret this in the morning but that’s a problem for a later date…literally. Though I guess I should turn in so good night steepster!!

I drank this early and don’t really remember specifics but I will say that it makes a surprisingly lovely cold brew.

Made this as a smoothie:

8 oz of this tea, iced
8 oz of milk
1 frozen banana
1/2 tbsp peanut butter
and a handful of ice

Well, the proportions were off since this is rather fluid for a smoothie. My guess is the 2 cups of liquid to the lack of fruit that is the culprit. The flavor is really nice though. The marshmallow is really shining with the bergamot contributing just enough flavor to keep this bright and clean. There is also a fair bit of vanilla creaminess from the tea that is pairing nicely with the wisps of peanut butter I am getting. Banana, of course, is also present and mixes quite harmoniously with the rest of the blend. This definitely needs more fruit but it’s still made for a pleasant treat.

Made this as a hot latte and it turned out perfectly. Clean vanilla flavor with marshmallow sweetness and a nice bright base for it all to sit on. This is the one tea that keeps trying to convince me I like bergamot, I think because most of the time I have it, I find myself rethinking earl greys.

Also, I was rather worried this might have been too concentrated when I made it since there is like a 1:1 ratio of milk foam to liquid. My frother got a bit excited so I’m thinking I may need to switch the attachment to the one that creates less foam.

Tried an affogato again. Still not the proper proportions as there was still a little more tea than ice cream and the tea that wasnt diluted tasted like lemon pledge again. My guess is it was also a bit over concentrated as I used 3 perfect teaspoons this time which is a fair bit for such a small amount of water volume. At least I got more than one mouthful this time so I am getting better at this.

Anyone ever had an affogato? Do you eat it? or drink it? I am confused how it works.

That confusion came through today when I attempted to use this tea to make a tea affogato. I thought the briskness of the earl grey would pair amazingly with the vanilla ice cream so I decided to give it a go. This is what I did:

1. Boiled the kettle
2. Put a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a DAVIDs tea Nordic mug
3. Put the mug in the freezer (and prayed it wouldn’t crack when I put the tea in)
4. Put 4 DAVIDs perfect teaspoons in the gravity steeper
5. Filled the steeper to just above the DAVIDs tea line
6. Steeped the tea
7. Poured it over the ice cream

The result: A mug that is still intact. One amazingly perfect spoonful of melty marshmallowy ice cream. Honestly, perfection – smooth, creamy, sweet, marshmallow, vanilla, and a refreshing citrus pop. And then the rest, not so great. Basically the ice cream melted away and left a layer of warm vanilla slush atop a much more bitter layer of significantly overleafed tea. Imagine trying to drink a can of pledge. Yeah, not so perfect anymore.

Where did I go wrong? Proportions. Not enough ice cream and too much tea. I think the strength of tea, had their been the right amount was perfect because when mixed with the ice cream it was strong enough to impart its own flavor without being bitter. Without the ice cream it was too much. So next time? Same amount of leaf but less water and more ice cream.

HELLO STASH! You have been missed greatly! It’s nice to be home.

Anyways, this tea is an old one. A VERY old one. Like 3ish years old. Alas, it hasn’t quite held up like some of my other teas. Tbh I haven’t had this straight in a while as this is mostly used for eggnog latte for which it works perfectly. Straight, however, all vanilla marshmallow goodness has faded away leaving behind an incredibly brisk earl grey. Like a punch of citrus rind to the face. At times, I get wisps of the sweet, creamy vanilla and sweet marshmallows but they are fleeting and the taste left behind is drying. Oh well.

Edit: Turns out I spoke too soon since this is now lukewarm and marshmallow perfection with just the perfect amount of blerg (which I think may be growing on me just a bit…so maybe I should stop calling it that lol)

Marshmallow goodness! Yum :)

This tea as an eggnog latte is pure marshmallowy perfection. So good!