White Chocolate Grasshopper Honeybush

Just received this in the mail this afternoon. I have to admit that this was one that I wasn’t sure if I’d order or not. I mean, it sounded good, but, I wasn’t sure if it was necessarily one that I just had to try.

I am glad that I finally decided to order it because it’s outstanding!

I will have to write more later because this is too good right now for wordage.

But… I will take another moment to add this: Frank… you have a WAY with honeybush.

Thanks to Batrachoid for this sample.

This is really good. It is similar to DAVIDsTEA mint chocolate rooibos. But, this one has white chocolate with a honeybush base. It is nice and smooth with sweet chocolate. The mint isn’t overpowering.

I think I might even like this one better than the DT version. The rooibos base gives it more of an earthy base, whereas the honeybush in this blend makes is sweeter and smoother.

I want to thank everyone for their kind words and wishes for my friend that was diagnosed yesterday with a tumour on her pineal gland. It takes me back to two years ago when my husband was battling with testicular cancer and 2/3 years before that it was my mother with Ovarian cancer. It still surprises me how many people develop cancer in their lifetime and it starts to ring in my head the fact that 1 in 3 people will have it.

Enough mortality…lets have some tea and try to forget the problems we all have. I got my husband to pick a sample from my large sampler bag and he pulled out this White Chocolate Grasshopper. I can see the spearmint leaves finely chopped and mixed in with the rooibos and also a few large pieces of white chocolate drops. YUMMY!!! It has a sweet creamy vanilla scent with a touch of mint.

Once steeped the tea is red in colour with a sweet vanilla and refreshing spearmint aroma. It is light, fresh and sweet in taste with creamy and sweet tones. The mint is not as strong as the vanilla and the roobios is nicely dressed up which loses the sweet thickness I usually associate with it. The white chocolate is very subtle but there is something cocoa and earthy there . Smooth, creamy, refreshing, sweet and a very pleasant drink. Spearmint is my favourite mint :)

Drinking this before dinner (which is leek and mushroom pasta bake in cheese sauce with a green broad bean salad – everything made from scratch). Mint settles my stomach before a rich meal and this was the perfect pick.

What must my mailman think of me? For nearly 4 years, all he delivered was bills, a card or two, and the odd package or two once or twice a year. I had 4 packages in my box today. Had 2 yesterday. And the week before had a few more.

Thank you, Steepster Overlords, for supporting both tea companies and the USPS.

So, yes, my 52teas order arrived (among other things), and I had to have this tea first. Against my honeybush-inclinations, I decided to brew it for 5 minutes to start (normally I’d go 10). Also having it neat this first go around.

It’s minty, with an almond bark-like taste and even texture to it. The honeybush is there, of course, and provides a gentle sweetness. It tastes…just like a grasshopper. Smooth and delicious and NOM. I’ll definitely be trying it out at 10 minutes, just to see what happens.

I raise my teacup to you, Frank. You’ve done it again, and by everything good and wonderful in this world, please make this permanent.

SUPER DUPER THANKS TO AMANDA FOR THIS ONE!!!!
It’s been on my wish list for like a year and a half!!!

It does smell like an adult beverage and after a while it smells like a Grasshopper – The mint is subtle with the creamy and the white chocolate contributes to that. It leaves a lovely refreshing aftertaste.

More more I drink this – I fairly sure I could drink this everyday! YUM!
WINNER WINNER – Vegan Chick’n DINNER :)

(I just can’t bring myself to say Chicken Dinner…so it’s Vegan Chick’n Dinner LOL)

First, Thank you LiberTEAS for sending me some of this tea and with that said… DANG!!! This is some good stuff. I am so happy I ordered it anyway. I have ordered from Frank 3 times this month and the month isn’t even over yet. I told my husband I have another man in my life and before I could even finish my sentence he said…“Tell Frank I said Hi” we then both cracked up. Nevertheless, this delivers what it promises. I taste the white chocolate, vanilla, and spearmint very well and the flavors dance happily together. The honeybush adds to the flavor profile without taking over which I appreciate the most. Another winner from Frank, way to go!

At the first whiff of this one while steeping, I was pretty sure this would not be a tea I’d like. The name makes it sound so good, but… so much mint! And I really, really don’t like mint, especially when it’s the dominant flavour in a blend.

Surprisingly, however, although it smells incredibly minty, the flavour is so much more complex! It’s kind of creamy and rich from the white chocolate and vanilla, and although the spearmint is quite apparent, the combination of the flavours works quite well and masks whatever it is that I hate about mint (I’m not too certain about this…) Definitely a blend I’d drink again!

Thanks for passing some of this along to me, Amanda!

Backlog from a few nights ago……

I needed a non-caffeine tea for evening, and I remembered that Jillian had sent this one to me. (Thank you!) It was just enough for a small pot. I think I brewed it for around 7 or 8 minutes. I could definitely taste the chocolate, and the mint was there, but not at all overpowering as mints often are for my taste. It was really a good evening tea and was great for settling the stomach. Hmmm. I might need to try some mint in some of my other de-/non-caff teas…..

Oh. My. Frogs. No. Grasshoppers. Great green gorgeous grasshoppers with minty orchids of Madagascan mirth. I think I just drank the secret of happiness.

This tea is perfect from start to finish. The dry leaf radiates the aroma of spearmint and what I’m guessing is honeybush underneath the fruity, complex vanilla bean, even through a plastic bag and sealed envelope. And-is that Tahitian vanilla?! A deep and awkwardly enthusiastic hug of thanks to Meghann M for swapping this with me.

I broke out my Scottish thistle china cup for this one. This grasshopper should feel right at home.
Habit is hard to break, so I steeped three sencha style infusions of four, four, and three ounces water for 8, 10, and fifteen minutes with a scant teaspoon of homemade Indonesian vanilla sugar in each and one chocolate covered cacao nib due to the small number of chips.

It didn’t need the sugar. It didn’t need ANYTHING.
Although the two kinds of vanilla (I’m assuming it’s Tahitian) could be part of why it came out so complex floral, fruity, and satisfying, like watching grasshoppers and spearmint bubblegum ice cream after a weekend of yard work. Or in this case, a warm, sweet cup of tea after hauling the garbage down the snow packed drive way, knowing it came from a new friend. Thanks again, by the way.

I have never spent so long smelling the bottom of my teacup in my life. I don’t know what I’m going to do when my small mint tin of this vanishes. Ooh and it’s tea time again. Where’s that strainer? I think it might still have a whiff left around it…

Very Monty. This will probably be the last pot of the night as I have a very early morning tomorrow.

I was so excited that my tea came today from 52teas! It was such a tough decision to decide which to try first! I chose this one…. and I am in HEAVEN!!! Ooohhh the spearmint vanilla are awesome together and there were white chocolate chips in the tea!!!! I LOVE it! I can’t wait to try the Strawberry pie next. It smells good enough to eat right out of the pouch it came in :) I am new to honeybush but this stuff is great. I steeped for 8min. Does that sound about right?

The dry leaf smell on this tea is, for lack of a better word, strange. I must admit, my nose was a little confused. I had never smelled anything quite like that before. (I think I even heard Frank laugh a little). I was a little skeptical about ordering, but of course, its the tea of the week, and I really do love grasshopper anything.

The taste? Ever had Braum’s Peppermint Ice Cream? That’s exactly what came to mind when I drank this one as an iced latte. It is mouthwateringly good. Of course it’s not peppermint in this tea, its spearmint, which in my humble opinion makes it better than peppermint ice cream (geez, I didn’t know that was even possible) as it brings that unique factor. Thank you Frank, I think I have a new favorite.

I’ve had this three times already but I’ve put off writing about it. I was hoping that my opinion of it would improve. I never disliked it, but it never felt creamy and chocolatey enough to be called a grasshopper. I mean, grasshoppers are probably the only cocktails I like. There’s plenty of mint in this, and there’s a slight chocolate background, but that’s it. Underneath it all, there’s that honeybush flavor that I’ve grown to enjoy.

I still really like this. I mean, it’s minty and tasty, after all. But I wouldn’t call it a grasshopper.

Thanks for the sample, Batrachoid.

Got this in a swap with QueenofTarts. I’ve been wanting to try this one, so I had high hopes. Plus I love just about anything 52teas so I knew I’d enjoy this.

That being said, while this is good, it’s not the best. It’s definitely tasty – and if it was blended by anyone else I would be a fan. But there’s something…off about this.

When I think of White Chocolate Grasshopper, I’m remembering these grasshopper cookies I enjoyed as a kid: chocolate-y and minty. There’s not much mint flavor at all, which is disappointing.

However, I normally cannot enjoy white chocolate and yet I can with this blend. It definitely tastes like light chocolate and there’s a syrupy taste I enjoy as well. Plus it’s caffeine-free so it’s a nice dessert tea.

I ended up adding extra spearmint to the blend and liked it much more….although I went a bit overboard on the mint and could barely taste the white chocolate!) Overall this is definitely a good blend, sweet and subtle, but not my favorite at 52teas. (Pancake Breakfast still holds that title.)

I’ll keep trying it with mint, maybe White Choc. Grasshopper and I can reach a healthy medium!

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: 16 oz boiling
Tool: Adagio IngenuiTEA 16 oz
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: Mint, chocolate
Steeped Tea Smell: Mint, wood, chocolate
Flavor: it tastes the same as it smells
Body: Full
Aftertaste: woody
Liquor: Muddy opaque dark brown

Too woody, Not enough chocolate, Still delicious

I got this in a swap with Jillian, Thank you.

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2011/03/52teas-loose-leaf-honeybush-tisane.html

I like this more than I did when I first tried it. Liking it sort of snuck up on me. It was good the first time I tried it, but I really do like the way the white chocolate tones the mint downs, softens it and rounds it out. I think mint can often be to harsh and overpowering, but not in this blend. I also love the sweet honeybush in this – it isn’t overpowered by any of the other flavours.

Got this a while back, but I’m kind of surprised that I never wrote anything about it. It is probably because I am a lazy git.

Anyway, last night I was feeling kind of iffy around the tummy yet was also craving something dessert-tastic and turned to this. Handily enough, I have already consumed most of the white chocolate chips in this in previous cups – which is not to say that there weren’t many of them, I am just nearing the end of the pouch. Anyway, so without the prospect of melted white chocolate to add heaviness to the tea, I thought this would be a perfect way to appease my belleh (mint!) while still having a sweeter tea.

I am pleased to report that my efforts were successful, as belleh remained appeased, yay! The tea was also quite good, as I said with the coconut cheesecake honeybush, I really like honeybush as a base for dessert tea and I think it really fit the flavors blended here. I definitely like the mint with it.

I feel a little bad only reviewing this now, because, as I said, all the white chocolate chips are gone at this point so I’m not really reviewing the full experience as it were. From what I can recall though, the white chocolate made it somewhat sweeter and gave it kind of a smoother texture overall. The addition of the mint kept the tea relatively light though, which I liked .

You know, the name of this tea was a big part of the reason why I got it. I mean, grasshopper tea? With white chocolate? Come on, how can that not be awesome?

It smells like creme de menthe liqueur mixed with white chocolate – very mouth-watering (I love white chocolate). At first the tea mostly tasted like mint and honeybush but when it cooled a bit the sweet choclolate and the vanilla were more easily apparent. The result is a lightly sweet, creamy tea with just the right amount of cool, refreshing mint. It’s a unique and delicious blend that’s another winner from 52Teas.

Where to begin? I had just gave into the naughty tea demons perched on my shoulder and purchased two of the 52 tea honeybush blends. It was daring, since I had yet to sample a honey bush tea, and red bush doesn’t get on with me for some reason.

Fast forward to the next week, the new teas hadn’t yet arrived & now there is a White Chocolate Grasshopper tea to be had. OMG!!! The tea demons were clamouring, the penny pinching angels were ’tsk’ing vigourously. How could I justify? How could I know? What do I do?

Well, guess what. I did it.
And when to came, it smelled of gentle spearmint bending on a white chocolate breeze. The tea (w/ milk) was amazing. Gentle, sweet. Minty. Chocolatey. Lovely. It lived up to the special magic that I feel with a cup of Tetley’s (the proper english tea) on a bad day…it was a ‘hug in a cup.’ But this wasn’t a bad day at all, this was cause for celebration. For this heralds the arrival of the “tea of happiness” :D

All is happy here in the world of tea. ….but I don’t even want to think what will happen when I run out. :O

Very nice. I’ve learned that I don’t love tisanes, but this one is good as they go. Really lovely, sweet, just minty enough goodness. I tried it hot and cold, and definitely prefer it hot. What a nice variation on mint and honey bush, all rolled into one!