Strawberry Pie Honeybush

Delish! This is fantastic. I am sharing a cup of this tea with my little girl right now, we just got home from her choir practice and it’s cold and wet outside, so I decided that we needed something to warm us up. She requested a strawberry tea so this is what I grabbed.

It has a lovely strawberry flavor, and the butter flavor is amazing, as is the vanilla. So good!

Like I said before … Frank has a way with honeybush!

Oh my. So juicy and sweet. It’s all strawberry with a smooth vanilla undercurrent and spicy cinnamon. Very tasty! I don’t know why I thought it would be dull compared to the Neopolitan Honeybush. I don’t know that this tea makes me think of pie, but cinnamon and strawberry are surprisingly excellent together.

This is my first attempt at cold brewing a honeybush. I think I should have probably used more leaf. The funky flavors that I tolerate for the sake of a caffeine free drink is also not present in the cold brew. The liquid is a nice transparent reddish brown instead of the usual dark murky liquor.

Another fabulous honeybush from Frank. Thank you , Kittenna for sharing some of this with me!

Not sure how I skipped over trying this one, but I realized I had when I went to send some off in a swap!

The aroma is of sweet, spiced strawberries. It made my whole room smell lovely! (Perfect after the skunk incident.) And wow…. this one’s an absolute masterpiece. The flavour is almost exactly like the aroma, and quite intoxicating. I cannot BELIEVE I hadn’t tried this yet! It is amazing! Strawberry pie? Well, maybe not quite; I’m not getting much in the way of crust. But spiced strawberry pie filling? Absolutely. Seriously, this one’s a must-try. Wow. I see why this one made the permanent collection. (Also, I feel like I’ve been drinking a few spectacular teas lately!) This one’s going to be a keeper for me; this is a fantastic desserty honeybush blend that I can see myself craving in the future. Who would have thought to put together these spices and strawberry? It’s almost like a strawberry chai.

I’m rambling very badly. I’m very tired. Just need to review teas I brewed, then sleep… (Also, I pretty much inhaled my cup of this. So impressed.)

My 52teas order arrived! Did a small happy dance at the mailbox (which is one of those communal thingies in middle of neighborhood), then had the crushing thought that I hadn’t ordered anything decaf/caffeine-free and would have to wait until morning to dig in. I’m sure the neighbors had a good laugh at my expense. Got in the house, opened the pack, and I had ordered this! Another happy dance into the kitchen to brew up a pot.

Okay, let me just say this: if you like strawberries, you must go buy this tea now. Naow. Seriously, if you like strawberries, your life is not complete without this blend. I’m having this neat, no additives, no nothing, and it’s the awesome. I can only begin to imagine how magnificent this will be as a latte.

As this was steeping, it really smelled like a pie was baking. But I can barely taste any strawberry. It tastes very much of vanilla, cinnamon, and clove, though. Something about it reminds me of something from when I was a kid but I cannot pinpoint it exactly. It’s driving me crazy!

I’m going to try to steep it less and see if that helps. It just feels like the crust overtook the pie. That’s kind of how I would describe the tarte tatin I made for Easter, actually.

And now that I’m at the bottom of the cup I just feel like I got hit in the mouth with strawberry. Though I must say even as just crust, it was enjoyable.

Thank you so much Kristen for sending me a sample of this tea! I’ve been curious to try it, as I have enjoyed other strawberry teas that have come from 52teas.

This smells amazing! I’m smelling cinnamon and vanilla pie crust, bright juicy strawberries, maybe even some sweet strawberry jam.

Tasting it I was a little dissapointed, as the bright strawberry scent and sweet vanilla with a dash of cinnamon didn’t quite carry over to the flavor. They were all there, just muted. The aroma made me believe they would be in my face, but I got more woodsy soft strawberry with a pie crust (not storebought, this tastes like true homemade piecrust with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top).

Not that this isn’t delicious as it is, but I was almost shocked at how different this tea is from what I imagined based on the scent.

Now if only I knew how Frank made this tea actually taste like a pie…

This is one delicious cup, and I hope to order some in the very near future!

More delectable honeybush from Frank… will our pocketbooks ever be safe again? These teas have become my sanctuary. And this tea in particular is incredible. I tried it as an iced latte. I’m ashamed to say I downed a whole stein in about 2 minutes; I wanted to savor it but could not help myself. Juicy baked goods in liquid form, how could I resist? There is so much strawberry here! And there is a definitive pastry flavor too! The best part about the fact that its honeybush? Aftertaste is non-existent: no astringency, just deliciousness. Do I need to gush anymore or do you get the picture already? I am so glad this is a permanent blend.

This is totally a tea for a long steep. When I initially opened the bag the cinnamon was overwhelming. Th only other honey bush tea from frank that I’ve had (and really enjoyed) was the cinnamon bun tea which has oooooodles of cinnamon. So needless to say I was a little worried when I opened this one. The instructions call for 6-10 mins of steeping on the package so I popped it on my desk and did some work. What was fantastic is that as I sat there working away, the strawberry flavour started increasing and taking over the cinnamon. Soon I had a delicious smelling strawberry cup of tea.

When I finally got around to trying the tea it was delicious! I actually want to steep it a little longer to see if I can bring out more of the strawberry taste as it still had a bit more cinnamon than I wanted. Thankfully I love cinnamon :)

When it’s brewing, this tea really smells like warm strawberry pie. I made a big pot of this last night and drank some hot, then fell asleep and drank the rest of it cold this morning. I accidentally left the leaves steeping overnight, and yet it didn’t taste too strong. Is it possible to get an over steeped taste from honeybush? I’m constantly over steeping my various honeybush blends, and in my opinion, I haven’t once ruined the taste. Maybe I’ve just been lucky though.

Crap. I should have logged this while it was fresh in my mind.

Got this from Cavocorax (thanks!!!) and I’m pleased to say I actually enjoyed it! I guess honeybush is less offensive to me than rooibos. Also it’s one of the first 52Teas blends that I’ve had decent luck with. (Pumpkin Caramel Cheesecake was decent even if not really cheesecakey, and i liked Butterbeer!!) I will try it again later.

I recall it being sufficiently strawberryriffic but not fake tasting. Maybe not pie tasting either but that’s no surprise, given my vast and unwavering love of all things pie. I can’t imagine I’d ever consider a tea as being a truly good pie replication. Buttery flakey awesomeness is hard to clone.

Anyway, I digress.

I’m a bit on the sickly side today, or yesterday, my sleep schedule is all off. My husband took the day off, so we spent the day sick together, napping, watching movies, and drinking tea. Of course, now we’re both wide awake.

One of the teas we drank today was Strawberry Pie Honeybush. This is a truly outstanding tea! The dry tea smells incredible. At first sip, there’s the naturally sweet flavor of ripe strawberries. That moves into a rich, creamy, vanilla body. And the finish… the finish tastes exactly like a cinnamon graham cracker crust! I kid you not, this honeybush blend is utterly delicamazing.

Thanks Amanda for this sample!

There is not as much strawberry flavour as I thought there would be :(. It is sweet and I do get a baked goods taste, but not pie crust. The cinnamon is nice but it is taking over the strawberry taste. Even though it isn’t as strawberry as I would like, I do enjoy cinnamon. So for a cinnamon tea, it is good.

I brewed 2 cups of this last night and put one in the fridge to cool. It is still pretty good but I think I like it hot better.

My 52Teas order arrived yesterday, and I made a pot of this to try out. The smell in the bag was wonderful strawberry sweetness, like candy or strawberries with a lot of sugar. Steeped, the smell diminished somewhat and I personally found the flavours surprisingly muted. i got a hint of something I would call cinnamon (is there any in there? I hope so…) and would have liked a but more strawberry flavour to go with the dry smell. I think next time I’ll steep for longer and see how it goes. I also totally missed out on the pie flavours. I’ll try harder next time : )

I bought this without realizing it has the dreaded red rooibos. But I tried it anyway – I live on the edge! :P This is basically just strawberries in a cup. Strawberries are my #1 fruit (we had a strawberry patch in CA and I ate them almost everyday). Finding a tea that doesn’t have that horrid artificial strawberry flavor is always a tough quest, but it ends here. I love that this is caffeine free too, so I can enjoy before bed. So far, no headache. (YAY!) Absolutely delish!

EDIT: there is a twinge of spice to the cup as well. I didn’t notice it because I was too busy gulping the cup! I noticed on the last sip. Must. Brew. More. :)

Tried this last night. It smells sooo amazing. But as for the taste, I’m not really getting the strawberry flavor that everyone else seems to. It was more of a cinnamon flavor with a general sweetness. It’s very good, but not what I expected. I went with exactly 8 minutes, I’m not sure if more or less time will tone down the cinnamon/allow the strawberry to come out.

Ok I couldn’t help myself as soon as I finished my cup of white choc grasshopper I steeped the Strawberry pie…… THIS is probably one of the BEST things I have tasted! I taste the strawberry but can taste the “crust” in the tea. I have to resist the urge to place another order today (especially since my husband left me order the Breville today) I am having my parents over for dinner tonight and will introduce them to a big pot of this for after dinner dessert! Is this a permanent honeybush blend or just a limited when its gone, its gone blend?

First of all, a thank you to Daisy Chubb for letting me try some of this tea, which I’ve been eyeballing for quite awhile. The tea smells sweet and fruity but at the same time a bit spicy – when I taste the tea it’s clear the spice is cinnamon, not a lot, but it’s a nice touch. It’s mildly sweet but I do wish the strawberry was easier to pick out – perhaps I just need to steep it longer.

I ripped open the little sample bag of this tea and was so delighted with the smell! The smell was pure, juicy strawberries! I am sipping and taste mostly cinnamon and a sweet background, but no butter or strawberries or PIE flavor. I haven’t added milk or sweetener at all. What did I do wrong? I steeped for 8-10 minutes and was so looking forward to tasting what everyone else has tasted. I haven’t lost hope with this tea yet, I’m going to try another cup to see if I get more strawberry dessert flavor.

EDIT: I have increased the rating of this tea thanks to the steeping tips from liberTEAS. I am getting much more strawberry now and still the same cinnamon finish. I don’t taste crust, sugar or butter, though. Wish I did! This tea is definitely a tasty cup, but I feel that I have to add too much leaf for one pleasing cup of tea. Still yummy, though.

I have had this a number of times now, and have been holding off rating it to get as good an idea as possible. Each time, it felt too weak, so last night, I used boiling water for 15 minutes! That did the trick.

First of all, I will say I think it is a delicious tea and very good for a honeybush/rooibos blend (yes, I know it is actually honeybush, but I am putting them in the same overall category because I enjoy both).

However, I don’t know if it was my particular batch, but I didn’t taste the pie aspect of this tea at all. I know that is a lot to hope for, but after hearing so much about 52teas, I really had my hopes up.

I added a little vanilla icrecream to my cup, and it was amazing!! However, it still didn’t taste like “strawberry pie”. The strawberry was very much there, as well as a little sweetness, etc. (even without the icrecream), but not bakey.

Nevertheless, though it didn’t meet my expectations, I still I look forward to trying some of their other blends when cupboard space frees up! Or, if Frank blends something I just can’t resist, which has almost happened, but not quite. . .

I got this little herbal offering from Seykayyay. Now, I’ve had Frank’s offerings before, and I can say – with no hint of irony – he is the mad scientist of blenders. And this is no exception. It’s loud, it’s rambunctious, it feels guilty to drink…but it’s all awesome. Taster notes aren’t needed, it tastes like its namesake suggests. Granted, I didn’t do this as a traditional “tea” by any stretch. I brewed it as a latte, for I think that’s how this works best. Tastes like cheesecake that’s been melted by dragons, forged in awesome, then returned to my lips.