Cinnamon Roll Honeybush

Dry, this honeybush tisane smells so strongly of cinnamon that it could quite possibly take down a pterodactyl. I opened up the package and was almost knocked over by the cinnamon aroma rushing into my nostrils. As I steadied myself and wiped the tears from my eyes I thought, whoa, this must be cinnamon’s response to pepper spray. I brewed it up with some feelings of trepidation.

I braced myself as I took my first sip, expecting my poor taste buds to be accosted by the fiery onslaught of cinnamon.

…sip…
…slurp…
…gulp…

Imagine my surprise… it wasn’t overpoweringly cinnamon flavored… it was good!

I must say that I can’t taste the baked roll portion of this tea, but the cinnamon does play nicely with the honeybush. At least I’m assuming it’s the honeybush that I taste. This is my first Honeybush tea ever, (well, as far as I know). How ‘bout I describe it to you, and you can correct me if my assumption is wrong: So, accompanying the cinnamon there’s a lovely honey scent akin to homemade beeswax candles, sans wax, of course. Logic is telling me to assume that’s the *honey*bush. I wonder if the baked roll taste might come out more as this tea ages? I will have to see, well, assuming I can hold off on drinking it all in the next little while. Hmmm, speaking of which, I could really use another cup.

My initial thought when opening this package (first one I’m reviewing from the grab bag sale), was that it seems to have the same sort of spicing as Strawberry Pie honeybush! That’s exciting, since I quite like that one. It keeps that same sort of cinnamony smells throughout the infusion too, which made me quite happy although slightly worried that it was going to taste like Strawberry Pie minus the strawberry. Luckily, I am wrong.

The flavour of this one is absolutely delicious, and rather unexpected! Yes, there’s the same cinnamon of SP, but I definitely tasted some delicious cream cheese icing on top of a warm doughy cinnamon bun. Divine. And the best part? I’m not having to imagine a single one of these flavours. This literally tastes like a liquified cinnamon bun. How on earth did the bun flavour get in here?!

Anyways, wow. Incredibly high marks for this one! I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a blend quite so amazingly true to its name! The only problem I’m having is that instead of satisfying a craving, this has created a massive one. All I want to do is eat a giant warm cinnamon bun right now. I may in fact look up recipes tomorrow because of it.

ETA: Second infusion mostly just tastes of cinnamon, not really at all like cinnamon bun. That’s ok, though, I need more teas that only last through one infusion! :D

First – thanks Azzrian for this one!
2nd…I FINALLY had to switch cups/mugs! I just might have to start buying some neat ones I find. I need more for work :)

I believe the one I am using now – I have used before but it’s been a while – is from Tea Forte.

Anyhow…on to this tisane!

Dry – it smells like pure cinnamon.
Wet – I can see how it would resemble a Cinnamon Roll (or a Cinnamon TROLL – as I almost typed)

Yum! This is Niiice! Yup! That’s NICE with 3 i’s – so you know I mean business!

Sweet honeybush and delightful cinnamon…ratio to ratio…this is the perfect pair!

I’m loving this!

Backlogging. 2 days ago. Late Monday night.

Omg, another tea that I’ve drank through most of the pouch and haven’t logged yet due to The Great Unlogged Period. This one is spot on. Exactly like a cinnamon roll and very yummy. Frank, you did good!

For this cup I got distracted doing things and didn’t quite finish it. But what I had was still v comforting.

Wow! I am so glad I snagged a pouch of this at the last reblending. This is soooo good. The cinnamon is just the right level for a cinnamon roll, and I get the bready taste as well as the icing. A wonderful replacement for the sweets I should not be eating.

Please, Sir. I want some more!

24 oz teapot, 4 actual tsp blend, freshly boiled water, lightly sweetened.

Wowww. So my first shipment from 52 Teas arrived today and after happy dancing at the mailbox for a few I quickly ran inside and started ripping open the package as fast as I could. I was like a little kid on Christmas morning.
This was the first one I tried because I could actually smell it through the packaging. I was so happy that Frank miscounted and that there was more of this blend left because I knew I’d be in love. I was pretty brokenhearted to see it’d run out before I got to try it; I’m a big honeybush fan especially since I have an overactive heartbeat and can’t indulge in too much caffeine, I’m also a big cinnamon fan.
I grew up smelling the aroma of home baked cinnamon rolls. It was my dad’s favorite (Rip Daddy) and he’d always ask my mom to make them. I used to help spread the butter on the dough. The smell of this tea takes me right back there. Also reminds me of dancing on the kitchen floor with him on his toes. He loved to cook, and he loved to eat, we spent a lot of time in the kitchen. :)
The dry leaves smell mouthwatering. They reminded me a bit of fig newtons, too, for some reason. But lots of ooey gooey cinnamon roll.
Steeped 1 heaping teaspoon per 8 ounces at 195 degrees for 5 minutes. Tried my first sip without any sweetener and… wow, this. is. amazing. Perfect balance. That was my first thought. This is perfect. Frank knows what he’s doing. It was great on it’s own but it was so tempting that I had to add a dash of cream and brown sugar.
I was in heaven. I’m still in heaven, I’m on my second cup. My boyfriend had just walked in on his break and I handed a cup to him and his eye brows shot up. He was very impressed. So impressed he told me to go order some more right away before it runs out. Very well done, Frank. You’ve got some new converts.

Seeing all the hubbub about the 12 Teas of Christmas has reminded me that I never finished mine from last year – in fact, I don’t think I even tried half of them! I found Christmas far too busy with family and food to have time to deal with the 12teas, and then they were forgotten at the back of the tea shelf until now. Luckily, only one last year contained an ingredient I loathe (coconut) so there were still 11 others to try. I am excited that Frank is doing bigger sample sizes this year as I thought it was a bit of a ripoff last year (2 cups per sample, so $30 for 24 cups), but I will not be partaking this time. Unfortunately, 52Teas don’t tend to be to my liking, with a few notable exceptions.

All that aside, I’m brewing up some cinnamon roll honeybush – the cinnamon is certainly there in aroma, though I’m not getting anything pastry or bakey. 5 – 6 minute steep yields cinnamon flavoured water, with a hint of something honeybush at the end. I am not a huge fan of cinnamon and I find it to be very overwhelming in most teas, but when it’s done well it can be really nice. It may just be because of the age of my sample (obviously it’s a year old) but this one isn’t yielding anything beyond the two notes of cinnamon and honeybush. I would like to see something in the middle there filling it out, a bit of sweetness to represent the icing, or something bakey. I love cinnamon rolls, but this is just cinnamon tea, to me. : (

Oh man….today was an exhausting end to an exhausting week. Friday is workout day! It’s been almost a month since we started going to the gym regularly and today it was a struggle to go and stay…so by the time I got home and we cleaned out the kitchen and made dinner I was pooped. I don’t usually react to caffeine but just in case, I really wanted to make sure I ended the night with a non caffeinated tea…or low as possible.

This one arrived in the mail tonight along with a few others so I figured there was no reason NOT to try it! Besides, i figured if nothing else, it could be like dessert!

Well, this tea didn’t disappoint! This might be my favourite tea from frank so far. When you open the bag it is intensely cinnamon-ey..yeah that’s a word tonight lol however in brewing the tea, it really does just becomes a mess of cinnamon bun flavours. Just like with real cinnamon buns, I couldn’t
T drink this every night, but man, when I drink it, it will be wonderful!

First, I just want to thank Frank for making so many of his awesome teas vegan. I’m so thrilled to be able to enjoy fantastic teas like Cinnamon Roll Honeybush with the rest of my Steepster pals. I received three of my 52teas orders today, so it’s tea Christmas at my house. Tea Christmas!!!!!

Second, this tea isn’t good… it’s damn good! This herbal is dead on delicious cinnamon rolls through and through. I’m in love with it hot, but I also can’t wait to try it iced.

Third, I’m super tired and I need to get some sleep. Goodnight Steepster. Goodnight Frank.

I had my doubts about this one due to the smell in the package being SO SO cinnamony – it was pretty intense. So I was fearful that Cinnamon was ALL that I would taste in the steep. HOWEVER this is SPOT ON for a cinnamon roll and I am quite happy to have this in my cupboard!
What a nice little nighttime treat!
I am backlogging and was very tired when I had this so will update later with better tasting notes after another cup!

ok I swear I reviewed this earlier… but where did my review go?!? I scoured the pages twice! Hmph.
Anyhow, I just used up the last of my sample and gave some to Dad. He likes his tea cold, so I’ll find out in the morning what he thinks.
More importantly though, I think this is superb!!!! SO tasty. It really hits the nail on cinnamon rolls. I get that bakey taste too. A touch of agave brings it up to the perfect place.
I get a hint of artificial flavour, but I typically get that in actual rolls as well so I suppose that is to be expected!
Thank you so much for sending me the sample Jenn!! xx
If I was to ever order a 52Teas batch, this would be one of them, most definitely

This particular tea has been one I have wanted ever since I read about it here on Steepster. My favorite breakfast food has always been cinnamon rolls and tea is my favorite beverage, so both, combined, seemed like heaven to me. Sadly, it was sold out, and I would read over and over everyone’s reviews over and over in hopes that one day I would be able to try it!

One day, I was super excited to find that Frank had revived this! I couldn’t order it fast enough! In fact, I ordered two packs at once, confident that I would love this. It was a long wait, but I eventually received my two packs (and an extra of Pancake Breakfast!). I was at the office, and I didn’t have time to sit down and enjoy it, but I opened it and sniffed it. It wasn’t one of the blends that immediately took my breath away, but it was pleasant. :3

As soon as I got home I brewed it. I couldn’t wait to try it! Sadly, when I did, it wasn’t what I expected at all. I tasted the cinnamon, but I got no dough or icing. To make matters worse, there was a sour aftertaste that, I assume, came from the honeybush. I was desperate to like it. I tried longer brewing time, shorter, sweetened, no sweet, milk… I was almost resigned to give up on this tea. I had been so excited… I decided to put it up, and try it later.

This tea showed up in the 12 Days of Christmas I decided that the time to try this again was approaching. Finally, today, I gave it another try.

I brewed it for much longer than I meant to, my dogs distracted me, and what I meant to be like 4 minutes ended up being more like ten. To my pleasant surprise, it smelled really really good. I sipped it and it tasted even better!!! I got the cinnamon and dough, the icing, and very very little (thankfully…) odd aftertaste! I then sweetened it with honey. I rarely do this, but today I felt that honey flavor would add to the cinnamon roll effect. I was right! It was absolutely cinnamon-roll-doughy-creamy-sweet-sticky goodness!

The second brew was still very good, just not as flavorful. I drank it happily as well.

I am really happy that this tea finally came through and proved its deliciousness! I love it and could drink it everyday. I am actually considering another back up pouch… hmmm….

This is one of those teas that the moment I saw Frank advertise it, I knew a pouch had to be MINE. However, I ended up bringing the pouch to work and sharing with friends so there isn’t much left! :(

BUT it’s the Dec. 24 tea in the 12 Days of Christmas for 52 Teas so happiness reigns! YAY! :)

This is one I’d love to see added to the permanent collection. It’s second only to Pancake Breakfast (and many of you know about my love affair with that blend).

This reminds me of a cinnamon sugar blend my mom would make for us to put on oatmeal and toast. (It was the only way I would eat oatmeal…doused in spices and sugar). This blend has just the right amount of cinnamon – no underwhelming and overpowering here.

I steeped it for the length of the cup as I do with honeybush tea. So I can’t infuse but I have one enjoyable cuppa. And I love that it’s caffeine-free; perfect for winding down in the evening.

This is a winner, Frank! :)

I can’t wait to see what you guys think of this one. I’m having a big glass of this iced right now, and all I can say is WOW. This may very well be another North American Tea Championship tea right here. It is really stunning.

Thank you Emilie for this very generous sample!

The smell in the bag is really strong cinnamon.

Once brewed, the cinnamon is a little more tame. And then BAM, a wonderful baked goods smell wafts into my nose. Tasting now….this is pretty strong cinnamon, kinda lingering in my mouth a little. The baked taste comes through as a cinnamon roll with butter.

This is a delicious bedtime treat!

I also got this in my grab bag, so I will have lots to enjoy. Cold brew is next for this one!

Really? Is this just a drink? It is too tasty not to be junk food. I think weight watchers should investigate this-it is that good. Believe the hype people. Ok, I have to hurry and see if there is any of this left to buy!!!

I’ve never rated a tea at 100……. This is beautiful. I can taste the icing. I can taste the cinnamon. The sugar… the….. Carbs! As a fatty pants on a diet, and a carboholic, I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. Ashley, you’re an angel for sending me yours sample. Frank is a God for making this.

No cream. Pinch of sugar. I’m all smiles over here. This NEEDS to be permanent. I’ve never bought a pound of tea… I’d buy a pound of this… maybe two.

I thought it may have just been ‘contamination’ of my samples from being stored together because all my 52Teas samples smell exactly the same. Black tea, rooibos, whatever. Same smell, and similar taste. None of my other samples have the problem. I wonder if it’s a flavor he uses, no idea.

This tea was cinnamony, but no cake or bakery taste to it. I drank some this evening. This afternoon I had some actual cinnamon buns and guess what they didn’t taste like?? ….this tea.

And I don’t like cinnamon enough to drink a pure cinnamon flavored tea. You know what else I don’t love??….rooibos.

52Teas maybe just aren’t for me. Sad.

( @ Boiling, 5 min or so)

This sample came from a swap with teapot1. Sipdown!!

Dry: I was surprised at how much this smells like a cinnamon bun! I’m only picking up a little of the honeybush scent (totally fine with me, as I’m not a huge fan). The cinnamon is the most prominant, followed by the sweet icing smell! Yum! I’m so excited for this one!

Brewed: Seriously. I am getting liquid cinnamon bun. This smells so good! The cinnamon and icing smells are so right on target here. A little of the honeybush scent is present, but thankfully it isn’t overpowering or strong. It fades into the background, and I actually think the sweet smell of it works nicely with the cinnamon.

Taste: Not 100% as good as the smell, but it’s pretty close. The cinnamon is definately front and center, with the icing being more subtle than in the smell. I’m also getting a slight smokey flavor (?) that I’m a little confused about, but it isn’t awful: just unexpected. The honeybush is present in the beginning of the sip, but as I said, it kinda works well with the cinnamon and the sweet icing so I don’t mind it much.

Overall, this is probably one of the better honeybush blends I’ve had. I love the smell, and wish the brew tasted just like it, but the taste isn’t too far off. I love the cinnamon and icing notes, and am impressed at how close to a cinnamon roll they are. Yum! The smokey flavor – puzzling, but it fits in alright with the rest of the flavors. It just isn’t what I’d expect in a cinnamon roll tea. UNLESS the cinnamon rolls were baked over a campfire flame. Spot on cinnamon roll? No. Tastey cinnamon roll-esque brew? Yes.

Thank you, teapot1 for sending this to me. I enjoyed it, and was very happy to have gotten the chance to try it.

UPDATE: The smokey taste lessens a bit as it cools off.

Whee! Another tea from Jenn to try with Sandy! I will try not to drool on the keypad. No promises.

Oh. Oh. OH! BOY! Cinnamon, yes yes yes! But the frosting on top is there, and the warm, soft, almost gooey bread! It’s all here in this cup. Please remember that I am that one human being in America who doesn’t like Harney and Sons number one selling tea, Hot Cinnamon Spice. This is the perfect level of cinnamon, with the perfect additions to taste just like a fresh, warm cinnamon roll.
Bravo, Frank! And thank you, Jenn!