Cinnamon Roll Honeybush

Cinnamon roll honey bush

Upon opening the package, the texture and color of the tea itself reminded me of a very fine gardening mulch, like what you would hand pick for your favorite orchid. Of course the aroma is not resembling at all of a garden variety anything, but it does have an interesting sweet earthy cinnamon quality.
I brewed this tea with my bodum press, at 200 for 4 minutes. It’s aroma does remind me of opening an oven full of cinnamon rolls that haven’t been iced. This blend has a very balanced spice from cinnamon and a light frothy smell similar to a yeast dough. There are two things I really appreciate in this tea, one being that the taste isn’t as strong as the aroma of the loose tea and that the honey bush is the strongest flavor, secondly the cinnamon isn’t too strong as to be overpowering like I feel it typically is in a cinnamon tea. You do get the appropriate suggestive notes of flavor that bring you to a gooey baked good like sweet and buttery. I don’t taste an icing flavor that I wish I did, but it might be plenty sweet as is. I truly love the tangy honey bush flavor that is the base of this tea and I’m going to try it cold next time, and perhaps a longer infusion after that. My only disappointment with the tea is that I can not get a caffeinated variety to make this my breakfast tea replacement ;)
Thanks Frank for this delicious tea!!!

Cinnamon Roll Honeybush came in the mail today … dipping my little toe into the 52teas world for the first time. This one I should like, if any. The package did not have steeping instructions, so had to read through all the prior notes and strike a happy medium … 1-1/2 tsp./8 oz./195 for 7 minutes is how I prepared this.

Ok, so the tea … hmmmm, it smells really good. Can smell the cinnamon and a faint yeast factor. First sip, I’m getting the cinnamon for sure … not as strong as I had imagined it to be. Not getting any vanilla/icing, well maybe a little tiny bit in the background. I’m starting to think this may need steeped longer, because it’s a bit weak for my tastes. Hmmm _~ponders~

I’m not going to rate this yet, oh I really am stupid.. it went all wrong!! I made a fresh pot and waited to put the loose tea inside, so I went about downstairs and decided to eat some food and completely forgot about my tea!! So I ran upstairs and threw the tea in the pot… unfortunately, it wasnt even brewing.. saaaaddd… major failure!! I will make this again, PROPERLY.

How did he get the cinnamon roll in my cup? Does he roll the tea leaves in the icing and cinnamon ooey gooey goodness? What ever magic he uses I am a fan. I took it black and loved it.

Cold brewed. I was taking a chance on this one, because I haven’t had it hot yet. Ideally I feel like you should try a tea hot before you do so cold – but it’s August. I just couldn’t bring myself to turn on anything that would heat up the house.

Anyway, so cold brewed, steeped for about 20 hours in the fridge with 4.5 tsp. in 750 ml. of water. Did take a sip plain but ultimately added some (1 tsp.) simple syrup. I definitely think that the flavor is right on – the smell and taste were cinnamon rolls and I immediately wanted something pastry-ish to pair with it. There is the taste of the roll itself, and icing and butter notes were present as well.

On my end, I think that more steep time (a couple more hours in the fridge) would have been a good thing – I got impatient and it tastes thinner than I’d like, but that’s my fault. I have the honeybush steep parameters down for a hot drink, so once I can imagine EVER needing to drink something hot again this is first on the list to try. It’s definitely yummy and I’m so glad I snagged a pouch!

You know that very particular smell of a cinnamon roll, that combination of hot caramelized cinnamon over freshly baked bread? That is exactly what this tea smells like, both in the bag and in the cup. The taste isn’t quite as strong as the smell, but definitely gets across that baked cinnamon taste. Towards the bottom of the cup a faint note of icing even comes into play – brilliant. This is a dessert tea that I’ll be reaching for at every hour of the day.

SO MY BUDDY STARFISHEY SENT ME SOME TEAS! And I added them to my cupboard and you KNOW WHAT? I HAVE EXACTLY 52 TEAS. In my cupboard. I think that calls for a 52teas tea tasting!

So she sent me the famous cinnamon roll honeybush. I’m actually really not a fan of rooibos by itself, but I do love it mixed into other things! I HAD PRETTY HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS TEA I tell ya what, everyone is just raving. I followed her suggestion and steeped it a little less than normal and HMMM I don’t think I did it long enough, the flavor wasn’t very strong. There’s definitely a creamy sweet aftertaste there but I’M JUST NOT QUITE THERE YET. Will give this another go!

Thanks to Amanda and the traveling tea box for this Delight! I picked this tea cues my husband loves Cinnamon buns, Im glad i did. I figured this would make a good first cup in the morning :) of course you smell the cinnamon Right away! and that basically what this tea is Cinnamon, its quite good and I am Enjoying it immensely with my oatmeal :) this is Not one that i would have to have in my cupboard at all times but it is very good!!

Read all of these glowing reviews and started salivating. I couldn’t wait to order some and try it for myself—I seem to often be deficient of options for caffeine-free evening teas. When I opened this…mmm. Cinnamony. As it steeped, it started to remind me in an odd way of a scented candle that smells like some sort of heavily-spiced pie or cookie…I don’t like scented candles, especially ones that try to smell like food, so I was a little wary as I brewed some of this up. However…upon sipping that faded away. I don’t think I would’ve said this tasted like a cinnamon roll after that first cup, but I loved it! Perfect amount of spice and sweetness. As an experiment, the next time I added a splash of soymilk. That took it over the top—now it tasted exactly like a delightfully doughy, soft, fabulous cinnamon roll. That’s how I’ve been making it lately, and it’s the perfect nighttime treat! I LOVE this tea. Love love love. It’s a good thing I got 4 oz, because I’ve gone through almost an ounce in the past week alone. It’s also good Frank’s got this in the permanent collection…

So in conclusion, you all need to get some of this.

Experience buying from @Ashley: I bought this tea from Ashley when she was selling all of her tea. I received the tea quickly through the mail and my package was filled with many surprises. Thank you Ashley!

Packaging: 52Teas packaging is very professional: small silver zip locked bags with a clear front that has a 3” X 3” label on it which has the name of the tea, an ingredient list, and an expertly created picture of the food item that the tea replicates.

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: strong smell, almost overwhelming, but somewhat like cinnamon rolls.

Brewing guidelines: I used a metal basket strainer inside a ceramic 16 oz. cup, such that I put a lid over the top to keep the heat in. Cup was warmed before steeping. Stevia added.
…………….1st: near boiling, 2’
…………….2nd: nearer to boiling, 4’
…………….3rd: spot on boiling, 6’
…………….4th: even more spot on boiling, 10’

Color and aroma of tea liquor: Ruddy brown, very mild aroma.

Flavor of tea liquor: Somewhat like cinnamon rolls, but something tastes a little off (some as with the smell of the dry leaf): possibly too tart. The second and later steepings had no odd flavor, and so tasted a little better to me.

Overall: After all of the hype about this tea, I was initially disappointed with the first steeping. The second steeping was a little better, and it had good flavor up through the third (the forth had little flavor). I like to get multiple steepings out of any tea; I imagine this would taste differently if steeped only once for a longer period of time—but that’s not how I prepare my tea. Unfortunately I read all of the glowing reviews before trying this tea and got my hopes up about it. I have learned my lesson. With the remainder of Frank’s teas—-or any other, for that matter—-I plan to read only the data in the review first regarding how to steep it. Then, later, I can compare notes. Oh well. Maybe over time I will like this one more _.

Apparently I haven’t logged this yet! I guess I’ve been too busy enjoying it?

All I have to say is: can we get a permanent status for this one? It’s quickly become one of my caffeine-free faves and my go-to for all sorts of occasions. I’m tempted to buy another pouch while there are some but don’t want to be ridiculous!

The smell of both the dry and brewed leaves are warm and intoxicating! I smell lots of cinnamon and a little something gooey underneath. Once brewed the cinnamon came through sharp and in front. For half that cup it kind of just tasted like cinnamon water but after it cooled down some more I can taste something doughy underneath. I can’t really taste any sweetness (brown sugar or cream cheese) though which is a little disappointing. Overall it tastes pretty good though. Perhaps I should try adding some sweetener to it? Although I don’t like doing that because the teas should speak for themselves:)

Right off the bat, I can smell cinnamon cream cheese frosting! Paired with an amazing baked and “dough-y” aroma. Flavors of cinnamon, cream cheese and brown sugar are all detectable.

This is pretty delicious and true to its name. Especially delicious paired with Christmas cookies. :)

I love, love, love cinnamon rolls—so I’m pretty delighted with this!

Am glad I came to this page before I drank any. This doesn’t appear vegan safe and there was less info about ingredients on the package than there is here.

OMG! I’m drinking a cinnamon roll, and I’m in heaven :-)

There’s a bit of a saga around my first order from Frank; you can read about it on my blog at http://missmylin.wordpress.com/2012/04/04/the-tea-saga/

This tea was one that Frank sent me in the replacement package. I wouldn’t have thought to order it myself, but I’m sooooo glad I got the chance to try it. I’ve never tried honeybush before; I love rooibos though so it’s a perfect fit for me. And this really is like drinking a cinnamon roll. I tried it plain first which is great. Then I added a little bit of sugar which was like putting icing on the cinnamon roll vs. eating it plain.

I am definitely a 52teas convert, and I can’t wait to try the rest of the teas in my shipment!

Teasuce gave me a sample of this today. Really great dessert tea. I put a little almond milk in it and enjoyed. Next I will try it iced.

This tea is.. I can’t comprehend! It’s so .. bakey!

My old roommate and I used to have “bakey time” where we would make the most time consuming, awesome baking ever. Huge cinnamon buns, pretzels, whoopie pies, you name it.

This tea reminds me of bakey time. It’s really doughy in the flavour and scent. It didn’t smell at all how I expected, even after reading all the prior reviews!

Cream & Brown sugar makes it a perfect 100. And really yummy as it cools down too. What a freakin’ treat!

This tea just came in the mail yesterday, and I’m just getting to trying this one today. The loose tea smells bizarre—I take one sniff, and I get honeybush, and the next sniff I get cinnamon like WHOA, and the next sniff I get something else entirely, a rather eggnog-ish smell. The brew is dark and auburn-colored, smelling very much like hot eggnog. I steeped it for about 3-4 minutes, and now I have to wait for it to cool off a bit…

I tried it without sugar first. I’m not sure if the eggnog-y flavor is coming from the honeybush, but even without sugar, that’s the primary flavor, right at the front. The cinnamon will probably come forward once I add some sugar.

After one teaspoon of sugar, the cinnamon does start to play a part, and I get the “Cinnamon Roll” taste. I can taste now that the eggnog-ness COMBINED with the cinnamon is what creates that flavor. I think perhaps I ought to have let it steep a smidgen longer, but I am enjoying the overall effect. Half a teaspoon more of sugar rounds it out even more (I don’t know if it’s just my palate, but I find that for ~10 oz. of tea, two teaspoons of sugar is usually perfect, no matter what type of tea it is).

I’m impressed! It’s clearly an ‘herbal’, because there’s no astringency, but it’s a very nice thing to have on a crisp day. It’s almost a crisp day here, about as crisp as autumn gets in this area of the world… so still appropriate. :)

I ordered the last one tonight:) “Grinning” wildly!!!!
OMG, I can’t wait to get this tea.

perfect cuppa to curl up with. milk, brown sugar, heavenliness