Cinnamon Roll Honeybush

Needed this to settle my stomach after too much dessert indulgence today. At tonight’s steeping, this is predominately cinnamon cream cheese frosting. There’s this tartness that comes from the cream cheese—and then this is offset by the taste of sweet cinnamon sugar.

Honeybush is an effective tummy soother for me, so this is very good as a nightime “tonic”.

Yummy yet beneficial—what’s not to like? ;)

Used 1.75 tablespoons for ~375ml of water.

This brewed tisane has a strong authentic cinnamon aroma. I am also getting scents of sweet icing and a distinct ‘baked good’ smell.

On the sip, the cinnamon flavour tastes a lot like cinnamon heart candies; very sweet with an artificial edge to it. The aftertaste is slightly smoky and reminds me of the scent of a blown out candle. I’m not detecting a strong baked goods taste in the sip of this tisane but it is present closer to the end of the sip, trailing into the aftertaste. I’m tasting a bit of the icing flavour but it isn’t as strong as it was in the scent.

As the tea cools, I’m getting more of the baked good flavour and the icing taste is coming out more as well. Baked cinnamon roll flavour is very strong on the aftertaste during exhale- it would have been nice to have this in the sip of this tisane.

This tisane may benefit from a longer infusion time of 8 or more minutes.

Many thanks to Kittenna for sharing this with me!

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.

Here’s another one I would have been shocked had it not been in here. (Actually, as this is the second to last, and I understand the last is a new one, there is at least one other that I’m a bit surprised wasn’t included.) I count it a bit like the pancake one. I like them, but I expect I’ll probably prefer them in solid form.

To my surprise, I found the leaves in dry form smelled a lot like mulled wine. I think it must be some of the spices in this stuff that does it, probably also the nature of the honeybush, but I was not expecting it to be so mulled wine-y. (Here’s a Christmas blend idea for next year. Mulled wine, maybe with orange also. And it should probably be on a (are you sitting down? Better sit down for this) honeybush base, I think.)

After steeping, it’s less mulled wine and much more cinnamon-y and baked goods-y. I really like the smell of this. It seems very close to the real deal, to the point where I can even imagine approximately how moist the roll in question would be.

The flavour is very close as well to a real cinnamon roll, but the honeybush adds a little extra tangy note to it which seems to stick out a bit. I wasn’t expecting that note at all, and it feels a bit like it’s trying to detach itself from the rest of the flavour and run the other way. Once I get a little more used to it being there, it doesn’t seem to be as glaring, as if that slightly tangy note gives up the escape attempt and falls neatly in line with the others.

I remember some others mentioned even being able to find notes of icing in this, but I haven’t managed that. The closest I get is the idea of icing, but then that’s fine with me.

Basically I’m enjoying this one a LOT more than I thought I would. And it’s not even a tea base. I’m shocked at myself, Steepsterites. Shocked!

I’ve been slacking on trying new teas some lately, mostly just enjoying the bounty of my earlier TeaSpring order. But I decided to get back into it with one of the last remaining samples I have from Ninavampi.

Uhm, I may have picked the wrong tea to try to kickstart my sampling. For once, though, it isn’t the honeybush that’s killing this for me. Actually, the honeybush is adding a nice bakey back note to this that really does make it taste like freshly baked gooey sweet rolls. Nope, I get lost with the cinnamon on this one. It’s just too Red Hots cinnamon. It’s a lot like drinking Hot Damn cinnamon schnapps but without the punch of alcohol. I supposed I’m used to a milder cinnamon flavor than what this is.

Oh well, good to try! And also good to know that sometimes honeybush does work for me (even if the rest of the tea didn’t).

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.

This is a very warm and cozy cinnamon honeybush. I think if it wasn’t called ‘Cinnamon Roll’ with the promise of some kind of delightful baked-good flavor, I would have really enjoyed it.

As it is, I’m drinking it and wishing I could taste more than just woodsy cinnamon. It’s yummy, especially the second steep, but I definitely don’t taste anything ‘roll’-y about it.

Thanks for sending it my way, Stephanie! I am so glad I got to try more honeybush blends. :D

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!

Dry leaves smelled like cinnamon raisin to me. The brewed tea definitely smells like cinnamon and brown sugar. Yum. I think I’m getting a bit of frosting in the smell too.

When I drink it, the honeybush base seems to be battling with the cinnamon roll flavor for dominance. I’m hoping the cinnamon roll will win, but they seem kinda evenly matched right now.

I added a bit of sugar to my second cup since it seemed like it should be tastier. I was wrong. I simply don’t like sweetener in my tea unless it’s chai or earl grey or some other black tea.

I tried this one with my chai yesterday. It came out surprisingly well, since I was not expecting the “icing” flavor to complement the chai spices. I think if I were to do it again, I would add less of it. (Wow, that’s an astonishing statement in itself about this tea—that it’s strong enough to overpower CHAI.)

Of course, the two teas are sort of naturally complementary—the spiciness being the obvious factor, but also that they both produce a fairly dark brew (I find myself more and more basing tea blends on the color of the brew, because I’ve been finding that teas that brew close to the same color mesh really well in one cup).

Anyway, this review really doesn’t have much more to be said. I liked it, and I might be inclined to try it again. Of course, I put milk in it, before you ask, because chai without milk is like a bed without pillows, like a playground without slides, or like a window with bars but no glass. What’s the point? xD