Breakfast Smoothie Honeybush

I was so excited to see this included in the 12 teas box! I’ve been wanting to try it ever since I heard of its existence. Pineapple orange banana is one of my favourite flavour combinations. Reminds me of these dole juice boxes that I used to have in my packed lunches as a child. If I found a pineapple orange banana juice box in my lunch, I knew it was going to be a good day!

When I opened my packet, like many others I smelled sweet, sticky juicy fruit gum. Not what I was expecting, but yum! It smells tropical fruity and delicious. I wish I could pick out the individual fruit flavours though.

Hot, the bubblegum flavour carries through. This one needs a long steep to get a full flavour. The fruits come out a little, but I’m guessing they’d pop the best as an iced tea. There’s a nice smooth thickness to the brew that enhances the smoothie association.

Overall, I am digging this honeybush! Easy to drink and pleasant. I think I’ll cold brew the rest.

Tea #2 of the Twelve Teas of X-mas. This blend smells very much like bubblegum or maybe tutti frutti – which is a bit disconcerting at first. After it steeped the flavour resolves itself into actual fruit notes, mostly orange and banana. They go very well with the honeybush base which gives it just the right dash of sweetness. I don’t normally do honeybush with milk, but for some reason I could see myself trying the next cup with some to really give it that smoothie taste. I love it, and I may very well buy a pouch if my Christmas budget permits it.

Day 2 of the Christmas sampler!
I’m glad I’m not alone in thinking it smelled like bubblegum. I was really happy to see that today’s tea has bananas. One of the first teas I tried from 52Teas was Monkey Fart (hee!). I loved the way Frank captured the banana flavour (it was punch-you-in-the-face candied bananas rather than the more organic somewhat bland banana taste).
1 tsp in 350ml of water steeped for 2 mins. I love the creaminess of this tea! I get a really strong banana flavour (but interestingly enough, it isn’t a candied banana taste. It’s a nice flavourful creamy banana taste.)with hints of orange and pineapple in the background. I’d really love to try this iced.
Like with the Cotton Candy tea from yesterday, I’m sad that I can’t order a pouch of this (but I’m still glad that I got to try it!).

On the second day of Christmas, 52Teas gave to me…Breakfast Smoothie Honeybush!

And, wow, does it smell amazing. At first, I thought “bubblegum”, but that’s not quite right. It’s pineapple, I think, that comes through most strongly, followed by the orange and banana in equal measure. I can see chunks of fruit among the honeybush base, and my mouth is watering already. I think this will make an amazing morning tea, but the fact that it’s evening now isn’t going to stop me giving it a try.

After reading some advice on here, I brewed this for 2.5 minutes in boiling water. It smells just as it does dry — intensely fruity, with a sort of yoghurty undertone. Something’s still making me think “bubblegum”, juicy fruit to be exact, but I don’t mind that at all.

To taste, this is, again, exactly as it smells. I can almost believe I’m drinking a smoothie, except that it’s hot. The honeybush base was an excellent choice — it’s naturally sweet and perfectly complements the flavours.

All told, another amazing tea. I’m being spoilt with these, I know. I probably won’t want to drink another brand again now that I’ve finally experienced these. Honestly, what took me so long?

Wow, got this in my 12 Days of Tea (which I’m just getting to now…December was busy).
Brewed it up on a snowy day off. Normally I’d go with something warm and wintery for such a day, but this little gem came out of the bag instead. It smelled very bubblygummy dry, but once infused that sickly sweet scent went away and left a nice fruity, sweet tea.
I added a little sugar, but probably didn’t need to as this is very sweet. This is very breakfasty and reminded me of some sort of tropical beach drink, which was a nice change from the weather outside.
The sweetness increased as this cooled, and the last few sips were just way too sweet (but probably would have been fine without my added sugar). Would I buy this? No, but that’s because I HATE banana. Hate it. This has quite a strong banana flavour, but has enough pineapple to balance it. It was enjoyable, but I wouldn’t drink it again necessarily simply because of my distaste for bananas. It’s still a very well blended tasty tea.

Oh my, this is nice. I’ve been trying to figure out what it reminds me of and I’ve finally pinpointed it: anyone remember those fruit candies called runts? The banana ones were always my favourite, and that’s what this tea reminds me of. Sweet, sugary, creamy banana. Love it!

I had wonderful company to share this tea with which made the whole experience even more enjoyable! First, most of our group was not over thrilled with the fact that this was a “fruit” tea. I insisted to the naysayers to keep an open mind…:)

I actually enjoyed the initial aroma, a cross between warm banana bread and juicy fruit gum. I have to say, the tea was a very pleasant surprise! I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the tea was creamy, sweet and really good. I would say the banana was the predominant flavor with just a slight “tang” of maybe the pineapple. Even if you you are not a fruit tea lover, I beg you to give this a chance. It just might surprise you…

I wish I could have another cup, but alas there is no more! Sigh.

This has got to be one of my favorite teas I have gotten from 52teas. The flavor is perfectly balanced and it’s nice and soft on the palate. I’ll certainly be drinking this all the time!

UPDATE:

I had it iced and I must say that this is my absolute favorite so far! Icing really brings out the orange in it.

Fell in love with this when I first tried it. I cheated a little and opened this on the first day of hanukkah instead because I needed a little celebration to cheer me up during finals. It absolutely blew my mind.

I tried it again today and I definitely used too much leaf. The result tasted like bubblegum. I’m a little disappointed but I know it was my fault because it tasted so good last time. (rating it from my first taste)

dessert time!
as i watch Bones.
http://instagram.com/p/Sjj_Ckoc6F/

I am relatively new to the world of Honeybush teas but if this tea is any indicator I have been definitely missing out! The fruity blend of orange, pineapple and banana combine incredibly well with the sweet Honeybush base. Unlike Rooibos teas, the Honeybush base adds a very pleasant sweet layer that enhances the flavor of the tea without any woodsy aftertaste.

Banana flavor is very potent. I taste a slight citrus flavor, but it is barely there. Overall, tastes pretty good, exactly like a smoothie.

It smells and tastes like pink hubba bubba bubblegum. It is a nice tea to curb the sweet tooth. Doesn’t remind me of a breakfast smoothie at all…Hubba Bubba smoothie is more like it.

This stuff smells fruity and delicious as soon as I opened the package. When I tried it I didn’t taste smoothie, I tasted… bubblegum?! What the…?! At the end of each sip I can pick out some fruitiness, maybe banana and pineapple, but mostly bubblegum. Not quite what I was expecting, but very nice. It seemed a little sweet on it’s own, but also good with a touch of sugar. The first two steeps were great. The third steep which I didn’t add sugar to was a bit on the weak side, had a slight licorice aftertaste and was still yummy. It is my first honeybush experience and it was pretty good. I’ll definitely be looking into more honeybush teas in the future.