Buttered Cranberry Orange Scone Honeybush

Long story short, effective yesterday, I began referring to Honeybush as ‘wallaby’ at work. I’m not normally a wallaby fan, but something about this combination of flavors really, really made me want to take the plunge on my first order at 52teas. Plus, there was an offer of a free spoon. Mine is yellow, and awesome in its yellowness. They totally look like you’d buy them in a lot of 500 from Oriental Trading Company or something like that.

Interestingly enough, both the aroma from the bag, and the brewed tisane invoke the exact same flavor to me. It totally tastes like bubblegum. I was a little surprised when the taste first came over my tongue, and it took me a second to sort of… separate the wallaby from the other flavor. Then my mind sort of ‘clicked’ on bubblegum… bubblegum with a slightly buttery after flavor, followed by the lingering taste of the wallaby itself.

As the tea cools, the orange flavor seems to come out a little more for me… and it starts tasting like… well, orange bubblegum. I really have no answer for this one. I actually like the flavor, it is definitely interesting. Of all the wallaby I’ve drank, this would be the one that comes the closest to deserving a permanent spot in my cupboard (well above the vanilla wallaby that the womenfolk of the house are fond of). But something about the lingering taste that it leaves in my mouth (not this one in particular, the wallaby genre as a whole) just doesn’t appeal to me.

This was my first order from 52teas (though Azzrian beat them to the punch with my Mayan Chocolate Chai sample). I have to say, I’m impressed with the quality of both of the items I ordered, as well as the previous sample. I can’t say I’ll order this particular blend again, but I’m definitely liking what I get as a customer.

Yum Yum Yum! The buttery goodness is there, the nutty, honey-sweet taste of the honeybush works so well to provide a baked scone-like taste, and the orange is sweet, while the cranberry is tart. Delicious contrasts, sweet, tart, buttery, rich and decadent.

Loving this!

Thanks to Azzrian for the generous sample of this tea!

I’m getting a lot of rooibos from the smell of this tea. Not my favourite.

Hmm. I really can’t say that ‘Cranberry Orange Scone’ is coming to mind at all regarding the flavour of the tea. I can taste citrus, which is muted enough for me to enjoy it, but definitely not getting any cranberry. Perhaps there are some baked goods-y flavours as well. Ok, sipping and tasting more I can maaaaybe eke out a little bit of cranberry flavour. But I certainly wouldn’t have picked it out on my own. Ok, definitely getting buttery flavours in the aftertaste. I’m actually liking this more as I drink more of it, although that’s going to stop in about 10 seconds as I’m finished the cup. I have to say that in spite of the rooibos smell, the taste is not overpowering. Whew :)

I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting to like this tea. I just wanted to try it because Azzrian had it available. But it’s actually better than I was thinking it would be. By the end of the cup, I may not exactly be tasting Buttered Cranberry Orange Scone, but I am tasting enough of the individual elements to make it an interesting and enjoyable cup. I’m glad I have enough of this one for a few more cups, but it won’t be a keeper :)

ETA: Second infusion is…. woah, rather sweet! Wasn’t expecting that! Was this made with honeybush?? I can taste a hint of citrus, and some lovely other flavours. Huh. This surprised me. I have to say that it’s much more sconey now. Still no real cranberry though, but I could be convinced a bit more that it’s flavoured like a baked good. (Ugh, too bad, I totally just choked on a big sip and had to spit it out, so that’s all I’m going to get to talking about, haha.)

I got this in my grab bag way back in July. But, I have swapped and received so many samples in my swaps that I am getting so far behind!

As the name says, it is buttery, with sweet orange, and hints of cranberry. I like it with the honeybush base because it is nice and mellow. And it isn’t too tart.

It almost feels like I am having a baked good for a bedtime snack.

Another yummy tea. I’m pretty impressed with 52teas. Looking at the name, I expect a complex tea. I also have to wonder how you get those flavors in there. How do you get scone flavoring?! I wonder if he could do a chocolate scone tea. Any ways on to the tea.

I really enjoy honeybush, so I am glad to see it showing up in this flavor profile. I can taste the cranberry and orange. They compliment each other well. The butter is very smooth and creamy. The tea feels smooth and creamy but that may just be the buttery taste. I’m getting a different flavor instead of the baked good here. Let me just say I may be totally insane first. I taste bubble gum. So I have cranberry-orange-butter-honeybush-bubblegum tea. It tastes like I just started chewing on some bubblegum as I take a sip of tea.

Despite my taste bud mutiny, I really like this tea. I think I’ll let it set for a week and try it again. Perhaps I’ll have hanged the problem taste bud.

I like cranberry, orange, scones and butter, but for some reason I’ve been eying this sample from LiberTEAS with trepidation. Probably because of the honeybush, which I’m not sure if I like yet. I know I definitely do NOT like rooibos (it makes me nauseous, unfortunately), but honeybush is missing a lot of that medicinal quality. Still, I don’t have enough experience with it to say “I like this” or “I don’t like this.”

Well, I decided to be brave last night and give it a go! The first steep I did for 6 minutes, since it says 6-10 but I was nervous about leaving it in for so long. It smells like toast with marmalade, so this tea and I were off to a good start! The flavor, however, was a little lacking. Just a hint of orange, no “scone” or cranberry whatsoever. There was a lot of buttery goodness that had kind of a heavy mouthfeel, but in a pleasant way. The honeybush was innocuous, and this tasted like a generic orange herbal with some butter thrown in. The second steep I did for 10, and the flavors came out much stronger: the orange was bright, and the honeybush more prominent which lead to a kind of scone-y texture. Still no cranberry though—there were 2 dried ones, but apparently none of the flavor leeched out. The butter is definitely my favorite part of this tea, and while it was an enjoyable cup I am still on the fence about honeybush (though I am leaning towards “it’s okay, but not something I would reach for often”). I do, however, want to immediately pick up the Pancake Breakfast… seriously, the butter part of this was sooo good!

Side note for my brother – ITS VEGAN! :)
Smell from bag – DROOL OMG Divine!
Slightly Tart Citrusy – Buttery – Creamy – Dreamy.
Water is about to boil and I am about to steep I am literally feeling my mouth water up with anticipation!
This had better be good lol.
This is my second flavor from 52Teas and the first one did NOT disappoint!
Oh and I am using my “big” teapot for the first time ever, because I have super high hopes. :)
I only wish honeybush did not have such a long steep time!
YAY its done!
Smell in cup: YUMMY makes me want to burn my mouth!
Its actually REFRESHING! how can that be? Its SO not good for you with all this cream, butter, candy like flavor…hummm….I get the orange or is it cranberry on the sides of my cheeks, MOUTH cheeks that is. Also on the mid part of the tongue, creamy on sides of tongue, this is a treat for the taste buds with different flavors and textures bouncing off one part to the other. I have not had honeybush before so I am not sure what to expect from it – not getting a typical “tea” flavor of any kind.
No astringency, no after taste, excellent flavorings!
I find the buttery flavor coming through now on the aftertaste but it does not linger and that is good. Makes me want another sip but does not “turn” into something terrible.
Its odd – every sip brings something a little different – now I am getting the butter in the full mouth.
I am anxious for the next cup which I will let cool down some to see how it tastes that way then will add some sweetener to the next cup to try that as well. This is one I want to play around with BUT is perfection just as is!
You know if you are worried about flavored teas or “sweet” teas this is not going to disappoint you at all! Its not sappy or sticky sweet and there is no lingering negative flavor additive effect OR sugar effect.
Very pleasant all the way around.

Thanks to Azzrian for this sample

Well, it’s time for my nightly brew of Rooibos tea since I don’t want caffeine, but want some tea tonight. This tea sounded delicious and smelled quite nice. I’m not getting a whole lot of flavor coming through, though. I’m getting the butter and orange, but not so sure about the cranberry. When I drink this, I don’t necessarily think of scone.

As it cools off I think I can taste a little bit of the cranberry.. but not much. And actually, when it’s really cold, I can really taste that butter. Of course, I didn’t leave much tea for when it was really cold, so I couldn’t really do adequate tests. Oh well, maybe next time..

I always forget first class mail is secretly faster than USPS makes you think…hm. I wasn’t expecting to get this until tomorrow! So of course, I had to make a cup.

I missed out on the first scone tea so I was not going to let this one go by, especially if it was going to be buttery tasting, plus I love honeybush.

I’m not sure just yet how I feel about it. I am going to let the flavors “meld” a bit more before I rate it. The buttery taste just seemed separate from the fruity taste. It was still good, but I am going to give it a chance to be amazing…cause it has to be given the smell.

Steep Information:
Amount: 3 tsp
Water: 400ml at 212°F
Tool: metal mesh strainer
Steep Time: a little over 7 minutes http://steep.it
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: chemical, orange, cranberry, sweet
Steeped Tea Smell: woody, orange, cranberry
Flavor: woody, cranberry, orange
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: sweet
Liquor: opaque dark red-brown

Post-Steep Additives:
1 spoon honey
butter, sweet, orange, cranberry, aftertaste woody
better with sugar

not getting the scone flavor

Rating: 3/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.teatra.de/2013/01/13/52teas-loose-leaf-honeybush-tisane-buttered-cranberry-orange-scone/

First, getting tart sense of cranberry when drunk hot. Steeped at 212F boiling for 4 min. As it cooled, picked up unctuous suggestion of buttery baked goodness but just slightly. In fact, it is in the aftertaste as you roll the ghosts of the flavours on the tongue and inhale the vapours do you get the name of this brew. I always thought I preferred tea straight and hated foody scents but I was wrong. This tea is delicate and is a sweet suggestion of its eponym.