Lapacho Orange

Thanks again to Indigobloom for this sample!

I Googled this Lapacho when I read that this is an Andes inner bark herbal tea with medicinal properties. Hum. I wish I could ask my Aunt Lois if she ever used this herb. She lived in the jungles for many years and is a nurse in Ecuador and Peru. I’m sure that in the 1940’s-1990’s there were many things that she learned that are now forgotten in her Washington nursing home at age 92. She’s the one who told me to drink Mate de Coca (coca leaf tea) for my heart when I went to 15,000 ft. altitude in the Andes years ago. Anyway, Google said there are no known health benefits to date from Lapacho but there have been some ill effects to pregnant animals so pregnant women should be careful drinking the tea. This does not concern me at my age but others be advised.

All that being said…phew…I simmered this herbal blend on the stove for 15 minutes and poured myself a nice orange scented mug full. The flavor was sweet orange and had another very strong warm taste that I could not put my finger on. Almost a baked vanilla cookie while still warm from the oven taste. The tea has a fresh flavor and unique and is creamy. No bitterness or tannin.

There are those who are looking for the edge of the forest…looking to the fields and bushes, for the ancient herbs and cups of many cultures. This is one of those little gems.

I love this stuff! First of all we burn this wood as an incense. It smells AMAZING and clears negative energy from the home, if you believe in those things, and well, we do. Also it is medicinal as well which is a huge plus! I have a bag of this stuff shredded like in the tea. I have steeped this before in the past and drank it regularly but with most things I tend to go in spurts then get on a new kick and forget about it. I’m bad like that. Regardless, this is YUMMY! As others have said – it is truly orange flavored – very natural – NOT artificial at all!
I love the woodsy flavor, this is something I will either try to recreate here at home or just say forget about it and order from The Tea Haus!
Thank you IndigoBloom for reawakening my love for this tea – well actually introducing me to this form of it! :) LOVE it!
Steeped 15 minutes in boiling water as opposed to directions but directions are best for getting the most medicinal quality from it. It still tastes great and has the medicinal qualities either way.

Wow! Tastes like orange pop with a bit of a woody flavour mixed in… but the bad thing? I’m getting a strong association to orange-flavoured alcohol that I have a less-than-positive memory of. Which makes me a little nauseated.

So, although this is probably quite good, it seems like I’ll have to wait a few years to actually enjoy it (i.e. until the association has fully worn off). Rating this reasonably high though, because it’s only the memories that are ruining it for me :)

Thanks for the sample, Indigobloom!

I swear, I reviewed this already!!! Has anyone else experienced that? Knowing you documented a tea and then finding it missing not long after? It’s not my first time. (and yes, I’ve logged a bug report lol)
Anyhow, I’ve tried this both hot and cold now. Hot, it’s soothing and somewhat like tang, only… hot, with some woodsiness to it. Again with the simplicity! Cold, well, it’s pretty much the same only I find it gets a bit heavy and abrasive after half a cup. Perhaps if I took the time to brew it properly, I’d have better luck :)
No matter… Overall, I do like this one. It’s not love, but definitely like.

This was wonderful. I made a cup (not bothering to time it since I was in the middle of a round of Mario Party and that shit is intense!) and didn’t add much sugar. At first sip, I was unimpressed, mostly because I hadn’t added as much sugar as I usually do. I was distracted! It was earthy, though, and tasted like a real orange, not that cloy fake orange flavoring. I set it to the side to add more sugar to when I got a chance, but I found myself reaching for it again and again until my cup came up empty! Booo.

We had our…well my first visit to the Tea Haus on Friday and it was lovely! I wasn’t feeling well and so I ending up sitting at a table most of the time so I wouldn’t pass out and take out a table of teaware, but the atmosphere was lovely and the people working there were wonderful. We ended up spending way more than we intended, but I now own the cutest elephant tea for two set in the world and I have tins that are perfect for 30g of matcha! So it was money well spent. We plan to return many, many times!

This one confuses me…the lapacho herb reminds me of Amaretto from DAVIDs and the Orange reminds me of Orange Blossom from DAVIDs as well…it smells soooooo good!

It’s too hot to take a sip just yet, but for now, I will breathe in deeply to the scent wafting up from my mug. This is only from the 5 minute steeper method too. I wonder how much more intense it would be with the stove-top method of preparation.

If this is truly medicinal, I may need to beef up my intake because I have been feeling so sluggish lately.

More later once it cools and I can take a sip….

Ok, so it is not too hot anymore in the burning tongue capacity, but still nice and hot to start drinking. I think I may have under-brewed this, either by not using enough leaf, or not letting it steep long enough, but it is a very nice herbal blend with juicy orange. It’s quite tasty actually, but just a little thin and weak.

Thanks to Indigobloom for this one, as I know I will enjoy this cuppa, and the one to follow.