Mulled Hibiscus Clove

Mmm the smell of this conjures up holiday memories, its all mulling spices and whole cloves simmering on the stove. But there are other more exotic notes and it is truly intriguing. It brews up a beautiful deep warm wine in my mug and a lighter more vibrant pink when poured into my sipping cup. I’m not anti-hibiscus but this is a tad tart for my personal tastes at least this evening, I get the orange and a hint of clove but can the fennel is escaping me. It has the opposite problem that the Spiced Elderberry Pu’erh had for me yesterday, not enough spice coming through in the taste. I’m sure it can be played around with time wise and I’m sure it would be brilliant with cider. Must rebrew so I can breath in the heavenly aroma. Ooo yes! There’s that touch of licorice sweetness. Second steep at 1 min is perfect for me!

So this is one of the blends I have been eagerly awaiting to buy from Verdant. I know that a lot of people seem to not like Hibiscus in teas. I for one love it! I love the tart and sweetness to it. I find that if you steep it in half of the time it usually will be perfect and not too tart.

I steeped this for 2 minutes and it was great. I have had many hibiscus teas, but with this one I find that the hibiscus is there but not entirely in your face. As it was brewing I could smell the Fennel and mint. When drinking it, I could taste the hibiscus with a licorice backing to it. Since I love licorice I loved it. I could not really make out the ginger or orange that was in the mix, but I know I will come back to it and spend some more time with in. I was just eager to try it..:)

I like it. It smells better than it tastes; but the taste is still, erm, tasty. The hibiscus is there but I didn’t find it too tart. The flavor I picked up on most, other than the hibiscus, is the clove. It will be a good nighttime tea as it has no caffeine. I have a hard time finding herbal teas that I like so this makes me happy.