Michelle Butler Hallett Send Message

1 TB for 450mL water, bare.

Got a sample in a recent order …

even better than I remembered. Nice cinnamon heat (but not cinnamon candy taste), some lovely sharpness, and mellow Assam. Doesn’t forgive a long steep, so time this one carefully. I like it at max 4 minutes for plain sipping. It might benefit form 5 minutes if you add milk. Upping my rating.

1 TB for 450mL water, bare.

Received as a sample in a recent order …

Just not for me. Dang, I really want to like this one. But: NO discernible lavender scent or taste, and really minty rooibos. Overall, this tisane tastes to me like toothpaste that’s been rubbed up against old damp wood.

And I can’t get the scent out of my silicone travel-mug cover. I understand toothpaste may help …

If you like that odd minty quality some red roobios has, you’ll liely enjoy this blend. I wish I did, because rooibos and lavender is a potent and insanely healthy combo.

1 TB for 450mL water, 1 packet stevia (equals 2tsp sugar)

Woody red rooibos and slick banana, as I noted before, with no discernible “spicy” or "chocolate’ taste. I tried to it today with sweetener … which brings out an orange taste, of all things.

If you like woody red rooibos, you’ll probably like this. I don’t. And dang, where’s the spicy chocolate?

1 TB for 450mL water, bare.

First note: if you’re new to honeybush, taste the steeped tisane before adding sweetener of any kind. It’s called honeybush for a really good reason.

Honeybush sweetness balanced the lemon grass. I enjoy the additional sweet grassy notes form the lemon grass. And the ginger is soft, not blazin hot as in the Electric Lemon blend — soft, but not subtle.

I sipped this before bed last night and found it soothed a (new!) sore throat. Didn’t kill all the sore throat pain, but definitely eased it. The steam, plus the scents of lemon and ginger, opened up my nose a bit, and my nose wasn’t even stuffy. The taste is sweet and welcoming. Jusy might have me a new go-to tisane while I wait (and wait, and wait) for the return of Super Chocolate.

1 heaping TB for 450mL water plus 1 packet of stevia (equals 2tsp sugar)

YUM.

Real freeze-dried strawberries. Decent white tea. Rhubarb. Lovely. Tastes like it sounds, and tastes like it smell.s

1 TB for 500mL teapot, bare.

I made this too strong. The buttery mouth-feel almost cloyed, especially with the peaches. Will try again, weaker and steeped less time. I expect that when properly made it’s really good. Smells great.

1 TB for 450mL water, bare.

Dang! I really wanted to like this more than I do. I hang in limbo right now DavidsTea enters month two (!) of reformulating my beloved Super Chocolate, a green rooibos base with chocolate bits, ciunnamon and a sprinkling of green tea. They suggested I try Spicy Chocolate Rooibos while waiting.

I drink a lot of rooibos throughout the day, as much for my health as for the taste. Colds don’t last nearly as long anymore.

But Spicy Chocolate Rooibos has a red rooibos base. I’ve really come to prefer green rooibos. At least this red rooibos base isn’t minty, but it is woody. Meh. Woody red rooibos with a slick overlay of banana. I saw but did not taste the chocolate bits and peppercorns.

I’ll drink it, but not necause I enjoy it. A real disappointment.

1 TB for 450mL water, drunk bare.

Sssslllllluurrrrrppp! Comforting, deep, creamy and strong, but not bitter. Malty of course, but not puckery. An excellent Assam.

1 pyramid sachet to 250mL water.

Competent blends, but nothing special. The Organge Spice cloys. All need an exceptionally long steep to bring out any flavour. Really, really, overpackaged; each pytamid is wrapped in cardboard (like Tea Forte) and then slotted in its own plastic compartment. Saving the cardboard (!) pyramid sleeves for my daughter to organize Legos in. Makes a pretty-looking gift, but there are better rooiboses and rooibos blends out there, with far less packaging.

1 full-leaf pouch for 400mL water, bare.

Okay, here’s a new low for MBH the Tea-Fiend. While looking in Winners last night for a can opener — a freakin can opener, people — I bought tea. Fancy schmancy over-packaged tea, left over from the ‘Desperate for a Gift?’ display. I bought a mug I most certainly do NOT need just to get the two pouches of Mighty Leaf Orange Dulce within. (Actually, a covered mug as packaging for teabags is pretty cool. Unlike the insane platic divided tray Tea of Life is using for a collection of rooibos pyramid sachets.) But I digress. The point is, I bought a mug just to get the tea. Cause Mighty Leaf isn’t available by retail here in NL.

Opening the foil packet, I could swear heat escapes. Or am I running a fever? (My household is rotten with a cold virus.) Smells smooth, not all biting harsh like Bigelow’s Constant Comment or Stash’s Orange Spice. Impressive ingredient list.

Oh, my. Gentle orange, gentle tea, but neither one is faint. Oooh, I could really get to like this. I’ve been cionsidering an order from Mighty Leaf on the description of Beatles Blend alone (major Beatles geek here). Creaminess, too — ooh, real vanilla! Not girly-shop-and-perfume vanilla. And jasmine scent. Oh. Excuse me. Orange Dulce and I need to be alone.