Just Add Honey

2021 sipdown no. 62

Enjoyed the last cup of this while watching Thor Ragnarok at midnight last night. It was a perfect cuppa. Why at midnight on a Sunday night? I’m paying the price this morning. XD

Thanks to derk for sending this one my way!

Happy Caturday!

Just the tea: I really enjoy this one. The floral aspect and the vanilla aspect seem to be at the perfect ratio to complement each other. The base is not astringent at all and the whole thing just works so well together. Thanks to derk for sending this one my way!

The steeping parameters state boiling for 3.5 to 4 minutes, but I’ve adjusted that and I personally prefer the lower temperature and shorter steep.

I’m getting close to a sipdown on this one, which will be bittersweet, but I have another EGC so it’ll be okay.

Life update: The sun is streaming through the front window and I’m curled into the couch with two sleeping cats working on a lab report and a soil report, listening to Marvel interviews in the background, and sipping this delightful tea.

We quietly adopted a new feline friend for Ivan almost two weeks ago, and she has settled in to our home and life just perfectly. ❤

You can check her out on my story here: https://www.instagram.com/stories/biologistcourtney/2538759965927878811/

Earl Grey Cream/Creme comparison 3/3 (see also Camellia Sinensis and Bird & Blend)

Just Add Honey (elephants) boiling, 4 minutes
This one is muted in both bergamot and vanilla. The bergamot is more present, and has a slight edge, but nothing off-putting. There’s a slight creaminess to mellow everything out, but very little just to the end of the sip.

derk sent me a wee pot of this one and I’m so thrilled!

Enjoying this one as I work on my wildlife conservation assignment this week: using RStudio to create home range maps for grey wolves in Canada!

I could smell this from the side table while I waited on it to cool and the scent is really lovely. The bergamot here is sweet with the bergamot taste, but not so much of the floral that can sometimes be off-putting. The base tea blends nicely here with the slightest astringency after the sip. There’s a creaminess here that’s subtle and just takes the edge off. Overall an enjoyable cuppa!

I really need to make a cup of this one, Camellia Sinensis, and B&B to compare.

This came my way from some box-stuffing promotion project my housemate was working on for her employer (how that fits into care-giving, I have no idea). Just Add Honey is an Atlanta tea shop. Their teas have a few notes here.

Sorry Courtney, but if I don’t get this note out now, it’ll never happen because I only saved enough for 1 serving.

This went really well with breakfast today, a slice of Greek sweet bread topped with feta and a side of Greek sausage.

I enjoyed this Earl Grey Cream. The base tea is pretty leafy and bold enough to carry well the bergamot oil which is on the stronger end. The ‘cream’ part is vanilla rather than cream flavor and it blends very smoothly instead of standing on its own as a flavor. Well done in my eyes but I’m no EGC connoisseur. I wonder what Courtney will think of it :)

tried this one the other day and was really satisfied!

Labelled Peace of Mind, but I’m pretty sure it’s this tea. I got it for Christmas from my sister-in-law. Slightly sweet, chamomile. Easy drinking.

This tea was fantastic. Like fresh mangoes in my cup with a green tea backing. Sweet but not overly so. Just my kind of tea. This is one of 3 teas offered in the May subscription plan from Just Add Honey Tea Company. I was pleased with this box (this tea and the honey won me over) and excited to see what will be in June’s box.

http://www.cuppageek.com/index.php/2015/06/12/tea-subscription-box-just-add-honey-tea-company/

About two weeks ago, I left my job of 4 years to find something better. During my week and a half of being unemployed, I did some research on Atlanta-based tea. Sure enough, I found Just Add Honey, with their small brick and mortar store at the edge of downtown. While they weren’t hiring, I got to visit and meet the owner, a kind lady by the name of Brandi. There were a couple teas I wanted up on the wall in jars, but being in between jobs, I just got a sample of chai. (And made sure she had a copy of my resume, haha.)

Let me tell you, this tea packs a punch! It does not disappoint on the spice aspect. When I sniffed it in the glass jar, I was surprised at how clovey it was. Most blends of chai I’ve tasted were a little shy with the clove, or even left it out completely, but not this one. It also has a nice, balanced taste of cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom. Star anise is listed in the ingredients, but I can’t really taste that aspect.

As far as the vanilla goes, it’s interesting. Not a coconutty or French vanilla. It’s a buttercreamy, dessert-like vanilla. Combined with the spices, it comes out to something that tastes like… dare I say it… pumpkin spice. It was definitely a good choice for fall. I might have to go back for more pretty soon. The contrast between the warm spice and the chilly air will be nice!

Green Caramel – Just Add Honey – 2/5/14
2 minutes, 175 degrees

This smells smoky to me. Is there smoke in the ingredients? Looking at the ingredients, I suppose it could be one of the roasted things but it’s really quite strong. I kept to the green steeping parameters because although rooibos can do boiling and a long steep, I don’t think the green would survive that. The steeping smell still has a bit of smoke but I can pick up more on the wood smell coming from the rooibos now. I’m not really a fan of rooibos so I hope it stays subtle.

Without sugar, this tastes very smoky to me. Like a very very mild lapsang might. With sugar, I’m still tasting a horrible taste reminiscent of beef jerky covered in caramel. Wow. I’m forcing myself to drink the rest of this but it’s a struggle. This is not a tea for me.

TTBB #6 (after lunch)

Another from Teabox B! I thought ‘just add honey’ was steeping suggestions, not the name of the tea. haha. This one seemed a bit odd.. especially as it mentioned cocoa beans. But this is really nice. I waited a while for the water to cool and steeped for 2-3 min. This has a really smooth flavor that lingers (except for maybe the rooibos, which I’m not really sure WHY it’s in this blend.) There is something like genmaicha about it, since it has popped corn, which kind of makes it like caramel on its own. I wouldn’t think caramel would go with green tea! Maybe I should have just added honey anyway…

I was pretty nervous that rooibos was an ingredient in this. I’ve had some less than stellar experiences with rooibos lately and almost ignore them completely at this point. But the rice and caramel mixed with the green tea made me give it a try. I’m quite happy with it. I don’t taste the rooibos. Maybe it gives it a slightly sweeter edge? I don’t know. But the genmai cha is awesome. And it’s overall just a smooth, buttery, enjoyable night time cup! I will definitely think about keeping this on hand.

This is buttery, smooth, sweet, sugary, rooibosy, slightly vegetal-green but in a sweeter way, and pretty darn tasty. Better than I thought it would be. Yum!