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“This was calling to me lately! I’ve had this a while from a grab bag sale, never wrote a tasting note for it, and now it’s gone. I didn’t realize this had sunflower seeds and realized it was...” Read full tasting note
“Day seven of the no caffeine after three venture and fourth day that I continued to drink caffeinated tea after three. Oh well, I am more aware of the time cutoff now than I was before and I will...” Read full tasting note
“This was the free sample from my last 52teas order. I was a little uncertain about it since I don’t like cardomom. I finally decided to pick out the cardamom since orange pistachio honeybush...” Read full tasting note
“I read an article that was like “etiquette tips for tea with the Queen.” It said, among other things, not to put your pinkie out. It also advised against putting milk into anything but black...” Read full tasting note
Tea of the Week for March 21, 2016!
For this week’s tea, I wanted something warm yet bright that would play nicely with the natural nutty tones of the honeybush leaf. The orange is sweet and juicy tasting and is complimented by the warm, gentle spice of the cardamom. The notes of pistachio arrive on the palate about mid-sip and are accentuated by the honeybush. It’s sweet (but not too sweet!), warm and comforting. A really nice tea to enjoy later in the day – and it’s naturally caffeine free so you can do just that!
organic ingredients: honeybush, freeze dried orange, dried orange segments, salted sunflower seeds, crushed cardamom pods and natural flavors.
At 52teas.com, you will find unique, hand-blended artisan loose leaf teas: a new limited edition creation every week of the year. We pride ourselves on offering truly unique, one-of-a-kind tea blends that you won’t find anywhere else.
This was calling to me lately! I’ve had this a while from a grab bag sale, never wrote a tasting note for it, and now it’s gone. I didn’t realize this had sunflower seeds and realized it was mostly sunflower seeds and honeybush remaining in the end of the pouch, rather than anything else in the blend, so I wanted to aim for a sipdown. It ended up being about 2 1/2 teaspoons after I removed the stale sunflower seeds. There is certainly a bright orange aroma, even without any orange wedges left. The flavor is almost like bubblegum, but I think that is simply the combination of the flavors of orange, honeybush, maybe even the cardamom. A nice comforting flavor from the cardamom. There is still a hint of nuttiness from the sunflower seeds but it adds a unique layer here rather than ruining it. A unique yet tasty combination of flavors here. However, I don’t think I ever tasted pistachio… The honeybush brew looks almost like a black tea on the second steep. I don’t think I’ve had many orange teas from Anne’s 52Teas? But this is really good. For a four year old tea, the flavors really held up more than I expected. It tasted like this when it was fresh. Possibly the 2 1/2 teaspoons is the ideal amount for this tea. I’ll have to remember using this much leaf with teas I’m not initially thrilled with.
Steep #1 // 2 1/2 teaspoons for bigger full mug // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4-5 minute steep
2020 Sipdowns: 42
Day seven of the no caffeine after three venture and fourth day that I continued to drink caffeinated tea after three. Oh well, I am more aware of the time cutoff now than I was before and I will likely be able to limit caffeinated tea to some extent, so there’s that.
Another plus is that I have hauled out the herbals and the tisanes, so they are more readily available than before. This, of course, means that I am discovering yet another forgotten aspect of my cupboard.
This one is ancient but delicious. The orange and the cardamon work nicely together. The pistachio flavour is a vague notion, possibly supported by the earthiness of the honeybush.
This was the free sample from my last 52teas order. I was a little uncertain about it since I don’t like cardomom. I finally decided to pick out the cardamom since orange pistachio honeybush sounded really appealing. The good news is that I couldn’t taste the cardamom, the bad news is that I couldn’t taste the pistachio. It was a pleasant enough orange honeybush, but not unique enough that I would buy it again. I mostly buy from 52teas for flavor combinations I can’t find elsewhere.
In other news, we bought a kiddie pool last weekend and first and second absolutely love it. It’s been consistently in the 90’s outside, so it’s perfect weather for it. We have it set up on the back porch and they’re sending a couple hours out there every day.
I read an article that was like “etiquette tips for tea with the Queen.”
It said, among other things, not to put your pinkie out.
It also advised against putting milk into anything but black tea.
Well, Eliz 2, I just put some vanilla cashew milk into this and I liked it. Sorry. Please let me still pet your Corgis. They look so friendly and soft.
This tea was just the thing I needed today. I was overwhelmed and sick. My digestive system told me off. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to get all my tasks done in time.
I’d been drinking black tea to ramp myself up to get my job done, but that just made my body’s symptoms worse. So I switched over to decaf (this is honeybush). Not as much energy, but I feel much more soothed. I’ll just fall asleep early today.
Whoo-hoo! I went stash diving this evening, searching for a caffeine-free or low caffeine tea, and found this one. Num num!
The honeybush teas from 52 Teas are the best honeybush teas. I tried a bagged plain honeybush and I did NOT enjoy it. This one tastes delicious, light and citrusy- with a hint of spice from the cardamom, slightly earthy. It really was a lovely tea to end the day with. Letting it cool for ten minutes really makes a difference in the flavor. Hard to wait so long, but worth it!
Stash diving. Aptly named! Someday when I am old and bored, I will compile a glossary of all the insider terms that we’ve coined over the years. :)
Hmm, maybe yours is from a different batch. My experience with this tea hasn’t been flavourful at all. I will revisit and report back.
Ah, stash diving is the PERFECT word for it!
gmathis, I would buy that book! LOL
Evol Ving Ness everyone’s tastes are different. There are a few teas out there that people rave about, but to me they are meh. For me, Lupicia’s Honey Dew. I’ve tried to like it. It’s not bad. But I don’t feel the love.
Roswell Strange I’ve got so many teas in my big drawer that I can’t keep them straight. And compared to others, I am an amateur tea collector!
For the record – I only made 1 batch of this tea. :)
Thanks, LiberTEAS. :)
Wow, am I really the first to review this tea? The tea population in my cupboard was getting skewed towards green and black teas so I wanted some non-caffeinated blends to balance out my options. I’ve always enjoyed 52Teas honeybush blends and this one is no exception. I taste the cardamom predominantly with the orange coming in a close second…and sunflower seeds – I know they’re supposed to taste like pistachios but to me they just taste like sunflower seeds. It’s not a bad flavour mind you, the nuttiness works really well with both the base and the other flavours…but yeah, I’m not tasting anything pistachio-like. Still the orange/cardamom combo is a really tasty one and I’d definitely consider buying more of this blend.
Yeah, I get the theory behind the sunflower seeds, but it’s hard to pretend they are not sunflower seeds.
I understand what you are saying, however, it isn’t the sunflower seed’s presence in the blend that create the nutty flavor of the tea. It’s the actual flavoring that does that.
Whatever it is, I don’t think the pistachio flavour is quite there yet. But it’s still a delicious blend. :)
I’ve never had a pistachio tea that didn’t just taste like almonds before.
Pistachio is a hard flavour to get across in tea, I think. The only one I’ve had that’s done it justice was Butiki’s Pistachio Ice Cream.
Yeah, I agree with you both! Of course there aren’t very many pistachio teas anyway…