Tilleul

It’s been a long time since I have actually posted a full review for a tisane, so I figured I should probably get around to doing one. I have been trying to cut down on my caffeine intake lately, and with my sinuses once again draining like crazy, I wanted something that would both help me sleep and soothe my aching throat. This was what I selected for the purposes outlined above. Though this eased the scratchiness in my throat and helped me sleep, I can’t say I really enjoyed the experience of drinking this stuff.

I prepared this in an extremely lazy fashion. Rather than carefully measuring the amount of linden I was using, I just used whatever felt right at the time. I managed to go through the better part of an ounce of this stuff in just under a week. I found that what worked best for me was to put as much of the leaf, stem, and flower material as possible in a large brew basket and steep it for 5 minutes in 8 ounces of 212 F water. The flavor of this stuff is very weak, so I found that I got more out of it when I used more per cup.

After infusion, the liquor showed a pale yellow in the cup. Very mild aromas take some time to express themselves on the nose. They were very hard to describe. They were kind of floral, but also kind of woodsy. I thought there was a straw-like scent there too. Honestly, the smell is pretty nice, which is a shock because as soon as the leaves come into contact with water, they emit a smell very reminiscent of fresh cat urine. So, with that in mind, I was expecting the scent of the infused liquor to be much more unpleasant. In the mouth, I noticed fleeting impressions of wood, dried flowers, grass, and straw underscored by subtle hints of cream and fresh pastries. The finish was very clipped and mild. I noticed traces of floral and straw-like flavors.

Normally, I rather enjoy wacky tisanes, but this one was not all that appealing to me. For what I was using it for, it worked, but I doubt I would purchase it again. I kind of feel that one would have to be really into some of the quirkier and/or more challenging herbal teas to really appreciate something like this.

I did not expect to like this tea. I just ordered a bunch of tea from Harney and Sons and they were nice enough to send me some sampled. This particular sample was lovely, like a rooftop flower garden in Paris in the spring, if that’s even a thing. If I had to describe the taste, I would have to say flowers. No flower in particular, just a nice round floral. Absolutely delightful.

I’m uh. Glad I didn’t read the reviews before drinking this or I probably would have been scared off.

I actually really like it.

It tastes like honeysuckle with extra honey. Very delicate, sweet and floral.

I didn’t get any of the weird smell either. To me, it smells a bit like a less potent chamomile.

Probably better suited for a before-bed affair, but it’s working as a soft cup to relax into this afternoon as well.

I’m glad I didn’t look at the other ratings before I tried this! I might have been scared off. I actually liked it a bit. Not my favorite of all time, but the flavor was interesting and with a bit of sugar it was nice. However, I have very little sense of smell and couldn’t really smell the tea at all, so maybe that helped!

Harney & Sons slipped a sample sachet of this in with my Boston and Soho tins. Hmm, linden leaves? I’ve heard of linden trees but never seen one. There’s some kind of little pellet stuff in the sachet but I can’t get a good look because of the material.

Dry, the sachet smells a bit like dates and a bit like fresh hay, very sweet.
Steeped — eww. Unfortunately, it tastes just like that terrible Essiac tea my mom forced me to drink as a kid, with the same weird fish notes to boot.

Unless this stuff has some kind of crazy healing power, I don’t really see why anyone would drink it. It seems especially out of place in the H&S collection; I always think of them as purveyors of the fun teas.

So, when I said that whoever packs the free samples for Harney orders must have an evil sense of humor…

Last time, I got two sachets of Hot Cinnamon Spice, when my order was a sampler that already included Hot Cinnamon Spice. This time, I got both Tilleul and Mint Tilleul. I’m sure there’s someone out there who appreciates a double dose of this herb, but I haven’t met them yet. The aroma is something that takes getting used to, and personally I don’t find it very appealing. The taste is comparatively inoffensive, and mildly woodsy. An interesting one to try, but probably only once.

For the past few months, I’ve been writing about tea through my Sunday Tea and Books posts, and how the various flavours I encounter bring up memories for me of the books I’ve read. Smoky, sweet, tangy, tart, fruity, malty — each of those sensations has meant something to me.

Today, I’m doing something a bit different. Today, I’m telling you about a flavour and a memory from my own life, rather than something pulled from the pages of a book or e-reader.

Today, I’m going to tell you about linden tea. Forget Proust and his madeleines, though; when I think of it, it takes me back to 1998, when I was 13 – the year my father died.

Of course, I’m not going to go into all of that here. It’s better to read the entire post on my site: http://christinavasilevski.com/2014/07/sunday-tea-memories-linden-tea/

Well….
Hmmm….
Ummm…

I received this one as a free sample in my recent Harney order. They actually gave me two free samples, both this tea. The description of the tea on the package doesn’t sound too bad. This was the usual Harney sachet.

The dry tea looks like crushed up chammomile. So I brewed it up. The tea smells like frozen fish sticks. No jokes. It is very pu’erh, fishy. Also very deeply woody. But unfortunately like the old rotting wood and pine needles that have been laying on a forest floor for a few years. The kind when you step on it, you kind of sink in a bit.

Before I tasted it, I added some honey, lots of honey. I don’t usually add honey to my tea but I just couldn’t stomach the smell of the brewed tea.

To be honest, it is a bit hard to tell the taste. I also just ate a piece of pickled garlic because I am getting a sinus infection. Garlic works wonders for my immune system. I also love garlic. Mmmmm.

Ok back to the tea. Even though I have garlic lingering on my palate, I am getting a very woodsy type taste. More like cedar mixed with pine. There is a tingling feeling that I sometimes get with mint but there is no mint flavour. Even though I put about a TBSP of honey in the tea, it is only minimally sweet. This tea is very reminiscent of chamomile and chrysanthemum teas. Neither of which are even close to being on my “meh” tea list.

I think this is a good herbal tea, its not fruity, not spicey, definitely different. But I am not liking different tonight.

Linden flower tea usually has a very delicate flavor, so I knew not to expect anything bold. While I like other teas from Harney (including their herbal Yellow and Blue, which is wonderful), Tilleul is disappointing. Good linden flower teas, delicate as they are, have a slight, naturally honeyed taste. I didn’t find it here; I didn’t find much flavor or scent. I used a lot of the dried tea and brewed several times, but that was the impression every time.

This is an odd one. It’s very very VERY light, for one, but it does have a flavor. Harney & Sons describes it as woodsy, and that’s actually pretty accurate, it’s delicately floral and peppery, not hot, but peppery in a green, leafy kind of way, and almost savory/herbal, like oregano or something. It has an unusual aroma too, a bit like dried orange flowers. Some might find it tastes “perfumey” but that’s not something I mind. I wish it was a little stronger though.

I’d really like to try the tisanes made from pure linden flowers to compare, since this includes leaves as well, in my sample packet there were a lot more leaves than flowers. They actually look really pretty, the leaves are so delicate you can see through them, they weren’t crushed beyond recognition either.

Also, this stuff is really soothing, it’s like chamomile or something. Bonus points for that in my book.