Licorice Spice

Oh sweet sweet licorice, how I adore thee!! when I’m not well that is.
Wow. I think I need to buy me some more of this one. It’s amazing!! I love it.
I’m getting a whole whack of licorice up front, along with a slight orange peel note and something vaguely cinnamon that is mostly hidden by the licorice.
I can’t taste any vanilla, thankfully. I wish I knew what Sarsaparilla tasted like, as I suspect that is what kicks up the sweetness here. Oh and the aftertaste lingers nicely as well.
No matter. This is love!!!! Big thanks to my cousin, Karen, for gifting me the sampler pack that contains such a lovely tea :)
I hope I can find this on the shelf later…

My first encounter with this tea had me expecting a strong anise flavor as that is what most people would expect upon seeing the word licorice. It was a happy surprise to find that the dominate taste of this tea is that of actual licorice sticks, the flavorful wood, rather than the black anise candy. As one who used to chew on actual licorice sticks, this was for me a pleasant surprise and brought back many happy memories. The other flavors (which constitute a few of my favorite things) add a subtle but pleasant background.

I love,love,love this stuff. I love the smell, the hint of orange. I love the sweetness that lingers in the back of my throat after I swallow. I like the unusual balance of flavors.

This is good hot or iced. It is strongly flavored and aromatic, giving a strong enough impression of sweetness that even a sweet fiend like myself doesn’t need to add sugar. This is one I’m definitely keeping in my cupboard.

I had this tea today at a friend’s house. It was true to it’s name and delivered a strong licorice flavor with tones of cinnamon, orange peel, clove and other spices. I enjoy licorice on occasion, but I’m not the biggest fan overall. I therefore wouldn’t run out and get a box of this tea, but I would say that if you like licorice, this one is worth checking out.

I made a cup of black dragon pearls to bring to work with me, and promptly left it on the counter at home. I have no energy this morning – I slept sitting up because of my acid reflux and still feel it lurking. I thought this might be good for how my esophagus is feeling, but I am not sure. I just am not a big fan of the licorice taste.

The bag has a strong orange and licorice fragrance. Steeped, the tea has a strong licorice fragrance, but the orange is now more subtle. Olfactory heaven, really. I figure I’d better take a sip before my nose decides to go on without me and dunk itself in. The taste is surprisingly mild. All the wonderful things that gave my nose a happy, I can’t really taste them. I pause, I swallow. There is a strong aftertaste, during which some of the shy ones make a brief appearance: orange, cinnamon. The sweet licorice coats my tongue and makes me do that thing where you scrape your tongue against your bottom or top teeth, like a scraper. My interest is piqued, but I am so far unimpressed. My nose, gullible buffoon that it is, cajoles me into taking another sip. Hmm… A little more orange this time. I remain unimpressed, but am being slowly won over.

Got this one from a friend. The last cup I made I liked (it was Before Steepster), but I don’t know what I did that made it better! This cup is just… ugh. The licorice is a true licorice stick flavour, the spice are nice, but I am not loving the ridiculous one-note, lingering sweetness. I added 1/4 tsp of honey to try to tone it down a bit (works with stevia!), but this is another cup that’s going down the drain tonight.

I grabbed this tea bag on the way out the door this morning, throwing it into my thermos with some just boiled hot water.
An hour later, I could finally sit down and wake up with the cup.

hmmm. This is a strange tea. It definitely smells like licorice, and something else that reminds me of a flea collar. (eep!)

The taste is sweet and somewhat licorice-like. Perhaps there is some cinnamon heat. But otherwise I do not get any of the other flavours.

This is a random teabag in the cupboard and I will not be buying it, but for this one time, I’ll certainly finish the cup!

On its own (unsweetened), it had a saccharine aftertaste that I found quite unpleasant. However, on the recommendation of a friend I added a couple of spoonfuls of drinking chocolate and it was delicious.

Let me start by saying that I am definitely a licorice fan. I tried this tea for the second time this morning, thinking that maybe I was just too off-put the first time. I was wrong. I still don’t care for this tea. The flavor is overpowering, and the aftertaste, while pleasant at first, becomes a bit cloying after a few sips. Just not my thing, which is disappointing since I love all the ingredients individually(usually).

This tea is so close to being perfect. But I have 2 issues with it:

1. It is licorice-based, and therefore will raise your blood pressure, so you have to be careful. This is why I stopped drinking this tea.

2. The ingredients aren’t organic.

In terms of taste, this is one of the best teas I’ve ever had. I used to drink it regularly until I became concerned about the effects on my health. So I finally bailed on it completely.

That’s the power of herbs – you need to be careful.

But if you don’t care about the health issues, and you like licorice taste, this is a wonderful blend. I only wish I could still drink it.