Herbal Infusions

Uh, this is probably my least favorite of the bunch so far. I was hoping for Bailey’s minty awesomeness. I’m getting a hint of Bailey’s after sweetening it with some Truvia, and that’s it. Zero mint. Strong, bitter base. Will try for a 2 min steep next time.

As it cools it’s definitely a boozy, rich eggnog – lovely! The spices are all there, and it’s surprisingly good (and an excellent fix for when eggnog is off your list of teas you can drink). I did remove the cute gingerbread sugar pieces however, and used Truvia instead.

I really really enjoyed this, and just so you know, I have a hard time with herbal teas, since I clearly miss the tea part. This was absolutely delicious! It’s chocolate-y, with a hint of vanilla and cinnamon. Kind of reminds me of a cleaner non-tea version of stormy night by DavidsTea (i.e. no floating sediment)! It also was like a liquid version of brownies or cake…not pure chocolate, but more complex. Yum! Now I’m just sad I only ordered a sample size of it! It was one of those cups where you finish it way too fast, and keep sniffing the empty cup in order to remind yourself of the delicious taste…or maybe I’m the only one who does that!! Haha!

Inspired to delve into this bag again with the news it was reblended, I tried another small cup of this today. Still just as delicious as before, although I am finding some astringency as it cools, sadly.

I understand now why everyone is raving about this tea. It really is very tasty!

I see white snowflake sugar bits in the tea, as well as black tea and some cornflowers. Little else.

Straight, I found the tea a bit harsh similarly to the other EGs I’ve had today. With Truvia however, it smoothed out and became all yummy and fluffy and delicious.

Grossly oversteeped, so I’m unsure if this is really how the tea is supposed to taste.

Strong apple flavor with a sort of granular apple feel to it (like an applesauce almost). I smell ginger however fail to taste it, yet there are some other unknown) apple-like spices in here. It’s the toddy part that’s getting to me. I’ve made many a Hot Toddy (had one the other day!) and whatever they’ve used for the whiskey (or booze) is offputting. Again though, maybe I’ve just oversteeped this and it’s the base yelling at me to do it justice.

Well, this is interesting. I’m unsure what’s in it exactly. Looks like two different kinds of green tea (one very long and fine, one almost mulch-like, or a mint perhaps), with orange rind. Smells strongly of a super sweet cherry. Steeped, it’s a light green, and tastes… well like a green cherry tea. I like it better with Truvia, but even then, there’s something that I find meh. Perhaps it’s the reaction I had to the rooibos I just drank, or maybe there’s strawberry in here.

Mmmm, this is really good. I’ve been pretty impressed with Herbal Infusions’ teas, and this one doesn’t disappoint either! I’m not usually into coffee flavored teas, since it’s a bit of a weird crossover, and they usually taste like thin instant coffee. Not the case here! All the flavors in this tea are delicious and blend nicely. It’s kind of a hazelnut, caramel coffee tea. Sweet, nutty, and delicious! Now I’m sad I only ordered a sample size. This could likely be a reorder!

Backlog. So… I didn’t pay attention to the fact that it’s a DARK chocolate (I’m a milk chocolate girl), but I actually kind of liked it anyway. Although it was frustrating for this newbie to not have steeping instructions (couldn’t find any on the sample package or the website). I ended up comparing the details of a couple tasting notes for reference, so I may have done it wrong.

This totally tastes like spiked eggnog! The black tea base gets bitter easily though…may have to shorten the steep time some more. The flavors are there, but maybe not as strong as I’d like them. The little gingerbread men are super cute, though!!

Sipdown! This was good, and I enjoyed it while it lasted. That is all!

Okay, my usual steeping parameters for 52teas (3 min at 185 degrees) works for Herbal Infusions as well! Yay! I didn’t get any bitterness and the flavor shone through. This tea smells like cookies, for sure. It tastes lie maple-flavored cookies. I’ve never had a maple-flavored cookie…do they have those in Canada? It probably has something to do with the little maple leaf-shaped sprinkles in the tea. I liked this tea. Can’t say it’s what I expected, but definitely yummy.

I will for sure be buying more of this delicious dessert tea!! ;)

This is so much more delicious today! Yay! 185 degrees for 3 minutes does the trick! No bitterness, just sticky sweet vanilla, caramel, graham cracker. I’m so glad I got it right. I’ll definitely be enjoying the rest of my bag now! :)

I finally got my Herbal Infusions order! So much new tea to drink! I have to say, Dan was really communicative throughout, which totally made me feel better about the delay.

Anyway, this tea smelled so good. Like vanilla pudding and graham crackers. I decided to try this one first thing this morning. Steeped, it smelled delicious, but I think I oversteeped it, because the flavor was overpowered by the black tea base. I got some vanilla and some graham cracker, but really, the black tea was a bit bitter. I did a 4-minute steep, so I think next time, I’ll have to try it at 3 minutes. This one might also benefit from a lower temperature. Will have to try that out. One thing I think would help is if they added steeping parameters to the bags. Overall though, I think this tea could be great, but I need to find the optimum parameters to bring out the goodness!

I think this is a sipdown, and I’ll pass along the little that’s left. While I do love white teas, and this one is quite sweet and unusual, it’s just not… shazaam POW kinda good, and with it being so rare, I think it’s best to share.

Excellent picture Cavo! My tea was more long stems than anything.

Interesting tea. I’ve had both the Canadian and European versions of Absinthe (although I know it to be spelled with a y), and this is a pretty close imitation in tea format, provided the tea has some sweetener added to it. Slightly creamy, minty, small amount of anise. Actually reminds me a bit more of Pernod (pronounced Pernot).

If this were available again, I’d order more. It’s not amazeballs, but it is pretty tasty and unique.

I am so confused as to why I loved this so much the first time, and am barely able to finish it this time around. It smells like many of HI’s and Della Terra’s chocolate blends, and it… just is bleh in the flavor department. Astringent, faint chocolate cookie, and black tea.

Methinks I need to put more leaf into my Timolino, as an aside, because most of my teas made it in seem to feel weak of late. Which is weird, considering I’ve measured it several times.

Also… yay for me… I’m down almost 60 teas today, due to three enormous packages and two smaller bags being sent out shortly. Finally under 400!!

Wow. This smells divine. Definitely like milk and cookies! Even steeped, the smell remains, and my office space smells lovely.

Hot, this is perfect. Like, I couldn’t imagine anything better. Creamy, buttery, and dark graham cookie – kind of perfection. Zero astringency or bitterness. I did make sure to overleaf slightly (1.25 tsp per cup) and had the water just below boiling for steeping. I did steep it WAY too long again though, and yet, still perfect.

Once cooled however, the tea gets bitter and astringent, in an icky way. Some sugar helps slightly (it was perfect as-is when hot), however it’s still really drying to the palate.

Note to self: only drink this hot. It’s excellent there, and less than excellent if I wait too long. Giving it a high rating for the taste when it’s excellent.

This is a weird tea. I think I’ve gotten used to Simpson & Vail’s amazing Candy Cane (rooibos) that I’m comparing all other candy cane -like teas to that one. This one? Uh… well it’s something other than candy cane.

Most of what I’m getting here is a musty licorice. Chamomile, perhaps? I normally like licorice, and lemongrass (which is definitely in here too). However I’m getting zero mint, zero creamy, just this really weird floral hollow taste after the licorice.

With this lovely review, would anyone else like to try it?

Hmmm. Still not crazy about this one. Maybe I over-steeped it? The base feels a bit off tonight.

On to my 9th Herbal Infusions tea!

Why I am so sleepy? This is my 7th tea with caffeine in it today. The base is really nice – I’m starting to identify this from some of the other blends.

The Chai isn’t as spicy as I thought Chai would be, but it’s nice.
Everything is nice.
I’m gonna grab some jelly beans now.

(I’m so sleepy. Maybe it’s because we’ve had people over for 11 hours and I have a Doctor Who episode to watch, and a Dean/Castiel fic I’m halfway through and I also wanted to see if there was anything on Boxing Day worth buying)

Hi guys!
/sleepy wave

ETA WHOOPS! I thought this was the Masala chai. I guess that’s why I didn’t get ANY chai spices from it and was confused. I do remember it being soft and minty. LOL. (dumbass)

Uhh, sipdown, and pour out.

So extremely astringent with a side of bitter. I even steeped at 185F.

Too bad because it smelled SO GOOD dry.

Now to find another tea to drink!

Whoops. Unlike last time, (oh gods, this note entry font is awful (I went back to web page fonts because I couldn’t see what was bold and what wasn’t in my work email)) I steeped at 3 minutes. And it’s all HELLO!BASE.

2 minutes is definitely better.

Had to add honey to drown out some of the base flavour.

Have I mentioned I don’t care for the base tea? Interestingly, the Marshmallow Snowflake is fine. None of the others have been. Hmm…

(2.5 tsp, 14 oz, 3 min)