Herbal Infusions
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Have you ever had a friend visit for a prolonged period of time and just found it a tad stressful and tiresome? Well, I have. I was happy a friend came to visit me from Montreal but for some reason, I just found that she was not a very easy house guest. She was just particularly demanding and at times it could be very frustrating. One thing she would do is decide at random times, no matter what we were doing, was she wanted tea. Obviously that’s not a problem in my house but I would be in the middle of doing something (i.e. feeding my super old/super sick dog who is diabetic and needs food at a specific time so he can get his insulin needle for diabetes) and she would start telling me to make her tea. I would say if she went and picked one, I would make it for her but she always wanted me to choose. Often times I would ask for her to at least narrow it down (i.e. caffeine or no caffeine and by tea type) and she would sort of groan or get a little frustrated with me and then when I did finally pick a tea, she would complain. It just made for a sour experience. I mean, when I have over 180 types of tea, it is a little difficult for me to just pick one out of a hat and have it be exactly what she wanted.
Well, this morning, she decided she wanted to try an eggnog latte (because my mom went grocery shopping last night and bought like 5 different eggnogs) and once again she told me to just pick one. So, I decided to brew this up for me and Nutmeg Cream up for her because I had those both as an eggnog latte a couple days back and thought both were amazing. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize how much the eggnog itself could impact the cup so though I chose delicious teas, she once again complained it was too watery. In fairness to her, my cup had the same issue which led me to believe that Neilson’s Eggnog is just not very good and so both our cups and the rest of the eggnog got dumped. That hurt a bit because both teas are discontinued so it was hard to dump them out (especially because she also insisted on taking my favourite 16 oz Nordic mug) but they were just way too watery to be drinkable.
Oh well, what’s done is done and no sense crying over spilled milk….or in this case, spilled eggnog.
That sucks. I hope you rebound :)
That’s rough. I’m so sorry about your experience. I know exactly what you mean. That happened to me when a friend spent a weekend with me in Sweden. She’d go on and on about how she thought her Swedish city/university was better than mine, passive aggressively downgraded my studies while thinking she was special for studying her speciality, embarrassingly went on and on about herself to my floormates how she’s an amazing scholar, etc. Longest weekend of my life.
Your mom is hardcore for buying all of those different eggnogs. Better luck with the others!
I hope things will be better for you again. It’s too bad when you put so much into being a great hostess when a guest is being so difficult and unappreciative. Save your favourite (discontinued) teas for yourself next time. ;)
:( That kinda sucks. Being a bad guest is something I try so so hard not to do. Good luck testing all the eggnogs, though!
Its especially weird because I had the same friend come stay with my family for a week in Florida and she was lots of fun but then this trip was just super ridiculous. It’s over now though so back to my tea and my relaxing and my copious amounts of Eggnog :P
And Fjellrev, that sounds horrible. It really is frustrating when you try to be a good host and someone just sort of spoils it all by being a bad guest.
I’m sorry your visit with your friend wasn’t a success, and for the wasted tea but I love how supportive your Mom is of A) the eggnog latte obsession and B) the tea obsession in general. Now that my parents have realized this isn’t “a phase” they’re actively trying to learn stuff, but I still can’t EVER see them reaching the point of buying me five different kinds of eggnog :P
Hahaha my mom buys everything in excess. I mean she was the one who took me to DAVIDs and bought everything they had in 50g bags and then took me to Teavana and stocked me up there too. However, she does think I have gone a tad overboard, she doesn’t really stop me from buying stuff and her rule is if it is on the shopping list, she picks it up. Eggnog was on there so she picked it up.
I’m sorry you had such a rough visit. I love the idea of people staying with me, but I’m always afraid that I’ll end up having a house guest experience like yours. I like hosting, but I’m an introvert and I really need to be around people with excellent boundaries.
Yet another eggnog latte and the result was a creamy cup of fluffy, fluffy marshmallow goodness!!
Did you end up just getting a packet of this?
Also – I am working on my homemade eggnog latte skillz and, so tasty. The problem, though, is that I’m massively craving another Cranberry Pear one, but I DON’T HAVE THAT TEA. Hahahahaha. And can’t at all justify picking it up.
Nah. This is still my stash from last January and cranberry pear is awesome. I can give you more when we meet up. Craving crisis averted :P
Omg, if you have it, have you tried making a homemade CP eggnog latte and is it as yummy as in-store?! OM NOM NOM. (Also, thank you! I really have to compile so many more things for you because this is way uneven. Want a bag of Apple Custard? :P)
I have not. I should though. The problem is there are so many other teas I want to try as an eggnog latte that I haven’t gotten around to trying the DAVID ones at home. And there isn’t that much, is there?
Hahaha, have you drank any tea as an eggnog latte more than once?! And, you sent me teas this last time without me reciprocating, so I totally owe. But I have a week to figure things out :D
I’ve had Santa’s Secret and Cranberry Pear twice. Other than that, I have not. And no worries about reciprocating because I am always happy to share :)
I have had 100g of this sealed and tucked away since January but after Fjellrev’s review last night, I decided I wanted to have a cup and since I am not getting my cupboard under control anytime soon, I figured why not. I am glad I did too because I really love this tea and I missed it a lot. Sometimes it’s just nice to revisit an old friend, especially one as sweet and marshmallowy as this tasty tea.
Most of the day I have spent focusing on sipdowns but among all those teas, I decided it was time to indulge in a favorite. This is creamy and marshmallowy sweet with just the right amount of bergamot to mellow it out.
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TASTING NOTE 450!
Usually I write tasting notes and only after the fact realize I hit a milestone number so last night I saw I had written 449 tasting notes and decided I would celebrate 450 with a special tasty cup.
I was initially hoarding this but then I was able to pick up more when HI reblended it so I am breaking it out to have a delicious treat! I think that was definitely the right choice because this is hitting the spot for sure. Even though it was the end of my first bag and the leaves were a little broken, I still get the awesome marshmallow earl grey flavor that is so amazing. If they actually made marshmallows that had this taste to them, I would be in serious danger of losing my weight loss progress because I would be eating them until I fell into a sugar coma. And then I would dream about them.
Anyways, this is certainly the perfect cup to celebrate my many tasting notes on steepster. I am so glad to have found this community and am honored to be apart of it. It is amazing how generous and kind you all are and you have improved my tea drinking experience immensely! Cheers to great tea and great friends :)
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Cheers!!
Woohoo! Congrats!
Yay!!
Congrats!
Challenge accepted! I want to try making earl grey marshmallows now!
Haha Dustin. I do not want to know if you are successful. Mostly because if you are, that would be bad news for my weight loss. I wish you all the best in your attempt though :)
You say that as if I were willing to share! ;)
I am definitely going through this fast. It is just soo good. Luckily my sister preferred Nutcracker Sweet so that left the cup of this for me to enjoy. Even cooled it is delicious :)
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This is both my favorite Herbal Infusions tea AND my favorite Earl Grey. It is sooooo tasty and I am getting through my bag FAST! This is the one tea I am very happy to have a duplicate of because I really do love it. The marshmallow combined with the bergamot is perfect as they balance each other out while still making for a flavorful cup. Yum…
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I am having this yet again because it is SOOO good. It smells like a delicious toasted marshmallow and the sweetness comes through in the cup, mellowing out the earl grey so it is not in-your-face bergamot.
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This one sounds really good!
I have some to spare if you would like to try a cup or two :) I am on vacation until January 7 but when I get back I can send some your way
Oh I would love to try some! I’m happy to send teas your way too – feel free to browse my cupboard. I have a few more new teas to add but otherwise it’s up to date! :)
oh yay, when I get back we can arrange a swap :)
Looking forward to it!
So today I shortened the steeping time to a mere two minutes and used only 1 tsp. That has helped improve the taste as it has gotten rid of any astringency and bitterness that previous cups have had. The result is a thick and slightly creamy black tea that lends itself to the notion of a cookie. Not an overly sweet cookie and there is a slight lack of flavor. Next time I think I will stick to a two minute steep but return to using 1.5 tsps. This is still not my favorite but I will continue to search for the sweet spot as it smells too amazing to give up on.
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This tea smells SO amazing but the taste falls a bit short. However, when milk is added the black tea base is toned down and there is definitely a cookie taste. Not a super sweet cookie but rather a slightly burnt spiced cookie. Not bad but I have two bags of it (since Herbal Infusions sent me a duplicate order) and so I will probably put one up for swap if anyone is interested.
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Mine smells like pumpkin and has orange maple leaf sprinkles in it… seems strange to me. LOL will have to try it and see.
Id be up for swapping for some of this!
@Dexter – It smells good to me but I am not loving the taste. I am finding that with a few of the Herbal Infusions teas. However, Marshmallow Snowflake Earl Grey is REALLY good I had like 3-4 cups of it the first day I tried it.
@ Josie Jade – I will message you when I get back to Montreal and we will arrange a swap. My Dad is sending me a box of tea with BF orders from Harney, Butiki, 52 teas, and American Tea Room so I will have plenty of teas to swap when I get back. There is definitely some of this tea with your name on it though :)
:)
Merry Christmas to those celebrating :)
I started my day off with some Santa’s Milk and Cookies. This tea actually smells like cookies in a cup. Yum!! Also it has cute little maple leaf sprinkles in the mix. However, brewed I think the base is a bit bitter and strong but I imagine changing the brewing parameters will fix that problem in no time. If I can get pass the base there is a sweet baked good flavor although I don’t pick up on any milk.
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No sugar added, although I didn’t fuss too much about removing all the sprinkles. No milky stuff added, either. :( Yes, I have a very sad face. I love additives in my teas! Makes them so much more comforting.
Oh well.
I steeped with cooler water this time, and although I can tell it’s going to get bitter as it cools, it’s much better to start with. A little boozy, I’m definitely getting the nutmeg-custard taste and smell. The tea base is somewhat sharp… maybe an even cooler temperature would work better. It definitely needs a shorter steep.
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There are little gingerbread men in my tea!!
I decided to take a break from wrapping and try a new tea. One present left, but it’s a doozy!
This smells like sweet and spices. Steeped, it smells like sweet and cream and spices.
I think the base tea needs a shorter steep than 3 minutes. I think the flavours might also need a touch of sugar. Yes, that’s better. But I’m not sure it’s eggnog.
I do find the flavours lovely, but the gingerbread men made me think it was gingerbread. There’s definitely a lot of nutmeg in here, and some clove. Not really any booze. Maybe spice cake?
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Ok, here’s 2 of hopefully 12!
This definitely smells like licorice. I think there’s lemongrass in there as well. Also, just a touch of mint. I was a little worried that the licorice would be overpowering and dominate the blend, but it’s actually quite subtle, and the tea has all natural flavours. It’s very relaxing, and very well blended!
Again, it’s not candy cane, not like DAVIDsTEA or Della Terra would do it, but, you know what? That’s fine. That’s totally fine. This blend would be well suited all year round this way.
Oh, and I promised to take pictures of each of the teas – so far, so good!
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Merry Christmas!
It’s midnight so I’m allowed to open my Christmas present! I chose these 12 Days of Christmas teas as my Christmas present from J (as he’s not big on Xmas and this takes the pressure off him, while allowing me to get more tea!)
I thought it would be fun to see how many of these I can drink on Christmas! So here’s the first one! It’s really pretty – you can see all the detail in the pic I uploaded. It doesn’t seem like your regular Pumpkin Pie tea, and I’ve had a few of those…
It doesn’t taste like pumpkin pie – it tastes fruity and light and really refreshing. As it cools a little, the flavours shift – the light flavours remind me of the airiness of pumpkin pie, but it doesn’t have the nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger spices that I expected.
Call me crazy, but it’s almost more lemon meringue than it is pumpkin pie.
I like it though! It’s a nice start to Christmas!
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There’s something in here my body hates.. or at least finds it so appealing that it has to say, “Scratchy throat!” at a higher-than-normal decibel. With zero ingredients listed, it’s likely strawberry, although who knows really. Definitely some green and black tea in here (although it’s listed on the bag as a green), along with some saffron. Beyond that? I shrug my shoulders.
It smells like marzipan and tastes more like a lightly flowered dry fruity nut.
Flavors: Flowers, Nuts
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SPOILER alert: If you want to keep the teas in the Herbal Infusions 2013 12 Days of Christmas Sampler to yourself, skip over this review.
I’m a day early in this review, likely because I’m the kind of gal that (until six years ago) celebrated Christmas on the 24th in the evening. Also, I was impatient, and wanted to enjoy something Christmas-y with my daughter as we celebrated my son’s 6-year-old birthday. Unfortunately, he’s come down with something as of late last night, and is curled up half naked in a chair in the living room, alternating between watching Magic School Bus on Netflix, and sleep. :(
As Herbal Infusions has given zero steep instructions or even an ingredient list, I went with my eyes and nose for how to brew it. It looks like it’s a green and black blend, with pieces of orange rind, roses, cornflower, and something else tiny and red in the mix. It smells strongly of a red berry, and I was concerned immediately due to my strawberry allergy. My daughter even warned me as she took her first sip, “Mom, this smells a LOT like strawberries…”
I tried it anyway. I’m thinking the berry in this is raspberry, because I had zero reaction until the very last sip of the cup, and that could be from something else I just ate. It tastes very raspberry green to me, light and lovely, with just a hint of orange in there. The almond passed by me completely, although it is still creamy. It’s nice and well blended, although I doubt I’ll go out of my way to reach for it.
Also, I’ve put in a note to Dan over at Herbal Infusions for an ingredient list, however it’s been a few weeks now with zero answer. If anyone received this, or knows more than I, please do send me a note (or comment here so that I can friend you). Merci!
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OBNOXIOUS CAPS RESPONSE: VENDORS… FOR ALL OF US THAT HAVE ALLERGIES IT IS A VERY IMPORTANT CUSTOMER SERVICE ISSUE THAT YOU NOT ONLY BE COMPLETELY TRANSPERENT IN YOUR INGREDIENTS LISTING, BUT ALSO THAT YOU REPLY IF YOU HAVE A CUSTOMER INQUIRE.
@ HERBAL INFUSIONS MissB is a friend of mine. we both have allergies and mine will affect a disease. if you will not reply to her inquiry then i will not buy from you at any point. the risk is too great, no matter your amazing tea bending skill set.
I had a similar issue with my first order; it took three weeks for it even to ship. After it shipped, I heard from Dan often and quickly – and again nothing now, after suggesting steeping times and requesting ingredient lists. I’m thinking they’re just really busy… or at least hoping that’s all it is.
I should note that the other teas (normal things you can order anytime) have ingredient lists. These were specially blended just for this one-time, Black Friday, 12 Teas of Christmas special. They sold out quickly.
i appreciate you speaking up MissB and if you want me to trash my comment i will, but it the absolute truth. if i do not have faith in your ingredients list, then i will not buy from you. that’s it, that’s all. tea is NOT WORTH THE FURTHER EROSION OF MY NERVOUS SYSTEM. i harbour no grudges if you pull my comment. i wrote it in application to myself only.
Oh gosh no. You’re saying it as I would have, had I actually drank something I was horribly allergic to. :)
wanted to make sure =0)
I think OMGSrsly asked them on facebook for more detail and they replied regarding specific ingredients. It might be easier if you just ask if any of the teas have “X” ingredient as that would be quicker for them to reply to rather than write up the entire list.
Not trying to downplay your guy’s concerns – you obviously don’t want to risk a reaction, and if vendors aren’t upfront about what’s in there, it could be dire.
Also, if these blends are supposed to be secret then I might be in trouble because I started to post mine.
You know, I never realized that the 12 days of Christmas were AFTER Christmas. :P I guess I wasn’t a good Christian growing up.
lol…. i always ate chocolate for lent.
i don’t do facebook (ahem as you well know cavo, lol). IMO if it needs a label to be sold in a country like, say…. canada…. then you do not get to crap out and say ‘hey, message me on facebook, i’ll get back to you faster.’ sometimes rules are ridiculous, and others they are sensible. In My Opinion food labeling is essential. i am allergic to turkey: as in an epipen will not work.
if as a vendor someone has any expectation that i should write them on facebook then they should factor in the depreciation of their stock when i do not buy from their company.
Lmao. Are the 12 days of Christmas Christian? I just always thought they were fun.
I have emailed them, and they did reply (eventually). I shared my specific allergies, and again, it’s been a few weeks with zero response. I guess I’ll try Facebook then. Good to know.
MissB – I just looked it up because I was curious: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Days_of_Christmas
And JustJames – I don’t think they requested an email on FB. They didn’t say anything at all – that was just my suggestion as a way to get an answer back quicker. I am impressed with Herbal Infusions blends, but as a company I believe they bit off more than they could handle with these 12 Days of Christmas sets. I think they just pulled them together really quickly and weren’t prepared for the demand etc. It took over 2 weeks for them to ship mine out and with no communication either.
I know Dan is involved in a few projects at the moment too, so while I"m not super happy about the way these blends were handled (and advertised as re: the list of ingredients), I’m willing to forgive them so long as they learn from their mistakes!
Do you think I should hold off on posting the rest of my reviews for these teas? I didn’t think they were a surprise because the list was on the site, but I wouldn’t want to spoil anything.
oh no, cavo, i didn’t take it as an a request on their part…. but if a consumer can get a faster response via facebook that sets a precedent.
i tend to be a forgiving sort…. stupidly so. to the point where i just don’t pick up the phone for telemarketers because i can always see the reasoning. i am always inclined to forgive. however, in some instances, and this is one, it is not in my best interests to do so.
socially: we all make mistakes, live and learn, no harm done, it’s all good!
commercially: ‘no, herbal infusions i will never buy from you, i don’t care if it’s hearsay, i have too much on the line for my beloved cup of relaxation to take another piece out of me. just ask david’s teas, i don’t buy from them either, and for back up ask teavana at mayfair…. they see me coming they haul out binders and phones.’
cavo…. you HAVE to review….. i want to read them! =0)
Ok – just wanted to make sure I wasn’t misrepresenting anything! :D
And i"ll keep reviewing, just because you’re requesting it. :P Haha.
;0)
cavo, you are always very clear in your communication. at least i think so!
If they’re a secret, it’s news to me. All I know is, some folks like to keep these sorts of things a surprise, so I just put the spoiler in there just in case.
I think the company is new and overwhelmed, although… my first order was way before Black Friday, and I received both orders within a week of one another. I have a lot of theories on this one, I just wish it were different, because I am enjoying their teas.
I asked about specific things – mint, gluten, licorice – and received into as to which teas included those ingredients, not an ingredient list. I only got 3 teas based on their feedback.
i have my own due diligence rules and expectations…. that does not meet them in the least. and as a consumer it is NOT my job to chase you for ingredience lists. it is your (their) job to chase me with pristine clarity saying ‘look james, our track record speaks for itself, ask us anything…. don’t you want to give us money?’ lol.
I definitely would have preferred an ingredient list. I’ll email to chase one down as well. And point out (again) that this information is extremely important.
if you were feeling politely snappish you could simply send them a link to this review and conversation…. but it’s just a thought =0) (insert innocent batting of eyes) LMAO.
:) I did email. If no response, I’ll think about it!
