DIY Herbal Infusion Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 20
Name: Elements: Earth
Ingredients: dark roast hojicha, cacao shell, elderberry, anise
Movie: The Grinch (2018)
The last element! I chose a lot of deep, rich flavors for this one, as that made sense to me for an earth-inspired blend. The base is Hojicha Dark Roast from Obubu, which combined with the cacao shells, gives it a sort of coffee-like roasty and somewhat bitter flavor. Then there’s a generous amount of elderberry for a dark, syrupy berry note. I had a cocoa and blueberry jam once (thanks again Courtney!), and really enjoyed the combo, so that’s probably where that idea came from. To finish it off, I added some anise seed. I’m not entirely sure why that ingredient popped into my head, but it just seemed right ha ha. And indeed, I did really like it with the toasty, slightly bitter dark chocolate and berry. It added a nice touch of sweetness and warmth.
A little bit sad to be done with all four of these, but also excited to delve more into tea blending the new year! :)
Flavors: Acidic, Anise, Berry, Bitter, Cocoa, Coffee, Dark Bittersweet, Dark Chocolate, Elderberry, Jam, Roasted, Roasted Barley, Sweet, Syrupy, Toasty
