A sample from ashleyelizabeth! She was kind enough to send me three or so Empress Tea House offerings, and I’ve found them all to be quite light, delicate teas. This one is no exception. I gave 1 tsp of leaf 4.5 minutes in boiling water, and added a splash of milk. The liquor is a warm honey-gold, which obviously softens once the milk is added.
The main flavour is rooibos, and it’s a slightly woody, slightly sweet flavour. It actually provides a pretty good base for the honey flavouring. The honey flavouring itself is rich and almost thick tasting. It comes across very naturally, almost as if a teaspoon of honey had been added to a cup of plain rooibos. This one reminds me strongly of Bluebird’s Honey Bee Beautiful, which had a similarly accurate flavour. The Empress version isn’t as strong, but as I said right at the beginning of this note, light flavours are what I’ve come to expect from these teas.
It doesn’t knock my socks off, but it’s a pleasant caffeine-free cup with light notes of honey. No sweetener required!
