Herbal Infusions

Another lovely blend from MissB’s lovely package! This one sounded magical with its marshmallows and snowflakes…and EARL GREY. I love the idea for this blend. Maybe this blend will make me tolerate the freezing weather this week a bit more than I can’t. Sadly, I don’t think I can actually see marshmallows in my blend, unless it is just my sample. There are snowflakes though! I had two cups of this and they were both equal in taste: really well done. It tastes to me like the usual Earl Grey (though maybe a bit sweeter… the sprinkles?) but an EG that is great, even if it is on the lighter tasting side, both on the bergamot and the strength of the leaves. If it wasn’t this light, it might be very similar to some of my favorite Earls. Very bright, fresh, sweet. I can tell from the two blends I’ve tried so far from Herbal Infusions, I would be in love with all of them!

Thanks to Isalia for Day #11 of the 12 Days of Christmas 2013. Love the name of the tea. Really had a good time learning about Herbal Infusions. Dan, the owner, has some really good videos loaded. The shipping is really reasonable, I think I am going to place an order. As for this tea, I think I steeped it on too high of a setting. I did a black tea setting but maybe right under boiling would of been better. Thus so, all of the wonderful flavors did not jump out at me but it was an enjoyable cup to start the day.

I got this from QueenOfTarts Tea Stash Sale. Thank you!

I read the reviews of this and I was a little nervous. The idea of the tea sounds amazing, a mostly guilt free substitute for hot coco and baileys. I made this the same way I would make a chai, tad more leaf to water and an ounce or so of milk with sugar. The result was a a creamy chocolate mint treat. I will have no problems finishing this sample, but not something I would purchase again.

I was really looking forward to this. I had ordered samplers of the the regular Cacao and the Mint Cacao herbal teas at the same time and loved both of them. Unfortunately, I was less enamoured with this tea. I can’t pinpoint exactly why but the flavor just did not do it for me. Rather than blending perfectly into a sweeter and creamier Cacao tea, it just tasted like a hot mess in my mouth. Nothing fit together, it tasted odd overall, and I ended up dumping my mug down the sink.

I guess 2 out of 3 isn’t bad, but I had high hopes for this one.

This blend looks like it has a little bit of everything: pieces of fruit, flowers, lemongrass, petals, various herbs. Once water has been added, it smells… ew… not good. I smell lemongrass, lawn, dirt, leaves and flower petals. I’m really not sure if I want to take a sip now since it reminds me of playing outside and returning home with smelly, grubby hands.

Sipping… this isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I mostly taste citrus, lemongrass and something earthy. I wasn’t expecting the citrus as I didn’t smell any originally, but I’m pleased that it’s one of the main flavors. I’m not completely fond of the herbal flavor that lingers in the background and I especially don’t like the smelly finish that reminds me of those pungent leaves and grasses of my childhood.

I might choke down the rest of the cup since I want something hot, but otherwise, it’s really not for me.

So I guess I skipped this one on Christmas, but – well, the name doesn’t really call to me.

I guess it’s Christmassy because it has orange in it? That’s definitely orange. And there’s lemongrass. And maybe some spices? This isn’t too bad but now it’s cooling and getting a little bitter.

Oh and the baby is asleep and it’s only 9:40. I’m going to go to bed at/before 11:00 if I can and here’s hoping she’ll stay out the rest of the night!

This is pretty damn delicious. It’s pretty much as advertised – it’s a peppermint chocolate tea. And it tastes GOOD. I will definitely need to get more of this once my sample pack runs out.

another of the 12 days of christmas sent via dexter apparently my goal today is to drink a bunch to stay warm so that hopefully whatever is at the mail today doesn’t explode my cupboard any further lol. This one is pretty tasty for a white! I’m starting to think that i prefer flavoured whites over flavoured greens and straight greens over straight whites. Either way i’ll figure it out eventually. :) This one isn’t too bad. I have zero clue about what absinthe should taste like but this is minty and refreshing without being overly ZOMG in your face flavoured. not likely a restock but i did enjoy this cup a bunch :) thanks again dexter! this has been fun!

sipdown! mostly because i really need to drink up some of these teas because HOLY THERE ARE TEA STORES IN CHICAGO! like close to the hotel…i can handle a 25 min walk for tea. I anticipate leaving early from work on monday and going to buy tea….just a hunch. I’m sure that now that i’ve said that, the world will conspire to keep me away from everything tea related but a girl’s gotta try!

this tea was less yummy the second time around but still decent enough to enjoy. not a restock though as there are others i prefer. Appreciate it though dexter! i’ve had a lovely time with these :)

this one isn’t bad, though i like others a bit more. Another tea from the 12 days of christmas dexter sent me :) There is a creaminess to this one, though i’m not sure i’d call it spiked eggnog. it does get bitter if you leave it too long but on the whole it’s not bad :)

this is another green from the 12 days of christmas that dexter sent my way. Again, though i am happy to try new teas, im not a fan of this one. There’s something in this one that makes me scrunch my face up. glad to have tried this, but it won’t be a reorder any time soon! :)

another of the 12 days from herbal infusions from Dexter I am not a fan of greens 90% of the time. Flavoured greens especially. But i DO like trying all the teas. Which means, i will drink green flavoured teas :) This isn’t a terrible cup but it’s not my favourite. If i was going for an almond blend, i’d prefer the depth that a black base brings. still happy to have tried it through! thanks dexter!

sipdown! (184) another quick sipdown tonight while watching fringe. Decent enough, but not worthy of a restock! thanks dexter!

I’m so cold this morning. I’m almost considering braving outside to go to the office where i’d at least be warmer while i was there. Not that it’ll happen. Picked this one early this morning to try a few more of the teas that Dexter sent me. I have a whole bunch of samples from her, teafairy and missB that i need to get through so that my cupboard gets back to normal heh. I didn’t mind this one as much as others did. It had that creamy bailey’s feel to it, along with mint that wasn’t in your face sort of mint. I’ve got another little bit of this to try again and see if i stil feel that way on my second cup :)

MMMMM. Delicious. This is a dark hot chocolate… without the milk, and cream. It’s pretty good. I may have to try this steamed with some almond milk cause that sounds delicious in my head.

I’m so glad for whoever mentioned this company on the Steepster board. I picked up a few sample sized packs, and look forward to trying them all now!

I seem to go through these strange phases when all I want is a rich cup of hot chocolate. Sadly, when I actually have that cup in hand, it’s too much for me to be able to finish. I’ve decided that a tea version of hot chocolate would be the way to go.. I’ll get that yummy hot chocolate flavor, but not the tooth-aching sweetness.

I remember trying cacao tea from Tisano and not being too crazy about it. It smelled incredible, but didn’t translate to flavor well. I’ve also had the cacao shell blend from American Tea Room and wasn’t a bit fan of that one either. It was a bit dry and bitter… and I wasn’t all that impressed. I saw this version with vanilla bean and rosita and thought that it might be a nicer version of a cacao blend.

The scent of this tea is so yummy. It reminds me very much of hot chocolate made from milk chocolate shavings. Sipping… I taste a smooth, creamy, but watered-down chocolate note, mixed with a little bit of vanilla and a dash of spice. The finish is a little bit drying, but I think that can’t really be avoided due to the cacao shells. I expect a fuller mouthfeel because the chocolate flavor is so spot-on, but the cup remains thin and watery.

I really do think that this is the closest I can get to drinking hot chocolate, without actually having it. Sure, I’ll probably still have those times when nothing but actual hot chocolate will do, but this is a nice substitute.

sipdown! (190) Another one from Dexter who very nicely surprised me with samples of all 12 of the herbal infusions teas as i missed being able to grab them thanks to a very long day of work.

I couldn’t tell you what’s in this blend. I drank it unthinkingly while browsing adagio fan blends (curse you cavo!). What that does tell me is that i enjoyed it quite a bit! it wasn’t overly sweet, wasn’t a hibiscusy blend..though the smell started to get to me after a while. I’d actually like to try this one cold brewed sometime. thanks dexter!

sipdown! (181) I was hoping to get to 180 tonight since i HAD time to actually drink tea tonight, but i think that i’ll end just shy of that goal unless i can find another herbal that’s close to being finished. I like this one, and it was quite the contrast to the spicy of the fireside. Of course that also meant that the “sweet” of the licorice was intensified lol. Still though, a neat blend to have tried, though not a restock! thanks again dexter!

Another one from dexter! :) I would have gotten through all 12 days today i think except for getting a late start on them heh. This one is quite tasty, though the licorice makes it a little sweet for my tastes. If i can find a way to dial it back a bit, i think it will be even tastier. Maybe i can add my 52 shamrock tea to it heh. If you don’t like licorice, stay away from this one. There’s a creamy, lemon, mint licorice flavour going on here. I’m not sure i’d call it candycane..but it’s not too shabby :)

sipdown! (188) yeah that’s right.. i’m a sipdown crazy person today, though i’ve nearly reached my limit lol This one still tastes like melon, though i could explain what about it makes me taste melons. It seems to be a theme with me and certain pumpkin teas. heh. Still though, a delicious cup to have along side the chili we made…because it’s COLD! BOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Another one from dexter! I’m trying to switch over to some of my caffeine free teas on the off chance it decides to bug me tonight. I’ve got a meeting in the morning with a vendor so i need to be on my game!

This one reminds me a lot of the pumpkin rooibos from tealux i think it was. Sadly that also means that it reminds me of melon. For whatever reason it’s like honey dew/cantaloupe sort of melon. Enjoyable but man i miss the pumpkin tea terri sent me haha

sipdown (192) this one makes me sad. smells so good, tastes bleh. thanks for sharing though dexter! that’s always good for a smile :)