Herbal Infusions

poof all gone! extra delicious cup of this today to end the week. we ARE moving, and we DO have to prep everything, move, plan out the internet etc…all in a week. the same week in which i have even more massive amounts of work to do AND my parents are coming to visit. lol good times!

courtney is my favourite tea person this week…though i love you all a ton. She sent me a surprise package of LB and cacao that i mixed this morning much to my delight and had the best damn tea day ever. On the downside, i REALLY need to place and order with HI for this stuff but their customer service is annoying AND until i have the keys to the new place, i don’t want to order anything just in case things fall through. this though? + LB. best.damn.time. ever.

…aaand now it’s gone. thanks again to courtney for sharing a little bit with me so that i could reconfirm that i still like this, AND try out her LB + Cacao creation. Both are delicious and both make me want moar…naaaaaao! only i’m being good and trying to drink up more of my tea! Maybe i’ll treat myself to an order at the end of March if i can get through my old teas! old of course is relative since i only have 2 left from May 2013, 2 left from June 2013 and then i’m in to July 2013! Which was my goal for the end of March along with getting down to 140.

I feel like i’m making good progress lately while still enjoying my teas and not forcing anything with ANY of my goals. Tea is meant to be enjoyed and loved and help me relax so it can’t stop being all of that! :)

Final Count: 138

courtney both rocks my world and may have ruined LB for me for a little while. heh. She sent along some cacao for me since HI is annoying me in their lack of consistency with their service…so that i could try her receipe of adding this to LB.

So this morning i did a 1-1 ratio of this + LB in my travel mug for work…fogot about it…and sometime this afternoon took my first sip. dear.god. SOOOOO good! it enhances the deliciousness of LB and makes it a totally decadent treat tea… I may need to keep this in my back pocket for when i’m having a really bad day…though i’d have to get lots more cacao tea.

thanks a bunch courtney!

Sip down, and so glad for it. I tried to pay extra attention this time, both in the dry leaf and flavour itself, to these dessert notes others are talking about. The dry leaf still smells kind of weird to me. If I concentrate, I can get a bit past the stale smell and detect a hint of creaminess, but it still smells off.

No change in the flavour either. Maybe I can detect a hint of custard, but again, it’s stale and almost dusty to me.

You know what enhances the flavour? I’m crazily double-fisting teas right now, with David’s Blue Lagoon by my side too. I noticed that when I take a sip of Blue Lagoon, then take a sip of this, this tastes more desserty. Hilarious. But I think it’s just the fruity notes from Blue Lagoon lingering.

Ok, done for good.

Oh dear, my palate doesn’t understand this one. The dry leaf smells off to me, like stale starch.

And it pretty much tastes like that too. I’m not sure if it’s the base with which I am having a problem, like others have, or if it’s the flavouring, or what. Even half and half won’t save it. It’s like a really old tea bag. No spices, no vanilla, no coconut, nada. I had a cup last night and it was the same thing.

One more cup and we’ll see if it’s a 3/3 stale fail.

Nice EG, not much bergamot (which I like a lot of ) so a little disappointing. The little snowflakes are cute! I’m not sure exactly what the marshmallow is supposed to taste like in tea. I used my regular, old fashion tea strainer since there wasn’t enough for my Breville. I boiled the water in the Breville so I would have the right temp. First cup good, added monk’s fruit as my sweetener. (didn’t go well with my lemon pepper tuna, but what would) I did a resteep. OK, I almost did the resteep right. I heated the water but forgot there was no tea in the Breville basket. When it was hot I thoughtlessly poured the water into my cup and added sweetener. Then I looked at the cup… my goodness this looks weak. Duh! It was a cup of sweetened water. The tea leaves are in the other dispersion basket. LOL! I then poured the water onto the leaves. Problem solved! :D

This is… weird. It smelled like soap to me coming out of the bag, and all I saw was rooibos in the blend. I had one sip and said.. no thanks. The HUGE floral pieces were also a deterrent, and this is going in the swap box. My daughter said, as she had some, “This is surprisingly and weirdly spicy”. Agreed, and I normally love spicy.

Sip down! Not going to miss it. Still cravin’ the original and Strawberry Cream ones. :)

I let this steep in my Timolino for what, two hours? I lost track of time. As soon as I found out that this also has spices in it, I immediately got a hunch that this would be a lot like Yogi’s Choco Aztec, which I actually quite liked. I went through a good two boxes while I was living in Linköping because I was too lazy to venture out to tea shops and stuck with grocery store stuff there.

And this basically is that except enhanced, both in cocoa and spice flavours. Predominantly chocolate and cinnamon, the flavour profile truly does reflect that of a Mexican hot chocolate, minus the chili heat.

I like it, but I think I’m all burnt out of affection for this type of flavour profile. A local company which specializes in matcha and matcha mixes even offers an Aztec hot chocolate mix which tastes almost the same. So essentially, it’s been done over and over.

As for the vanilla, it’s virtually non-existent. They ought to rename this blend like Aztec Cacao or Xocolatl or something.

Another sample from MissB! Thank you so much! Ima tell you right now that is wins the most adorable tea ever. The tiny gingerbread sprinkles! They look like the tiniest gingerbread cookies. Actual color. Actual texture. So it’s like cookies with eggnog! I tried to save most of the gingerbread men sprinkles for the last teaspoon so I could admire them longer. :D There is also a peppercorn in the blend. The flavor isn’t EXACTLY eggnog (like that amazing Red Leaf Eggnog matcha I had the other day), but it’s pretty good anyway. A nice black tea base that goes well with the flavors that are supposed to be here. There is a slight spicy flavor that would be like eggnog spice. Not really SPIKED though. A little sweet, probably because of the gingerbread men sprinkles that I was sad to see melt. Pretty tasty! The second cup was very nice as well, with a couple extra minutes on the original steep. This one almost tastes on the verge of being a chai. One of my favorites from Herbal Infusions that I’ve tried and not just because of the sprinkles!

I took this out of the Great Canadian Travelling Tea Box in Jan and I’m just trying it now. I’ve been looking to try this one for a long time, I really want to find a good grapefruit tea but I’ve had no luck yet. This tea is not going to do it for me. It’s good, juicy lemon for sure, but I’m not getting any grapefruit. I’ve never had Formosa oolong before but I’m finding it tastes more like a black than an oolong. I’m not looking for a lemon tea so I would not order this one.

I have never been more aware of the “save to wishlist” button than tonight. Mostly cause I’m thinking, who would wish for this?? Not because it’s awful, not at all, but it’s a weird little concoction.

I received a sample of this from the generous Dexter3657 (thank you, thank you!) and tonight was the night to sip this down. There were 2 scoops worth of leaf in the original baggie so I made all of it. I did not read any of the notes prior but went with a 5 min steep as I do with herbals usually.

The dry leaf smelled of citrus and mint, in that order. The mint was very cool. I don’t know how to describe it. The smell was not overly strong but it was very much mint. Like lozenges. It even tasted a bit like that when brewed, like an aspartame sweetened mint lozenge. I used to drink diet things and now I despise them and am very familiar with the lingering, throat-coating flavour of aspartame, sucralose and the like.

I took two sips of this hot and recognized that it might be like a mojito if I had it iced. So I did. I think it was the only way to drink this. I love mint but not mixed in with licorice. This is my first licorice tea and it will probably be my last. I would love to try mint and lemongrass together, minus the licorice. It would make a pretty tasty iced drink for the summer that, let’s face it, will never come. :)

Thanks to Dexter3657 for this sample!

I had this last night. I’m leaving for a business trip in a couple short days and I have been so busy and working long hours so excuse my tasting notes – they may be a bit chaotic!

Anyway, what I remember about this is it smells exactly like brownie batter which is pretty awesome, but although I steeped for nearly 30 minutes, I still had to add sweetener to get it chocolatey. It was palatable without sweetener, but nowhere near the other reviews. I also think this would benefit from over-leafing.

Also, I’m now going to just buy the 7oz bag of organic cacao husks that I find at my local super market ($12.99) or see at Home Goods ($10) every time I go. I’d like to try the flavored versions from Herbal Infusions, but this is just plain cacao husks right? This can be gotten a lot cheaper.

It’s still crazy for my brain when I drink a tea that taste like coffee.

This reminds me of instant flavored coffee or coffee with flavored creamer: Hazelnut and Chocolate. I can also see how moraiwe says it taste like chocolate covered espresso beans. I think I like it enough to order more; I’m just not sure if it will be 50g or another sample size. I plan on trying it iced to help decide the size. It’s still weird how much this reminds me of flavored coffee.
Edit: Yum, just made it iced. I’m going to be buying at least a 50g bag before Summer gets here.

Want this to taste more like true hot cocoa and even have a texture closer to the real thing? Steep it for TWO HOURS. No joke. I left it to steep in my Timolino, and thought I would sip on it during a colloquium, but it sat in my bag. When I got home just a while ago, I opened it up, poured the contents into a mug, and was astonished by how murky the liquor is. It looks very close to what water + cacao powder looks like.

And, to top it off, it tastes a lot like it too. Maybe not as bitter, but for me, it’s the perfect amount of richness and bitterness without having to add any sugar. Because after all, whenever I make a traditional cup of hot cocoa, I make it with milk (sometimes half and half) and sugar, which is my grandma’s method. So in other words, this is like a healthier alternative to that.

Awesomesauce. But also sadsauce. This is also a sip down. So far 2/4 cacao teas are 50g-worthy.

Fantastical cacao tea, you’re next. I steeped this in my Timolino for over half-an-hour. I honestly lost track of the time. I love how despite it steeping for that long, it’s still piping hot in there.

I like this just as much, if not more, than the strawberry variety. I don’t really care that it’s on the thinner side. I just love the flavour. Deep chocolate. Reminds me of the hot cocoa my grandma makes with Fry’s cocoa. None of that gross overly sugared up hot chocolate mix.

Now I’m tempted to brew more before heading back out. Actually, I wonder if I should try leaving the basket in the Timolino and just sip it as I go with the dry leaf in there? This may call for an experiment.

Maybe more tea will keep me full too. Today’s a weird ghrelin-gone-haywire day. For those who don’t know, it’s basically a hormone which induces hunger, and unfortunately, increases during periods of stress and/or lack of sleep. I just ate 700+ calories for lunch and I’m still hungry despite waiting for nearly 45 minutes, but I have to suck it up since I like to aim for 1200-1400 calories per day. Whine whine whine. Let’s hope more tea will trick my body and make it stop.

This sample came my way from VariaTEA.

I’m not a fan of Earl Greys (thus far). I don’t hate them, but I don’t really enjoy them. However, this one isn’t too bad. I don’t need any for cupboard, but I enjoyed this cup. The bergamot was mellowed sufficiently by the marshmallow. The base worked well and didn’t over- or underwhelm. Overall a decent cup.

Thanks VariaTEA!

I was happily surprised when I received this sample with my order last month because it was one I had considered getting but decided against because I will always want more caffeinated teas. The lower the caffeine the less excited I get.

When I’m deciding on caffeine free or low in caffeine tea I try and choose something my son and I will both like because he is the one who will most likely drink it. I like to dream that someday I will willingly choose to go caffeine free at night. When I do have something caffeine free it is always followed with a caffeinated tea or I’m drinking both at the same time.

I’ve got about a silly teaspoon left and will let my son have for after school tea because he will be the most sad to see it go. I do plan on getting more someday. This is our first cacao so I don’t have any to compare it to, all I know is my son and I both love mint and chocolate and fell in love with this at first sip. I loved that my son did not need sugar added to enjoy it*. I’m pretty sure it is the peppermint that helps there not be a need for sugar. I felt the cacao and peppermint had a nice balance, neither over powered the other. I’m not sure how the other cacao that I plan on trying in the future will go with no sugar.

*disclaimer: unlike most kids, he does not always like sugary things and normally only wants sugar in tea that is made into a latte.

Really sad sip down. I can’t wait to get more someday.

I’m really grateful HI offers sample sizes, which definitely makes it convenient to try out their stuff, but the downside is when you end up loving something, it goes very fast. :)

666th post. This kept staring at me, all evil-like, so I figured it would make an appropriate post. Too bad I only ordered a sample because I have one serving left and I didn’t really anticipate liking this enough to want more so soon. Maybe it’s just a phase?

Melted Neapolitan ice cream again. I kept picking up the mug and taking another sip in agony; while each sip is blissful, it’s simultaneously terrifying, because I’m inching my way closer… and closer… to the bottom of the mug.

Perfect thing to drink for this post, I guess. Plus I’m all decked out for the occasion wearing a Metalocalypse t-shirt, and I just watched an episode when I got home too.

Taking a supper break but need to head back soon. I’m overstaying my welcome at my own damn home haha.

The second I ripped open the parcel, I smelled strawberry. Strongly. I ordered both this and Strawberry Justice but I had a feeling that it was this one that was giving off the strong strawberry note.

I let this steep for upwards of half an hour whilst I was preparing my supper.

Seriously like melted Neapolitan ice cream. Each sip lends an initial sweet, strawberry cream note, then the cacao steps in afterwards. I’m glad the strawberry isn’t overly artificial. I mean, it is a bit, but not like chemicals per sé.

This is really neat. I look forward to try HI’s other cacao blends. I was able to try Tisano’s cacao tea at the Victoria tea fest last year, since Tea Sparrow was offering it, and I really liked it but passed on it. So it’s nice to revisit the whole idea of steeping cacao bean shells.

Whoa. This is hands down the best chocolate tea/tisane that I have ever had. Rich, thick, creamy, and a touch spicy. Just fantastic. I think the vanilla is contributing to the creaminess, but I can’t taste any vanilla flavor per se. It makes me terribly tea-sad that this blend is also giving me more tingling in my mouth and throat than should be happening. I think I’m allergic to some ingredient here, though I can’t figure out what it is. This would absolutely be in my must-have regular rotation otherwise.

This one comes to me courtesy of the ever-thoughtful MissB, who noticed that this was on my wishlist and included it with my stash sale purchase. Thanks!