Cranberry Apricot Muffin Honeybush

(52teas (Anne) 2022: 56)

This tea has a really pleasant aroma. I’m having trouble placing it, though – it doesn’t really smell like any of the ingredients… actually, it’s almost like watermelon jolly rancher candies?? Very curious. I love watermelon jolly ranchers…

It tastes a little less like jolly rancher, and I actually just realized I’m getting apricot in the aftertaste. Yum! Not really getting cranberry but there’s a hint of berry tang in there too. I’m not sure if this blend totally met the mark, but I don’t mind it at all, and am kind of intrigued by this strange watermelon jolly rancher association I’m making…

Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge January 2022: Apricot Tea

I was positive that I didn’t have an apricot tea in my collection, and I spent the majority of my time drinking this thinking it was a nectarine tea! (or something decidedly not apricot, even though it tastes just like apricot). I’m also surprised to see that this blend is from November 2020. Wow. I’m usually better at drinking up my subscription blends.

This isn’t my favourite honeybush or muffin blend from 52Teas, but it’s still pretty tasty! the stonefruit and cranberry flavours come through as gently tart and tangy, over top of buttery baked bread. The honeybush and the fruits are sweet too – complimenting the light tartness. There’s a bit of a spicy burn to finish and as a lingering mouth sensation. Everything is well-balanced.

For this sipdown, taken with milk. It may have brought out the sweetness a tad.

Okay… this tea was magical.

The dry leaf of this tea smells so fruity and amazing – it took me a long while to place it, but it’s the kind of really bright and juicy citrus aroma of something like a Sunkist Soda. Does anyone else remember Sunkist Soda? No? Just me? It’s weird because Sunkist is this very specific, almost tangerine-like, orange soda flavour – but I don’t believe there’s any citrus in this blend at all? So it must just be the apricot – but it’s tickling all those nostalgia buttons for me in aroma…

The taste is great; it’s so fresh tasting and really fruity – I love how virbrant and full of life the cranberry, apricot, and – yes – citrus notes taste. It’s like this sunny medley of juicy freshness. Sadly, the compromise seems to be that I’m not really getting anything that would make me think of a muffin – but the trio of fruit flavours I’m getting (still not sure where the citrus is from) is so specific and distinct that it’s just making this inner seven year so happy. All the the good feelings about Sunkist fruit snacks and soda that I didn’t know I had… channeled into this cup.

Mmmm!

Even though I’ve been only drinking from my 2017 stash, I exclusively drink tisanes after 6 pm, and sipped down my 2017 tisanes already… so since it’s National Apricot Day, I figured I may as well break into this new tea (when was the last time I drank a tea when it was still new?!)

Got a strong stonefruit and that peppery honeybush note from the dry leaf aroma. Oddly enough, in the bag the stonefruit aroma read more as pear to me, but after I took out my generous scoop for my teacup and sniffed that, it definitely smelled more like peach/apricot. And those are the main aroma notes I’m getting from the cooling cup, as well.

I’m getting a nice apricot flavor from the steeped tea, sweet, but juicy. The honeybush base provides a bit of a sweet grainy/nutty flavor, and I’m also getting that pepper note from it as well, as unfortunately the other spices in the tea aren’t masking it for me. I do taste the spices toward the end of the sip, particularly the nutmeg which lingers on my tongue afterwards. It’s a subtle, sweet flavor. I am not tasting cranberry at all, but admittedly tend to have troubles reading that note in many teas… shame, I love nice, tart cranberries! So, I am getting at least an apricot muffin with a light dusting of nutmeg. But not a cranberry apricot muffin.

Still a relaxing night cuppa, and I really like the juicy apricot flavor here.

Sipdown! (17)

The last one from my November box! This was my favorite of the bunch, though it only sort-of tasted like the name…

Oddly, the strongest note I get from this tisane is cucumber! No idea where that’s coming from, but it was the same in all three potfuls. There is some apricot as well, but no cranberry for me. It does taste a little bit like a muffin, definitely the healthy kind with some bran, or maybe a whole wheat oatmeal cookie. The spices are nice and light, and just add a kiss of warmth to the blend.

Bumping it up just a few points, as I did find it enjoyable. The cucumber definitely threw me off from the whole muffin idea though! XD

I’m a bit burned out in honey bush blends. But, cranberry and apricot sounded quite nice. I was hoping for more of a tart cranberry, but it’s on the sweeter side, with a touch of a bubblegum thing going on. A tiny bit of cinnamon, with a very slight apricot jamminess at the end of the sip.