I am very confused when it comes to this tea. My senses deceive me and not in a good way; even the name plays tricks with my expectations. I was very excited for this tea. The name alone brings joy to my mouth (dairy is another allergy I have) and the idea of sipping down vanilla icecream without the nasty side effects of actually nombing on icecream was bliss. Sadly this was not the case and my mouth felt very betrayed.
Dried the leaf is delectable vanilla chocolate surprise. I was in heaven and wanted to eat the dried leaf. Holding onto all inhibitions, I waited patiently for the kettle to warm and for the tea to steep. This is where my senses began to betray me. The brewed leaf produces a very pale and clear yellow, but the aroma that assaulted my nose was of lemon, not vanilla. I was no very conflicted as to what was going on. Two very drastically different aromas had begun to mess with me. Throwing caution to the wind, I took that first sip and nearly cried… lemon meringue is what I am reminded of with this drink. I was violently betrayed by a name, description, and the dried aroma.
Do not get me wrong, I love a good slice of lemon in my water and tea when I place it there myself or if I am feeling a little sick. But to be told that this would send me into icecream nirvana and then be slapped in the taste buds and olfactory with lemon, leaves me feeling betrayed.
I am sending this off with my oldest to college, perhaps she will love it more (if all else fails it can be enjoy by her grandparents; who she is bunking with and are always trying to push lemon grass tea on me during our monthly visits).
Flavors: Lemon, Lemongrass, Meringue, Smooth, Sweet