Tupelo Honey Fig

Well, this is odd. A bit of fig, a bit of honey… and lots of other things that I can’t pick out. There is a strange sweet aftertaste. Very odd in that it doesn’t taste sweet when I’m drinking it but immediately after swallowing it, there is a sweetness that suffuses my mouth. I thought at first it was what I was eating with it, but I’m not sure how sharp cheese and pretzels would make a tea sweet. Maybe… the licorice root is the sweet.

Hm. Not sure I like this. I could drink it if it was served to me, but I don’t think I’d choose it over other teas.

Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge Saturday, August 21st: World Honey Bee Day Tea #3

Finally finishing this one!  Never really a favorite.   The name is so misleading and disappointing!  I want Honey Fig!   Really this is a muddled cup of anything but honey or fig.
2021 sipdowns: 113

Thanks to Nicole for sending me a sample of this! This is one of those teas that is totally different than what you were expecting! The dry leaf smells mostly of basil. When I think of fig teas my mind instantly goes to Teavana’s Fig Rose tea. That is fig. This doesn’t smell like fig to me (dry at least). I also thought it was interesting that this is listed as a white tea because I really can’t pick it out for the peppermint and basil leaves.
Wow, when sipping this I can instantly taste the honey/sweet flavor. I agree with Nicole, this tea needs a pretzel! The basil in this is just out of control. I like basil, but this isn’t supposed to be basil tea; it’s supposed to be honey/fig. I think that the biggest problem with tea sellers that I run into is the names. I see a name and expect a flavor, but it is often something completely different.
This tea is unique, that’s for sure! I’m a bit torn about what to think of it.

So this evening while waiting for my dinner to finish baking I am reviewing a tea that has one of my favorite fruits ever in it, the glorious fig. As a child I was lucky enough to have grandparents that had a fig tree so my summer visits usually consisted of me eating a lot of them, I still get giddy when I see the local stores with them in stock and usually eat my purchase in one sitting.

Tupelo Honey Fig is a blend of Lemon Myrtle, Peppermint Leaves, Fennel, White Tea, Basil, Licorice Root, Blackberry Leaves, Honey Flavor, and Fig Pieces (all organic.) The first thing I notice while examining the leaves is the aroma, I notice no fig or honey at all. The most potent aroma is that of dried leaves, not tea or a specific spice, just dried leaves. The same aroma you get from a tree branch whose leaves dried out due to drought or being knocked off the tree, it is slightly sweet and earthy mixed with an unmistakable scent of something that was once green that is no longer. After the initial leaf smell you start to get little hints of the fennel and maybe an idea of the basil. It is not at all a bad aroma, just certainly not what I was expecting from a tea that is fig and honey themed.

After brewing the aroma becomes significantly sweeter and you get to really smell the honey! The leaf aroma is still very strong but it is accompanied by basil and more fennel. I do not really smell the mint and I am assuming the leafy smell is from the Lemon Myrtle, but I am not sure since it is a plant I am unfamiliar with. The aroma of the liquid smells very mild and herbal with notes of honey.

The taste is odd. You first get a tingly mouthfeel from the mint and a sweet aftertaste with the anise taste of fennel, but other than that the flavor seems muddied. I can detect hints of the basil and white tea, but no fig and no honey. The more I drink this tea though the more it grows on me, it is like a puzzle in my mouth that I am trying to figure out…or maybe a treasure hunt for fig? I am a little disappointed by the lack of fig taste, but due to the combination of mint and fennel I think this tea would be an amazing digestion aid after a heavy meal. Plus it acts as a wonderful palette cleanser, because that is what fennel is amazing for (also making your mouth smell good, woohoo!)

I wondered what the odd flavour was in this, but read the ingredients/other reviews and found out it is basil. I’ve never had a basil/holy basil (tulsi) tea before, because the whole savoury tea thing isn’t for me. I was hoping for honey and fig with a nice white base, but I fin the basil/peppermint/fennel/licorice makes it very medicinal. I can taste all the ingredients in this, but wish the honey and fig were more prominent. It does have a sweetness to it, but more of a bay leaf or dried basil sweetness.

I do recommend this tea solely because it is very unique and IMO worth trying once. I don’t enjoy savoury/medicinal teas, but some people would really enjoy this.

The theme of pretty much all Tea Forte Teas: not bad, not good, clever combo, and too artificial. I tasted the honey, fig, peppermint, and berry leaves the most with everything else in the background.

This isn’t bad- I skipped it hot and made it iced and it works pretty well. I taste artificial honey, but it isn’t overpowering or overly gross, and there is a thick earthy fruity taste that I assume is supposed to be the fig. It’s weird but it has all those figgy elements without actually tasting like fig. That said, I punched it up with a tablespoon of agave in the pitcher and it served me well on my first day substitute teaching!

Drank this on the weekend.. This tea was very strong and kind of sucked… didn’t really finish it but it was drinkable… I would not try again.

(Renaming this tea “Peppermint Honey”) Smells delicious – I think, ‘m congested right now – but I’m not sure what to do with it. After 3 min of brewing, just a slight fruity/sweet taste with an herb/grass aftertaste. Promising but still too bland. After 6+ min the peppermint took over.

Might become a pretty good tea if you have the time/effort to baby it. Or just relabel it as “Peppermint Honey” and you’re good to go.

(BTW I got this from a “single steep” sampler. Each envelope was supposed to hold exactly one portion of loose tea, but I could only put about half into my larger tea-ball.)

ADDENDUM: After reading other peoples’ reviews, it seems like nobody can find the figs!

Third brewing of the same leaves. I’m surprised how well it’s held up, though I think this is the last round. No mintiness at all now, but the rest is also fading.