Gourmet Herbal (No. 1237)

It’s like math in my mug, this tea – all rectangles of different sizes and lengths. Smells a touch lemony, however it’s the flavor that sells it. Lemon meringue all over again, with a touch of a twist. Maybe a bit more vegetal here (only slightly), which seems to work with everything. I love this tea! I should note, the ingredient list is wild – two herbals in here that are firsts for me.

3 tsp in 12 oz., following the instructions on the bag.

The name of this cracks me up. (What happened to the first 1236 herbals?) It’s like the guy who named his boat “Lucky 2.”

I am excited, however, to be drinking an ingredient called Moldavian dragonhead. I feel tough just thinking about it.

My first note on this recorded surprise that I liked it as much as I did, and I agree with what I said before. It isn’t an overly lemony lemon tisane, and the vanilla isn’t enough to push it into the cream or chiffon camp. It’s got an herbally lightness to it that is more grassy sweet than sweet-sweet and the vanilla supplies more mellowness than actual flavor. It’s not a fruity lemon, but it’s a pleasant one nevertheless.

I often find that lemongrass takes over my palate when it’s included in a blend, but was inspired to buy a sample bag of this when I saw that it also had vanilla in it – one of my favorite flavors and usually able to hold its own as well.

I was pleased that the bag had a generous amount of leaf in it – after five minutes I had a deeply golden green-brown liquor with a fresh citrus aroma. Sure enough, on first sip the lemongrass was definitely the most vocal component of the mix, but I could also sense the vanilla there, softening and rounding out the high notes. I’d call it a soothing and successful blend.

This is either from MissB or Sil – so thank you!

I’d put off having this one for far too long as I’m not fond of many herbals, but it looks like this has nothing I dislike in it, which is nice! My initial impression was that this was straight up lemongrass, until I realized that the lemony flavour wasn’t quite right for that. I can’t really taste any vanilla, but I also may not have had any vanilla bean pieces in this cup – the smaller pieces in my baggie remain there. This was all large chunks. Despite the lack of vanilla, this is actually fairly tasty. It’s nicely lemony without being bitter, and quite refreshing. I’m drinking it room temp, which puts it more in the “iced” realm, and I think that’s how I’d prefer this, though I feel like it would be pretty tasty hot with honey, too. Pretty pleased with this one.

Great balance of sweet and savoury flavours. Nice lemon taste. A bit of a spicy note. Lemongrass flavour is very well balanced.

This one is great for in the evening. Being a herbal tea, it has no caffeine and with the lemon-y and sweet aromas, it helps me keep cravings at bay.
The box suggests 8 tsp per liter, but I never use more than six. Also, this can be brewed twice, the second being only a little weaker.

Sipdown sample from Sil!

Had this last night with the boyfriend to end a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend. What made it so fantastic, you ask? Why, not leaving the house for 3 days, actually. Tea, the food we had in the house, reading (me), video games (him), and putting together my Cyber Monday orders. (Also known as bye bye monies…)

I’ve had the Fauchon L’Hiver blend and from the description on this I was really expecting it to be similar. Lemongrass and vanilla? Yes, please. But the lemon meringue lightness about L’Hiver just wasn’t present here – it was more tart lemon than vanilla, and I guess the white tea played more of a role than I thought in that one because this was decidedly more herby.

had this one tonight with a little lemon, mostly because i was trying to decide if it was one that i might want to pick up while i’m in Chicago. I’ve had it a couple times now, but after every previous cup, i’ve wondered how this would do with a little honey…and tonight i remembered! :) With a little honey, this is even tastier than previous cups. As an evening herbal, i can get behind this one for sure, especially in winter for that calming hint of warmer times :)

Final Count: 99 – double digits!

Wow, does this tea ever look interesting…not even sure I could identify all these random bits and bobs in the bag.

Brewed up, it’s lemony, smooth…not as creamy or vanilla-y as I’d like, but there’s still a note in it that does something to tone down the tart citrus aspect. It’s pretty straightforward and uncomplicated, but sometimes that’s what I need.

It’s a nice caffeine free option to have late at night! I definitely need more of those teas, I never used to worry about that but I’m realizing it does matter afterall. I surely do need a good night’s rest!

Thanks for the sample, OMGsrsly!

I had to copy Morgana and make myself a cup of this.

It’s an herbal I’ve had for a while, so I used a generous amount, and must have got a bunch of vanilla in my cup.

It smells like soft, gentle, lemony pudding. Tastes like lemongrass, mostly. But it’s too hot to do anything more than delicately slurp, hoping you get enough air in that your tongue doesn’t get burned. Ahh, there’s some vanilla.

I do like this tea, but it’s one, like Morgana, that I can’t see myself drinking often, though I do enjoy it when I occasionally sip it.

Edit: I totally got this because Moldavian dragonhead is an ingredient. Hahaha. That, and I like lemony things.