Herbal Infusions Tea Co.

Very nice at first sip! Exactly as described, a nice cool tea with sweet licorice aftertaste. It’s strange how tastes change; a few years ago I would’ve cringed at the licorice, but now it’s what sold me on the blend.

I got this to go today after popping into the shop. The guy who runs the shop, Dan, is awesome! Super friendly and helpful, and he makes amazing tea.
Anyhow, this tea… it was great! I wanted something hydrating and fruity, so this really fit the bill. Pirate cider! Apples and… pineapple! Which is nice because usually the acidity in pineapple ruins the fun for me.
Then came the ultimate test of a fruit blend (for me): how would it fare with a shot of rum? Fabulously I say. Really.
Also, I really should have taken the bag out sooner but then I was traipsing around the city running errands. Towards the end it got quite sharp. I didn’t mind though, it also became sweeter as well :)

The tea:
A dark roasty Oolong with a hint of peach. Or was that apricot?
Reminds me of Burnside Oolong.
It was just ok when hot… but then when it cooled? hello! yummo.
The peach really started to shine and the mellow mellowed out a bit. I really enjoyed that cuppa, even if it was to go and spilled/dragged halfway across the city.

Tea Scandal: (because I know you will understand!)
So a few weeks back at Nuit Blanche(all night arts festival across the town), I went out with some friends. Some of them decided to try setting me up with one of their friends. I just found this out today from someone else who decided to spill the secret so I’m really not supposed to know. Shhhhh!
Anyhow, apparently… he thought I was “very nice, but I talked a little too much about tea”.
Gah!!!! first of all, I didn’t know it was a setup. Second, HE ASKED. and then prodded me with questions!
Third, I sat through his incessant picture taking and high-five championship. Now, I thought it was fun but I could have easily said he took too many pics hmph.
End rant. Yes I am done. grumbles. no such thing as talking to much about tea…

Herbal Infusions very kindly included a freebie pouch of this in my order some time ago when they were sold out of a tea I’d ordered (though they also substituted a different tea for me). I’m so glad! This is delicious. It’s simple so I was prepared to be underwhelmed, but it’s the most faithful fresh apple tea I’ve had. It just tastes like apples. I’m sure it would be delicious iced, but I’ve had it hot a few times as I find it a very comforting nighttime tea.

Sadly, I don’t see it on their site anymore.

I cold-brewed this one overnight and took it to work with me yesterday. I thoroughly enjoyed it! It tastes suspiciously like DT’s Goji Pop, but I’m quite alright with that. It seemed a little less tart than Goji Pop, but to be fair I can’t remember if I cold-brewed that one. So I’ll have to pull it out to compare. This performs really well as a cold brew, and I’m sure as a hot-then-iced tea, but I’m not sure that I’ll bother trying it hot. It seems meant to be iced. Really sweet and refreshing; I pick out more of the melon and goji than any pear, but they really work together.

So good! I threw some of this into my new Green’s Your Colour insulated steel water bottle (it comes with a really fine tea strainer; perfection!) and let it cold steep overnight to help keep me hydrated during another 12-hour. It reminds me of David’s Luscious Watermelon, but with less of the kind of bubblegumesque flavour. Very refreshing, and I find watermelon to be a really soothing flavour. I haven’t tried this hot yet, but I anticipate that brewing it hot and letting it chill would yield more flavour. This was still great cold-brewed, though.

This was nice as a before-bed on a kind-of cool night tea last night, though I found it a little syrupy-sweet. Something was just a bit off. I think I’d like it if the sweetness was balanced out with a little more body, which I imagine is hard to do.

Intense aroma! Very nice combo! Smells JUST LIKE Creme Brulee & Chai! The taste is a bit more Chai than Creme Brulee. It does offer an interesting and pleasing flavor experience all-around tho! This is bold, spicy, creamy, caramelly, and coconutty! Neat!

I’m excited to try this one, and also so unsure of what I’m about to get. The dry leaf smells very fruity, and it wasn’t until I read that it was almond-y that I realized what I was smelling. I’ve decided to steep this for two minutes, because I only steep my greens for one minute and my blacks for three :-) When steeping, the smell changed several times, but was mostly centered around the almond.. Now that it’s done, it smells like something I can’t really define.. I’m getting more and more doubtful of this guy!
But it tastes like an almond cookie. How strange. I think it’s one of the truest almond teas I’ve had, though I’m not really a fanatic about almond, the way that some people are. It’s not as fruity as I had hoped, but maybe we can coax the exotic part of this tea out with different steeping methods. I’m intrigued, but not in love (thus far, anyway!).
But from a truly objective viewpoint, I can see that a lover of almond or almond cookies would completely love this :-) I wish that I had a tea that I can compare the flavour to, but really, I don’t think I’ve had one as unique as this before.

WOAH… Strange. This tea is the epitome of the “too many ingredients” syndrome. I don’t know what’s happening here. Not one flavour stands out, but I THINK I can taste the nettle? It’s not a particularly tropical-tasting tea, so I wonder how much pineapple there actually is… It kind of tastes what I would imagine a cactus would taste like. Maybe that’s the aloe vera? But aloe vera isn’t even listed under the ingredients… You definitely can’t taste the hibiscus.. The liquor doesn’t have a hint of pink to it, it’s more light golden orange. But maybe I didn’t get any hibiscus in my scoop? I’m just utterly confused by this blend. I have nothing else to say but try it only if you’re feeling adventurous.

Not my favourite – The rooibos was pretty strong tasting in this blend. I think it could use more of any of the flavours. That being said, it was a comforting, drinkable cup as I made my way through Chinatown, and I enjoyed it quite a bit all the same. It doesn’t actually taste like anything campfire – It just looks like a campfire. It’s quite the pretty blend! But if you’re looking for a rooibos tea that doesn’t taste like rooibos (like I often do), don’t go for it.

Yummy!! This is what DT’s Pink Flamingo was SUPPOSED to be like, but wasn’t. I think they must have added something extra to the same blend, and it didn’t work out. For all you Pink Flamingo lovers, get your fill from Herbal Infusions!! There was still something I didn’t like about this blend, either the carrot or the eucalyptus. But it was still a great cup, one that I could have again. I enjoyed that it was light and fruity, much lighter than most of the fruity teas that you find out there nowadays. Give it a shot! It’s a beautiful loose leaf as well – and steeps up a nice rosy pink. It really hit the spot.

I don’t know why, but this tea is not on the website – BUT I went into the store today, and grabbed a selection of teas to try – This is one of them. And thank goodness for that. The name struck me as so interesting, and the scent was just divine. So I brought it home, and it was one of the first ones I steeped. OH my GOODNESS. This tea is liquid gold. Or, maybe liquid rubies, considering it’s bright red (the hibiscus, I’m sure). It tastes like berries and ice cream, and is one of the greater tea experiences I’ve had. I sucked the cup dry. I’m currently resteeping it (which I normally DON’T do), and it smells just as divine. It’s dessert in a cup. Even all you hibiscus haters will probably love this. I can’t wait til Dan gets this up on his site, because I want the whole world to drink this. Best cup of tea I’ve had in a LONG time, and this will be part of my permanent collection, that’s for sure. I think it was made just for me.

This tea is now one of my favourites. I walked into Herbal Infusions Tea Co. yesterday and was blown away by the service and tasty tea. My favourite Earl Grey before this one was David’s – The Earl’s Garden and I didn’t believe it could be beat. Herbal Infusions Creme de Earl Grey kicked butt. I highly recommend.