My sister gave me a Christmas tree of teabags for Christmas. If I’d been really clever, I would have taken a photo of it, but you’ll just have to imagine the pyramid of colour: predominantly green, with the odd splash of red and gold. (She also gave me Yorkshire Tea Gin, which I’m saving for a special occasion… which may yet be this evening… and some gingerbread biscuits shaped like tea bags, which I’ve eaten. Obviously.)
Despite the tagline ‘fuelled by tea and biscuits’, I’m not a big fan of herbal teas. I like the fact that they aren’t laden with caffeine (of which I think I consume too much) but I’d prefer a hot ribena to most options. In Zambia I got used to drinking rooibos occasionally – the South African ‘Red Bush’ tea – but, to my mind, a decent English cuppa is what’s usually required.
Anyway, it was a gift, and I’m prepared to give tea flavours ago. They’re not likely to kill me. Here is my tea analysis:
Three Cinnamon – I find cinnamon a difficult flavour, something that I never like as much as I feel I should. The tea was no exception. A bit floury, and its most impressive part was the manufacturer’s feeling that a blend of cinnamons from three different countries added depth to the flavour from just one country.
Beetroot Burst – red, earthy, surprisingly drinkable! Happy to drink this late in the day.
Butter Mint – smelt like Werther’s Originals, sweet and sickly. Nearly gagged just on opening the teabag, so threw it away without trying. Sorry – not a great review if I can’t even try it, but life’s too short.
Moroccan Mint – ok. I could stomach this and it was quite refreshing.
Salted Caramel – also sweet and sickly, not a flavour I would choose. My sister said it tasted better with biscuits. I feel it might need a lot of biscuits to compensate, and unfortunately I’d already eaten all the ones she’d made.
This concludes my random review of herbal teas. My dislike is in no way reflective of the wonderful gift.
Besides, I’ve still got the gin…
I don’t go much for that sort of thing either but someone gave me Rooibos recently – drinkable. And there was Twining’s “Apple and Ginger” in the supermarket recently. My aunt likes that sort of thing so I bought some and she and I tried it together. It was surprisingly good – would be even better on a cold day.