Avonlea Honeybush Tisane from Lemon Lily

lemonlilyTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Honeybush

Where to Buy:  Lemon Lily

Tea Description:

Organic ingredients:  Honeybush, cinnamon, ginger, hibiscus, Canadian Maple Flakes.

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Taster’s Review:

I had high hopes for this Avonlea Honeybush Tisane from Lemon Lily.  I mean, cinnamon, ginger and maple together with the honeyed, nutty flavor of honeybush actually sounds pretty tasty.  Even with hibiscus in there.  But as I taste it, I’m finding myself disappointed by this.

I don’t like the combination of honeybush and hibiscus.  This just isn’t working for me.  You might think that the sweetness of the honeybush would help even out the tartness of the hibiscus, but the honeybush sweetness isn’t enough to soften the tartness of the hibiscus and the result is just a weird, funky taste.

And it’s a weird taste that even the warm spice of the cinnamon and ginger can’t offset.  Even the maple – which is a favorite flavor of mine – even the maple does very little to improve the flavor here.  In fact, I’m tasting relatively little maple flavor here.  Very disappointing.

As it cools, this does taste better.  The honeybush and hibiscus don’t seem to be battling it out to create that weird taste anymore, but the hibiscus is still too tart for my liking.  It’s drinkable now and I don’t think I would have described it as such while it was hot.

Served hot, it’s a very weird cup of tea.  As it cools, it becomes drinkable but it’s still quite tart and I find myself wishing the hibiscus wasn’t there.

I have enjoyed many of the teas that I’ve tried from Lemon Lily (thanks to not just one but two boxes from Postal Teas that has featured them), but this one just isn’t bringing a smile to my face.