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“I had a stroke of genius at 4 am last night when I realized that since I use water bottles to make my SBTs, I could pour the cold steeped teas back into the bottles when it was done steeping and...” Read full tasting note
“SPOILER alert: If you want to keep the teas in the Herbal Infusions 2013 12 Days of Christmas Sampler to yourself, skip over this review. I’m a day early in this review, likely because I’m the kind...” Read full tasting note
“another of the 12 days from herbal infusions from Dexter I am not a fan of greens 90% of the time. Flavoured greens especially. But i DO like trying all the teas. Which means, i will drink green...” Read full tasting note
“Put this in a big mug tonight. I’m trying to watch the Olympic opening ceremonies but I’m suddenly kind of tired. We can’t have that! Reading MissB’s reviews made me a little nervous, because I...” Read full tasting note
Day 1
12 Days of Christmas 2013
Company description not available.
I had a stroke of genius at 4 am last night when I realized that since I use water bottles to make my SBTs, I could pour the cold steeped teas back into the bottles when it was done steeping and use the pitcher to make another flavor. That will enable me to try multiple flavors at once without having to drink a whole pitcher of cold tea by myself in the middle of winter. So now I have 4 bottles of Key Lime Cheesecake SBT to enjoy at my leisure while a pitcher of Rainbow Sherbet SBT steeps in the fridge.
Anyways, I ended up making this tea for a friend and myself. She came over for a day of tea and homework and by the time she arrived the kettle had already boiled and started cooling. I figured I would take advantage of the cooled water and make one of the greens I was sent in swaps. When given the choice, she picked this one out from the box Cavocorax sent me..
I steeped 2 tsps in 16 oz of 165F water for 3 minutes. The result was a very smooth and pleasant green tea. My friend really liked it and though I enjoyed my cup, it was a pretty simple tea. There was a tiny hint of almond and a slight berry sweetness. All very good but nothing I was blown away by. Thank you Cavocorax for sharing. I will enjoy the sample you sent but I don’t think I will be too heartbroken when it is gone.
SPOILER alert: If you want to keep the teas in the Herbal Infusions 2013 12 Days of Christmas Sampler to yourself, skip over this review.
I’m a day early in this review, likely because I’m the kind of gal that (until six years ago) celebrated Christmas on the 24th in the evening. Also, I was impatient, and wanted to enjoy something Christmas-y with my daughter as we celebrated my son’s 6-year-old birthday. Unfortunately, he’s come down with something as of late last night, and is curled up half naked in a chair in the living room, alternating between watching Magic School Bus on Netflix, and sleep. :(
As Herbal Infusions has given zero steep instructions or even an ingredient list, I went with my eyes and nose for how to brew it. It looks like it’s a green and black blend, with pieces of orange rind, roses, cornflower, and something else tiny and red in the mix. It smells strongly of a red berry, and I was concerned immediately due to my strawberry allergy. My daughter even warned me as she took her first sip, “Mom, this smells a LOT like strawberries…”
I tried it anyway. I’m thinking the berry in this is raspberry, because I had zero reaction until the very last sip of the cup, and that could be from something else I just ate. It tastes very raspberry green to me, light and lovely, with just a hint of orange in there. The almond passed by me completely, although it is still creamy. It’s nice and well blended, although I doubt I’ll go out of my way to reach for it.
Also, I’ve put in a note to Dan over at Herbal Infusions for an ingredient list, however it’s been a few weeks now with zero answer. If anyone received this, or knows more than I, please do send me a note (or comment here so that I can friend you). Merci!
OBNOXIOUS CAPS RESPONSE: VENDORS… FOR ALL OF US THAT HAVE ALLERGIES IT IS A VERY IMPORTANT CUSTOMER SERVICE ISSUE THAT YOU NOT ONLY BE COMPLETELY TRANSPERENT IN YOUR INGREDIENTS LISTING, BUT ALSO THAT YOU REPLY IF YOU HAVE A CUSTOMER INQUIRE.
@ HERBAL INFUSIONS MissB is a friend of mine. we both have allergies and mine will affect a disease. if you will not reply to her inquiry then i will not buy from you at any point. the risk is too great, no matter your amazing tea bending skill set.
I had a similar issue with my first order; it took three weeks for it even to ship. After it shipped, I heard from Dan often and quickly – and again nothing now, after suggesting steeping times and requesting ingredient lists. I’m thinking they’re just really busy… or at least hoping that’s all it is.
I should note that the other teas (normal things you can order anytime) have ingredient lists. These were specially blended just for this one-time, Black Friday, 12 Teas of Christmas special. They sold out quickly.
i appreciate you speaking up MissB and if you want me to trash my comment i will, but it the absolute truth. if i do not have faith in your ingredients list, then i will not buy from you. that’s it, that’s all. tea is NOT WORTH THE FURTHER EROSION OF MY NERVOUS SYSTEM. i harbour no grudges if you pull my comment. i wrote it in application to myself only.
Oh gosh no. You’re saying it as I would have, had I actually drank something I was horribly allergic to. :)
wanted to make sure =0)
I think OMGSrsly asked them on facebook for more detail and they replied regarding specific ingredients. It might be easier if you just ask if any of the teas have “X” ingredient as that would be quicker for them to reply to rather than write up the entire list.
Not trying to downplay your guy’s concerns – you obviously don’t want to risk a reaction, and if vendors aren’t upfront about what’s in there, it could be dire.
Also, if these blends are supposed to be secret then I might be in trouble because I started to post mine.
You know, I never realized that the 12 days of Christmas were AFTER Christmas. :P I guess I wasn’t a good Christian growing up.
lol…. i always ate chocolate for lent.
i don’t do facebook (ahem as you well know cavo, lol). IMO if it needs a label to be sold in a country like, say…. canada…. then you do not get to crap out and say ‘hey, message me on facebook, i’ll get back to you faster.’ sometimes rules are ridiculous, and others they are sensible. In My Opinion food labeling is essential. i am allergic to turkey: as in an epipen will not work.
if as a vendor someone has any expectation that i should write them on facebook then they should factor in the depreciation of their stock when i do not buy from their company.
Lmao. Are the 12 days of Christmas Christian? I just always thought they were fun.
I have emailed them, and they did reply (eventually). I shared my specific allergies, and again, it’s been a few weeks with zero response. I guess I’ll try Facebook then. Good to know.
MissB – I just looked it up because I was curious: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Days_of_Christmas
And JustJames – I don’t think they requested an email on FB. They didn’t say anything at all – that was just my suggestion as a way to get an answer back quicker. I am impressed with Herbal Infusions blends, but as a company I believe they bit off more than they could handle with these 12 Days of Christmas sets. I think they just pulled them together really quickly and weren’t prepared for the demand etc. It took over 2 weeks for them to ship mine out and with no communication either.
I know Dan is involved in a few projects at the moment too, so while I"m not super happy about the way these blends were handled (and advertised as re: the list of ingredients), I’m willing to forgive them so long as they learn from their mistakes!
Do you think I should hold off on posting the rest of my reviews for these teas? I didn’t think they were a surprise because the list was on the site, but I wouldn’t want to spoil anything.
oh no, cavo, i didn’t take it as an a request on their part…. but if a consumer can get a faster response via facebook that sets a precedent.
i tend to be a forgiving sort…. stupidly so. to the point where i just don’t pick up the phone for telemarketers because i can always see the reasoning. i am always inclined to forgive. however, in some instances, and this is one, it is not in my best interests to do so.
socially: we all make mistakes, live and learn, no harm done, it’s all good!
commercially: ‘no, herbal infusions i will never buy from you, i don’t care if it’s hearsay, i have too much on the line for my beloved cup of relaxation to take another piece out of me. just ask david’s teas, i don’t buy from them either, and for back up ask teavana at mayfair…. they see me coming they haul out binders and phones.’
cavo…. you HAVE to review….. i want to read them! =0)
Ok – just wanted to make sure I wasn’t misrepresenting anything! :D
And i"ll keep reviewing, just because you’re requesting it. :P Haha.
;0)
cavo, you are always very clear in your communication. at least i think so!
If they’re a secret, it’s news to me. All I know is, some folks like to keep these sorts of things a surprise, so I just put the spoiler in there just in case.
I think the company is new and overwhelmed, although… my first order was way before Black Friday, and I received both orders within a week of one another. I have a lot of theories on this one, I just wish it were different, because I am enjoying their teas.
I asked about specific things – mint, gluten, licorice – and received into as to which teas included those ingredients, not an ingredient list. I only got 3 teas based on their feedback.
i have my own due diligence rules and expectations…. that does not meet them in the least. and as a consumer it is NOT my job to chase you for ingredience lists. it is your (their) job to chase me with pristine clarity saying ‘look james, our track record speaks for itself, ask us anything…. don’t you want to give us money?’ lol.
I definitely would have preferred an ingredient list. I’ll email to chase one down as well. And point out (again) that this information is extremely important.
if you were feeling politely snappish you could simply send them a link to this review and conversation…. but it’s just a thought =0) (insert innocent batting of eyes) LMAO.
:) I did email. If no response, I’ll think about it!
another of the 12 days from herbal infusions from Dexter I am not a fan of greens 90% of the time. Flavoured greens especially. But i DO like trying all the teas. Which means, i will drink green flavoured teas :) This isn’t a terrible cup but it’s not my favourite. If i was going for an almond blend, i’d prefer the depth that a black base brings. still happy to have tried it through! thanks dexter!
Put this in a big mug tonight. I’m trying to watch the Olympic opening ceremonies but I’m suddenly kind of tired. We can’t have that!
Reading MissB’s reviews made me a little nervous, because I don’t like not knowing what’s in my food/drinks. It’s more of a habit than an actual worry about this particular tea, because I doubt there are peanuts or significant amounts of wheat in here. It smells really good, though, so I guess it can be excused. It’s like marzipan but slightly fruitier.
Sadly I think I messed this one up, because I thought it was entirely a black tea. Turns out there’s green in here too. It’s bitter but at least it’s not completely undrinkable. The aftertaste is pure marzipan. Sadly this is a sipdown, so I won’t be able to experiment further with it, but even with me messing it up it’s not bad.
Thank you MissB for sending me this tea!
This is a confusing tea. The name says ‘almond green’ but it’s actually quite fruity and contains a mixture of green and black tea, with more black than green. The dry leaf contains a lot of pieces of orange rind, and smells strongly of citrus – no almond in sight. When steeping, the almond scent takes over and it does become intoxicatingly marzipan-like, and it remains present in the sip though not as strongly as it is in the scent. In flavour, the almond note comes through at the end with a touch of astringency, but the sip is dominated by fruity notes, of which I was able to pick out orange and cherry. The combination of cherry and almond gives the impression of a Bakewell tart, but I think Bird and Blend’s version of that is better than this, and I would choose it over this one without a second thought. It’s a good thing, I suppose, because this was limited edition, and B&B is a lot more accessible to me in the UK. I am enjoying this, but won’t miss it when it’s gone.
This tea smells a little bit like across between shortbread and scones with a touch of almond flour. The taste is subtle but pleasant. The base tea underneath is quite sweet, with a touch of astringency. The initial flavour note was kind of like a powdery shortbread cookie, followed a by a touch of almond extract and assert note that reminds me of licorice or perhaps stevia (I haven’t had it for a while). Mostly reminds me of shortbread with a touch of almond extract. Thanks to Dexter3657 for the chance to try this limited edition tea.
Yummy cold brew train you got going on there. :D
Haha I am determined to get through all the SBTs before I place an order for more but I am so tempted because I want to order the Pineapple Angel Food Cake (only 3 pouches left) so I have devised a way to try them all faster without actually having to drink 4 more pitchers.
Also this gives me time to enjoy the tea rather than rushing to get through most of the pitcher so I can try the next flavor.