Lemon Drop Cooler

It’s been a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad week. Concerns about elderly mom’s health and dad’s ability to care for her. I’ve been trying to balance out a financial report at work, unsuccessfully, for nearly a week. Major revisions needed to a writing project. Surly teenager. My tummy hurts.

I’m thinking that, of the week’s woes, the only one I can currently do something about is the stomach thing. Can’t remember which of you good folks mentioned it in a recent note, but saw something about rooibos as a potential remedy. The lemony tang is lightening the intestinal blecch somewhat. Nice counterpart to the rooibos.

Finally made this cold and WOW it is spectacular. It felt like summer in a jug. The best part is my 3 year old daughter loves this too and I don’t have to worry about it being bad for her. Now the only problem is not having enough tea on hand.

Sipdown #4 for today!

I will be drinking ONLY Rooibos and Honeybush for the rest of today! :)

I really like this one and am upping the rating on this one as well…I’m totally digging honeybush today…more than usual…not sure why…

VERY Smooth yet a lovely lemon…a great comfort tisane! Ahhhhhh!

Once upon a time, I was searching for the perfect lemon blend. It has been a while, and I don’t really recall how the things I tried on that search tasted. I’ve read back over my notes and I see that some were disappointing and some were quite good.

Apparently, I didn’t get around to trying this one and I wish I had.

I can’t now remember where this would rate among the others I’ve tried so I sort of have to start over, but damn, it’s a GREAT lemon, even given its age. The sad part is that I checked the 52 Teas site and it’s, of course, long gone.

In the package, the lemon smell is divine. Rich, sweet, tart, no bitterness, and the honeybush is definitely in the background.

After steeping, it’s a milder smell, but retains the character it had before steeping. The flavor is a really nice lemon. Not bitter, like some I’ve tasted, not too tart. Just when I thought it might take a tart turn, the sweetness would come back. And I am not even aware of the honeybush.

I can only imagine what this was like in its prime. I wish I’d gotten to taste it then and stocked up!

YUM! This tastes so good!

I’m drinking it hot at the moment, but, I think that in a bit I’m going to brew up a pitcher full so that I can have it chilling in the fridge. This is going to be A-maz-ING iced!

The lemon is tart yet sweet. The honeybush is PERFECT for this blend because it doesn’t try to compete with the light, lemony flavor.

I like this a whole lot more than I thought I would. I bought it because I have really been impressed with Frank’s honeybush blends, so I wanted to give this one a try. I figured I’d like it, but I didn’t think I’d like it this much! It tastes like Lemon candy!

Another sample from KittyLovesTea, thanks! And, another sipdown! :D

I admittedly am often not a fan of citrusy teas. I adore citrus fruits, but generally dislike fake citrus flavouring, and peel. And I’m not super keen on lemon myrtle, or lemongrass (in tea). So, I’m pretty picky when it comes to this sort of thing, although ever-curious.

Unfortunately, I think this is a big miss in the citrus department for me. Something smells funky and off, to begin with, and then I taste what is coming off to me as, say, a lemon-flavoured cough drop (I loathe cough drops). And yes, I realize it’s called “lemon drop cooler”, but I’m getting medicinal flavours that I’m really not caring for, and that’s what’s bothering me (and honeybush doesn’t usually come off as medicinal for me).

I imagine in part, this sample is a touch old and that may be contributing to funky flavours, but I’m willing to bet that I wouldn’t enjoy this even if it was freshly blended (and allowed to sit for a few weeks). My rating would probably be in the 33 or so range, but I’ll give this tea the benefit of the doubt, chalk some of its problems up to age, and therefore refrain from rating. I do see that this tea is generally highly rated, so I’m curious as to what it originally tasted like, but I suspect I will never find that out! Sigh :P

Anyhow, thanks for the sample, KittyLovesTea! I still appreciate it even if I didn’t like it!

I’ve been drinking a lot of 52teas honeybush blends lately. They are fantastic. :)

I’m a really big fan of honeybush now. Sometimes I just want something soothing and easy to brew—I can just throw a couple teaspoons in my travel mug, pour the hot water in and just steep it forever basically and it’ll still taste great. Also, I love honeybush because something about it seems to calm me down.

Anyway, this Lemon Cooler flavor is summer-y and delicious—like sunshine in a cup. The lemon is slightly tangy, green and herbaceous-tasting. It’s not a creamy or dessert-y lemon at all, obviously.
It reminds me of a lemon drop (both the candy and the cocktail) without the sugariness. But there is no bitterness or sourness. Very refreshing!

(I would love a Lemon Chiffon flavored honeybush blend next! Something creamy, light and sweet.)

Another sample to clear from my cupboard. I forgot that my husband has poker tonight with his work friends so that leaves me home alone for the night. Decided to treat myself to a take away of a vegetarian fish burger, they have come a long way with the vegetarian and vegan fish alternatives in recent years. I remember 10 years ago trying a vegetarian fish cake was like licking a fishy ash try (seriously). Now they have it down to a fine art and while I prefer to stay away from things that look like meat I must admit I do miss fish and seafood. It’s been roughly 14 years now though since I stopped eating meat and 11 years since I stopped eating fish and seafood. I will allow myself this one naughty but not really treat.

Anyway tea…I do ramble on sometimes ..could be because I’ve been on my own all day minus the 45 minutes my husband came home to change and grab a coffee before leaving.

I love lemon and this promises to be a lemon-stravaganza of a blend. It’s still steeping but it smells so very lemony and medicinal, like lemsip flu drink.

Fully steeped and it still smells like lemsip but also with added lemon rind as it’s sort of waxy.

Flavour is well..lemony. Not as strong as expected but I can note in particular the lemon rind and lemon verbena in particular, they give it a sweet, waxy yet light and buttery sort of effect. After further sipping I can also pick out the lemongrass. The honeybush is very well hidden behind so many different layers of lemon, had I not known I would not have guessed.

It’s nice but I just can’t shake off the medicinal factor and it’s off putting. Perhaps this would be better suited as an iced tea? I will not get to find out as I only had one sample.

Rachel sent this to me…yup, today I’m digging into my samples to try to get them under control…I think it might be working…maybe?

Anyway, brewed up all of this to have hot, though apparently it’s quite popular iced. 1/2" of ice on top of the snow is plenty enough for me, so I’m having this hot! It’s not as sour as I would have expected. I can taste the lemon verbena and the lemongrass along with the honeybush, making for a gentle, sweet lemon tisane. I think this would make an amazing hot toddy…drop of honey, big splash of bourbon or sweet tea vodka. Sadly and surprisingly, I’ve neither in the house right now. I would love more of this, but since it’s no longer on the 52teas’ website, I’ll have to look for something similar.

Thank you LiberTEAs for sending this one to me!