Erika Haynes Send Message

bagged tea in my desk at work, kind of my ‘emergency’ backup tea stash. It is actually pretty good, with cream and sweetener. quite peppery, not as cinnamon-y as other chais I have had, but pretty tasty. I like it.

Definitely more chocolate than cinnamon or pepper in this one. It’s pretty mild compared to Blazing Desert. Very pleasant, works especially well for after supper ‘dessert’ tea.

I love this tea; it’s almost got a “harissa in a cup” thing going on. If I can indulge in synesthesia for a moment, it tastes the way a sunrise over the desert looks and feels, if that makes any sense—the cool velvety night air, the golden-red light washing over the buttes, and finally the first hot, dry, dusty breath of Day. Putting the dry tea into my teapot made me sneeze from the pepper. The flavor is very cinnamon-y and a little sweet, and then there’s a nice burn at the back of the throat at the end. The label says “almond rooibos”…so I guess the almond is adding some sweetness and smoothness as well. So good! I was feeling a bit congested, and this really helped. Honestly, this has got my brain turning a bit and I’m kind of tempted to try this as a brisket rub.

I just can’t bring myself to like Green Tea (yet)…it tastes like dried lawn clippings. I am forever reading how Green tea is so good for you, an excellent source of antioxidants, a fine remedy for allergies and an aid weight loss and general good health, but I just can’t stand it. The only green I’ve found tolerable was “Earl Green” and I can’t find it anymore. The ginger is not detectable in this, the lemongrass is slightly present, but not enough to offset the basic ‘green’ flavor. I really want to cultivate a taste for Green Tea, but I haven’t been able to. blecch. :(

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A good medicinal herb tea; there is definitely a sinus clearing aspect to this, the menthol and/or mint. Add lemon & a shot of whiskey, perhaps some honey and you’re set for the night.

(Gifted to me by my friend Jen D AKA “J-Law”) I’m a coffee drinker. I have generally found tea to be boring, and often the tannins in black tea and the ‘green-ness’ of green tea are unpleasant to my palate. Herbal teas have been a thing I use when I’m sick, liberally dosed with honey, lemon and whiskey— consumed for medicinal value of the herbs rather than for the flavor. This is the first tea I’d ever had that I actually enjoyed on its own merits. This is a really good blend, with a full, smooth & smokey flavor. Yep, this tea is a smoke-bomb! It is very strong, gives a boost as good as coffee, but does need cream and sugar to balance the smoke, just like they drink it in the Motherland. This stuff will wake you up with visions of being bundled up in a horse-drawn sled, being carried across the steppes, with a warming cup of this tea in your mittened hands, breathing the fireplace odor of Baba Yaga’s hut as it looms on the horizon. This is a tea for Adventures!

& Bacon Jerky (website would not allow me to add bacon jerky to ingredient list)
This is a light black tea, quite floral without being overwhelmingly flowery, has notes of maple, I do taste the bacon, and, surprisingly, BUTTER! No fake smoke or other unpleasantness that is often the accompaniment of ‘bacon flavored’ gimmicks.