I got a bag of Honeybee in a swap I did with Carolyn because she suspected I’d like it [and she was right]. It brews into a beautiful, deep gold, honeyed hue, but the taste is extremely light.
For me, the majority of the taste for this resides at the back of the tongue, and a bit at the sides. At the front, I get some light floral notes that are much less obvious when the tea is hot, but at the back…mmm…
When the tea is VERY hot [like right when it becomes drinkable], it’s difficult for me to get much of a taste out of this tea at all, so on my second cup I let it cool down a bit more before I got started and I found it to be much more enjoyable that way. The honey taste is definitely evident for me in the aftertaste, and if I inhale through my nose while the tea is still in my mouth I can taste it near my throat.
Again, it’s a very light tea. While part of me likes that, I also find myself wanting just a liiiittle bit more from it. I need to work to get the flavor, and while that’s fine when I’m concentrating on the tea, I feel like this is going to be a tea that I can only enjoy when I’m concentrating on it. I’ll play around with a longer steep time to see if that makes it a little bit stronger, but in the meantime this is a good tea. Thanks, Carolyn!
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I had trouble getting any honey taste from it, despite the name. I wonder if Honeybee refers to a honey taste, or to the way the flavor reflects some of the nearby plants…
Okay, so the description says “When infused, the tea exudes the aroma of native Daphne bholua and Rhododendron plants, with a slight touch of honey and fruit.”
So maybe it’s both :)
It could very well be! I lean towards honey tasting because the depth of the sweetness had this darkness to that I associate with honey, but the flavor is so light and I’m sure that some of it’s my subconscious associating with the name of the tea. Carolyn sent me enough to give this a few goes, so I’m sure I’ll be trying it again soon!
I think I’m going to try this one again to see if I can pick out any honey. I got “floral sweetness” from it but not honey or sugar sweetness. I remember one of the Simple Leaf greens I tried tasted a lot like honey, but I can’t remember which one…maybe Maharani or Chloe?
Carolyn actually sent me samples of both of those [as well as your namesake tea :) ], so I’ll be able to test the honey comparison in the near future!
I had trouble getting any honey taste from it, despite the name. I wonder if Honeybee refers to a honey taste, or to the way the flavor reflects some of the nearby plants…
Okay, so the description says “When infused, the tea exudes the aroma of native Daphne bholua and Rhododendron plants, with a slight touch of honey and fruit.”
So maybe it’s both :)
It could very well be! I lean towards honey tasting because the depth of the sweetness had this darkness to that I associate with honey, but the flavor is so light and I’m sure that some of it’s my subconscious associating with the name of the tea. Carolyn sent me enough to give this a few goes, so I’m sure I’ll be trying it again soon!
I think I’m going to try this one again to see if I can pick out any honey. I got “floral sweetness” from it but not honey or sugar sweetness. I remember one of the Simple Leaf greens I tried tasted a lot like honey, but I can’t remember which one…maybe Maharani or Chloe?
Carolyn actually sent me samples of both of those [as well as your namesake tea :) ], so I’ll be able to test the honey comparison in the near future!