April Siesta

Tea of the Week for April 17. 2017!

I have a confession (although, for anyone who has read many of my reviews from back when I was a tea reviewer – this probably isn’t much of a confession) – I’m not particularly fond of chamomile. Oh, I’ll drink it (on a rare occasion) but it’s not a tea/tisane that I’ll grab enthusiastically. It’s not something I’ll brew every day – I certainly don’t like it that much.

That said, I don’t hate it either. I’m just kinda ‘meh’ about it. Not my favorite thing – you know?

I’ve crafted one blend with chamomile during my time as the Mad Tea Artist of 52Teas – At Play in the Fields of Love – which I blended as a VIT for a special customer. Now, I’m crafting my second chamomile blend – and I’m blending it with one of my very favorite flavors: Licorice! I absolutely love licorice and all herb-y things related to licorice, like licorice root, anise and fennel. But interestingly enough – this is my first time blending a licorice blend. (Although, I did use licorice root in the Butter Beer reblend.) I have refrained from using licorice as a primary flavor in my blends up until now because I realize that it is a somewhat polarizing flavor – most people either love it or hate it – and it seems like it’s a even balance between those that like it and those that don’t. It’s kind of hard to create a winning blend with a featured flavor that is so polarizing.

But I’m hoping that with this blend – I’ve done just that.

One day while cruising through the internet – I stumbled upon a recipe for a cocktail called “April Siesta.” The cocktail features Absinthe which is a licorice-y liqueur and Curacao which is a citrus-y liqueur. These two liqueurs are combined with Cava (Spanish sparkling wine) and simple syrup and topped off with a lemon twist.

So this is my take on this cocktail that I’ve never actually tasted but was inspired by. I started with organic honeybush, added some chamomile (because when I think ‘siesta’ – the first herb that comes to mind is chamomile), added licorice root, star anise and some citrus (orange and lemon) wedges. I didn’t want the citrus to be too intrusive because I really wanted the licorice-y flavors to be the star of the show but I didn’t want the licorice to be so sharp that those who aren’t particularly fond of licorice might appreciate this beverage too.

I love this! I can honestly say that this is my favorite blend with chamomile in it – mostly because I can’t really taste the chamomile. Instead, I get sweet licorice with light citrus background notes. Yummy!

organic ingredients: honeybush, chamomile, orange, lemon, licorice root, star anise and natural flavors