Holiday Honeybush Chai

Tea type
Honeybush Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Cardamom, Cinnamon, Citrus, Clove, Menthol, Pepper, Pine, Spices, Spicy, Sweet
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Caffeine Free
Certification
Organic, Vegan
Edit tea info Last updated by 52Teas
Average preparation
Boiling 8 min or more 7 g 14 oz / 414 ml

From Our Community

1 Image

0 Want it Want it

1 Own it Own it

2 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Holiday Tea-son! This was one of 52Tea’s seasonal flavors last year, so of course a tea hoarder like me is finally getting around to it this year. The good news is I actually have made really good...” Read full tasting note
    89
  • “No one has rated this yet??? I’m moving my furniture, books, dishes, etc to the storage unit on Saturday. That is April 14th. And the forecast is for a snow storm. On April 14th. A snow storm....” Read full tasting note
    80

From 52teas

Tea of the Week for December 18, 2017!

I wanted to do something very holiday-ish with Honeybush this time around and this tisane fits the bill to a TEA! I started with organic honeybush, added some chai spices – cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, black pepper & allspice – some cranberries and juniper berries, and just a hint of chestnut essence.

YUM! This definitely tastes like the holidays! It’s warm and spicy, with notes of tarty sweetness from the cranberries, just a whisper of pine from the juniper berries, and a kiss of nutty flavor that hints at chestnut. It will enliven the taste buds and put them into the holiday spirit – they might just start singing carols! (Probably not, but it might happen.)

organic ingredients: honeybush, masala spices (cinnamon, cloves, ginger, cardamom, black pepper, allspice & nutmeg), cranberries, juniper berries & natural flavors

About 52teas View company

At 52teas.com, you will find unique, hand-blended artisan loose leaf teas: a new limited edition creation every week of the year. We pride ourselves on offering truly unique, one-of-a-kind tea blends that you won’t find anywhere else.

2 Tasting Notes

89
1216 tasting notes

Holiday Tea-son! This was one of 52Tea’s seasonal flavors last year, so of course a tea hoarder like me is finally getting around to it this year. The good news is I actually have made really good progress sipping down the majority of the holiday teas I had stashed away in my cupboard this month! I’m getting down to the point where the rest of the month I’ll probably just be working on flavors that just sort of work, but aren’t specifically seasonal… mint teas, orange teas, etc. And maybe I’ll dip into a few of the new seasonals I got in my 12 Days of Tea box this year… if I don’t end up hoarding those until next holiday season, hahaha. (Bad habits die hard…)

Mmm, the spice aroma from this steeped red cup is lovely, particularly the cardamom. I’m actually getting a pine aroma coming off of the cup as well, and it smells very brisk and fresh… oh! It must be the juniper berry! Yes, that explains it. I live in the Pacific Northwest, and it’s a very homey, comforting aroma.

This is a very nice chai. The juniper is actually a very forward flavor note, and I’m loving it; it’s slightly citrusy but has a strong pine flavor, with a bit of a menthol-like coolness left on the tongue after the sip. I’m getting a very gentle lingering spiciness, with the main spice notes coming forward being cinnamon, clove, cardamom, and pepper, but the spices blend together very nicely. The base adds a nice balancing sweetness, but I’m not really getting any fruity notes to come forward despite having four huge cranberries in my teapot. I think any cranberry present is likely overwhelmed by the strong spice/pine; I love tangy cranberry so that is a bit of a shame, but I am definitely enjoying this pine-forward spice blend, which isn’t something I’ve had yet as I’ve been happily downing spice ciders this month. I’m seriously digging that juniper. I’m going to have to seek out more strong juniper berry teas now, discovering this is obviously a weakness for me!

Flavors: Cardamom, Cinnamon, Citrus, Clove, Menthol, Pepper, Pine, Spices, Spicy, Sweet

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more 7 g 16 OZ / 473 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

80
761 tasting notes

No one has rated this yet???

I’m moving my furniture, books, dishes, etc to the storage unit on Saturday. That is April 14th. And the forecast is for a snow storm. On April 14th. A snow storm. It’s snowing right now. And it is expected to snow and Wednesday and Friday too. Have you seen that meme of a cardinal bundled in a hat and coat, holding holding a cup of coffee as he clings to a snowy branch? He says. “Spring forward? How fricking far did you move it?” That’s how I feel. I don’t even like summer, but I’m wishing for it!

On to the tea. It is yummy. I’m tired from sorting through my stuff, sorting and packing. I wanted something soothing and caffeine free. I dithered between a few different honeybush blends, and settled on this one. Such lovely cardamom, such a nice, warm glow. Traditionally, chai should be black tea with milk, but the chai spice blend here works really well with the honeybush. I accidently let this one steep for 18 minutes and I was afraid it would be bitter. But it wasn’t. I’m glad I got a larger pack of this. I think I’m going to be drinking more of it soon.

Flavors: Cardamom, Sweet

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 8 min or more 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
gmathis

According to my mom’s (b. 1930) and grandpa’s (b. 1894-ish) Missourian weather lore, you can always expect every third winter to be harsher than the previous two. Best I can tell, that’s truer than it ain’t :)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.