Cherry Cola Honeybush

I think it’s finally time to treat myself to a newer tea… I’m pretty sure this one was only from last year’s advent! (Yes, a mere year ago is “new” in my cupboard, hahaha!)

I thought about cold brewing this, but ultimately decided on a hot cuppa for a cold evening! It really does have a Cherry Coke aroma as I sit here sticking my nose into my cup, inhaling the steam. Mmm…

Traditionally I really like soda/pop/cola teas, though I don’t think I’ve tried one yet on a rooibos or honeybush base. I admit I worried that cherry with honeybush would come out really medicinal/cough syrupy, but thankfully it hasn’t at all! The cola flavor is actually most dominant… a bit citrusy, a bit spicy. I am getting the quintessential “honeybush pepper taste” but it is less off-putting to me here than I usually find it, as it leans into the mellow cola spice flavor fairly well. I taste the cherry, but it is coming out a bit more subtle to the cola, which I think works well since it doesn’t come off medicinal. And I really taste it in the aftertaste on my tongue. That natural sweet/honey taste of the honeybush really pushes a sweet/candied cherry note.

Welp, this won’t last long!

This is better cool. Then the fizzy flavor really pops. I probably haven’t had soda since I was a kid, but this is quite similar to how I remember it, except here it has a bit of a nutty honeybush base. I prefer the other soda tea I’ve had from 52teas, crisp cranberry soda green rooibos because I think green rooibos is a more supportive base for this flavor profile. But I still really enjoyed this and appreciated how accurate the flavor was. I definitely got both the cherry and cola flavors. Soda flavored teas are a new favorite of mine.

52 Teas 12 Teas of Christmas – Day 3

This smelled awesome. I used to love Wild Cherry Pepsi (the only Pepsi soda I ever preferred to Coca Cola sodas) when I was younger, and this definitely made me think of that. I think I recently (relatively so) tried that again though and actually did not like it anymore. When I took my first sip of this, I did not really like it either. Or so I thought. But I managed to guzzle it down while playing a game with my family. So, I definitely enjoyed it well enough but do not really remember it much. I am very happy I have more to try though.

Sipdown (1300)!

Finished off this advent sample in the afternoon – I’m glad I’m getting through advent samples so that they’re not hanging out in my stash as long as I’ve let them in the past, but this was a tea I didn’t love saying goodbye to. The intense and sweet cola and cherry notes so perfectly convey the taste of a Cherry Coke, and combined with the pepperiness of the honeybush tea base used I even felt like I was getting this sort of faux effervescence that made the steeped cup all the more magical.

I will miss this tea – it was a lovely experience!