Tilleul

I got this as a sample from Harney & Sons. I think this Tilleul must be an acquired taste or something. I was looking for something to use as a nighttime bev in addition to my chamomile and verbena. This smells like a chlorinated swimming pool and tastes bitter to me. I am not one to sweeten any tea but I needed some sugar to help it along.

Recently I read this is a very popular cold remedy in Europe. I dunno… For sure not a favorite but I doubt this has anything to do with Harney. More likely it’s the nature of the beast.

Wow, after reading these reviews I was terrified to try this, but as I’m having trouble being the least bit tired tonight I decided to give it a go. It really reminds me of CS Original Sleepytime but without the slight mint. With a bit of sweetener it isn’t that bad and if it helps me get to sleep sooner rather than later I’ll probably throw this or the mint version in the cart next time I order from Harney.

This was my first experience with tilleul. I thought I would like it, but I was unimpressed. There just really wasn’t much flavor to it at all; it went beyond “delicate” to “boiled water with a very slight aftertaste if you hunt for it.” It was really disappointing, particularly because the other Harney and Sons teas I’ve been trying have been anywhere from solid to oh my gosh amazing. This is the first real miss.

It smells great, though. If it tasted like it smells, I probably would have loved it.

After reading the reviews I was prepared to toss the cup after the first couple sips, but it’s actually not bad at all. Full disclosure: freshly brewed, I think it smells like fresh cat urine. But if you can get past that… it’s alright.

Opened my sample packet and sniffed. Decided I would like to wear it dabbed behind my ears but perhaps not drink it quite yet. Resealed packet.

(Later) Tried cold-brewing and ended up with a pretty little wet silk bag of flowers and linden leaves in room-temp water. Decided to nuke it for 4 minutes, bag-in, in the microwave.

Result: pale, pretty blonde flowery liquid. As it continues to brew, the flowery scent yields to… something not as pleasant. Removed the bag.

Attempted to strain bag over cup since it was pretty soggy, using tried-and-true bag-in-spoon, string-wrapped-around technique. String separated from bag, causing bag to splash into mug and part of tea infusion to splash OUT of mug.

This stuff had better be damn good.

Now sipping it plain… Nope. No discernible flavor. Well, maybe a little. Probably a few drops of honey would bring it out a bit. But I think I’d rather have a plain jasmine-scented cup than this. I bought a sample bag and I won’t be buying more.

Sipdown

This was actually a sharedown. I ended up with a huge amount of Tilluel and decided to share this one with someone who loves using lots of natural remedies.

I still have a big bag of Theodor Tilluel Mint left for cold and flu season.

Guess who reached SIPDOWN 40 and made all 4 teas as sipdowns today?

Thank you derk for Czech national tree cuppa today. I repeat myself as last note… why people dislike this? For me, it’s perfect repose for evening. I think I can count with my fingers only number of linden teas I had. So, not biased at all.

Yummy, a bit nectar-honey-like, herbal (of course); a bit drying today maybe? Well, I wasn’t taking care about tea sachet in, it could be in for 5… maybe more minutes. But overall, I again repeat: “I DO LIKE it”!

PS: Maybe it needs other than microwave warmed up water? I do all the tea with stovetop kettle… I never understood the idea of heating up water in microwave. That water tastes different and WRONG.

This was a desperation purchase to tide me over until my order was ready for pickup at the local apothecary. Had there not been a 25% off sale going on the moment I was browsing Harney’s website, I would have passed as these linden sachets are expensive. High demand in these strange times, reduced harvest, supply chain interruptions?

The full sachet contains fine sifted leaf. If I were served this blind, I wouldn’t be able to tell. It’s all sweet nectar floral, a bit of soft wood, forest herbs. A delightfully elegant full-bodied elixir.

One thing I have to mention is Harney’s absurd amount of packaging. The envelope is 2 to 3 times the surface area of the sachet itself (I noticed the same thing with a recent purchase from Rishi Tea). Twenty sachets to an oversized paper box. A large cardboard box stuffed with craft paper to ship it.

Should you not give a damn about excessive packaging, I do recommend Tilleul. Though it does seem, based upon other reviews, that I have the minority opinion of this tisane.

If I could give this a negative rating, I would. It was on clearance when I was shopping on H&S’ website and figured it couldn’t be that bad for just $5. Wrong.

This tea is also known as Linden leaf tea. I suppose it is a bit of an acquired taste. Personally, I love it. It took me a little while to love it. It does the trick in helping me fall asleep at night. The leaves are big, fluffy and bulky. It’s an airy light tea, so it takes up a lot of space. It’s a bit messy to get out of the bag/tin/container. You have to use a fair amount of leaves. The leaves are fragile and break easy. What I like about this version of Linden is it is not to flowery. I’ve had very flowery versions that are just to much. This one has a nice flower to leaf ratio. The liquor is extremely light. That’s how it should be. Like a white tea. The smell is strong potent but light at the same time. Salty, astringent, woodsy, delicate. It tastes like it smells in my opinion. Sort of like a chamomile but with a certain herbaceous note.