Holy Basil Green Leaf (BH06)

This is my final variety of Upton’s Holy Basil choices for the night (am getting a bit holy basil’d out). Upton now has a new/fresh batch of this in, and is re-numbered (BH08).

Dry leaf is much bigger than previous ones (BH02 finely chopped dry leaves, BH03 more so than BH02). They also instruct using more (2-3 tsp … used closer to 3). Can sense a mint in there, but spice too.

First sip is mostly clove, like BH02. But this overall has a “fresher” feel, and is stronger (but hey, they said to use more). Pondering the taste, for the first time I’m remembering (Beemans?) Clove Gum, with that little bite that it can have (was favorite gum, when I used to chew gum, many moons ago). Stand alone, this tastes a wee bit better than BH02. But keep in mind, that I LOVE the clove flavor. If I had a lot of the other, and pondered ordering more of this, not sure I’d need it though. Will see how they blend another day/night.

Sipdown no. 84 of the year 2014. Holy basil, Batman!

Apparently, I never wrote an initial note on this, though I’m now sipping down the end of this sample packet. It was opened, so I know I tried it once. I also have a memory of having a mishap and spilling a bunch of it all over the counter. Perhaps I got distracted and never made it to the note.

Upton is a class act. I love how they personalize what they send with your name and the date on which it was packed. The date on this is 3/29/10, which is shortly after I joined Steepster. However, there wasn’t a ziplock on the sample packet and I neglected to treat this sample well. I may have been mad at it for spilling. ;-) And since I don’t have an original note, I have nothing to compare the taste of this aged sample with from when it was fresh.

On top of that, it seems I only have enough for 3/4 of a cup. Here goes.

It has a spicy savory scent that is reminiscent of cooking spices. I smelled it against some dry basil and it’s similar, but not anywhere close to identical in fragrance.

The steeped tisane has a slight anise-like scent along with the savory spice. It makes a light brownish orange liquid with particles suspended in it.

The flavor is also somewhat savory. I get a cooling note, which is the anise-like one. It has a vaguely medicinal taste, but not in a bad way. It’s the cooling aspect, which is sort of a menthol/eucalyptus sensation. Rather like one of those fancy cough drops though not as sweet.

Supposedly this can do all sorts of great things for you from lowering blood sugar to inhibiting cancer. If I knew that was true for a fact, I’d happily drink it every day as a sort of tonic.

But as a flavored beverage for pleasure, I’m not so sure. I have some Tulsi blends I’m more eager to try now, but plain it’s sort of plain.

I bought a bunch of samples from Upton, and this certainly seemed intriguing. I used about half the 6g sample packet in a mug of 100°C water, steeping for 8 minutes.

Given that this is just an unblended single herb, the aroma is incredibly complex. There are notes of mint, cinnamon, and other spices. Brewing the tea mellows it out somewhat, melding these different notes. It’s an okay evening brew, but it won’t be replacing peppermint tea in my cabinet anytime soon.

I’m going to try the other half of the sample with some sugar to see how that works out.