Figgy Gingerbread Honeybush

I don’t seem to be the biggest fan of figs, ginger(bread), or honeybush, so unsurprisingly wasn’t a big fan of this tea. It did hit the warming spices nicely, for those who do enjoy this sort of flavour combo.

Got sick over the weekend and fell behind on my advents! Trying to catch up now. This is Day 2 of the 52teas advent calendar. I made it as an oat milk latte. The flavors are almost annoyingly well-balanced and on point. How dare you. I don’t even particularly like fig but the fig in this is so spot-on that I can’t deny it. And it works really well with the ginger and cinnamon. I could swear there’s a bit of clove in here but the ingredients don’t list it – maybe it’s one of the flavorings? I appreciate that this lands gingerbread, lands fig, and lands a good balance between the two to have a distinctive twist on a holiday classic.

 As an aside, the teas arrived packed in a Christmas-patterned box with a jingle bell attached. We couldn’t figure out what the sound was and were afraid that somehow there was broken glass inside the package! Thankfully there wasn’t, and now we know what that sound is!

52teas 12 Teas of Christmas 2023 – Day 2

Kiki says:

“It’s got a good color. sniffs It smells spicy head in mug, heavy breathing Is that clove? Is that clove in there?”

No clove. “Hm?” No clove in there.

scrolls phone “Cuisipro (she’s looking for engraved measuring spoons online). Huh, let’s see if it’s engraved. Yeah, I think so. They stamp the capacity right in the handle. I’m kinda dizzy from smelling the tea.” tired chuckles

Huh-uh, huh-uh. Too sour. It must have hibiscus or something. Huh-uh, huh-uh. I don’t think I like this one. Huh-uh. It tastes like garbage water, toilet water. It’s the butterscotch smell, isn’t it? It’s got butterscotch. Huh-uh. I don’t think I can dirnk it. Huh-uh. Wait a minute what is that smell. Huh-uh. Kinda like when you’re going to Staples and you’re smelling the ink and the paper. This has kinda gotta be my first not favorite one. Huh-uh. Not gonna happen . So is there butterscotch in there or something? Is there ginger. Huh-uh. Let me try it one more time. Huh-uh. Kinda like dirty socks — don’t ya think so? Kinda like trying to cover up dirty socks with deodorant. You know, BO with deodorant. Some kind of flowery thing. I don’t think I like it. It’s dry, real dry, like dirt with… dirt with perfume on it. Huh-uh, huh-uh, nope huh-uh. Not gonna happen. So what do you think? Is it tasty? What is it?

FIggy Gingerbread Honeybush. It has ?freeze-dried? figs in it. Maybe that’s the butterscotch like taste? I know you love fresh figs but maybe not in this form? (In retrospect it’s probably gingbread flavor.)

“It’s kinda like Christmas time, you know, like spicy. I like the color. But I don’t like that butterscotch thing. Is there vanilla in there or something? Nope, I’m not gonna drink that one again. I want to like it but it is a bit too butterscotchy or something. The warmth from the ginger is nice. But dusty, dry.”

That’s probably from the honeybush. It’s related to rooibos I think. It’s definitely sweet and fruity but with a honeybush kind of dusty dryness. Too sweet for me. Ohhhh, you might not like it because it has nutmeg in it (Kiki can’t stand nutmeg). It does leave a kinda sour aftertaste, huh, though not unpleasant.

“That what I meant. It’s kinda like clove (the nutmeg).”

For what it’s worth, I think it’s a spiced honeybush done well just up neither of our alleys. It’s not offensive to me at all, unlike for Kiki. I easily finished my cup from the pot.

52teas 12 Teas of Christmas 2023 – Day 2

52teas almost makes me believe I could enjoy rooibos and honeybush. I still can’t taste these to any fine detail but I loved what I could anyways! The gingerbread is more like the cookie than the fruity cake note I had in an earlier tea today (both are fruity though). I like both kinds of gingerbread.

Always nice to taste fig. It’s a good, dynamic fruit (along with dates, which often does the molasses impression), especially when blended in other things. Like cookie tisanes.

52Teas 12 Teas of Christmas 2023 – Day 2

I am absolutely certain that I’ve told the story at least once or twice about my affection for figs, so I shan’t bore you with that story again. At least, not now. Maybe at some point in the future. But not now.

I really like how this tea turned out. It’s sweet with a pleasant fig note & the gingerbread is sweet yet peppery with just the right amount of spice to make this a cozy cuppa. And no caffeine so maybe I’ll be able to get some sleep tonight!

12 Teas of Christmas: Day 2

This is nice—the perfect counterpart to my nighttime snack plate. It’s leaning a bit more gingerbread cookie than gingerbread proper; I get a bakery cookie vibe but not a heavily bready vibe… it could be a bit fuller-bodied. The figginess comes in as a mild honey-like sweetness, and the ginger is very mild and gentle, not sharp at all.

Very yum.

52Teas 12 Teas of Christmas 2023 – Day 2

What an interesting combination! Sort of like gingerbread meets figgy pudding.

However, I’m kind of missing the cookie part of the gingerbread? Mostly I just taste ginger, and it’s not overwhelming or anything, in fact it’s quite mellow, but I’m wishing for those sweet molasses-y notes. I do get just a touch of fig, but I would love more of it.

So to me, it’s sort of a subtly figgy, but mostly gingery-earthy honeybush. I am enjoying it as a relaxing evening blend, but not what I expected from the name. As I keep sipping it, I am getting a tongue-tingling sensation from the ginger as well.

Adventaggedon Day 14 – Tea 3/4

I might be wrong, but I’m pretty sure this is a new blend for the advent. I thought it seemed really fun when I opened it up this morning. There are so many plain gingerbread teas (many of which are underwhelming) so seeing a twist on the profile that wasn’t just a “chai” element made me really excited!

In general when it comes to gingerbread teas I have two main criticisms. The first is when companies just pop a bunch of straight, raw ginger in a blend and call that gingerbread. To me, in other to really nail the profile you need that sweet, dense brown molasses flavour in addition to ginger. This tea nails that. Is it super rich? No, but I think because the fig is a brighter and more fruity flavour there’s less necessity for those molasses notes to be so saturated and packed in. The fact it’s there is more than enough for me.

The second criticism? A lot of companies seem to overload their gingerbread teas with a bunch of fruit flavours, almost as if they’re going full blown “gingerbread house” with all the cloying, artificial gumdrops and other fruit candies. This tea kind of gets a pass on this point since the spin is a fruit flavour – but I appreciated that it was fig and basically just fig. No fruity candy. It’s very far from artificially fruity tasting as well.

Overall? Just a bit of an unexpected delight.

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C02ZiiMU5Dz/?igshid=YzZhTZiNWI3Nw==

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_ught3l2dA