Buttered Cranberry Orange Scone Honeybush

Thanks to Azzrian for the generous sample of this tea!

I’m getting a lot of rooibos from the smell of this tea. Not my favourite.

Hmm. I really can’t say that ‘Cranberry Orange Scone’ is coming to mind at all regarding the flavour of the tea. I can taste citrus, which is muted enough for me to enjoy it, but definitely not getting any cranberry. Perhaps there are some baked goods-y flavours as well. Ok, sipping and tasting more I can maaaaybe eke out a little bit of cranberry flavour. But I certainly wouldn’t have picked it out on my own. Ok, definitely getting buttery flavours in the aftertaste. I’m actually liking this more as I drink more of it, although that’s going to stop in about 10 seconds as I’m finished the cup. I have to say that in spite of the rooibos smell, the taste is not overpowering. Whew :)

I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting to like this tea. I just wanted to try it because Azzrian had it available. But it’s actually better than I was thinking it would be. By the end of the cup, I may not exactly be tasting Buttered Cranberry Orange Scone, but I am tasting enough of the individual elements to make it an interesting and enjoyable cup. I’m glad I have enough of this one for a few more cups, but it won’t be a keeper :)

ETA: Second infusion is…. woah, rather sweet! Wasn’t expecting that! Was this made with honeybush?? I can taste a hint of citrus, and some lovely other flavours. Huh. This surprised me. I have to say that it’s much more sconey now. Still no real cranberry though, but I could be convinced a bit more that it’s flavoured like a baked good. (Ugh, too bad, I totally just choked on a big sip and had to spit it out, so that’s all I’m going to get to talking about, haha.)

I got this in my grab bag way back in July. But, I have swapped and received so many samples in my swaps that I am getting so far behind!

As the name says, it is buttery, with sweet orange, and hints of cranberry. I like it with the honeybush base because it is nice and mellow. And it isn’t too tart.

It almost feels like I am having a baked good for a bedtime snack.

Thank you Scheherazade once again for this tea. I finished up the last of this by steeping it for at least 20 minutes while I cooked dinner and yet the flavors are still not there. There is a hint of orange but mostly it is just generic and non-distinctive. I am glad I tried it but I am not too sad to see it finished.

Still yummy. I wanted something a bit more decadent tonight though so I added Italian Sweet Cream non dairy creamer and OH YES this is it! Compliments this tea so very well!

Long story short, effective yesterday, I began referring to Honeybush as ‘wallaby’ at work. I’m not normally a wallaby fan, but something about this combination of flavors really, really made me want to take the plunge on my first order at 52teas. Plus, there was an offer of a free spoon. Mine is yellow, and awesome in its yellowness. They totally look like you’d buy them in a lot of 500 from Oriental Trading Company or something like that.

Interestingly enough, both the aroma from the bag, and the brewed tisane invoke the exact same flavor to me. It totally tastes like bubblegum. I was a little surprised when the taste first came over my tongue, and it took me a second to sort of… separate the wallaby from the other flavor. Then my mind sort of ‘clicked’ on bubblegum… bubblegum with a slightly buttery after flavor, followed by the lingering taste of the wallaby itself.

As the tea cools, the orange flavor seems to come out a little more for me… and it starts tasting like… well, orange bubblegum. I really have no answer for this one. I actually like the flavor, it is definitely interesting. Of all the wallaby I’ve drank, this would be the one that comes the closest to deserving a permanent spot in my cupboard (well above the vanilla wallaby that the womenfolk of the house are fond of). But something about the lingering taste that it leaves in my mouth (not this one in particular, the wallaby genre as a whole) just doesn’t appeal to me.

This was my first order from 52teas (though Azzrian beat them to the punch with my Mayan Chocolate Chai sample). I have to say, I’m impressed with the quality of both of the items I ordered, as well as the previous sample. I can’t say I’ll order this particular blend again, but I’m definitely liking what I get as a customer.

Now it tastes more like I expected! So buttery and fruity. It really does feel like I just bit into something covered in butter after I take a sip. This is the perfect tea for a honeybush base.

I can taste both the cranberry and orange, I only wish I had a real scone to go with this, except that I’m drinking it in hopes I go to bed early given my “duty” for tomorrow. On the plus side I realized a) I get paid and b) I got lucky because food trucks are downtown tomorrow. Now I just hope I can bring in my tumbler of tea and I’ll be set.

Yum Yum Yum! The buttery goodness is there, the nutty, honey-sweet taste of the honeybush works so well to provide a baked scone-like taste, and the orange is sweet, while the cranberry is tart. Delicious contrasts, sweet, tart, buttery, rich and decadent.

Loving this!

Another yummy tea. I’m pretty impressed with 52teas. Looking at the name, I expect a complex tea. I also have to wonder how you get those flavors in there. How do you get scone flavoring?! I wonder if he could do a chocolate scone tea. Any ways on to the tea.

I really enjoy honeybush, so I am glad to see it showing up in this flavor profile. I can taste the cranberry and orange. They compliment each other well. The butter is very smooth and creamy. The tea feels smooth and creamy but that may just be the buttery taste. I’m getting a different flavor instead of the baked good here. Let me just say I may be totally insane first. I taste bubble gum. So I have cranberry-orange-butter-honeybush-bubblegum tea. It tastes like I just started chewing on some bubblegum as I take a sip of tea.

Despite my taste bud mutiny, I really like this tea. I think I’ll let it set for a week and try it again. Perhaps I’ll have hanged the problem taste bud.

I like cranberry, orange, scones and butter, but for some reason I’ve been eying this sample from LiberTEAS with trepidation. Probably because of the honeybush, which I’m not sure if I like yet. I know I definitely do NOT like rooibos (it makes me nauseous, unfortunately), but honeybush is missing a lot of that medicinal quality. Still, I don’t have enough experience with it to say “I like this” or “I don’t like this.”

Well, I decided to be brave last night and give it a go! The first steep I did for 6 minutes, since it says 6-10 but I was nervous about leaving it in for so long. It smells like toast with marmalade, so this tea and I were off to a good start! The flavor, however, was a little lacking. Just a hint of orange, no “scone” or cranberry whatsoever. There was a lot of buttery goodness that had kind of a heavy mouthfeel, but in a pleasant way. The honeybush was innocuous, and this tasted like a generic orange herbal with some butter thrown in. The second steep I did for 10, and the flavors came out much stronger: the orange was bright, and the honeybush more prominent which lead to a kind of scone-y texture. Still no cranberry though—there were 2 dried ones, but apparently none of the flavor leeched out. The butter is definitely my favorite part of this tea, and while it was an enjoyable cup I am still on the fence about honeybush (though I am leaning towards “it’s okay, but not something I would reach for often”). I do, however, want to immediately pick up the Pancake Breakfast… seriously, the butter part of this was sooo good!

I think that 52 Teas make my favourite Honeybush blends of all time. Frank seems to have a gift when it comes to blending Honeybush. I’m hoping that this one will be no exception.

It smells like sweet orange with a sour undercurrent that I’m guessing could be the cranberry. I’ve never had a cranberry orange scone before so have no basis for comparison. They do sound yummy though!

A nice long 8 minute steep should bring out all the flavour. Such a long time to wait though :(

Once finally steeped the tea is red brown in colour with a sweet, orange and very edible. I can just imagine taking a huge bite out of a scone and trying my best to ignore the calories.

I can taste creamy and sweet orange with a hint or sour cranberries and a thick after taste of Honeybush. Not as strong as I would like in terms of the fruit but it’s a charming blend non the less. Rather mellow in strength considering it has such a strong scent.

It may not be one of my favourites per say but I still maintain that Frank has a magic touch with his Honeybush blends.