Hobee's Cinnamon Orange Tea

I obtained this tea from a store in Salem, MA and not a likely place for the purchasing of teas. Especially when one is out perusing antique stores. Anyhow, I came across this tin and thought it very lovely and upon touching it and bringing it closer I could not help but smell the cinnamon and orange flavoring pouring out of the tin. I decided that this was left out for me to find. So I took it to the register and the cashier person made a point of removing the lid from the tin to view inside and she took a whiff as well.

This tea has been in my cupboard for a short time this year and today is the day for rendering my new mug with cups of this tea. As I have been enjoying it throughout my morning, mid-day and early this evening.

This tea yields a hearty amber-colored brew.
Tea has a complex aroma with the mixture of cinnamon, orange and clove as being more pronounced to the nose. It is a citrus bouquet of sort, although I am not sure if citrus is a good word choice.

1st steep of this tea for the recommended 5 minutes and strait away is the smell of cinnamon and orange flavor with the cloves intermingling in the cup. I have yet to discern the chamomile flowers.

2nd steep, I tried for 3 minutes and this infusion I find that I like it better than first steep since the cinnamon flavoring is not so over whelming. I like cinnamon as smidgen, a pinch; anyhow it is still the cinnamon at play with the orange flavoring. The coloring stays amber throughout the cup.

3rd steep is done for 2 minutes and the taste is much milder. Orange flavoring is more prevalent than the cinnamon; I can smell the cinnamon still as the cup steams away. I am happy to be noticing more of the orange flavoring and the clove.

I realize with the 1st steep the cinnamon was clouding and overpowering me, I could not discern the clove from the cinnamon but with this final steep I can sense the difference, the clove is a milder spice.
Tea’s lasting effect is that of clove, cinnamon and orange flavoring; a very sweet liquor needing nothing else. For those who do find that they prefer to have less spice (cinnamon and clove) adding milk would remedy the overall taste of this tea to their liking.

I do not take milk with my teas but I imagine the milk would help to pleasantly dilute the liquor like taste of this tea. Since I have a full tin of this tea, I am looking forward to examining it further.
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http://www.hobees.com
Hobee’s Famous Cinnamon Orange Tea
Favorite morning wake-up, naturally sweet

Another tea from the tea box. There’s something about the cinammon orange combination in here that tastes a little like ground turmeric. Once I get past that, this tea is decent. The cinnamon is pleasantly spicy. The orange doesn’t appear so much in flavor, but more as a distortion of the cinnamon. I can’t taste the black base at all. To me, this tea is okay. The addition of the orange makes this tea taste a bit strange to me. I would choose a cinnamon-only black tea if I wanted something like this.

Thanks for sending some of this over, Mastress Alita! I think I’ve had this type of cinnamon orange tea in many forms over the years. But it’s always a nice blend to run into especially when the cinnamon is very sweet, sugary and strong as it is here. I love these types of super cinnamon teas, especially in winter. The black tea looked fairly fine cut, but wasn’t too deep and strong in the cup, even when I brewed for many minutes. I didn’t find too much orange here but I love the cinnamon more anyway.

Throwback Thursday! Since I’ve been working on sipping down my Rooibos Market Spice in the evenings, I figured I’d revisit this tea this morning, which is a similar flavor profile. I also have tons of it — it was an 8 oz. bag, bigger than I ever purchase (though the smallest Hobee’s offers, apparently) and since it’s a CTC tea, they recommend a 1/2 teaspoon a cup. I don’t even brew by “teaspoons” anymore, so trying to make my tea this morning, I was quite confused how much of this powder-tea to use. Huh…

Apparently I underleafed it, because when I got to work, my thermos was way too weak. I really didn’t want to overdo it on leaf or steep, because let me tell you, last time I ate at a Hobee’s visiting Todd, they made this tea so damn strong I will NEVER order it there again. My poor little spice-wuss stomach couldn’t take it, I was having IBS like woah that day, and I had to promptly be shuttled to a Whole Foods to get some pineapple coconut water to calm my poor stomach. Making this tea myself, I’ve never had it so strong and spicy before! I have no idea how they brew this in their restaurants, but it is not to my tastes at all. But this morning, it was definitely not the right leaf/steep time/water ratio for a good cup.

Tried another cup on my lunch break and tried measuring my leaf using a bit more than I do with long, full loose leaf, about 3 grams not counting the heavy cinnamon/rosehip/orange peel bits, but still used the brief one minute steep. It still tasted a bit weaker than I’d prefer, but much more flavorful than this morning, so I’m closer — I think this CTC may just need a longer steep to extract a good flavor due to all the spices, so next time I’ll let it steep for two minutes and hope it doesn’t go bitter. At least the spice wasn’t too strong/overbearing like how Hobee’s makes it. This tea has that artificial candied cinnamon flavor I’m not overly crazy about, which puts out a bit of heat but if treated right it is warming with some nice sweetness and a touch of clove on the finish. Like the Market Spice Rooibos, the orange notes are tasting more subtle compared to the spice. I do really like the inclusion of the rosehip; it isn’t overwhelming but adds a slight fruity/floral note.

I still need to find the optimal brew conditions for this, but it is decent for an orange spice tea. I prefer the Rooibos Market Spice for the sweeter base, but prefer this one as an iced tea. Lowering my rating a bit just because my personal preferences have changed quite a bit over the last year concerning artificial spice flavorings.

I love a strong cinnamon tea and the tea served at Hobee’s Restaurant is fantastic. This packaged version of their tea is not quite as strongly cinnamon as what I’ve had at the restaurant, maybe they use a different tea/water ratio or maybe they steep it for much longer. However, the flavor is as close to Hobee’s as I’ve come across and I love this tea. Unfortunately, the Hobee’s Restaurant nearby me closed so I can’t go buy another bag. :(