Name: Cinnamon Apple Chamomile Herbal

Brand: Stash

Type: Herbal tisane, flavored

Form: Paper tea bag

Review: One of the nifty things about drinking tisanes and flavored teas is finding one that is so well-blended that it satisfies your cravings for high-calorie treats. Stash’s Cinnamon Apple Chamomile Herbal is one of those tisanes.

Chamomile is a naturally buttery herb that, when used correctly, can give a tisane a remarkably unctuous quality. In the case of Cinnamon Apple Chamomile, Stash blends chamomile with a small amount of hibiscus, cinnamon, and apple flavoring to create a tisane that reminds me of apple cinnamon muffins (or apple pie, take your pick).

The chamomile provides a hot, buttery base for the fruit and cinnamon flavors. The flavor isn’t overpowering, mind you, but the components are well-chosen. As I have observed about other Stash products, their tea-blenders make good use of hibiscus, a rarity in the tea world. They don’t overpower their teas with the stuff, but do use it to add sweetness and depth to their fruit blends. The result is an apple-y, buttery, spicy delight that will undoubtedly be a fixture in my home this winter.

Food Pairings: This is a lovely evening sipper that does a great job of curbing sweet cravings on its own. But if you really need to nibble on something, try something very plain like shortbread or pound cake. You could also try sweets made with complimentary spices, such as carrot cake, spice cake or gingerbread.

Preparation Tips: Use boiling water to prepare this tisane, as the hibiscus, cinnamon and chamomile need the high temperature to give up a lot of their flavor. I wouldn’t bother putting this on ice: I don’t think it would be bad, but the pleasure of drinking this tisane is in how it reminds you of things that are always better hot (like pie and muffins).

Caution: Chamomile is related to the ragweed family: If you suffer from hay fever, pay attention to how this, and other chamomile blends affect you.

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