Sarsaparilla Summer Herbal ~ TranquiliTea

I have a slight cold and needed a warm Herbal tisane this afternoon. Fortunately this last week I accidentally uncovered TranquiliTea‘s “Sarsaparilla Summer Herbal”, lost for at least a year in a box at my parent’s place. It works out well since I haven’t been out to Plymouth in quite some time and TranquiliTea was overdue for a review. Herbal tisanes don’t die that easily so I thought I’d brew some up and hope for restorative root beer powers.

Frustratingly, as with most things from TranquiliTea, I have no idea what’s in it or where it comes from (though I have my suspicions that it’s from TeaSource). Interestingly, the best and worst thing about Sarsaparilla Summer Herbal is its scent: a field of heather and coriander supports a robust root beer that will make you sneeze painfully.

In texture, Sarsaparilla Summer Herbal is exactly what you’re expect–rough and tumble fennel and licorice with a smooth syrupy finish. Flavor-wise Sarsaparilla Summer Herbal is equal parts sweet root beer and bitter chai. Its liquor is an orange-tinged pale ale.

And, I was right: Sarsparilla Summer Herbal is identical to TeaSource’s Sweet Sarsparilla. Gotcha! Sweet Sarsparilla is made up of the following: cinnamon, licorice root, orange peel, papaya leaf, peppermint, raspberry leaf, wild cherry bark, chicory, cloves, sarsaparilla, fennel extract. I don’t know where the other components are from but, Sweet Sarsparilla is a plant native to Eastern Australia.

1. Aroma – 95
2. Taste – 94
3. Texture – 94
4. Spunk – 95
5. Rarity – 93
6. Availability – 91 (You can get a lb for less than $40)
7. Appearance – 94
8. Organic/Fair trade – 90

Mean score – 93

It’s probably one of my favorite Herbal tisanes (though that’s obviously not saying much).