Herbal teas can be difficult to appreciate. Chinese herbal teas, or liang cha, are consumed, they say, ‘to cool down the body when it has become ‘overheated’ due to weather or sickness’. No one drinks liang cha to enjoy its medicinal and bitter taste. While Western herbal teas generally not as unpleasant, they are almost always acquired tastes, like ginger, lemongrass, anise, cinnamon, liquorice root or tulsi.

Herbs I can appreciate, though, are in Lupicia Elderflower & Chamomile Infusion, one of the very few herbal teas offered in their leaf-tea focused selection.

It’s a blend of elderflower, German chamomile, peppermint, rosehip and heath flower.

Infusing 3 g for 5 minutes in 200 mL of just boiled water yields a golden liquor with a sweet floral aroma. This aroma came through the first sip as naturally sweet and bright floral elderflower notes – much like a lightly floral honey – before more earthy chamomile emerged in the body. An immensely pleasant cooling sensation came through in the tail from the addition of peppermint and lingered with the floral notes into the aftertaste. The result is a surprising yet immensely enjoyable refreshing flavour that’s absent in elderflower or chamomile infusions alone.

This Lupicia Elderflower & Chamomile Infusion contained 25 g. The tea was sourced from Japan, packaged in Japan, and purchased in Kanazawa, Japan in 2015.