A steaming hot cup of lemon honey tea is the best thing ever when you have a cold. It’s even more amazing with a slice of fresh ginger in it. But I always like to make mine with fresh ingredients, so naturally I’m a little sceptical of Tim Hortons Honey Lemon tea bag version.
In this tea review, I’ll give you my honest thoughts from my first experience drinking this tea. I’ve also spent some time experimenting with brewing this tea, so I’ve included my favourite method for brewing honey lemon tea below as well. Finally, there are a few links to find this tea online!
Tim Hortons Honey Lemon Tea at a Glance
- Blend: Herbs, lemongrass and lemon peel with honey flavouring
- Flavour: Sour lemon tea with honey and herb hints
I like how realistic this tea is. The lemon flavour is fresh and quite sour, while the honey and herbs fade into the background. This is awesome because it allows you to control the sweetness by adding honey yourself.
Full Review – Lemon and Honey Tea Bags
- Type: Tagged paper filter teabags
- Ingredients: Rosehips, lemongrass, lemon peel, goldenrod, roasted chicory root, natural flavours, citric acid, anise
- Health Benefits: Soothe a cold and sore throat
- Flavour Notes: Sour lemon, lemongrass
- Aroma: Lemon curd, nettles, herbs, lemon peel, honey
- Milk or Lemon: Ginger and/or honey
- Where to Buy: Amazon
I have a box of 20 individually wrapped teabags (the same box I’ve linked to on Amazon) and the wrappers are a foil plastic type material. It’s not great for the environment but it does really lock in the freshness of the tea ingredients. When you rip one open, the lemongrass aroma hits you first. It’s quite herby and lemony, with nice tartness and just a touch of sweetness. It reminds me of homemade lemon curd.
I also found a slight green herb note that’s reminiscent of nettle tea. Quite pleasant!
Once it’s brewed into a slightly murky golden orange tea colour, the aroma transforms, and you can really detect the honey element. The lemon is still more lemongrass than fresh lemon, however.
When you take that first sip, you’re met with sour and tart lemon flavours that are followed with a slight herb and sweet note that rolls over your tongue. I found it to be very refreshing and quite soothing. The texture of the tea is quite light, but it has a drying sensation on your tongue (just like real lemon juice).
I wouldn’t hesitate to brew a cup of this tea when I sense a cold coming on.
How to Brew Lemon Honey Tea
I brewed 1 teabag (that holds about 1.8g of herbs) in 250ml of boiling water for 3 minutes. The lemon is quite strong, so I don’t recommend exceeding 5 minutes.
You can add some extra honey if you need more sweetness, or you can add a slice of ginger along with the teabag. The ginger really adds another dimension and works beautifully with the lemongrass notes.
I drank this tea without anything to eat alongside – it’s better as an after-meal drink, to refresh your palate.
Why Pick Tim Hortons?
In the recent years, we’ve seen a bit more of Tim Hortons here in the UK, but they’re still primarily found in Canada and the US. If you do manage to get your hands on a box of this tea, I think you’ll be very pleased with what’s in it.
The flavouring is natural, and the majority of the other ingredients are natural too. In fact, Tim Hortons only relies on flavouring for honey, as you can’t really add gloopy honey to a teabag.
Honey Lemon Tea Health Benefits
You might think that lemon tea is great for getting vitamin C, which is good for boosting your immune system. Well, that’s not entirely true. Vitamin C is very unstable and will oxidise quickly, especially when it’s heated.
Furthermore, this tea has way more lemongrass in it than lemon peel. Lemongrass is rich in antioxidants and has numerous benefits for your body. Combined with a teaspoon of honey, Tim Hortons Honey Lemon tea will be really good for rehydrating when you’re sick and soothing a sore throat.
Summary
While I will still make my lemon honey tea with fresh ingredients at home, I do recommend this tea as well. The flavours are lovely and balanced, plus they’re most natural as well. If you don’t have the time or ingredients to make fresh tea, Tim Hortons Honey Lemon tea bags will do nicely instead. You may be able to find them on Amazon – I’ve provided a link for you to head straight there.
Tea Recommendation
A good cup of tea when you’re feeling under the weather is just so satisfying. There’s nothing better. And thankfully, you now have hundreds of teas to choose from. Head to my Tea Review Index to find a new tea to try from the many I’ve reviewed on the Immortal Wordsmith blog.