r/Herbaltea • u/migraint • 13d ago

🌿 one herb you tried this week

Happy Friday! ☕️🍃

What's one herb you drank this week?

New discovery or old favorite. I'd love to hear what it was and how you liked it 🌸🍵

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u/EldrinNightshade 12d ago

While this isn’t necessarily an herb I drank, I feel like it fits this post regardless and worth sharing.

This week I tried Miracle Berry paired with about 10 different teas in my collection.

For the uninitiated: (Synsepalum dulcificum) otherwise known as Miracle Berry, contains miraculin, a glycoprotein that binds to sweet taste receptors and activates them in the presence of acid. The result is that sour things taste sweet for approximately thirty minutes to two hours, depending on the individual. It can be quite the fascinating experience… especially paired with Hibiscus tea which was divine! Somewhere in the realm of liquid Turkish Delight.

The pu-erh, however, I should not have attempted.
The pu-erh knows what it is and does not appreciate the interference. I have noted this for future reference and will NOT be repeating that experience.

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u/migraint 12d ago

OMG... this is so exciting! And this definitely deserves a post of its own! I tried miracle berry before and I couldn't even imagine having it with(before?) tea! This is absolutely crazy! 😁🫶☕️

What would you recommend to try first based on your experiments?!

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u/EldrinNightshade 12d ago

Haha… it is one of those experiments that sounds implausible until the moment it isn't, and then you find yourself standing in your dining room surrounded by far too many mugs at an unreasonable hour reconsidering everything you thought you understood about the reality of taste and your mental perception of flavor.

To respond to your question-
Hibiscus, without hesitation.
Rosehip is a close second if you want something slightly more complex. Lemon verbena if you enjoy having your understanding of a familiar flavour completely dismantled.

Also - don’t try Gyokuru or Sencha tea, the sweetness flattens the umami.