I first had some of this drink when living in Miami almost 30 years ago, at a Salvadoran restaurant, without having tried linden tea of any sort before. I recalled enjoying it with pupusas, so another time I was there, shortly before joining RateTea, I saw a packet of teabags at Publix and brought it back, and (thought I had) finished it all off. Meanwhile, a couple of basswood trees (American lindens) I had planted in my yard, for the shade more than the tea, began flowering; I have made some pretty good tea from their dried blossoms on a few occasions.

Imagine my pleasant surprise, then, when I found a well-sealed little Ziploc-style bag in my pantry that still had a couple of Carmencita bags therein. They had been hidden at the bottom of a miscellaneous spice tin, in a dark place and still smelling fresh, despite the passage of a few years. The Carmencita tea still looked, smelled and tasted as I remembered: a nice, clear yellow/amber hue, rich, smooth, somewhat buttery, faintly reminiscent of a mix of chamomile, vanilla and mild anise, and creamier than the much younger, dried basswood flowers from the yard. The commercial, chopped, Spanish linden-flowers tea and the homegrown stuff taste just different enough to notice (Okie-grown basswood flowers yield a tea that's sharper and a little grassier), but it's a compliment to Carmencita that their years-old bags from European lindens held their own against relatively fresh, whole linden flowers (albeit from the variety native to North America). I probably won't buy linden tea anymore, since I can make as much at home as ever desired, but it was nice to rediscover this one for the sake of strolling memory lane, if nothing else.

Add your own review

Login or Sign Up to comment on this review.