BlueKittyMeow

BlueKittyMeow drank Cherry Garcia by 52teas

The leaves were really interesting – big cherry pieces and tiny black tea leaves.
Oddly enough this tea is remind me of electronic cigarettes… I’m not a smoker but I have tried the nicotine free flavored vapor things before – the cherry flavor. And that is what this smells like. Kind of creamy cherry with a smokey element.
Really not digging the flavor. Maybe I overbrewed it but I’m not getting a ton of cherry and I am getting serious astringency.
I’m going to throw this in my tumbler, add milk and sugar and shake it into a tea latte-thingy.
Okay, well, with way too much milk and sugar, shaken into a latte, this is great! I probably won’t brew this up again but it’s good to know I can rescue teas I don’t like

2012-09-26 14:45:23 -0400

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Kittenna 2012-09-26 15:06:39 -0400

IIRC, this one’s CTC (cut tear curl), so use less tea for it, and a shorter infusion. I didn’t get a ton of cherry either though, sadly.

Alphakitty 2012-09-26 15:42:25 -0400

I still can’t find a way to make this one totally perfect. :( The base is really strong!

Kittenna 2012-09-26 15:46:31 -0400

Yeah, the problem IMO is that the cherries need a while to impart their flavour, while the base absolutely requires a short infusion to prevent astringency. Might be worth picking out the cherries, tearing them apart a bit, and infusing them separately and for longer… I haven’t gone back to this tea since the first time I tried it, I don’t think, but I think that’s what I may try….

BlueKittyMeow 2012-09-26 18:11:42 -0400

@kittenna hmmm that’s an interesting suggestion. I don’t know how patient I am though! By less leaf would you say like… 1/2 tsp? And less than 3 minutes for the infusion?

Kittenna 2012-09-26 21:18:57 -0400

I tend to use about 1.5 tsp of leaf for most 52teas, so for this one I’d use a max of 1 tsp per 8 oz, but probably more like 3/4. I hate astringency. And yeah, maybe try 2?

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I’m a writer and as such, am obviously an emotional rollercoaster. I used to drink tea a lot more, but kind of stopped and switched to coffee. Now, after too much stress, I’m completely unable to drink coffee anymore, so I figured tea would fulfill some of my “awake” needs as well as calm my emotions. I’m working my way through a huge selection of samples of pretty much everything, leaving notes so I remember what I like.
I love being adventurous and trying new things, even (especially?) things that sound strange or off-putting. Aside from tea I also enjoy tasting wines. The last really interesting one I tried was a dandelion wine! (And yes, it actually was delicious. Extremely bizarre and herby, but delicious).

I don’t have a set of numerical ratings set down yet, mainly because I’m very intuitive (read: disorganized and opinionated) about how I rate things. Basically, If something is in the 70-85 range, it’s pretty good, totally drinkable. Below that, in the 50-69 range, it was probably incredibly boring. I really hate boring tea. Below 50, I wouldn’t drink it again and might not have finished it (I actually really hate leaving ratings below 50, it makes me feel bad. I’m probably too nice). If it’s above 85 then I really liked it. Super high ratings are reserved for teas that totally blew me away.