LiberTEAS

I know it sounds like a fru fru tea you won’t like but golly gee you do!

sounds good

Tell me your brewing secret! I didn’t get much out of this the first time I made it, and I have a bit of a sample from Azzrian left as well as some more en route from my recent Butiki order, so I would like to figure out how best to prepare it :)

Well, I steeped it in my breville. Water was set to 170°F, and I steeped it for 2 minutes.

Does the Breville hold the water temp at 170F?

From what I have heard / read / etc I think it does for 30 minutes

Yes, that’s what makes it significantly different from brewing in a teapot or other methods – the temperature does not drop while the tea is brewing. So, one thing I learned over the course of the year that I’ve had my miraculous machine is that I need to lower the steep times slightly from what I would have when I would steep in a teapot, because the brewing temperature remains intact during the brewing process.

I didn’t think this was a fussy tea to brew and I’ve had it several times. I use a old fashioned tea cozy from April Cornell to keep my pots hot! $14 online and big!

Hmm, interesting. I always brew just in-cup, and I know a fair bit of heat is lost during the infusion. I could use my Timolino to hold a water temperature, or my new double-walled glass… thanks for giving me some ideas to play around with!

Krystaleyn-you probably know that if you use a single cup, pre warming it with hot water helps a good deal in keeping the tea warm, or you can get an electric mug warmer pretty cheap. In the case of teapots-pre warm the teapot, or there are teapot warmers that you place candles in (I wouldn’t recommend scented candles for this), and place the teapot over the warmer. :))

Krystaleyn-I haven’t found this tea to be particularly picky about temperature. I’ve had a chance to test this tea with a large amount of people at events. Of all the flavored teas that I do this one is the one that gets such a mixed reaction. I’ve heard a fair amount of either its not my thing or its ok but it also gets crazy fanatics that want to buy the rest of what’s in stock. It’s a very unusual reaction compared to my other teas. I’ve almost discontinued the tea a number of times but the tea does have some fans that purchase regularly. The only thing I would recommend is trying it with some crystal sugar. That really makes the flavors pop. If that doesn’t work, then you probably just don’t like the tea.

@ScottTeaMan – I am guilty of the sin of microwaving my water (so I don’t have to worry about preheating my cup). My options are really limited. I have an electric kettle at work but it’s a pain to ferry it back and forth… I am contemplating getting another though.

@Butiki – I was having trouble getting much flavour at all – what I did taste was nice, but it was WAY too weak. Perhaps I’ll try again now and use up what I currently have. Sugar is another option too – my preference is not to use it, but maybe it’s worth a shot!