66

My tea arrived! Of the 5 I ordered, I’ve decided to go for this one first, despite being at work and having no control over water temperature. It’s definitely not even close to boiling, so I figure I’m okay enough on temp. Dry, the tea smells really yummy – strong spice smell, definitely putting me in the mind of chai, but a hint of apple that makes me think of cider. A good start! My only qualm so far is how small the package is. I’m Canadian and oz isn’t a unit of measure I ever use so I kind of imagined it being more…I don’t know that I’ll get 20 to 25 cups of tea out of this as the package claims, but that’s irrelevant.

As it steeps, I realize that a T-Sac just isn’t going to provide enough room for the tea to expand. Again, for work and experimentation it is good enough, but the volume has already doubled and I wish I could see these leaves unfurl properly.

Finally, it’s time to sip! I keep smelling this, because there is some definite familiar smell, I think it reminds me of something my grandmother makes. Apple crumble, maybe? With vanilla ice cream on top…More spice smell than apple or vanilla, but the memories it conjure all seem to include apples and vanilla. Finally having tasted a sip, I think it evokes a nice hot cinnamony apple pie with vanilla ice cream melting on top. So good! I’ve been longing for a taste like this for too long. It’s really not hitting me in the face the way I expected it to by the smell, but it’s calming me, and a lovely absent-minded sort of deliciousness. I feel the need to have this on a regular basis. Absolutely. A wonderful start to my 52Teas experience, thank you Frank! I’m saving the T-Sac to give it another steep later on, we’ll see how well it holds up to that. The mildness of the flavour suggests it might not work, but I’ve been surprised before!

ps – Why did I only order 1 pouch when 2 would have been so cheap? Gah!

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 45 sec
Kristen

52Teas is great! I found them through steepster and really enjoy Frank’s blends!

Uniquity

Well, 1 out of 2 is delicious so far…and the flop is the one I was iffy about. Impulse buys can be dangerous.. : )

The number of great tea shops I’ve found through Steepster in just 2 or 3 weeks has been fantastic!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

People who liked this

Comments

Kristen

52Teas is great! I found them through steepster and really enjoy Frank’s blends!

Uniquity

Well, 1 out of 2 is delicious so far…and the flop is the one I was iffy about. Impulse buys can be dangerous.. : )

The number of great tea shops I’ve found through Steepster in just 2 or 3 weeks has been fantastic!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

I’ve been drinking loose tea since 2010 and my tastes have changed a lot over those years. For the last few, I’ve been a fan of unflavoured Chinese blacks and shu puerh. I still drink other things, but that’s where I am.

I live in a rural area with my husband, cat, and soon to be firstborn. I love tea, reading, doctor who, knitting, crosswords, board games, the marvel universe, and lots of other things.

I’m not often rating teas numerically any more but I want to leave this to explain my past ratings:
I try to only log teas once or twice because I drink a lot of the same ones repeatedly. My rating is based on my perception of the tea at first tasting and is adjusted if anything notable occurs in subsequent cups. I may also factor in the price and customer service but try to note that when I can.

81 – 100: These are great teas, I love them, regularly stock them or savour them as unique treats.
71 – 80: These are solid. I drink them, I like them, I may or may not keep them on hand regularly. This is still good stuff.
61 – 70: Just okay. I can drink it, but it doesn’t stand out to me. Might be lower quality, not to my taste, or outside my comfort zone.
41 – 60: Not likely to keep drinking…hoping hubby will enjoy!
0 – 40: No thank you, please. Take it away and don’t make me finish the cup.

Location

Canada

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer