I’m losing weight (on purpose) and it was almost time for dinner, so I brewed a strong 4 oz of this tea, cooled it, and processed in blender with protein powder, flax oil, and frozen berries. Very satisfying!
211 Tasting Notes
My memory could use a boost, and the tea tastes just fine, as well.
Resteep. Not as strong as 1st pass, but good flavor and not bitter. Milk and sweetener.
Steeped 8 min, 205 F water, added half packet sweetener. There’s a little bitterness which may be caused by the stevia. I wonder, does milk work in mate tea? Not brave enuf to try it today.
Dry leaf is blackish and curly, with golden tips. 1 tsp tea, 12 oz water, 205 F, 4 min. Bright clear rosy amber liquor, mature, brisk, malty flavor. Inexpensive tea but quite good. After tasting, drank with milk and agave nectar. The leaves expanded a lot while steeping; they may stand a 2nd go.
Very nice jasmine aroma to the dry leaf, which is dark green leaves, somewhat broken, with a few visible jasmine petals. 1 tsp dry leaf, 10 oz water at 180 F, 2 min. Clear light green liquor, not too astringent, vegetal (but not sweet) flavor, clean finish. Inexpensive tea, okay but nothing to rave about. I think it has been stored a long time.
This leaf is so fluffy that 2.5 gm is a heaping Tbsp. Dry leaf aroma fresh, green, hint of spice. Yes, Virginia, this tea IS mostly buds! 12 oz water, 200 F, 2 min yields clear gold liquor with mild floral scents. Astringency almost imperceptable, good flavor but hard to describe. If I were blind tasting, I would waver from green to oolong to white. Most enjoyable, especially since the buds winked at me from the infuser, evoking a smile at 5 am.
Opening the envelope, taking out the bag, is like removing the lid of a box of chocolates. Hmmm…. haven’t tried this with milk before…. “More calcium!” I think, as I splash soymilk into my steaming cup. It turns out to be just as good, maybe even better, than without.
1 tsp tea, 8 oz boiling water, 8 min steep. Already liked this plain. Tonight trying it with milk in lieu of dessert. Added some agave nectar, too. Surprising, how much I like the milk, anise, and sweet bush combined! Yummy!
Excitement! A new oolong to taste. 3 gm tea, 2 min initial steep, 12 oz water 90 C. Dry leaf is dark green, tight half-snail, blue cornflower accents, nose green and spicy. Gave leaf a quick hot rinse before steep. After steep, leaf is not fully unfurled. Liquor greenish-yellow, pale and clear. Aroma like summer on the riverbank. Flavor starts lightly astringent, goes on to spicy, with palate-cleansing finish. Thumbs reserved ’til 2nd resteep.
This iced tea tastes better after it has been refrigerated overnight. It seems to mellow out. Then I have several glasses of fast, easy refreshment on hand. I brew and store in glass for best result.
This tea is becoming a standard for me. Milk and sweetener work well with the ginger, but it still makes its presence known through piquant flavor and lasting warmth.
Water just off the boil, 6 min, added sweetener. The orange and mint give the green maté a good flavor, as it seems almost flavorless to me by itself.
Very strange ….. This tea tastes better to me when I brew it like a black, and (I swear) it doesn’t get bitter. At a reduced time and temp, like a green tea, it develops less flavor.
The citrus and cinnamon make first impressions, while the fresh bush tastes linger. Not very sweet, so I added agave nectar.
4th steeping, I let it go 8 min this time. The astringency of the first 2 steeps has been replaced by a woodiness which is greener and sweeter than the 3rd steep. Without multiple infusions of this tea, I’d never have known how good it can be.
My first experience with yerba maté, the plain un-roasted green version. 5 min in 205 F water gave me a pale green tisane. I was pleasantly surprised at the mild taste (grassy) and the noticable energy lift. No jitters, at least not from this single cup. Each caffeine-bearing plant has its own distinct alkaloid profile.
Very hot water, 6 min brew for a cup of golden relaxation. The mint, lemon and citrus flavors mask the passiflora and hops better than chamomile would do on its own. For flavor, I almost prefer plain chamomile, but this is nice for a change and, perhaps, even more soothing.
Resteep, 5 min. Turned out okay. The new thing in this cup is raw agave nectar, which is lower on the glycemic index than most sweeteners. It’s almost as sweet as honey, drop for drop, but it doesn’t alter the flavor of the tea, except to sweeten it. The amber and dark versions of agave nectar may have more of their own flavor, I suppose.
Resteep of the lemon verbena leaves, this time for 4 min with a pinch of mint added. Good color and flavor. Delicious — and my tummy is grateful. Looks like there’s even life in these leaves for a 3rd steep!
Looking for soothing here. Boil water, heat the cup, cool water, fill it up. 2 min steep of the bagged form of this tea gives me a light green hazy liquor with thin body. It could have used a 3rd min to steep for stronger flavor. Good and smooth, though, and the ginger is definitely there.
1.5 tsp leaves in 10 oz very hot water, 4 min, milk and a dab of sugar. The blackcurrant flavor is enjoyably subtle. It doesn’t taste strictly like a black tea or a green tea, or like oolong either. It has its own profile, with more black tea in the aroma and more green in the finish. I don’t know whether to puzzle or marvel over this. ;-)
No kidding — To me, the nuances of coffee in this rooibos-based tisane are more pronounced with milk and sugar than without. Very interesting. And besides, it tastes wonderful, helps with allergy problems, and won’t keep me up.
Trying a 2nd steep on these leaves, 3 min again. Very smooth and quite flavorful. I’m thinking white tea is underappreciated. It (or this one, at least) doesn’t tend to get bitter if not handled just so, yet it has a little piquancy — you just have to listen for it. =)
