I was going to have a black tea this morning, but I noticed I had not opened this final tin of tea from Christmas.
The directions call for one tablespoon of leaf per eight ounces of water and a two to three minute steep. It always makes me a little sad when directions call for more than a teaspoon per six to eight ounces because that means I am going to run out of tea sooner!
This produced a pale liquor that was richly scented of garden peas with a bare hint of root vegetable – rutabaga, I would say, possibly turnip.
The taste was strong, and I considered it somewhat grassy and a bit sour, but good. I drank the whole pot so it couldn’t have been bad. It did create a slow rising sweet aftertaste that bubbles up way behind the sip.
For the second steep I used a lot more water. I kept the steep at two minutes. Ah! Now I found my tea happy place! Everyone likes different things, so other people may very love this at the suggested parameters. I prefer it this way. And this means my tin is going to last longer, bwahaha!
There is still plenty of flavor in this, and though I finished it about ten minutes ago I am still enjoying the sweet rising aftertaste. I think this would be excellent with food, as in a hearty meal or nice Asian dinner.
