Autumn Hearth

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Cranberry Singapore Sling Rooibos Tea from Teavana

Autumn Hearth drank Cranberry Singapore Sling Rooibos Tea by Teavana

So I swung by the mall on Wednesday when I was out and about to get a cup of this iced. I’m not much of a rooibos fan no matter how heavily flavored, but when I heard about the juniper berries I had to try it. I decided to let Michelle put in a teaspoon of sugar because one it’s going to be tart and two it’s supposed to be a cocktail. At first I’m unimpressed, tart, hibiscus, but then I close my eyes, breath in and picture the cocktail, yeah okay, I get it. I talk to Michelle about the different notes in it, I say gum, she says a candy from her childhood, I think old fashioned candy. I let her get back to work and muse about it on the way home. Cranberry, yes, orange yes, gin yes, some sort of spice? cinammon? maybe. licorice? not quite clove? perhaps. The word horehound keeps popping up, I’ve seen the old fashioned candies, but I don’t believe I’ve ever tasted them. Horehound is apparently in the mint family and bittersweet, again not sure if I’ve had it, but it reminds me of something. There is cherry, vanilla and carob pieces as well as cinnamon flavoring and “lemon crispies”… okay and I’m sure the roobios comes into play as well, though they don’t say if it is red or green and I didn’t get at the tea but the base seems dark. So anywho, interesting tea, want it to be fizzy iced, probably won’t try it hot. Now I want a gin tea.

2012-10-04 22:20:57 -0400

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momo 2012-10-04 23:09:14 -0400

It’s a red rooibos, I tried to steep some in cold water today as I drank it, and all the red rooibos bits came out of the infuser of course.

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Druid, artist, poet, mum, lover of tea, ritual and myth. I grew up on Celestial Seasons herbals but fell in love with straight loose leaf tea working at my local Teavana for a year. I am grateful for the introduction and the experience, but have moved on.

I see tea as an experience for the senses, I like to imagine tasting the land and the weather as well as the effect of sun, air, fire and the human hand. I have a soft spot for shu pu’er, yabao, scented oolongs, wuyi oolongs, taiwanese tea as well as smooth naturally sweet blacks, creamy greens and surprisingly complex whites.

I began ordering lots of samples from Upton to educate myself on different varieties of tea we didn’t have at work and have fallen head over heels for the unique offerings from Verdant Tea. I am learning things I like: buttery mouthfeel, surprising sweet or spice notes, woodiness, mineral notes, depth and complexity and things I don’t: astringency, dry and sour notes.

I collect tea tins and am in danger of collecting pots, though I am trying to restrain the urge due to current lack of space. I brew mostly in a glass infuser mug or a tea maker, only using cast-iron for company now (still need to get a gaiwan) and tend not to sweeten my teas unless they are British or fruity and iced, which is not often.

As far as ratings, I lack a definite system and haven’t been assigning numbers lately, wanting to spend multiple sessions with a tea first. I usually only log a tea once, unless it is a new harvest or I have significantly different observations, but will go back and edit or comment if I find something interesting or new.