Nik

Numi's "Moonlight Spice" White Orange Spice + Twinings' Honeybush Mandarin & Orange from Nikoteas

Nik drank Numi's "Moonlight Spice" White Orange Spice + Twinings' Honeybush Mandarin & Orange by Nikoteas

Thanks, people, for the tip¹ on adding our own blends to the “Custom” brand. It’s not a perfect method, but given the state of things, it’ll do.

So, I recently tried Numi’s White Orange Spice² and Twinings’ Honeybush Mandarin & Orange³. The Numi’s was rather lacking in the citrus department, so I decided to mix the two.

Can I just tell you guys how happy I am right now? This blend is so yummy! The Twinings perfectly fills the orangey void in Numi’s tea. From the fragrance to the sips to, well, even the aftertaste(!), the sum here is far, far, FAR better than its parts. I’m so glad I decided to try this little experiment; now I won’t have to bore you by repeatedly whining about the weak bagged teas I have to get through. :D

A quick note about water temperature: the Numi box (white tea, remember) says to boil the water, which doesn’t really make sense to me. The Twinings box says the same for the honeybush, which does make sense to me, so I split the difference and steeped for 10 minutes. It seems to have worked well.

¹ http://steepster.com/discuss/1290-expand-your-enjoyment-of-your-tea-collection-slash-cupboard-by-creating-your-own-blends

² http://steepster.com/bleepnik/posts/125438

³ http://steepster.com/bleepnik/posts/126039

2012-08-21 23:52:07 -0400

185 °F / 85 °C

8 min or more

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LiberTEAS 2012-08-23 22:32:58 -0400

There are some that think that white tea should be steeped with boiling water, and others that think white tea needs a low temperature. I personally prefer the low temperature, I find that the flavor comes through so nicely if it’s low temp and long steep time.

Nik 2012-08-23 22:39:38 -0400

I have tried boiling water in the past; now, I just press the “white” button on my Breville, which is I think 185 degrees. Like you, I prefer the low temperature; I agree that it brings out the flavour far better than boiling water. Thanks for chiming in. =)

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2012.10.07: I hear people like to understand other people’s ratings, so here’s a loose guide:

01-29: Dear God, why.
30-49: I’ll finish this cup, I guess, but no more.
50-59: Meh.
60-69: Decent. Maybe I can blend it with something else and make it better.
70-79: Heeey, this is quite good!
80-89: I love it, but I’m not in love with it.
90-100: Permanently resident in my Happy Place.

Update: I have steeped, and it was good. =] Still a tea-ophyte, though.

This is a tea site, so I feel like “well, I’m Indian” should be enough of an introduction. Because, I mean, it’s kind of in my genes, right? But the fact of the matter is that I’m an absolute tea-ophyte.

I’ve just discovered a world beyond Celestial Seasonings. I’ve just discovered “sachets” instead of “normal” tea bags and bought my first loose tea sampler. I don’t get the whole water temperature and steep time thing yet, nor that if I want to get a yixiang tea pot, I’d need one for each type of tea. I have this infuser ball thing, but I haven’t used it yet.

Don’t cringe, but right now I’m still just boiling water and pouring it over a teabag, adding some sugar, and drinking a nice, hot cuppa. I’d like to learn more, I think, and I’d like to train my palate. I figure participating in this community is the best way to do that.

So ya. Hi!