Do you know what the temperature outside is? Why, it would be 63 degrees. Practically fall weather. I’m not kidding myself, I know it’s because we just had a ton of rain from the tropical storm, and I’ll be seeing mid 80s days again sooner rather than later – but I am ecstatic nonetheless, because I got to fire up my Breville today! (It’s been so long since I’ve done anything but cold brews!)
Since it’s now 2:00 PM and my brain and body are tired from all this studying I decided to go with a black tea to help wake me back up. The leaves smelled so earthy and rich when dry, and now the steeped tea does as well. Between this mug of warm tea and the occasional wind moving through the trees right outside (again, tropical storm, not fall) I can almost pretend seasons are changing. For today.
The tea itself is a touch thinner than I’d like, though I can remedy this by using more leaf next time. I used 1 tsp. per 8 oz. this time around, so an extra .5 tsp. per cup will probably thicken the tea nicely. As for the taste – I love it. It’s a good fall tea, actually – still a bright summery tinge to it, but it’s also got some maltiness, which hints at winter, too. It’s not as heavy as an Assam, but I didn’t want that right now anyway – Assams are much more of a winter tea. I actually think this would be a great tea to make my sweet tea out of, and since I drink tea cold year round I will probably make it and report back on that soon.
I think 3 minutes was a good brewing time, as it is starting to become somewhat astringent as it cools, but it isn’t detrimental to the taste. Any more steeping and it might have been. I am so excited for fall this year- it will be my first as a full fledged loose leaf addict so I’m sure this will be the first of many new teas I try!
