Another from my introductory samples. I christened my new Bodum Tea For One set with this — it’s a double-walled glass cup with no handle and a nylon mesh filter.
The dry tea smelled more of ginger than orange, and so do the steeped leaves. Dry, the sample packet looked like it may have been crushed a bit in the mail even though both the outer paper envelope and inner plastic bags were intact. But, I’m pleased to report, none of the finer particles made it through the Bodun’s mesh.
The liquid is a lovely medium gold, a glowing orange when I hold it up to the light (yay clear glass cup!) And I really catch the scent of orange as well as ginger when I sniff it. Sweet! Literally.
I may have been too impatient to let the water cool enough. I brought it to a boil but let it sit for a minute before pouring — maybe should have waited two minutes. That’s why I put the water temperature at 185, below. There’s just an edge of bitterness in my first couple of sips.
But ooh, pretty. I was afraid the ginger might overwhelm the orange, but it hasn’t done so. It’s more of a background note. Mind you, I like ginger. But I didn’t want it to be the strongest flavor in this, and it isn’t. Again, as I found with Manistee Moonrise, the flavors added to the tea are very delicate and subtle. Yet there seem to be a lot of bits of orange peel and chopped, dried (NOT candied, bless Brenden) ginger in the mix.
Now I’m getting a very sweet orange taste in the back of my tongue. I almost don’t want to take another sip until it goes away. It isn’t cloying. Nothing in this tea is overdone.
As it cools a bit, the ginger is coming out a little more, replacing some of the thermal heat with gingery heat. But again, not overwhelming.
This stuff is fascinating, and I’m looking forward to trying more of my samples over the next few days.
