Vanilla Black

Tea #13 from the ’Here’s Hoping’ teabox.

I really like vanilla tea. There is something so calming and relaxing about it. As far as vanilla teas go this is a good one. I’m glad it found its way it into my cup.

There are actual chunks of vanilla bean blended in with the tea. How awesome is that? I actually did a double take when putting the tea into my basket because I had never seen that with a vanilla tea before. The tea brewed into a very dark color which made me regret my four minute steep. I wish I would have gone with three. The tea is somewhat astringent, but the vanilla taste is lovely. I wish more companies added vanilla to their tea the way this one does. Even with my over steeping this is very good.

I had my first steep of this one earlier in the afternoon and then took my parents out to dinner and then Toy Story 3 to celebrate Father’s Day a day early. Toy Story 3? Yeah, it’s brilliant. That said, I cannot recall much of the first steep beyond it being a very pleasant tea. I agree with Kristin that it’s more subtle on the vanilla side of things, but to me it tastes natural. With this second steep (added 2 minutes) the tea’s sweetness is coming forward while the vanilla’s has taken a step or two back. Still very pleasant. Just an overall very pleasant inoffensive cup of vanilla tea. NE

Thank you so much Dinosara for the trade! For some reason I can’t find the steep temps for any of the Georgia Tea Company teas. Not even on their site! Pouring this in the infuser, there are two big ole vanilla chunks! That is rare in a tea… usually it is just “flavoring”. The black tea base is a perfect pair with the vanilla. The silky smooth vanilla with a stronger brisker black tea… the black tea has a full flavor that reminds me why black teas are my favorite, and a bit of astringency to it. The vanilla really lingers. It’s kind of like the ESP Emporium Vanilla Black but I don’t think it has vanilla chunks THIS big.. however I just looked at the pictures and it does have bigger vanilla pieces. I’ll have to try that one again soon to compare. I think I’ve only sipped that one twice in the year that I’ve bought the tea! Yikes. That is why I don’t like having more than two ounces of one tea (except for maybe Earl Grey Creme!) I love this one though!

Steep Information:
Amount: ~2 tsp
Water: ~12 ounces hot spigot water
Tool: kati loose tea system
Steep Time: a little over 3 minutes (using Steep.It)
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: vanilla
Steeped Tea Smell: black tea, vanilla
Flavor: vanilla, black tea, slightly astringent, slightly bitter
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: warm smooth vanilla
Liquor: dark reddish-brown

I won these teas in a contest that was run by Dan on Steepster that was great fun, and got me tea prizes! Dan will be running the contest monthly, so keep an eye out!

I am playing a game with the samples, this morning I rolled #2

My, that is a huge chunk of vanilla bean there, I am impressed!

Post-Steep Additives: 1 stick honey, less bitter, less astringent

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/06/georgia-tea-company-loose-leaf-black_22.html

It’s a nice day here and I’m sitting on the front porch working and drinking tea. The cottonwoods are blowing, so its a challenge to keep the fluff out of the tea. If you have never seen cottonwoods (a cottonwood is a tree) in the spring, imagine that someone took cottonballs and shredded them and then threw them in the air. It looks like it’s lightly snowing, but it’s not. It’s 70 degrees.

On to the tea…
The leaves unbrewed in the bag have a peachy smell. I don’t know if that is just that some other sample leached some scent or not. The leaves had some large pieces of vanilla bean mixed in. Brewed, the tea smells earthy with a hint of vanilla. The taste is a nice black tea without bitterness with a touch of vanilla. I’d personally love more vanilla in this tea but I like my vanilla teas to have a big punch (just my personal preference).

2.5 tsp to a giant mug.