Coconut Black

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 heaping tsp
Water: 12 ounces hot spigot water
Tool: kati loose tea system
Steep Time: a little over 3 minutes (using Steep.It) and then forgot about it! ack, ovesteep!
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: coconut milk
Steeped Tea Smell: coconut, black tea
Flavor: bitter, astringent, black tea
Body: Full
Aftertaste: coconut
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 was a morning roll of #3.

Post-Steep Additives: 1 packet white sugar, brings our the coconut

Steep 2: 2 tsp new leaves, 12 ounces hot spigot water, same process but more like 2-3 minutes instead of 3+, 1 packet white sugar, much smoother, not bitter, but still astringent, yummy coconut black.

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/06/georgia-tea-company-loose-leaf-black_21.html

I cold brewed a couple cups of this tea and am now trying it (now that it has finished).
It is quite tasty, with a subtle sweetness to offset an also-present subtle bitterness. Overall, quite refreshing and tasty when steeped in this manner.

Coconut in tea can be hit or miss. Sometimes it can taste too artificial and mess with the rest of the tea. This tea has a nice woodsy base that lingers long after the coconut. The coconut flavoring is ok but I feel like it’s just not as good as other coconut black teas i’ve had. This is from the Monthly TTB.

Monthly TTB Club.

This tea is nothing more than hot leaf juice. Well, also artificial coconut, which doesn’t help. I tried 52teas’ Coconut Creme Pie earlier and decided to compare these two. This definitely loses that contest. Less flavor, more artificial, and the base is just a touch bitter (although, to be fair I did oversteep it, so I’m surprised it’s not more bitter). And yes, that first sentence is from Avatar: the Last Airbender. We introduced it to CarLord recently, and he liked it enough that all cartoons are now called “A’atar”. So adorable. And Iroh is definitely one of my favorite characters. It’s nice to have a character that appreciates a fine cup of tea. After the watch through, I finally decided to look and see if I could dig up some good fanfiction. I’ve found a few that are true gems. Including one that’s a crazy-awesome crossover with Stargate SG-1, and one by an author who must be a major history buff and can really get inside the heads of people from cultures with fundamentally different values. That’s always a fascinating, if unsettling experience. It really forces you to think through your assumptions of the world and how our personal beliefs can be bolstered or skewed by the beliefs of people we come into contact with. It’s a fascinating read, although some of the deviations from canon do trouble me a bit. As well as some of the possible implications of canon events. End of long, rambly tangent.