Nuttier Than a Fruitcake

So this is my custom blend, ordered when Ovation Teas offered the free custom blend about a month ago. I waited to try it because I wanted to allow the flavors to mingle a bit.

This is yummy. The nutmeg is the strongest flavor, but it doesn’t overpower the other tastes in this cup. The apricot and vanilla are sweet, creamy and luscious. There is a hint of sharpness from the sunflower petals. The almonds and pecans are sweet, nutty and add a nice earthy quality to the overall cup.

Loving this!

So thankfully my office mate a) has T-sacs in our office and b) was willing to lend me a couple, because I took my tea balls home for the weekend (hence the marathon tea sessions), and neglected to bring them back this morning! The horror! I do have bagged tea in my drawer, but I brought this tea and another along special cuz I wanted to try them as a treat.

Anyways, thank you LiberTEAS for this sample! Fruitcake is not my most favourite thing in the world, but in a tea… who knows! The dry tea doesn’t remind me of fruitcake; mostly I smell nutmeg. The tea is filled with big nut chunks, full pretty sunflower petals, and big, whole white tea leaves – looks delicious!

Fruitcake is definitely not the first association I’m making when I take a whiff of the aroma from the freshly brewed cup. However, the aroma is incredibly familiar. It reminds me of holidays (likely nutmeg), but most of all makes me think of a tropical greenhouse! You know, where it’s all humid and hot and filled with wonderful plants and blooming flowers? That is what I’m smelling. Since I’m a plant agriculture student, and I’m at work, there’s actually a tropical greenhouse downstairs that this reminds me of. Were I not so lazy, I’d head down there now just to confirm my thoughts.

Anyways, I love tropical greenhouses (I love plants…), so this is really kind of neat, not unpleasant at all! (Oh, a note – I dumbly let my water cool down too much so I know I steeped this one at too low of a temperature. I have lots left so will correct that in the future, but wanted tea now so just put the bag in anyhow)

Sipping the tea, I can taste nutmeg… and greenhouse. Oh – late in the sip I am definitely getting apricot! I think there’s some initial nuttiness too.

Oh man, I’m kind of loving that apricot. Why can’t you be more prominent?! Perhaps had I paid more attention, it would have come out more. I can’t say I’m really tasting any white tea either, but we’ll blame an absurdly low steeping temperature (yeah, that’s right, just under 70C) for that.

I’m finding this one very different and intriguing. Tentatively rating it now, but I expect an increase upon trying again with proper conditions. I may try a hotter re-steep shortly… I am drinking this one quite quickly! A sign of enjoyment :)

ETA: I lied, getting a hint of white tea aftertaste. Looking forward to cup #2!

ETA again: Well, the re-steep, which was at 163F (yeah whoops again), and for aaaages, was pretty meh. The tasty apricot flavour was gone, and it just tasted like greenhouse. That’s ok though – I wouldn’t have expected much after such a long initial steep anyhow. (I still drank it though! It wasn’t bad, just not terribly flavourful.)

Thanks LiberTEAS for this sample!

This tea just jumped out at me tonight and after watching my boyfriend play Madden 13 online for the past few hours, it’s a very welcome distraction. Well good thing I love football anyway, but Madden doesn’t make much sense to me. It’s so complicated…I just like to watch him yell at the tv like a little kid. Boyfriends – strange creatures they are. Anyhow, it gives me some time to browse steepster and other things while he plays so I can’t complain too much.

Mmm this is a lovely cup indeed. I’m getting a very clean crisp taste (I attribute that to the white tea) and I’m really enjoying the nutmeg here. It gives this cup a whole different angle that I didn’t expect. I’m not really getting much fruit, though there is a lingering sweetness. The vanilla adds a little creamy fullness which I appreciate. A slice of warm bananna bread would really compliment this tea.

I do like it, but I just can’t find the fruit. It must be hiding in there somewhere. I did realize today that I’m getting a sore throat and there’s a cold going around work, so maybe my senses are preparing for war or something. Here’s to shutting off my alarm and hoping my body recharges enough overnight to fight this bug off!