223 Tasting Notes
This was extra tasty today, probably because I have been craving this for a while now and have refrained from drinking it as I don’t have much left. Starchy banana and green rooibos, yum! I can’t really taste the coconut, but I think it is imparting a lightness and tropical-ness that I would miss if the coconut were not present.
I bought this ages ago and I forgot I had it, but the eNews from Nothing But Tea reminded me I still had it. I used 1 tuocha for 300ml water. After rinsing (30 seconds, boiling water), it had started to disintegrate and the wet leaves smelled very strongly, like peat and moss. I was a bit unsure of how to steep this, as the instructions say 5-10 mins but I usually steep pu-erh for a much shorter time. In the end, I settled on 3 minutes.
The liquor is very dark, almost black, like an espresso. It actually smells like coffee too, but this is only a slight note under the earthy notes that dominate the aroma. The taste is very strong, I should have used more water, but it tastes very…dark. I’m not sure how to describe it, but it has a very deep flavour that reminds me a bit of mushrooms and earth. It has absolutely no bitterness, though, and it is very smooth.
Preparation
I have been craving this tea quite often recently, despite the warmer weather (I always associate almond teas with christmas). Today I am getting quite a lot of cinnamon but the other flavours are standing up quite well. One thing that I have found with this tea is that it can taste very oily and unpleasant if too much leaf is used.
Second steep – latte. Apart from the cinnamon, I can’t really taste any of the other flavours. It’s OK, but I wouldn’t make it as a latte again.
I have been having this iced everyday since I got it. After experimenting, I think I found the perfect way of preparing it;
4tsp Sticky Toffee Pudding
1.5 litres water @ 205F
Steep for 6 mins
Let cool, then refridgerate
I definitely think this is best with a little sweetener – I usually add simple syrup after it has cooled.
It has taken me a while to get around to this, and I have to thank Jude for the oppurtunity.
This looks pretty good – the chamomile heads are full and large. They smell quite sweet and spicy – I have smelled spice in chamomile before, but this is very strong .Whatever, it smells good. This yields a cheerful-looking yellow-orange brew which might be a little more vivid than I would expect because I think I used a little too much chamomile. The steeped scent is much mellower than dry, not so spicy but sort of smooth (can a scent be smooth?).
The taste is good. Not mind-blowing, but good. I think it is nice sometimes to have a ‘good’ tea (or tisane, in this case). They are very dependable. This is much a typical chamomile, but it seems to have more depth than most. It is smooth and warming. Very nice.
I have had this before (about a week or so ago) but oversteeped it by quite a bit and so thought it wouldn’t be worth logging as I wouldn’t be able to say anything constructive about it. Anyway, I made a couple of litres of this iced this morning and, I must say, it is very fruity and refreshing. The watermelon raspberry flavours are very subtle, the raspberry being the more subtle of the two. This is very, very juicy! I sweetened this just a little bit but I wouldn’t say it even needed the tiny amount I used.
Thanks LauraR and sorry it took me so long to get to this one! The dry scent was very pleasant – rooibos but with a sweet, almost fruity, twist to it. This translated into the steeped scent nicely, but the taste was awfully bitter and left a horrible, sour note in the throat which was really not very pleasant. I didn’t steep this very long (for rooibos – 6 mins, boiling water), so the sutherlandia must just be very bitter.
Ahh, a perfect pairing! :)