Bramble Ramble

I thought I had reviewed this before, but a Ctrl+F of my steepster.txt file proves that my memory is atrocious as ever. And since I’m working on sipping it down, I’d better rectify that before it is gone. I received this from tea-sipper in a cupboard sale in early 2018, so thanks, tea-sipper! I’ve prepared it as a cold brew, letting the leaf soak in a glass mason jar overnight before straining and then drinking ice cold.

The tea is a purpley/crimson hue, and has strong aromas of berries (a bit of a blueberry/muscatel scent), citrus (heavily lime), and pine/sage. And the flavor reflects the aroma. I’m getting hit with a strong lime flavor, and this nice, fresh pine note from the juniper and find this sort of cooling effect left on my tongue from the citrus and pine. The fruity notes are more muted against the strong citrus/pine, but there is a berry sweet/tart note beneath that, and it can be tasted at the back of my tongue, especially as the citrus and pine starts to wear off. The berry flavor tastes more like red berries in the brew, while the aroma smelled more like blueberries/grapes on the nose.

It’s a nice iced tea, and I always like the inclusion of juniper in a blend. I’m not sure how I’d feel about this tea as a warm brew, and am kind of content to just drink it as a refreshing iced blend during these warm months.

This is about eight months old now? But I noticed no tasting notes from anyone, so I had to for the steep session today. I love the name of this blend. However, I just realized it is the name of a drink. I just liked the rhyming. It looks like such a colorful mix of goodies. The base is a green tea (though I didn’t notice much green tea in the pouch) with a mix of spices and fruits: juniper berries, elderberries, apple, hibiscus, angelica root, coriander seeds, blackberry, liqorice, lime leaves, cardamon, lemon, raspberry, strawberry. I have no idea what the alcoholic drink should taste like, as I did not know of its existence before today. It sure tastes like the mix of ingredients though, with this purple brew. To be honest, the flavor is a little more medicinal than I’d like (I want a fun fruity summer blend.) But I think it’s one of those blends that have so many ingredients but is so evenly balanced, that you can taste almost everything in the cup. It’s fruity and spicy. The hibiscus wasn’t too bad, but I’m kind of sick of seeing hibiscus in so many B&B teas. Even hot brewing, it didn’t seem overbrewed, as again, I didn’t notice much green tea. I want more fruity flavor though! I want all those berries to be ridiculous (maybe ditch that hibiscus). This is tasting the same as it did when I got it, for what it’s worth.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug// 32 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // 10 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep