It’s high energy Thursday! Maybe that should be a thing…
Anyway, I just got tipped – which was really nice. Although, I think the reason I got tipped was maybe sorta stupid? I was walking around my kiosk greeting people, and I stopped and smiled to a lady who then told me she was looking for a mini calendar to send over seas. After helping her measure some calendars to find the best ones and then ringing them in for her I offered her a pocket calendar (such is company policy) and she responded with “Thank you for your generosity – here’s some money for a coffee”, and then placed a couple bucks in my hand. Literally I was just doing my job – and I wasn’t really being all too enthusiastic about it either.
Oh well – I certainly wont be spending the money on coffee – more than likely it’ll pay for a shiny new purple tin for either this blend or my Brasiliano from Tea Desire.
Anyway, I made this in the morning so I guess that’s true to the name? Although, it’s afternoon now that I’m getting around to drinking it.
Dry, the leaf smells EXACTLY like lemon pie filling. It’s very strong and zesty with a creaminess to it. Basically there’s a strong “oomph!” about it. More specifically it reminds me of Denny’s Lemon Pie filling minus the meringue. Denny’s makes THE BEST pies, other than homemade which just can’t be topped. I highly recommend the Pecan or the Lemon, but their Cherry is really good too.
For preparation, I steeped 2 tsp. of tea in my 12 oz. timolino for six minutes. The smell was intense lemon pie – although a little less creamy than I got from the dry leaf. There’s something else too, and I’m sure it much be the guayusa. This is not my first guayusa, although it is only my second and my first was so long ago that my pallet was quite underdeveloped and I’m sure I would not have been able to appreciate the nuances or just overall taste. So I guess, in a manner of speaking, this is my first Guayusa.
I’m a huge fan of mate teas though, and my understanding is that there are some similarities taste wise just like they have similar affects as high energy “teas”.
Taking small baby sips now – both because this is still pretty piping hot and because I’m somewhat wary of what the guayusa will taste like. Mmm! So good. Even though the smell is coming off as a bit sharper of a lemon (more zest) the taste is a very natural and realistic creamy lemon pie. I think what I’m getting in the after taste is a combo of light “lemon rind” sorta taste (like when you put a lemon or orange wedge in your mouth and do that smiling thing were it looks like the inside of your mouth is yellow/orange, and you happen to bite the rind a little) and guayusa. There are earthy notes in the same way that I get earthy notes from DAVIDsTEA’s Main Squeeze which uses green yerba mate. I don’t know if it completely makes sense – but this tea has a very "green and yellow’ taste, similar to how main squeeze tastes “green and orange”.
I’m loving it though! Somehow, and maybe I’m crazy, I get the impression this would make a really good and creamy latte. Things to keep in mind…
Definitely a keeper, though!
Great minds… also drinking this right now. :)