3010 Tasting Notes
Guy at the health food store says he uses this for potpourri, and I can see why. Lovely sweet fruity thing happening, and not a ton of hibiscus as I’ve commented previously, but it’s still there. Bought an ounce of bulk mate leaf to try as a blend-in, which I did, and I think it cuts the h-word a little. Will have to experiment a little more with proportions.
This would have been a great morning to sit on the front porch of Shabby House and mull over flavorings and ingredients (a little rain, finally! am temps in the 70’s for the first time in weeks), but unfortunately the overnight rain made me oversleep. Thus, the mate needed to get me going quickly!
Heat wave continues (oh, for a roasty-free day!) so I steeped a Tervis Tumbler intending to ice it down when I got to work. Alas, no ice, so I tried to guzzle it early before it was just too stinkin’ hot to enjoy. I think I still prefer it cold, but even fresh from the hot pot, it has a really nice cooling sensation to the mouth and tongue. Those lemony non-lemon herbs are perfect and not painfully sour.
When I took my first sniff, I got so much sweet-vanilla-cream scent I was afraid something else had scented it. (It was in a little zip-lock sample; my storage facilities at Shabby House aren’t the greatest.)
I think this tea has some of the biggest leaves, steeped, I’ve ever seen. And the creamy-sweet wasn’t an accident … that’s just the nature of this stuff. Still pretty astringent (cream and pucker are an odd combination, eh?) but really, really good! I have to apologize because my care packages have gotten a little mixed…OK, a lot jumbled…but my thanks to the kind donor! (Doulton, I think!)
I got some of this in a silver pouch from Quiltguppy, but I am saving until I can have a virtual tea party via Skype with Sandy since she was just in NZ for six months and went to the plantation for tea. It has been very hard to hold off drinking it.
May willpower prevail!
On the advisement of some of my favorite experts, I did a half-and-half this morning with Queen Catherine - it’s a match made in a fairy tale. Her Majesty dilutes the rose even a little further so there’s just a breath of it, which is plenty for my personal taste….and I’ll sip happily ever after… (or until it’s gone, whichever comes first).
I don’t generally pick floral teas on my own, but I am glad that this one came to me as a gift, because - wow! I’m a black tea lover at heart and the flower-to-tea ratio is perfect. Doesn’t taste like I’m sipping perfume. The rose softens instead of interferes. Thanks, JenW!
Review now posted here:
and I’m glad I have a little more to enjoy—this was great!
Took a break from house hunting (exhausting, frustrating, etc.) to make our first visit back at favorite health food hangout and brought home a couple of dry ounces of this. In bulk, it’s strong enough to make your eyes water. Made a fill-it-yourself bag and tossed it in with the gallon of grocery-store sun tea I made to guzzle this afternoon and it puts a nice refreshing edge on the cheap stuff.
Heat continues; this will likely be the only hot cuppa I can stand today, so I decided to make it a good one. This is dark and strong and sweet and does emit the cocoa powder notes as advertised.
Thanks to JenW for the sample, and this morning, I just want to thank my Steepster friends who have been so encouraging during a long, hot, difficult summer. So much has been wrong and not-normal that the ability to savor a good cuppa and chat about it a little is a greater blessing that I ever realized pre-disaster. Bless you all.
