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sherapop drank Peppermint by Harney & Sons

1737 tasting notes

I was really hungry this evening for some reason, so I ate some cookies, including a dark chocolate and peppermint coated graham-cracker type construction. It probably sounds gross, but tasted good.

Naturally my complementary tea was: peppermint! As usual, the sachet version of this Harney & Sons simple peppermint leaf was tasty. Because the Harney & Sons sachets always contain a generous amount of leaves, I decided to try a second infusion, though I am not at all sure that herbs are supposed to re-infuse.

What was really interesting about this little experiment was that the first infusion was dark brown, and the side-by-side second infusion was bright yellow. I let it brew for a long time, and after a while, it, too, eventually turned brown, albeit a slightly lighter shade.

After my bath, I tasted the second infusion brew to find that it was too weak. That’s easy to remedy though, since I happen to have some culinary grade peppermint essential oil on hand. I intended to add two drops but accidentally put three, so it was quite powerful, to the point of providing a major blast of peppermint fumes off the surface of the infusion.

One might think that the way to go for a hot peppermint beverage is simply to throw some drops of essential oil into hot water. However, it’s trickier than it sounds because the oil, being less dense, just sits on top of the water, and can actually be too concentrated, in little pools, to the point of irritating the lips when one goes to take a sip. That is why I prefer peppermint leaves.

Preparation

Boiling 8 min or more

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2 comments

TheTeaFairy
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Essential oils are great, aren’t they? I used them for so many things…Seems like a great idea to revive a mint tea. But i agree with the leave option, best of the best is just to fill up a glass with fresh mint leaves and pour boiling water on top. I grow spearmint in the summer just for that cause it’s my favourite. Mmmm, I miss it and I crave it right now…

sherapop
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EOs are great, TeaFairy! I use them in the bath, add them to lotions and creams, and use them in cooking too. Here’s one example: you can turn a boring chocolate dessert into a gourmet delight by adding drops of either peppermint oil or tangerine oil!!!!

I love fresh mint, too. We used to have wild spearmint growing in our yard when I was growing up. Memories…

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TheTeaFairy
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sherapop
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I love fresh mint, too. We used to have wild spearmint growing in our yard when I was growing up. Memories…

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Bio

I have fallen off the “tea log boat”, as I am now in New Zealand and was really flailing about for a while, having depleted all of my Chinese and Japanese green tea supply! Fortunately, my first order of 2015 has now arrived! I should begin writing very soon about tea at my new blog, sherapop’s tea leaves. Please stop by and contribute your ideas—all viewpoints are welcome!

A long-time tea and perfume lover, I have recently begun to explore the intersections between the two at my blog: http://salondeparfum-sherapop.blogspot.com//

The scent of tea can be just as appealing as—sometimes more than—its taste! Tea also offers boundless visual beauty in its various forms and states of preparation.

A few words about my ratings. In assessing both teas and perfumes, my evaluation is “all things considered.” Teas do not differ very much in price (relative to perfumes or any luxury items), so I do not usually consider the price when rating a tea.

What I do consider is how the particular tea compares to teas of its own type. So I might give a high rating to a fine herbal infusion even though I would never say that it is my favorite TEA. But if it’s good for what it is, then it deserves a high rating. There is no point in wishing that a chamomile blend was an Assam or a sencha tea!

Any rating below 50 means that I find the liquid less desirable to drink than plain water. I may or may not finish the cup, depending upon how thirsty I am and whether there is another hot beverage or (in summertime) a source of fresh water available.

From 50 to 60 indicates that, while potable, the tea is not one which I would buy or repurchase, if I already made the mistake (I have learned) of purchasing it.

From 60 to 70 means that the tea is drinkable but I have criticisms of some sort, and I probably would not purchase or repurchase the tea as I can think of obvious alternatives which would be better.

From 70 to 80 is a solid brew which I would purchase again.

From 80 to 90 is good stuff, and I probably need to have some ready at hand in my humble abode.

From 90 to 100 is a tea (or infusion) which I have come to depend on and look forward to imbibing again and again—if possible!

If you are interested in perfume, you might like my 2400+ perfume reviews, most of which have been archived at sherapop’s sillage (essentially my perfumelog):

http://sherapop.blogspot.com/

Finally, please note that after a great deal of debate with myself, I have decided to use the cupboard here at Steepster as a “museum” of sorts—to commemorate all of the various teas which I have purchased and truly enjoyed since December 2013.

I do not currently possess all of the teas listed in this cupboard, but am using the function as a way of recording how many times I drank every tea which I did own at some point and wish not to forget. Teas found both in my “cupboard” and on my “wishlist” are those which I did own and intend to restock. Teas best forgotten have been removed from the cupboard once depleted (in some cases tossed…).

I have also decided (beginning in 2015) to use the tasting note function to maintain a chronological record of the teas I’ve consumed since December 15, 2013. Most new reviews will now be posted directly at my blog, sherapop’s tea leaves.

Location

Curio Bay, South Island, New Zealand

Website

http://salondeparfum-sherapop...

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