“The first time I had this, it was a bit too smoky for me. The second time, I gave it a shorter steep than recommended, which was much better. Then I could taste some fruitiness like rhubarb or...” Read full tasting note
“When Roswell Strange ordered a Create-a-Blend tea & told me that they wanted a Rhubarb blend – I was just a little thrown off because I’ve never worked with rhubarb before. I’ve never cooked...” Read full tasting note
“It’s heeeeerrreee! This past year I purchased one of Anne’s “Create a Blend” fundraiser perks and I pretty promptly sent her what felt like a million different flavour ideas. They all had one...” Read full tasting note
Tea of the Week for January 8, 2024!
This tea was the brainchild of one of my customers who purchased a create-a-blend option during my fundraiser last year & this is their tea! They wanted a rhubarb flavored black tea. They gave me several different options & since this tea is my first tea featuring rhubarb, I wanted a little bit of time to work with the flavor to create something special for them.
This blend starts with a blend of black teas – Assam, Yunnan & a touch of Lapsang Souchong for a hint of smoke – to which I added some rhubarb essence plus some candied rhubarb (made simply with organic rhubarb & sugar) & some Sri Lankan Cinnamon chunks for a hint of contrast in the cup. The result is fantastic!
The cup has that wonderful sweet-tart flavor of rhubarb with hints of cinnamon & smoke. Very pleasant to sip – it invigorates the taste buds!
Allow me to take a moment to spill some tea and say that I like it a whole lot more than I thought I would. To be completely honest, I had hesitated until now to work with rhubarb as a tea flavoring because I’m not too experienced with it – as in at all. I had never had a rhubarb pie or anything else – except for that one time when Frank did a strawberry rhubarb tea – but again – being honest – I don’t remember that tea so I don’t think it was particularly memorable – or it could be that after crafting as many teas as I have & before that – sampling as many teas as I have – not all teas are gonna stand out in my memory.
That said, I really, really like this so that means that there are gonna be at least one or two more rhubarb teas on the horizon!
organic ingredients: black teas, cinnamon, candied rhubarb (rhubarb & sugar), amaranth petals & natural flavors
to brew: shake the pouch to distribute the ingredients. Use 3g of leaf to 12oz of nearly boiling water (205°F), allow to steep 3 ½ minutes. Strain & allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before you start sipping. Enjoy!
serving suggestion: I like this one both hot & chilled. I find that the cool time of 10 minutes after brewing is key with this cuppa – the flavors really need a chance to develop over that 10 minutes. It allows the smoke to settle a little bit, the rhubarb to elevate a little bit & the cinnamon to find its place in the sip.
I do like to add just a little bit of sugar (less than ½ a teaspoon per 12oz of brewed tea) to help round out the flavors a little bit because my palate tends to be a little sensitive to tartier flavors like this.
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