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“Beautiful blend of pear and spice and the honeybush masquerading as dense pastry.” Read full tasting note
“Nice but tasted all the world like a fall candle (which is not necessarily a bad thing).” Read full tasting note
“I’m bumping up the rating on this because it really makes an excellent latte. I think the milk actually helped bring out the pear flavor. I’m not really sure how that works, but it does.” Read full tasting note
“Can’t say I had high hopes for this one; I picked it out solely because it was caffeine-free and almost finished. However, I was pleasantly surprised at the delicious maple flavour that was still...” Read full tasting note
Tea of the Week for September 7, 2015!
I love pears but they’re one of those fruits that while I do enjoy them, I just don’t eat them very often. I’m not sure why that is except that it seems like I can never find a really nice, ripe pear in the store. They’re either hard as a rock or way too bruised to eat. So I buy the hard as a rock pear and keep it in a paper bag on the counter to try to get it to ripen but I end up forgetting about it and it goes rotten.
So, instead, I try to seek out a really good pear tea. As LiberTEAS I had a really remarkable pear flavored green tea and I may try to recreate that at some point but for now, what I’ve been craving is a baked pear. I did some googling for a pear recipe and found a recipe for Maple Baked Pears and my tea-deluged brain said “YES! Make that a TEA!”
I decided that a Honeybush base would be nice for these flavors – the natural honeyed, nutty flavor would work well with this autumnal dessert. And those notes peek out with the notes of pear and maple and hints of cinnamon and nutmeg – this is a delicious dessert tea that’s made for fall! (And it’s finally here!)
Taster size is approximately 1/2 ounce.
Organic Ingredients: Honeybush, Dried Pear Pieces, Cinnamon Chips, Fresh Ground Nutmeg and All-Natural Flavors.
At 52teas.com, you will find unique, hand-blended artisan loose leaf teas: a new limited edition creation every week of the year. We pride ourselves on offering truly unique, one-of-a-kind tea blends that you won’t find anywhere else.
Nice but tasted all the world like a fall candle (which is not necessarily a bad thing).
Flavors: Pear, Spices
You know, I’ve never had this tea, but from your description I can guess exactly what it smells like.
mmmm… Maple..I wonder what a maple baked pear actually tastes like… sounds like a good fall dessert.
Yes.. maple baked pear sounds like a nice and simple recipe that even I wouldn’t mess up!
I’m bumping up the rating on this because it really makes an excellent latte. I think the milk actually helped bring out the pear flavor. I’m not really sure how that works, but it does.
Can’t say I had high hopes for this one; I picked it out solely because it was caffeine-free and almost finished. However, I was pleasantly surprised at the delicious maple flavour that was still present. Didn’t really pick up on any pear, but this was certainly one of the better honeybush teas I’ve had in recent memory!
Sipdown (121)!
So, I just hit a really cool Steepster milestone… 1000 Teas Rated!
Realistically, I hit that a while ago since I have things grouped under the same tasting notes (such as the teas I drink for my Sommelier courses) but now I have the numbers to actually say “I’ve drank over 1000 different kinds of tea”. That’s pretty cool.
So this tea, number 1000, comes from OMGsrsly and is my second “Anne Era” 52Teas blend. As a Canadian, I feel like I definitely have the right to be very critical of the ‘maple’ in the blend. But honestly, the thing I’m most interested in when it comes to this blend is actually the pear. I sure do love a good pear tea!
Cold brewed, of course, and this definitely smells like both maple and pear. Probably a little more like maple though, honestly. It smells “sticky”, at least as much as one can smell a texture that is.
As for the taste? I like it! There’s both a lot going on and really a very simple flavour profile. Basically, here’s how I break it down: The initial flavour is overripe pears (Bartlett) accented with a slight taste of cinnamon, then the cinnamon fades and you just taste pear. As an “overripe” pear there’s a slight sharpness to the taste with is pleasant as is creates a note that punctuates the rest of the sip. The finish is a maple/cinnamon duo and from there the aftertaste is a long lingering sweet, sticky maple flavour. What the maple reminds me of is “Maple Taffy” which, for non Canadians, is basically just maple syrup poured over snow and rolled onto a stick. The whole drink has a faint honeybush undertone throughout.
http://www.bonappetit.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/maple-taffy-433.jpg
Only in Canada, right? The maple is getting the “Canadian Seal of Approval” though, and the pear gets the “Roswell Strange: Pear Fiend Seal of Approval”. Definitely enjoyed this tea a lot! Perfect for satisfying those after supper sugar cravings.
YAY!
Congrats on 1000 notes!!
Congratulations! And wow! I can’t even imagine the size of your tea cupboard.
Congrats on the epic milestone, Roswell!
This sounds awesome but I can’t justify the price of them.
And am I a terrible Canadian for never trying maple taffy? For shame.
I had to google that. I did not believe maple taffy was a real thing. Pouring maple syrup on snow? Hilarious!
not hilarious……soo good.
Congrats! I should try my last tsp cold steeped. Hot, I felt it lost some of the pear-ness.
Really. Cinnamon chips. Huh. I didn’t pick that out at all.
So this tea. No caffeine, which is why I’m trying it. Intensely maple. INTENSE. So far, the honeybush is good. Not sour at all.
But pears? Hmm… I’m not so sure I’m getting pears. At least, I’m not getting the gross over ripe pear jelly belly pears. Just some fruityness. And then some spice at the end. So that’s a win for me because I don’t actually, umm, really like pears. I know, I know. But I looooove maple and I hoped that it would be maple >>> pear.
Again, I’m having it completely plain. And it’s nice and sweet, and feels like it would take milk and/or sugar really well.
I’m just over half way through my cup now, and the honeybush still isn’t sour (yay!) but the pear is starting to come out a bit more. Maybe the tea just had to cool a bit. Anyways, this one I also like and kinda wish I had bought more of. The rest of my sample is heading out soon to be tried by others who have more discerning palates than I do.
(2 tsp in 13 oz at 195F for 4 minutes. Maybe longer would mean more pear? IDK. I would think it’d bring out the spice more.)
ugh. I didn’t know honeybush had a tendency to taste sour…I hope I don’t have that experience!
It doesn’t always taste sour. It’s more likely to if it’s poor quality, old, or oversteeped. I always use a timer when steeping honeybush. 3-5 minutes is usually safe. I usually double leaf flavored honeybush so the flavor is stronger, rather than steeping it longer. I haven’t tried steeping it at a lower temperature, that might make a difference too, although honeybush tends to taste best hot.
noms.
Let me say that there are a LOT of poor quality honeybush teas out there. It was actually one of my concerns about ordering a 52teas hb again, because previous ones really weren’t my favourite. This one is a very nice quality, and I am pleased. I would definitely order more if the dollar were on par right now. As it stands my tea budget is kinda gone. :)
I also don’t really steep anything at boiling. 195 is a good temp for me for most things, I find..
Sil, if there’s enough I’ll send you some too. But I only got a sample pack and someone else wants to try too.
I only just got around to ordering from 52teas again. I drink mostly herbals, and not many of the old herbals impressed me at all. But after hearing lots of good reviews, I’ve decided to try again.
There weren’t any rooibos that caught my eye or were available, but I got two honeybush ones. :) I’ll try the other tonight.
I was pleasantly surprised by the honeybush from 52 Teas. I was one of the kickstarter backers and received a couple of honeybush teas from that. It turns out I love their White Chocolate Grasshopper and the Cinnamon Roll. Long ago I had a honeybush and it was… Let’s be polite and say it was wasn’t good. I’m glad to see not all honeybush are the same.
white grasshopper.. another one i wanted. damnit really should have just made an order lol stupid wedding, car, bike. bah
Aww Wil. I have some I’m sending you. I think I need more baggies tho which is sadness.
Ducking autocorrect seriously. SIL. SIL SIL SIL SIL.
lol i hear you i hear you!
oh. i bought wine today. and junk food. and told ian we’re going to drink the wine and eat the junk food because tonight i just want to drink. not tea.
Aww yeah. Sounds good. I’m already curled up in bed. Stupid cramps are stupid.
