Tea of the Week for November 1, 2021!
For this week, I wanted to create a pear tea – but generally, when I craft a pear tea, it’s a green tea and I wanted a black tea. I’ll be honest, a black pear tea is tricky because pear has a unique flavor to it – it’s a sweet fruit that I would describe as buttery. I really can’t think of another fruit that has a similar profile. Black tea, for it’s part – tends to be a stronger, more aggressive tea type so I know that it can be a bit too strong & overpower the smooth, unique flavor that is pear, so whatever flavors that I chose to go with the pear, I wanted them to work with the pear so that the best pear flavor is brought forward with the black tea base.
The base is a combination of Yunnan, Assam & Ceylon. It is a richly flavored base & it can be a bit finicky so I would suggest that you take care when you steep it (205°F for not more than 3 minutes. I suggest 2 ½ minutes with this tea) – if you steep it too long, it comes off a bit dry & astringent so pay attention to the steep time with this tea.
To the base of these black teas, I added lots of freeze-dried pears & ginger root (I used both dried ginger root & candied ginger root) & a touch of pecan essence (don’t worry, it’s nut free.) The warm, buttery, nutty flavor of the pecan plays well to the pear & the ginger adds just the right hit of spice to the pear – the sweetness of the fruit & the spice of the ginger is a really nice contrast for the palate here.
As I do with all other teas we blend, I highly recommend allowing this tea at least 10 minutes cool time before you start sipping. Trust me when I say this tea is a different tea after it’s had time to cool a little bit (not to a cold or even cool temperature, but to a warm, drinkable temp.) With a little patience, this tea is absolutely LOVELY! This is so good! Rich, flavorful black tea, sweet pear, spicy, peppery ginger & warm, toasty pecan notes. It’s vegan, organic, gluten-free, allergen-free (including nut-free!) & all-natural. It’s DELICIOUS!
organic ingredients: black teas, pears, ginger root, candied ginger (cane sugar & ginger root) & natural flavors
to brew: shake the pouch to make sure you get some of both types of ginger in your measurement, as well as some pear chunks! Use 3g of tea to 12oz of nearly boiling water (205°F) & steep for 2 ½ minutes. Strain & allow to cool for 10 minutes. Enjoy!
As I mentioned above, this tea definitely benefits with some cool time before you start sipping – it is absolutely a different experience when you sip this piping hot versus cooled to a drinkable temperature. Other than time, you don’t need additions in this tea to enjoy it – I quite like it without anything added. However, if you want to bring out the pear a bit more, add just a little bit of sugar to the cup. (about ½ a teaspoon per 12oz.) I haven’t tried this as a latte – but if you do, please let me know what you think of it like that!