Tangerine Creamsicle

Todays tea is brought to you by the letters O.M.G in partnership with the colour RED! as in holy crap the sun and skyline is red today. I haven’t been getting up as early in the past week so today was a nice change. I was able to watch the sun come up while i waited for the bus. One more personal training session and then i’m on my own to keep it up. Going to have to find motivational tea! or maybe no more tea orders until i get through a month on my own heh.

I really love this tea. It’s a splash of sunshine in my mouth!

My ‘tea‘ recipes are not complicated. In fact, they are almost too easy.

Years of rushing home from work to hungry people taught me to whip up a meal from scratch in no time flat. Long before there was a movement to eat seasonally, or buy from local farms, I figured out that this was an economical way to feed my family. Boxed, packaged foods cost too much for a single mom.

Now that I’m on my own, I still adhere to a simple, fresh way of eating…and I can whip up a meal that tastes great without costing much time or money.

Now and then, I like to make whole wheat pancakes. I make enough for the week and stack them with foil between the layers inside a bag to make them easy to separate and reheat. They can be used for breakfast, with cheese for lunch or filled like a crepe for dinner and rolled over.

I made pancakes with this tea and have more info and a picture on my blog www.teaandincense.com

YUM!

It might seem a little late for Guayusa, and hopefully it won’t be keeping me up past my bedtime, but since I usually am up past 3 am anyway, I am not too worried. I needed an energy boost because I have a lot to do this evening, and I’m already feeling a little like I should be napping instead of getting things done.

This is really tasty. The tangerine and cream flavors are balanced, and the guayusa adds a richness to the background, tasting a little earthy, and even a little vegetal, and these notes work very well with the flavors of tangerine and cream. Overall, the cup is smooth, rich and creamy, with a deliciously sweet tangerine taste.

And it tastes better with each sip! Incredibly YUM!

Special thanks to Liberteas for this one!

The tangerine is wonderfully done but not overly loud – just right. The stereotypical lima bean taste I usually pick up on from the Guayusa is faint but it all jives JUST right!

NomNomNom

Cold brewed this for about 6 hours. 1 tsp for 6 oz of water. Added a little vanilla cream syrup and soda water = tasty new tea soda!

Sample from Azzrian! I think. Did I mention I’m in Saskatoon now? I brought a big grab bag of tea samples and am hoping I don’t mis-attribute things!

Anyhow. Brewed for 6+ minutes at about 185F. This is by far the best tasting guayasa blend I have tried – the combination of citrus and a bit of creaminess really works with the earthy guayasa. I can see myself drinking it again. On iPhone so having trouble rating, but I’d give this about an 81.

Also, mom liked this one. Not keen on flavored teas, but I told her it was natural. She’s really looking forward to the jasmines I brought!!

This is scrumptious! Tastes just like it smells, like an tangerine creamsicle!
The smell is awakening, the flavor is creamy more so on the after taste, the initial sip is circusy. As it cools the cream is more prominent and less in the after taste and more in the entire flavor. There is a slight tinge of an after taste that is sort of twangy and dry but not bothersome to me. Like dry wine. Some may not like this but thats fine more tea for me lol. Hubby does not like the Guayusa sediment but it does not bother me at all – then again he is not used to tea as a whole let alone Guayusa.
A very tasty tea that lingers on the palate!

Shout out to Emilie for a sample of this tea!

Butiki Teas – we meet at last! I’m thinking I wanna do an order with them, but I’ve been procrastinating. I was emailing my husband at work about trying this tea and said “I’d order from them, but right now I got enough tea” and he was like “WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY WIFE????” Oh boy, maybe he’ll pay for the next tea order, hahahahahah!

And I just realized that I don’t think I’ve had guayusa before. I’ve probably had it mixed in blends, but not the main tea. This will be interesting!

DRY: DROOOL! Amazing creamsicle smell. I’m imagining a yummy orange creamsicle ice cream all melty and delicious.

STEEPED: Transformed into a grassy smell and with a hint of that yummy orange creamsicle smell. It’s like my drippy ice cream fell onto a freshy mowed lawn. Rest assured, it still smells delicious! Steeps up a brown-green.

TASTE: Tangy (almost spicy) citrus with a delicious hit of cream at the end. Earthy, dry, vegetal aftertaste. As it cools, the creamyness is stronger and less grassy taste. No tartness.

Sounds gross when I make tea burp comments, but this one is a burp of strong orange creamsicle taste!

WHO’D LIKE THIS TEA: A tea drinker that wants something a little different. Citrus lovers.

COMMENTS: It sounds gross that I think this tastes like I ate my ice cream off my lawn, but it is really good. I was worried this would be tart but Butiki did a great job in flavoring this tea.

Oddly, I feel full after drinking this tea – I’m not sure why, maybe all the creamsicle burping. With that said, I want to try more guayusa teas so I can compare with this. Overall, very tasty and different than other teas I’ve tried.

EDIT:
After feeling full for 2 hours and satisfied after drinking this tea, I gave in and made an order with Butiki teas. TAKE MY MONEY! RAWWWRR!

Confession time: I love Dreamsicles. I love orange sherbet, gelato, sorbet. I love clementines. So I was predisposed to either love this guayusa like crazy, or hate it for not living up to my expectations.

I LOVE IT. This was my first try at a guayusa and my first Butiki Tea. I just received the order today and had had a good whiff of it (ok, fine, I practically shoved half the bag up my nose) when my girlfriend asked me to make her some tea. What kind? I ask. Something good, she says. So I decide to make this.

Oh, the taste. It’s amazing. The tangerine flavor is so real. It’s juicy and fruity yet not overwhelming. The creaminess in the background is just enough. Some teas with a creamy mouthfeel leave your tongue and palate feeling sort of coated. Not this tea. It’s only refreshing. There is a slight earthiness from the guayusa. It’s all good. This will have a permanent home in my pantry!

Since 52teas’ Citrus Piledriver was the first and only other time I ever have had guayusa, I am reminded a lot of it. Guayusa really does taste good with citrusy fruits added to it. So now it’s time for the next step…all guayusa with flavors!

So for the first time of having something that’s just guayusa, it’s an interesting flavor for me. When I smell it, I don’t want to drink it…then I drink it, and want more. (I’m like this with basil too, when cooking I’m like don’t add too much! And then I’m eating it, I wish I had more.) The creaminess you’d expect in a tea named Tangerine Creamsicle is probably the reason. It tastes orangey and creamy and with that herby, grassy taste of the guayusa, it’s very enjoyable….Should I probably just go back to sleep since I want to describe everything by ending it in -y?

Hopefully this helps wake me up a bit. I got up at the same time I did yesterday because I went to see sheep and goats that are eating the kudzu around Atlanta parks. I fed 2 of them, they really liked whatever I had a branch of, especially the goat…the goat just ripped it out of my hand. I couldn’t stop laughing.

Or if I go back to sleep, no harm done. This is a dreamy flavor, it really tastes like tangerines and oranges with a touch of cream. If you’re interested in trying a guayusa, this is definitely one to check out. You can get a feel for what the base tastes like and enjoy how well it blends with citrusy flavors! This is going on my shopping list for later when I have less things in my cupboard (and boxes and spice drawer and so on), and I bet it would taste so good iced.

Thank you for the sample, Stacy!