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“I nabbed a sample of this to cold brew from the Traveling Tea Box (A) before I sent it off today. I have very little interest these days in flavored green teas made hot (with a few exceptions), but...” Read full tasting note
“This was alright warm, but I let it cool off thinking because it smelled so much like a nice, tart granny smith apple, it’d be great iced. Instead it’s so gross, bitter, and the feeling it leaves...” Read full tasting note
“Leif & I are cleaning house today. The kitchen is done, as is my studio. Now we’re taking a break, & sampling a bunch of teas from the TTB-A, so that I can send it off. We have 6 gaiwans...” Read full tasting note
“I picked up a small sampler of this tea from Steepers in Campbell, California. After a bit of hunting, I’ve discovered that the blend is identical to that of English Tea Store, which I highly...” Read full tasting note
The Granny Apple Loose Leaf Green Tea blend from English Tea Store has a lightly astringent finish, just like a Granny Smith apple.
The tea is produced by skipping the fermentation process used to produce black tea. First, freshly plucked leaves are steamed after plucking and bruised by machine or hand. Next the leaf is pan-fried or basket fired – a process that gives the tea its distinctive glossy look and feel. Senchas typically have dark green, needle shaped leaves and produce a pale green to yellow, very bright, smooth cup with a sweetish finish. The natural sweetness of the tea makes it the perfect compliment to our dried Apple pieces and natural fruit flavorings. The finished product is light with grassy undertones, tart notes of crisp apple and subtle layers of honey.
Cup Characteristics: Luscious apple with hints of sweet caramel abound. The finish is lightly astringent like a Granny Smith apple
Infusion: Bright, pale green to yellow, light colored cup
Ingredients: Green tea, Apple pieces, and Natural flavors
Caffeine/Antioxidant Level: Low/High
Grade(s): Sencha – Made to Japanese specifications
Manufacture Type(s): Traditional Pan Fired Green Tea
Region: Hunan Province
Growing Altitudes: 1500-4500 feet above sea level
Shipping Port(s): Shanghai
Brewing Instructions
Hot Tea Brewing Method: Use freshly drawn water. When water is re-boiled, or stands for a while, it loses oxygen which prevents the full flavor of the tea being released. Warm the pot first. This helps the brewing process by maintaining the brewing temperature for longer so to extract more flavor from the tea. Be sure to use boiling water to make the tea. Water which is “off the boil” does not allow the tea to brew properly. Ideal brewing temperature is 100° C/212° F. Minimum brewing temperature is 90° C/194° F. Brew for 3-5 minutes. Shorter times will not reveal the full flavor and the quality of the tea. Longer brewing will result in a bitter tasting tea as Tannin will start to be extracted from the tea leaves (If you brew in a cup brew for a much shorter time, 1 – 2 minutes). Stir the tea in the pot once or twice while it is brewing.
Iced tea brewing method (Pitcher): (to make 1 liter/quart): Place 6 slightly heaping teaspoons of loose tea, 6 tea bags into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher. Using filtered or freshly drawn cold water, boil and pour 1.25 cups/315ml over the tea. Steep for 5 minutes. Quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water. Pour the tea into your serving pitcher straining the tea or removing the tea bags. Add ice and top – up the pitcher with cold water. Garnish and sweeten to taste. A rule of thumb when preparing fresh brewed iced tea is to increase the strength of hot tea since it will be poured over ice and diluted with cold water. (Note: Some luxury quality teas may turn cloudy when poured over ice. This is a sign of luxury quality and nothing to worry about.)
Iced tea brewing method (Individual Serving): Place 1 slightly heaping teaspoon of loose tea, 1 tea bag into a teapot for each serving required. Using filtered or freshly drawn cold water, boil and pour 6 – 7oz/170 – 200ml per serving over the tea. Cover and let steep for 5 minutes. Add hot tea to a 12oz/375ml acrylic glass filled with ice, straining the tea or removing the bags. Not all of the tea will fit, allowing for approximately an additional 1/2 serving. Sweeten and/or add lemon to taste. A rule of thumb when preparing fresh brewed iced tea is to increase the strength of hot tea since it will be poured over ice and diluted. (Note: Some luxury quality teas may turn cloudy when poured over ice. This is a sign of luxury quality and nothing to worry about!)
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I nabbed a sample of this to cold brew from the Traveling Tea Box (A) before I sent it off today. I have very little interest these days in flavored green teas made hot (with a few exceptions), but I do enjoy them cold.
The cold brew was pretty decent, although at first it was a little perfumy. It just occurred to me now that it was kind of a dead ringer for this DKNY Delicious green apple perfume that I have. Probably good I didn’t think of that then. Anyway, after a few sips the perfuminess faded a bit and I was left with a decent green apple tea, though it was somewhere between green apple candy and actual granny smith apples. But I love green apple candy, so it worked for me.
This was alright warm, but I let it cool off thinking because it smelled so much like a nice, tart granny smith apple, it’d be great iced. Instead it’s so gross, bitter, and the feeling it leaves on my tongue is terrible. Completely undrinkable.
I guess I’ll try coldbrewing it and hope it turns out better. Perhaps also give it a shot with the 160 setting on my kettle.
Leif & I are cleaning house today. The kitchen is done, as is my studio. Now we’re taking a break, & sampling a bunch of teas from the TTB-A, so that I can send it off. We have 6 gaiwans lined up, using 1/2 tsp or so per Gaiwan This is our first sample.
This one is fairly astringent & has a hint of apple, which would probably be more prominent if we added sweetener, but both of our 2 oz cups are already empty.
I picked up a small sampler of this tea from Steepers in Campbell, California. After a bit of hunting, I’ve discovered that the blend is identical to that of English Tea Store, which I highly suspect is probably the wholesale source of the tea for the shop.
This tea had a nice green tea flavor with a fruitiness that rounds out any astringency and gives it just a bit of natural sweetness, with a hint of a tart apple aftertaste. It has a nice apple flavor, but it isn’t too strong; there is a nice fruitiness without it being overwhelming. The description text from the website is just a bit misleading, however; the tea flavor is described as “hints of sweet caramel and apple pieces adds to the lightly astringent green tea,” but the tea did not have a caramelly flavor or taste. I’d describe it a bit like a dash of apple juice mixed with green tea, though if the apple flavor were just a touch more subtle and the blend not quite as sweet as your typical juice.
Full review: https://teatimetuesdayreviews.wordpress.com/2017/03/07/tea10/
Flavors: Apple, Sweet, Tart, Vegetal
