CatSpring Yaupon

So I tried this, and yaupon in general, for the first time today. And I really liked it!

The dry leaf is so pretty, large but thin flakes in a myriad of earthy green shades. Dry scent reminded me of alfalfa hay and perhaps a bit of dried fig. Once steeped, the aroma shifts more toward oats and honey, still with some lighter hay notes. The color is quite dark and reminds me of olive oil!

I am honestly so surprised by how much I like this! It’s extremely mellow with a smooth grain-like flavor to it that does remind me of oats. There’s also a bit of hay and some autumn leaf in there, and a lovely honeyed sweetness. Tiny hint of earthy smokiness in the background perhaps. And then there’s a soft fruitiness that makes me think of dried apple rings. Ooh, was that a whisper of pine for a second…?

Overall, I really like this. It reminds me of some kind of cross between an aged white tea, an oxidized oolong, and some kind of light and earthy herb, maybe linden? And I am here for it! It’ll be really interesting to try the other two from the sampler pack I got, which are medium and heavy roast versions.

P.S. – Others didn’t seem to like this one nearly as much as I did. Am I crazy…? XD

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMx0-TihHyN/

A tea I have received from White Antlers. Thank you!

As I know from my last Yaupon experience, it is a caffeine booster. Lots of energy boost. And I was somehow tired when I was choosing today afternoon cuppa; probably due to morning cleaning up the car from snow (around 25 cm of snow, and it’s snowing again!) and overall I was cleaning up the footpath a bit as well our yard paths.

Anyway, as there is a lockdown, and I have lots of exams and everything, I do not do any inventory checks and I was saving the tea bag of this to some. I am afraid I won’t go there anymore — mostly because I just want to find a job right after finishing the university. We will see.

Anyway to this cup. Roasted yaupon sounded somehow a tiny bit better than a green variety, and Lost Maples Park is another place I have saved as would like to visit one day. I was expecting a bit of the maple flavour and I think it’s there actually. As well baked bread as others were writing about. That’s not all! It was kind of pleasantly sour and herbal, which was a bit confusing. It was enjoyable though and I liked it more than classical one.

I have tried to place an order and actually it would work for me! Shipping of their multipack of tea bags for almost same price as the mulitpack is a no for me right now though. Maybe one day!

Pleasant, with some holly taste and a definite ‘green’ taste as well. More reminiscent of yerba mate than the darker roasts, but still very definitely its own distinct thing.

A lighter-tasting yaupon. Has a bit of delicate autumn leaf taste, and a good deal of faintly burnt sugar/caramel. Very drinkable and not too heavy on the caffeine.

Lighter and sweeter than some dark roasts, and with less of a bitter bite. It’s very similar to the medium roast from this same company, but perhaps a bit fuller and a bit less sweet.

Received a single tea bag from derk, but mazbe on behalf of White Antlers?
Anyway, this tea is apparently from Yaupon. Never had it before, so I was quite confused what is it. But as it contains a lot of caffeine, I have decided to give it a try!

There weren’t any instructions on the bag, so I searched for the company and found out that it doesn’t matter , so I have used my standard set up, 300 ml / 4-5 minutes.

The flavour is quite hard to describe as it is nothing I had before. It is tasty, teaqueen said pleasantly sour and I have to agree. It was bit aloe sap like, green tea; overall quite common.

But caffeine boost is certainly there, as I was falling asleep during lecture I was taking (Economics of transport companies), but now, hour later I feel filled with energy, which is great while I am going to another night shift this night. Recommended for caffeine boost.

Thank you, no matter who is if originally from — I love trying new things!

Catspring sent me a free single teabag of this blend to try with the rest of my order.

It’s very smooth. At first, it tastes very similar to any nondescript bagged green tea, with a tiny little twinge of pleasant sourness in the aftertaste. The longer I let it steep though, the more it started to remind me of raspberry leaf. It has the same sort of mouthfeel.

What makes this blend special though is the soothing experience of drinking it. There’s something about yaupon that just feels healthy and right. Maybe it’s the way the liquor holds the water temp— yaupon infusions seem to stay warmer longer than regular tea— or maybe it’s the mildness of the flavor.

Unflavored green teas are not my thing personally, so I much prefer Catspring’s Marfa Dark Roast and Lost Maples Medium Roast yaupon options, but this was definitely not bad.

Tried in teabag form— will try the loose leaf form later.
I quite like this so far. The best part is the scents the liquor gives off. It’s more floral than Catspring’s Marfa dark roast blend, and I do get a faint note of maple/ caramel as well. It’s a nice balance of toasty and green, kind of like an oolong, but nowhere near as high maintenance to steep. I left the bag in the water for ages and it didn’t oversteep at all.
Notes of toasted bread, grass, and hay in the sip. Not smoky or tannic at all.
Yum!

Yum yum, dark roasty yaupon from Texas. Lightly floral, earthy, gently buzzing with caffeine, no pesticides, wild-grown. 100% grown, processed, packaged, and sold in the USA.
Still thinking of and praying for the people of Texas and the other surrounding states enduring the freak inclement weather.

Morning cup of joy! I’m really liking this stuff. I made it stronger this time by adding more leaf, and I was able to unlock a more full-bodied nutty, woodsy, slightly smokey, roast-y, totally delicious flavor profile. It re-steeped nicely too.
I actually also went onto the Catspring Tea website and ordered more of this Marfa blend, as well as some of their Lost Maples medium roast.

Another item in my Sips By box for this month. I really like this one. It’s similar to yerba maté, but less smokey. This blend has a bread-y mouthfeel and notes of toast, raisins, and wood. Really nice as a breakfast tea. I also appreciate that it’s grown, processed, and packaged in the U.S.
I followed the instructions on the bag and only used 1 tsp of leaf, but I think next time I will make it a little stronger.

Out of the three, this one is my favorite. The flavor is rich and full with a nice green wooded base with hay and lemongrass mixed in and a sweetness of light molasses. This is a great tea to sip on and perk me up. The brew is more nourishing than the others, and it feels good to my body to drink. I like teas that replenish my body as I sip. You can feel It when you gulp; it should feel satisfying and crisp. I may have to get this tea in loose form, and toss it into my gourd to see what happens.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSWMfu-gcmO/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel&hl=en

This one is a bit greener than the dark roast, and it has more of a wet wood feel to it. The sweetness is alike cane sugar, and it comes with a bit of astringency; however, it is still quite smooth and easy to drink. I enjoy the buzz yaupon gives me.

Smooth and mild, our medium roast yaupon is inspired by Lost Maples, a forest unlike any other in Texas. In the fall, the bigtooth maples along the Sabinal river, left over from the last Ice Age, don a magnificent array of colors echoed by the caramel notes in every cup.

Available in 2 ounce loose leaf and individually wrapped yaupon pouches (our take on the tea bag).

I rarely use teabags. In fact, I can’t remember the last time that I did, but this was good. It tastes like roasted yerba mate, but it has slight undertones of dark cocoa and a stevia sweetness. I can’t be super specific or drawn out on this note, but I liked this tea. It gave me a nice buzz as well. :)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSWMfu-gcmO/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel&hl=en

I’m based out of Austin, so trying a native tea (the only caffeinated plant native to North America!) made by a local brand was fun from the onset. I loved the mild flavor of this green yaupon tea – and the caffeine kick was nice. Noted hints of ginger and citrus. Truly a wonderful aroma and taste.

Yaupon, as a tea varietal, is entirely new to me, At first glance, it looks a lot more like a mate or a guayusa; flakes of greenish-brown leaf that put me in mind (albeit fleetingly) of fish food. Closer inspection reveals that they’re actually quite sizable chunks of (very shiny) tea leaves, although not as oxidized as I expected given that they’re referring to this as a “black” tea. Generously scattered among the leaves are cubes of dried apple, almond slivers, small pieces of beetroot, and cinnamon chips. Even dry, the scent is pretty amazing – spot-on apple pie spices!

Read my full review here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2016/09/29/american-apple-pie-catspring-tea/

So according to this company, yaupon is the only caffeinated plant native to North America. I got this tea as a gift from a friend who knows my love of chais.

The first sip, I get a subtle, unsweetened coconut backed by spices, giving this ba lovely sweet and spicy flavor. I think the rooibos adds to the sweetness as well. That flavoring persists through the rest of the cup – coconut soft and center stage, backed up with the tiniest bite of ginger and chili. None of it overtakes the tea itself – I’m still not sure what the flavor of yaupon it, but there is a slight tartness along with the sweetness of the rooibos.