70 Tasting Notes
Have a lot of work to do tonight, so I wanted an easy tea that I could re-steep repeatedly if need be. I knew this one could re-steep fine at least one time from my previous encounter, so I went with it.
This time however, the water didn’t quite reach boiling and I was impatient and poured the cup just slightly before the water (probably) would have started to boil. Hope that won’t end up having a negative effect—doesn’t seem to have. Also, I actually measured out the tea this time as well out of curiosity and ended up using 0.75 tsp for my 12 oz cup, instead of the recommended 1.5 tsp for 8 oz. The tea came out slightly less dark than last time (I did use a little more of the dry tea last time around), but still fully flavorful to my overly-active taste buds. I again chose to add sugar to cut some of the bitterness.
For the re-steep, I left the tea leaves in for an extra minute figuring it would add extra flavor, though the taste doesn’t seem nearly as strong this time around as I remember from my first time re-steeping this tea. Perhaps because I lowered the amount of tea in my original cup. Oh well, it’s still moderately satisfying and the flavor did seem to come through more as the tea cooled down.
Despite my probably better judgement telling me I shouldn’t, I attempted a second re-steep of this tea because I wasn’t quite finished with my work. Left it steeping much longer this time (like 10 minutes) in hopes of squeezing out every last drop of flavor. I was afraid I’d be drinking colored sugar water at this point, but I do still taste some of the tea flavor. Do hope my work is done by the time this runs out, however…
Updated cup count (12 oz) from 8g sampler size: 2 (+ 3 re-steeps of rapidly decreasing flavor). I’d say there’s enough tea left for another 3 cups, not counting re-steeps. We’ll see.
Preparation
Wasn’t sure what to expect from this blend because it was my first time experimenting with oolong tea, but the smell of the dry tea was pleasant enough and all the fruits listed in the ingredients sounded promising. The steeped tea unfortunately doesn’t smell as good as the dry tea did and I ended up a medium orange colored tea with greenish undertones.
To prepare, I downsized the suggested amount of 1 tsp per 8 oz, to 0.5 tsp for my 12 oz cup. I wanted to start out small, as I tend to find most teas to be too strong. Not really sure if that was a good idea in this case, however, because that only allowed for three fruit pieces in my infuser basket. The steeping itself I did at a temperature short of boiling since the package suggested 90C. I left it steeping for 3 minutes as the listed time was 2-4 minutes.
The tea tastes different to what I’m used to, but not really unpleasant and not overly bitter—maybe the fruit pieces sweetened it up a tad? If they did, they didn’t really leave much of a fruit flavor in the tea, but I also didn’t end up with any of the strawberry in the infuser—the three fruit pieces I did end up with were mango, apple, and peach, one of each. I was curious, so I fished them out of the infuser basket and ate them. Despite the lack of fruit flavors in the tea itself, the tea was moderately bitter and still flavorful enough for me despite using far less than suggested.
Would I buy this tea again? I’m not sure yet. As it stands, it’s not amazing, but it’s not bad. I think I’ll up the amount of tea I steep next time to see if it makes for a better experience since I feel this may be an unfair assessment since I didn’t end up with all the fruit types in the infuser. I do like that the tea isn’t so bitter that I can drink it fine without milk or sugar though. (The site doesn’t specify whether or not milk, sugar, lemon, or mint are recommended additions.)
Current cup count (12 oz) from 8g sampler size: 1. Still plenty of tea left in the sampler.
Preparation
This is my go-to everyday tea. Always have a large box of it in my cupboard, ready to go. Have a glass most days right after waking up.
To prepare, I boil a large mug of milk, steep one tea bag directly in the heated milk (which takes some effort as the tea doesn’t like leaving the bag without plenty of dipping and stirring….), add a generous amount of sugar, stir again, and enjoy a blissful drink to start the day.
Once the cup is gone 30+ minutes later, the day can finally begin!
Despite the word maple in its title, it was disappointing that I couldn’t taste maple in the tea. What I did taste wasn’t bad, however, it was just more “black tea” than “maple dream”. Not sure what I was expecting… something closer to a maple donut experience? Definitely didn’t get that and couldn’t really smell the maple either, dry or steeped.
Anyway, to prepare, I used a very small amount of the loose tea in the infuser basket of my 12 oz cup—lined the bottom of the basket. The instructions said 1.5 tsp per 8 oz, but I figured less is more as I find most teas too strong for my liking. I steeped the tea for between 2 and 3 minutes in just boiled water like the instructions stated. Despite the small amount of tea, the water came out a deep caramel/brown color.
The tea was definitely drinkable, as is, once it cooled down. Though it had a strong flavor, I couldn’t pick any specific flavors out. It was also a bit bitter for my taste, so I added sugar which brought the flavor more to my liking. I also tried adding milk-which was okay-but I think I preferred the flavor most with just the sugar. The website suggested trying milk and sugar in the tea, but said lemon and mint are not recommended.
Resteeped the same basket of tea to make a second cup. Same 2-3 minute steep time as before which left me with more of a dark amber color. Added sugar from the get-go this time, but didn’t bother with the milk. Again, nice tasting blend, but no maple flavor in sight. Perhaps I should have sweetened it with syrup.
Would I buy this again? Well, it’s not something I absolutely have to have, so I wouldn’t buy a big bag of it, but I would add another sampler pack to my shopping cart if it’s still available later on since I anticipate the sampler size lasting for several cups with my modest portioning.
Current cup count (12 oz) from 8g sampler size: 1 + 1 resteep. Still plenty of tea left in the sampler.
