Slowly working through these fall teas from last year. It may be March, but it’s still damn cold here, so they’re more than fitting at the moment. I used 1 tsp of leaf for this one, and gave it 3 minutes in boiling water. The liquor is a relatively pale brown, so no additions.
I’ve tried a couple of apple pie teas with various bases so far, and this is a pretty good one as far as my experience goes. The apple is forefront, and it’s a pleasantly crisp “apple” apple, with a mild baked note kicking around in the background. The spicing isn’t too strong, and really complements the apple. It’s mostly cinnamon and clove as far as I can discern, plus a slight nuttiness from the almond slivers. There’s the tiniest note of dried fruit in the background, but nothing really to comment on. Taken as a whole, the flavour really does remind me of gooey apple pie filling.
There are a couple of things that sadden me about this tea, but they’re not huge problems. Firstly, there’s no detectable pie crust/pastry flavour. To my mind, this can be a hugely complementary aspect of an apple pie tea, taking it from average to brilliant. Try as I might, I just can’t pick it out here. This is my third cup, and despite minor alterations to my brewing method, nothing I do seems to coax it out. Secondly, as this one cools it seems to take on an unaccountable bitterness, rather like biting into the core when eating an actual apple. It’s not terrible, but it distracts from what was initially a pleasant flavour.
On balance, this isn’t my favourite apple pie tea, but it’s still pretty good. It just needs to be finished up while hot, and definitely not oversteeped. Not a repurchase for me (although at this point, I’m not sure that would be an option even if I wanted it to be). Not a sample I’ll have any trouble finishing up, though.
The weather purgatory that I’ve been still has me reaching for wintery blends too. :)