191 Tasting Notes
I went a little crazy for the seasonal tea flavors during my grocery shopping trip last night. I need to clear out space in the tea cabinet!
I really like this tea. The pumpkin flavor is actually stronger than its Stash counterpart. The spices are nice too. I steep this with 2 tea bags in about 10 oz water, then add plenty of sugar and a splash of soymilk.
2nd steep – as good as the first. I really wish I could put a finger on what fruit/floral flavors are going on here! Definitely something a bit tropical that still tastes good as the tea cools. I think this would be great iced too. Whatever the flavors are, they are delicious.
2nd steep – Ok, it is growing on me. The 2nd steep is a lot less in-your-face earthy, and more balanced tea vs. dirt flavors. Less of the feeling of, “Should I really be drinking something that tastes so odd?” Hehe.
I steeped for 1 minute, which seemed to be about right for the amount of leaf and my big mug. :)
Preparation
My first pu-ehr experience. I can see now why people describe it as “peaty” or “earthy.” I’m not sure what’s up with the other review – I’m not getting “dull muddiness” at all. It isn’t smoky, though. This tea is more like the smell of dirt after a rainstorm. I’m not sure this will become a favorite, but I probably will come back to it again and I’m glad I tried it!
I read a little to find steeping instructions, but ended up with very conflicting information (15-30 seconds at 95 degrees C vs 2-5 minutes at boiling). So, I just went the easy way – 2 minutes with boiling water. I’d say that worked out pretty well, but I am open to suggestions.
Preparation
Haha and I do a combo of the 2 methods:) This is what I do:
1g leaf/1oz of water
Boil water and pour it over the leaves and steep for 20 seconds.
Throw out this infusion
Reboil more water and do another 20 sec steep.
This is your 1st drinkable steep.
Continue steeping at 20 sec til you find the flavor too weak for your preferences
Increase steeping by 10 sec and continue steeping til it becomes too weak, then increase to 40 sec… repeat this pattern.
Another nice tea from McNulty’s. Without additives, this tastes mostly like Adagio’s base for their flavored teas, but with milk and sugar it is perfect. Let’s face it, if I am drinking a tea called “caramel,” I’ll likely be having it with milk and sugar. This also has a hint of roastiness.