CatSpring Yaupon

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Recent Tasting Notes

85

Sipdown! (6 | 258)

To me, this tastes quite similar to the medium roast version, perhaps with a touch more of a caramelized note to it. I love the balance of the herbaceous, slightly grassy flavor with the toasty and woody notes from the roasting. There’s also a beautiful lingering dried fruit sweetness that reminds me of raisins, and a touch of molasses-y dark brown sugar. I tend to keep my steep short, for some reason it seems like when I steep these CatSpring roasted yaupons longer, I get more of a charcoal flavor which isn’t my favorite.

Still not sure which of these roasted varieties I’ll be reordering, as I like them both. Maybe I’ll just get both and eventually decide which I prefer… :P

Flavors: Brown Sugar, Caramel, Caramelized Sugar, Charcoal, Dry Grass, Earthy, Herbaceous, Mineral, Molasses, Raisins, Roasted, Smoke, Smooth, Sweet, Toasty, Woody

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 2 min, 0 sec 3 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML

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85

Sipdown! (23 | 239)

Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge (September) – “A yerba mate”

Okay, so this isn’t technically a yerba maté, but it’s in that same vein of non-tea caffeinated plants, so that’s good enough for me ha ha.

Despite being a dark roast, this still has such a mellow and comforting flavor. I can still taste the earthy-sweet yaupon, and it reminds me of golden raisins. But there are also those lovely toasty notes that add a bit of dark caramel richness and deeper wood and toast flavors. Perhaps a tiny hint of charcoal minerality as well.

Happily not a sipdown for long, as I recently ordered CatSpring’s holiday yaupon blend, and another sampler of the three plain yaupon tisanes along with it. :3

Flavors: Burnt Sugar, Caramel, Charcoal, Earthy, Hay, Honey, Mineral, Musty, Raisins, Roasted, Roasted Nuts, Smooth, Sweet, Toast, Woody

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 5 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML

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Y’all know that I have a total soft spot for anything roasted so this yaupon is hitting all the marks for me this morning. There’s still a bit of a slightly grassier earthiness and minerality, but mostly it tastes so golden and toasty with a lot of flavours that make me think of roasted grains and – to a bit of a lesser extent – coffee, with just a faint sort of whisper of smokiness. It feels very Autumnal to me, and was just very pleasant and easy going to sip on today!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChzrV3euzlq/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zz0kNHKW8g

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85

Sipdown! (43 | 241)

I found I enjoyed this one most when I used less leaf (~2 tsp vs. my usual 3) and did a shorter steep. This allowed more of the sweet and fruity notes to shine, whereas when I steeped it longer I noticed more of a charcoal/mineral flavor.

Very autumnal tea overall, with those toasty notes and crisp autumn leaves combined with sweet dried fruit like golden raisins and figs, and a bit of apricot fruit leather in the finish. Some mellow hay and grain notes as well.

I ended up liking this a lot, and will probably reorder a larger size of both this and Pedernales eventually. Certainly helps that it’s a local company too! :)

Flavors: Apricot, Autumn Leaf Pile, Dried Fruit, Dry Leaves, Fig, Grain, Hay, Honey, Musty, Nectar, Raisins, Roasted, Smooth, Sweet, Syrupy, Toasty

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 2 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML

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85

Sipdown! (109 | 206)

Honestly, I was disappointed in this one.

I really loved the green version, which was the first I tried from the sampler. This smells amazing dry, like honey-sweet golden raisins. But for some reason, for me there’s a noticeable ashy, charred flavor in the steeped tea. I didn’t see any other reviewers mention it, so I’m a bit perplexed… Otherwise, it has a nice autumnal, lightly toasty herbaceous flavor with plenty of sweetness and notes of autumn leaves, tobacco, and syrupy dried figs and raisins. But that very mineral ashy taste just throws the whole thing off for me.

I tried different steeping parameters but the result was the same for every cup. Not sure what I’m doing wrong… :(

Flavors: Apricot, Ash, Autumn Leaf Pile, Char, Charcoal, Dried Fruit, Earthy, Fig, Herbaceous, Honey, Mineral, Raisins, Roasted, Smooth, Sweet, Toasted, Tobacco

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML
Mastress Alita

I really dislike ashy/charcoal notes and definitely didn’t get anything like that in either the Medium or Dark roast. I wonder if it got roasted incorrectly… a burnt batch that still went out?

Cameron B.

Yeah I didn’t see anyone mention it, so I wonder…

I’ll probably end up ordering Pedernales so I’ll have to get another sample of this one to try when I do.

Martin Bednář

It indeed seems like some kind of bad batch :(

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78

For the sipdown prompt, “a tea that reminds you of a family member.” Both my mom and sister are coffee drinkers rather than tea drinkers, and deep, roasty notes in tea remind me of the flavor of coffee.

This is noticably more roasty than the medium roast, which had a sweeter, caramel note. There is still some sweetness here, though it is more of a dark molasses. The woody notes are most strong here, and the darker roast brings out a stronger coffee and burnt toast presence as well. The nuttiness is more earthy; I got honey-roasted nuts from the medium roast, and I’m getting roasted walnuts or chestnuts from this one. Of all three of the Catspring Yaupon, this one tastes the least of grass/hay… I don’t really taste that flavor at all.

I liked all three of the Catspring Yaupon varieties! I found less difference between the plain yaupon and the medium roast, and more of a noticable difference in the dark roast. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite of the three, but probably the dark roast, for that deep and satisfying coffee-like flavor.

Flavors: Burnt, Coffee, Earth, Molasses, Roasted Nuts, Roasty, Toast, Walnut, Wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 8 min or more 1 tsp 12 OZ / 350 ML

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77

This is the medium roast from Catsprings Yaupon. Now that I’ve had a chance to try the green version, I can see the similarities. I still get the grassy and dried hay notes, as well as the wood, but the nuttiness is a bit stronger and sweeter, reminescent of honey roasted nuts. There is a roasty quality but it is far from being smoky or charcoal-esque, and is more of a darkly toasted bread/weak coffee flavor. There is also a sort of pleasant caramel note coming through.

Honestly, I could easily drink either of these, but if pressed I’d probably choose the roast. Perhaps I’ll like the dark roast even more…

Since I had a full box of teabags of this one, I made several pitchers of this cold brew, which was quite nice as well. Reminded me a bit of cold brew mugicha, albeit a little sweeter.

Flavors: Caramel, Coffee, Grass, Honey, Hot Hay, Nutty, Roasted Nuts, Roasty, Toast, Wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 8 min or more 1 tsp 12 OZ / 350 ML

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76

The last of the US-grown teas for the library presentation I did earlier in the month. The one featured at the program was the medium roast, but they put a single teabag of their green and dark roast yaupon into the package, so I’m happy I get to try all three.

I’m surprised how much I like this unroasted variety, as plain yerba mate has never been a favorite for me do to the somewhat tobacco smoke flavor note I get. But I’m not tasting that smoky note in the yaupon. Even unroasted, this has a slight roasted nuts flavor profile to it that I quite like, mixed with a dry hay/green grass and mellow woody notes. Very smooth… It’s hard to say for sure without a mate handy to compare to, but based on my (admittedly faulty) memory, I think I like the yaupon more.

Flavors: Grass, Hot Hay, Nutty, Roasted Nuts, Smooth, Sweet, Wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 8 min or more 1 tsp 12 OZ / 350 ML
Cameron B.

I liked this one too! I still need to try the medium and dark roast I got in their sampler…

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85

Sipdown! (40 | 120)

Really like this one. It has such a nice combination of soft hay, a bit of herbaceousness, sweet honey, and light dried fruit notes. Nice natural sweetness too. There’s a touch of musty minerality as well.

Just yummy, and I’ll definitely have to order a full size of this eventually. :)

Flavors: Dried Fruit, Dry Leaves, Hay, Herbaceous, Honey, Mineral, Musty, Nectar, Raisins, Smooth, Spring Water, Stonefruit, Sweet, Thick

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML
Michelle

I like that their teas are named after places in Texas.

Cameron B.

I didn’t even know that, but it is a nice touch!

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85

Sipdown! (33 | 354)

Enjoying the last bit of this one cold brewed.

It’s just as tasty as it was hot! I seem to like this much more than the other reviewers… It has such a pleasant sweet and slightly fruity herbaceous flavor to it. There’s a bit of hay and oats, like a white tea, but it also almost tastes like elderflower or chamomile as well.

Sweet, gentle, slightly earthy, a hint of apple… Love this one! I really need to get around to trying the roasted versions…

Flavors: Apple, Autumn Leaf Pile, Chamomile, Earth, Elderflower, Grain, Hay, Herbaceous, Honey, Mineral, Oats, Raisins, Sweet

Preparation
Iced 8 min or more 6 tsp 34 OZ / 1000 ML

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85

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/

Flavors: Apple, Autumn Leaf Pile, Dried Fruit, Earth, Fig, Grain, Hay, Honey, Oats, Pine, Smoke, Smooth, Sweet

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 5 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML
Martin Bednář

You aren’t crazy. You have different experience. Maybe mine wasn’t the freshest. I was thinking about placing the order, but shipping is nightmare. And I have received a coupon for free shipping (already expired :/) and I haven’t got mood for ordering MORE tea in that moment.

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78

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!

Flavors: Bread, Herbaceous, Maple, Pleasantly Sour

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec 10 OZ / 300 ML
White Antlers

So very happy that this tea was a pleasant one, Martin. Sounds like a good treat after shoveling snow. : )

ashmanra

Snow! How fun! Just grey and dreary here all day. I am glad you are enjoying a great tea with your snow!

gmathis

This sounds delicious, snow or no snow.

Martin Bednář

Well, I couldn’t sleep till 11 pm maybe? It is indeed energy boosting.

They wrote me an email, saying, if I want to finish my order, they offer me a free shipping. If I have only spare 20 bucks :( !

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65

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.

Flavors: Green, Herbaceous, Pine

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 0 sec 3 g 13 OZ / 384 ML
Cameron B.

Yum, I ordered the sampler and need to try these! I tend to enjoy yerba mate so I’ll probably like this one.

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65

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.

Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Brown Sugar, Burnt Sugar, Caramel

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 1 min, 0 sec 5 g 13 OZ / 384 ML
Cameron B.

I’ve never tried yaupon, but I am intrigued. Plus a lot of it seems to be native to Texas, which is where I am! I might have to pick up the Catspring sampler pack…

Avery F.

Yeah, I liked the Catspring ones better than some of the others I’ve tried. I’m not sure how consistent the flavour is, since there isn’t as much detailed attention given to how the yaupon is grown and processed as there is for a lot of tea, but all the roasts I’ve tried from this company have been good. It would be really neat to harvest and roast the yaupon personally, to experiment with it, but it doesn’t grow in my area.

Cameron B.

That does sound fun! I should really try that with hojicha…

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60

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.

Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Burnt Sugar, Caramel

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 1 min, 0 sec 5 tsp 13 OZ / 384 ML

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75

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!

Flavors: Green, Pleasantly Sour, Tea

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec 10 OZ / 300 ML
White Antlers

That was from me and it was posted to you through the kindness of derk Glad it gave you a boost! : ) Here is their website, in case you are interested in what this tea really is. It’s the only caffeinated plant indigenous to North America. I liked their black tea the best. https://www.catspringtea.com/

derk

I couldn’t help but to pass on those 2 different teabags to you for a taste of Texas :)

Martin Bednář

White Antlers: I found their webiste by myself, but thanks a lot for this tea. It was pleasant experience! I am curious about second one.
derk: that’s enough — thank you! So I need to travel to Texas as well, apparently :)

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70

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.

Flavors: Grass, Green, Pleasantly Sour

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more 12 OZ / 354 ML

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75

Method: Loose leaf
Steep time: 4 mins
Water temp: Boiling
Brew style: Western, in my Kati mug

Dry leaf doesn’t really have much of a scent, which is unsurprising, because I’ve had this for a few years now. Steeps up a cool-toned muddy brown color. The liquor smells exactly like yerba mate— earthy, smoky, and pleasantly sour.

The flavor profile for this medium roast Lost Maples is more delicate, complex, and green than the dark-roasted Marfa variety by the same company. I’m getting notes of hay, grass, toasted barley, very slight caramel (really more like burnt sugar), and then a bitter little punch of an aftertaste that quickly dissipates.

Personally, I prefer the more full-bodied and bready Marfa blend for breakfast, but this makes for a fairly pleasurable mid-morning pick-me-up. Re-steeps well, too.

Flavors: Bitter, Burnt Sugar, Grass, Green, Hay, Pleasantly Sour, Roasted Barley, Smoke

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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75

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!

Flavors: Bread, Grass, Hay, Toasted

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100

Earthy. Solid. Energizing. Self-Reliant. Perfection.

Flavors: Burnt Sugar, Earthy, Roasted, Smoked, Woody

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100

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.

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100

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.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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100

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.

Flavors: Bread, Honey, Raisins, Toast, Wood

Preparation
1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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90

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

Flavors: Green Wood, Hay, Lemongrass, Molasses, Smooth, Sweet, Thick

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 30 sec

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