Terroir Tea

So my mom just bought this balm that’s I guess like a muscle relaxer, but made with traditional Chinese herbs/spices and stuff? It’s called Tiger Balm and it actually does fucking wonders in terms of like back pain/shoulder pain and that kind of thing.

I bring it up ‘cause I drank a mug of this the other night and literally the only thing I could think of was her fucking Tiger Balm. This tulsi tastes exactly like how the tiger balm smells. I think that’s probably ‘cause this does have some intense cinnamon notes to it and like one of the main things in that balm is cinnamon/cassia oil. So, there’s overlap in that regard. Also notes of clove, and mint in addition to that herbaceous basil quality. I don’t know; it was a VERY good cup and really soothing/relaxing flavours.

I’m just sayin’… Tiger Balm.

Song Pairing: https://youtu.be/pstVCGyaUBM

Drank this one last night…

Flavour wise, it was pretty spot on to what it normally is, and that was delicious and comforting in all the right ways. However, something was off mouthfeel wise. I can’t explain where it came from, but it was just so thick and oily. Very, very unpleasant texture. Definitely was the cause for some conflicting feelings…

Drank this one last night before bed.

At a certain point, I almost forgot that I was actually drinking tulsi because this was so clove-like in flavour last night! Legit, my sister asked what I was drinking and I actually responded with “steeped clov- wait, no shit! It’s tulsi not cloves!”. She just shrugged; I’m sure she really didn’t care either way and was just making polite conversation.

I do really love this one though; it’s nice having it as a herbal/before bed option instead of all the really fruity herbals in my stash. It’s more ‘tea like’ in a way…

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCF9bm-vTqE&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ&index=4

(I’m really into Foster The People’s new music!)

Hot mug of tea on the front steps with a bowl of cherries, and some good music!

So, this second time around i feel like I definitely got more of a feel of the “spice” elements of the flavour profile. The finish was very clove heavy, with even a sense of ginger or even cinnamon. All of that, of course, on top of the very herbaceous flavour of the basil itself. It was actually a very nice compliment to the cherries as well because it sort of created this sweet “spiced cherry” sort of flavour profile with the same great juxtaposition between savory and sweet that you get from pairings like sage and blackberry or peach and thyme.

In fact, I think I’d be REALLY on board for a “Spiced Cherry and Tulsi” type of blend; either herbal, rooibos, honeybush, or black. Cherries, tulsi, clove and the tea base, maybe with a bit of cinnamon? Can I put in a formal recommendation for Anne of 52Teas to make that!? It would be SO good!

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iWIufREVVM&list=WL&index=2

So, this is a new company for me – and one I had asked my mom to check out ahead of time. In a perfect world, I would have got her to get more than just three different teas but there were so many stores she was stopping at, so I tried not to overload at any one place…

I realized early on that most of what I’d requested was black teas or just caffeinated teas in general so I asked for this one as a bit of a change of pace. Additionally, even though I’ve tried tulsi I’ve never had it on hand to play with before, and I think this particular varietal is a new one to me as well. It smells great though!

I’d love input from others – but how does everyone on Steepster here like Tulsi to prepare your tulsi? I went with a Western infusion, but I’m wondering if this would hold up to being brewed Gong Fu because I feel like it could make an interesting option for late night tea making.

My western brew was great though: obviously it tasted strongly of basil because that’s essentially what tulsi is. However, the company description says “clove” as well, and I was skeptical of that, though I definitely do think this had that strong but sweet sort of spiciness that I’d associate with clove so I think I was a bit hasty in my skepticism. I love clove though, so it was just this wonderful added layer of flavour.

I was REALLY happy with this tea.

Also worth noting, of all the tea places my mom stopped at for me, she said that this was her favourite. She loved getting to speak to the owner (she’s a sucker for that kind of thing; as am I, honestly) and she said she felt very welcomed as someone who doesn’t know much about tea at all, especially because this is more of a specialty store/“store for those who kind of know what they’re doing” (in her words) compared to companies like Davidstea or Teavanna. Her and the owner had a long conversation about how the owner had gotten into tea, and about me as well. They also took the time to explain exactly what all the teas I was getting were, and what made them special/unique and she got to see some pretty cool teaware demoed. You know, the full blown experience. Just, she was REALLY impressed with the experience overall. Coupled with this first impression of their tea/tisanes – I think this is a store to keep an eye on…

Hmm, I was hoping for some walnut and dark chocolate notes going by the description, but I got 70% drier, woodsy notes followed by softening 20% softening honey, and a surprising, remaining 10% mineral note. Roughly, of course. This also has a thinner mouthfeel so I can’t see this going too well with milk. Not my idea of a black tea but I’m sure there are some tea drinkers out there who would appreciate this more than I.