My work father and his wife gifted me a canister of mamaki following one of their many trips to the islands. Mamaki is a plant in the the nettle family and is endemic to the Hawaiian islands. The large, brittle green leaves have a dense network of veins that create a dimpled surface; the undersides are white and turn completely green once steeped.
Should’ve written a note when I first opened this canister. It was mellow to begin with, like a cross between a GABA tea and an herbal. I remember it back then being fuller flavored, lotta yamminess and corny sweetness. Now, with some age and the last of the leaf tonight prepared in a bowl, it has less sweetness and more of a tangy-nutty squash-like character with some herbaceous-corn husk high notes. There is no bitterness at all, and it has some body, which is always a welcome surprise when it comes to herbal teas.
This leaf has endurance and can take the heat of multiple boiling water steeps. It is true what others say about mamaki, the longer you steep it, like 30+ minutes, the more flavorful it becomes.
This has been a really pleasant herb to have in my cupboard. I’m sad that it somehow got stashed at the back of the herbal tea shelf in the kitchen. I’ll have to ask my work father to bring some mamaki back on his next trip to the islands.
Flavors: Butternut Squash, Corn Husk, Herbaceous, Nutty, Smooth, Tangy
Your work father sounds like quite a guy! Mine (eh, make it “work big brother”) retired in July and we miss him deeply. And your steep time comment made me laugh - I do 30 minute steeps all the time, just not on purpose!