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This tea has tea has two ingredients I’ve never heard of and didn’t bother to look up before placing my order. These are Maca (Peruvian ginseng) and Pau D’Arco (South American tree bark).

I’m combining two different drinking sessions in one note.

First Attempt: 8 minutes, two teaspoons = oversteeped

The aroma of both the blend and steeped cup is 99.9% cinnamon and apple, with a hint of sweet nutty earth. Cup flavour profile is vibing on baked cinnamon apple. There is an initial strong liquid maple syrup drip, that tones down a bit over time, as well as a dry woody and tangy lingering quality, not dissimilar to green apple. This builds.

I don’t “the dry” but do think this would make a particularly lovely cup on a wet fall evening. I’m going to try and play with the steeping parameters (meaning I will obey them this time, lol) to see if I can mitigate “the dry”.

Second Attempt: 6 minutes, 1 1/2 teaspoons

I forgot about this one so drank it lukewarm to cool. Cinnamon Apple is still No.1 with a hint of beet, honeybush, ginseng, and thin maple. I still think the broth is on the thin side, not dissimilar to how thin maple syrup is, but the dry is much more manageable. Huzzah!

Flavors: Apple, Apple Skins, Bark, Cinnamon, Drying, Earth, Maple Syrup, Roasted, Wood

Preparation
Boiling

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Bio

I started my Steepster loose leaf adventure back in 2012. I can’t say I’m completely new anymore, but I still view oolong as a magical, extraterrestrial creature that unfurls in water.

Favourite Flavours/Ingredients:

-Vanilla, Maple, Caramel, Cream, Toffee, Nougat, Marzipan
-All Citrus: Lime, Grapefruit, Lemon, Bergamot, Orange, Yuzu
-Anise, but not licorice
-Ginger or Clove-forward chai
-Rosemary
-Grass/Marine/Vegetal/Nutty Green teas
-Florals: Rose, Lavender, Jasmine…
-Musky and/or Woody Incense-like stuff: Sandalwood, Frankincense, Eucalyptus
-Berries: Blackberry, Raspberry, Currants, Blueberry, Elderberry
-Bananas, and most fruits actually.

Less Preferred Flavours/Ingredients:

-Stevia and most sweetners
-Cinnamon-forward chai/blends
-Apple & Cranberries
-Mango pieces (love mango outside of tea though)
-Coconut pieces (as a sub/filler ingredient)
-Metallic or overly artificial teas
-Cocoa Nibs, 95% of the time.

Subjective Rating System 3.0:

90-100: My absolute favourite tea. I’ll impulsively buy in large quantities and hoard like a dragon.

85-89: A favourite tea. I’ll try to keep this one around when it’s practical.

76-84: A good tea, but not one I’m likely to order again.

70-75: Alright, but I may have a few problems with quality, consistency, ingredient chemistry and/or personal preferences.

50-69: Average to mediocre cup.

11-49: Varying levels of undrinkable tea. I don’t give a lot of these ratings out, since I tend to grab tea I know will appeal to me.

1-10: Nightmare tea from the chaos realms. This tea is the embodiment of the primordial swamp, the unholy abomination that is a chimera. It’s very gross and I’m almost positive it doesn’t exist.

Location

BC, Canada

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