Pure Leaf

It rained all night; I’m wondering if I need to start gathering animals two by two. Got the cats already, except they’re both male…

Anyway, it’s a wet, sullen, chilly morning and a stout wake-up was needed. Pure Leaf is filling that bill pretty decently. Has enough bite to it (and usually I need morning tea with fangs) that I prefer it with milk. Nice to find a good morning loose leaf on the shelves at Walmart. Hope it stays there.

At our house, we’re suckers for free samples and dollar-off coupons. That’s why there’s a new little looseleaf jar of Pure Leaf on the kitchen shelf.

It’s definitely a waker-upper. There’s the cat-scratch sharpness of the Ceylon on top of each taste, then you get the deep breadiness of the Assam—you know, that floor-reverberating thump of a big dog’s tail. Milk makes them play nicely together.

Walmart was giving away free sample bags last weekend. The first thing I noticed about the pyramid bag was how fresh and sweet it smelled. (I don’t have the adjectival chops to tell you how I differentiate between fresh and not-so-fresh, but it was.)

Steeped, even with the disadvantage of water from a work microwave, it has the pastry-cookie vanilla sweetness of Harney and Sons’ Vanilla Comoro, which I know is often held up as the gold standard for vanilla tea. The Pure Leaf jars run a little pricier than boxed grocery store favorites, but this one earns its keep!

About a year ago, we discovered in our Publix store the best bottled tea I’ve ever had. Most bottled teas taste artificial or watered down to me. The bottles of Pure Leaf tea set a new standard. They tasted great, natural, and freshly brewed. So, when I discovered a loose leaf Pure Leaf product in Publix last night, I immediately tossed it into the cart.

My hopes were high for this tea. It was packaged in a simple and contemporary plastic jar. Inside the lid, just a simple paper seal protected the contents from the world we live in. The short dark brown leaves had a nice rich earthy aroma.

As always, I followed the manufacturer’s instructions and steeped the leaves at 212 degrees for three minutes. The brewed liquor was a dark honey color. The smell was like Assam with a tad of sweetener.

The flavor of this tea was smooth, robust, and full-bodied. I could taste both the Ceylon and Assam, which seemed to be blended in perfect harmony. There was just an itsy bitsy twang of astringency, but this seemed to disappear after the first couple of sips. The aftertaste was strong but amiable.

As I said earlier, I had high hopes for this tea, and it didn’t disappoint me. It had all of the characteristics that I look for in a black tea. It was bold, defined, and flavorful. I will overlook the twinkle of astringency since it went away quickly.

If your grocery store has this tea, I would recommend you give it a try. You can’t go wrong at under $7 for 4.7 ounces!