2252 Tasting Notes
Nothing new to say about this, other than you can tell it’s spring because my tastebuds are craving fruit teas. A decent blend, gently sweet rather than syrupy. Not sure what base was used, but it complements the flavoring well. Light enough in strength you can drink in the evening and still make it to sleep reasonably on time.
Due to the hibiscus in the mix, I couldn’t detect anything specifically blackberry-y or blueberry-y when I had a cup of this; however, it wasn’t too tart to be enjoyable. Just fruity with a little tang. I plan to use the rest of my little box when it’s iced tea season.
Sounds like a plan! Hibby is best iced and sweet to me!
I have a curriculum writing project on the docket about a missionary surgeon in Ghana. She says that in those parts, hibiscus tea is very common, often laced with lime juice, spices, and hot pepper. Further research ahead, but I can just see me steeping a batch and daring a bunch of 11-year-olds to taste it!
Hmm, the hot pepper throws me off!
Unfortnately, our missionary interviewee didn’t provide an actual recipe, and my first dig didn’t unearth anything. Will keep at it.
Oh, delumptious day of sunshine! First morning-to-evening day with sun and mild temps since…well, ever. To celebrate, we did a breakfast date at First Watch (carrot cake pancakes) and Walmart (when you’ve been married 34 1/2 years, it doesn’t take much to qualify as a date).
I made a pot of this Keemun Congou before we left, took a travel mug along, reheated some when I got home for writing inspiration, and threw the rest in the fridge to cool me down after some housework. Each iteration was woodily sweet, and after nearly a full day of recycling, was still pleasantly drinkable. A good all-day tea.
Another Steepsterite reviewed this as follows: The king of bagged decaf black tea. Accept no substitutes! I believe I agree. Nothing fancy or subtle, but enough strength to make this a viable substitute for bop-you-on-the-head builders tea.
OK, experts, are TenRen and TenFu cousins? Stepbrothers? Identical twins? A friend whose husband travels shared a little two-teaspoon sample packet with print so small it was nearly indecipherable. Anyway, my bifocals are pretty sure the label said TenFu, but the logo was almost indistinguishable from TenRen and the lovely, long blonde leaves look just like the ones in this picture. Everything else was in Chinese.
Tea itself: Superb. Sweet wheat bread. Will resteep this last spoonful as many times as possible before it becomes dishwater.
No doubt I’ve said this before, but I am always intrigued by the subjectivity of flavors in tea reviews—what tastes like homemade Christmas divinity to me may taste like sweaty sneakers to you. Case in point: this Keemun Congu, that according to its proprietor, has a wine undertone and a smoky finish.
My take on it is completely different: light-bodied and very fruity, maybe cherry-grape (I guess that’s where they’re getting the wine) and if there is any smoke at all, it’s just a teensy wisp from a snuffed-out candle. However, this is not to say it’s bad tea. It drinks like a very well-behaved English Breakfast blend. I wonder what you’d think. :)
I have dearly missed Celestial Seasonings’ Sweet Apple Chamomile, so I just homebrewed my own. This is (truthfully, a little pricey) packet of dried apple cubes that steeps up somewhere between Granny Smith and Fuji. I threw in an equal amount of bulk chamomile and let the whole mess go for about 15 minutes. Bingo!
Once I’ve used up this apple blend, I think I’ll try to hunt down some plain old dried apple bits at our bulk Natural Grocers for a slightly less expensive combination.
