1812 Tasting Notes
As the single package I received contained no instructions for brewing, nor were there any immediately available on the webpage for this specific tea, I chose to utilize typical rooibos steeping for this tea: 1 cup of just-boiled water with a steeping time of five minutes. This tea came in a individually-wrapped tea bag, which really did not have much scent while dry. However, from the second I poured the steaming water over the tea, I could smell the delicious mixture of chamomile and spearmint wafting up from my cup.
The smell of the freshly-brewed, bright red liquor was dominantly spearmint. The rooibos could be smelled a bit in the undertones. Nevertheless, the spearmint was not overwhelmingly strong, which was pleasing. It was just a mild, delicious aroma.
Even after steeping for five minutes, the taste of my first sip did not strike me as being very strong, yet it was quite full. Whereas the spearmint dominated the smell, chamomile dominated the flavour, spreading throughout the mouth quite excellently. The aftertaste was a mixture of primarily spearmint with hints of rooibos lurking in the background.
Overall, this was an enjoyable tea, but not something I would be quick to buy again were I shopping for tea.
Preparation
For this review I decided to brew this tea using a two-cup glass teapot. Canton Tea Co’s website suggests using 1 tsp of pearls per cup, which is difficult to estimate using pearls, so I believe I added about 35-40 of the small pearls to the teapot. Continuing to follow the directions, I steeped the pearls about three minutes, stopping to taste the tea after two minutes (the website had recommended 2-3 minutes).At two minutes, the taste really wasn’t very far developed, but I could already tell that this was one very sweet tea.
With the dry pearls, one could very much smell the jasmine, yet the scent was not overpowering, nor was it almost sickly-sweet, as some teas are that contain jasmine. The aroma of the brewed tea was even less bold and had an even softer nose, with only faint hints of jasmine.
Upon taking the first big sip, the tea flow smooth and thick across the tongue, and the fruity sweet taste of jasmine infiltrated my entire mouth. If a flower could be described as being delicious, this would be the epitome of such a description. The amount of jasmine is enough to lend great character to the tea, while not completely dominating it.
The website recommends steeping this for at least three separate infusions. I most certainly shall.
On my personal enjoyment scale, I rate this tea an 85/100.
Preparation
To review this tea, I decided to once again utilize my awesome Tea Forte Cafe Cup!
Tea Forte’s website recommended steeping this for at least five minutes, so I poured just boiled water over one pyramid bag and let it steep. The teabag actually remained in the cup for six and a half minutes, but I figured this would not be an issue, as most rooibos blends rarely oversteep.
The dry leaf smells delicious! Lots of tasty smelling berry aroma.
The liquor brews a deep, dark red, very nearly the colour of some red wines. While it still smells like berries, the berry scent has changed to smelling very nearly like juice.
The taste of the steeped tea is very smooth, with a fullness that is neither thick nor watery. The finish is much stronger in berry flavour than is the taste while on the tongue, as though the dominant flavour migrates seamlessly from rooibos to berry.
The smell of this tea was far more bold than the flavour, almost making it a bit disappointing to drink. (I guess I shouldn’t let the aroma set my expectations.)
All in all, it was a very tasty tea. Wonderfully fruity, the hint of the rose petals that are part of this tea even peek out in the aftertaste.
On my personal enjoyment scale, I believe I would rate this tea a 75/100.
