3 Tasting Notes
So i have to admit that I was hesitant at first to buy tea from a coffee house but as they say " necessity is the mother of invention". I bought a tin of this awhile back on a particularly blustery day. Working from home I scoured the cabinets for the makings of a kettle of tea to help keep me motivated on work only to find I was out of tea. I decided to make a trip to town for a cup of coffee instead and while in line I finally broke down and grabbed a tin from the shelves. That tin just happened to be Pride of the Port.
Boiling up some water I set the tea to steep for the recommended time. I anxiously waited as the clock ticked away before tasting it for the first time. Wow is that bitter….I grabbed the tin and double checked the recommended steeping time, maybe I lost track of time lets try that again. For my second cup I used fresh leaves and let it go about 3.5 minutes…jackpot. This tea continues to grow on me and as i approach the bottom of the tin I find myself trying to make excuses to go to Peet’s for another.
The tea sports a beautiful rich coppery liquor that i find has a light earthy and clean aroma. The Tea is nice and malty on the pallet and for me when steeped under the recommended time has just the right touch of astringent bitterness. I really enjoy this as a morning starter and it makes a mighty fine iced cup in the afternoon.
Preparation
I wont really get into a connoisseurs finite review of Teavanas Blueberry bliss but I will tell you this…My daughters (3 & 7) attack me on a regular basis while steeping my own tea’s with the dreaded “Daddy, I want some!”. If you are a parent I’m sure you understand. I’m not super comfortable loading them up with caffeine from my morning black teas and even though the green pack a considerable lighter punch its still not high on my list of afternoon treats for two already overly energetic girls. I have been searching for some sort of tea placebo for my two little angels that didn’t include powdered chocolate and sugar…. Enter the Blueberry Bliss Rooibos, not only is it fun for them to watch the steep as the water goes from clear to a very pretty reddish purple (wife swears I’m color blind but thats what I’m going with), it smells heavenly and they hover over the pot as it steeps breathing in the aroma and telling me how good it smells (over and over). As for the flavor.. it is nowhere near as potent as the smell of this tea. It has a nice fruity, lightly sweet liquor.
So now for the real question.. Do the girls like it? they are kids and quite fickle. What is their favorite yesterday may be horrible today yet they will demand more tomorrow. However they genuinely seem to enjoy the experience and flavor most of the time, Especially with a couple drops of fresh organic honey from the neighbors bee’s mixed in.
As for me and a slightly more adult point of view…I tend to struggle with flavored teas/herbals and this is no exception. For me its a bit much as a straight hot tea and you wouldn’t find me choosing it over a cuppa Monkey Picked Oolong, Orange Pekoe or emperors mist green. It is nice as an iced (in moderation) it does add a nice flavor character when added to a iced black tea. For some reason I findit to be less morally offensive to flavor an iced tea….. When iced there is, as with all Rooibos i’ve tried a very nice grassy finish or aftertaste that is quite pleasant and very different than any flavors I’ve yet to have pulled from “real” teas.
All in all and much to my chagrin this is a tea that has a home in my tea cabinet….. at least until the girls outgrow it.
