Blue Willow Tea

I lost my sense of taste/smell for a while when I had covid, but I’m very grateful to have it back. With the weather finally warming up, I’ve been making iced tea the past few days. This one I made by cold brewing it overnight, which the leaf responded to really well. It’s got a nice medium mouthfeel, honey sweetness, some floral notes, and a generally pleasing smoothness that’s perfect for a warm day.

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Another from my recent Tea Thoughts countdown box. I adore Bai Hao but have never tried it cold brewed before, so this was a fun experience.

It’s just as smooth and delicious as I would expect, with some surprising and refreshing lychee notes. There are also the usual darker syrupy sweet dried fruit, soft hay, and chewy grain flavors as well. It’s very light but still flavorful, refreshing yet still somehow comforting. And there’s honey of course, but it’s very light, perhaps something like acacia honey?

Even though I feel almost wasteful making all these cold brew pitchers (I guess because it takes a lot of tea?), it’s a fun experience trying all of these teas that I already love in a new way. :)

Well-rounded and smooth. I can see this becoming my go-to breakfast tea.

Brewing details are approximate on this one, but you definitely don’t want to oversteep this, as even though it’s an herbal, it quickly gets bitter when forgotten on the counter. Though it’s actually fun to watch this steep—it starts at a light, earthy green, and then flushes pink, and ends up at a warm pinkish-orange that you’d never mistake for a black.

I’m not surprised to find out this has hibiscus—it explains that pink, and it definitely has the tartness. This tea is somewhat fine, though, and the hibiscus is hard to physically see. I guess I’m used to hibiscus blends that include larger petals. It smells predominantly of cloves, but it doesn’t overwhelm the taste; it just adds a nice little kick of spice.

It’s definitely an interesting blend, though maybe not something I’d drink everyday. It was a secret santa gift, but I’m told by my gifter that the salesperson at Tea Lady said it was great iced. I’ll update when I try it.