Market Spice Tea

Lewis & Clark Traveling Teabox – Tea #13
A very dark green tea (looks almost like black tea) with bits of berries sprinkled in. It’s also supposed to have plenty of other berry flavor. This one tasted familiar and I realized it was like a raspberry oolong I’ve had before: same fruit flavor. A little bit like fruit flavored candy. Though there was a flavor here that was more like alcohol that drowned out any green tea flavor I would find.
Steep #1 // 25 min after boiling // 2-3 min

I cold brewed this up last night, and was amazed at how sweet and nutty and creamy it smelled. It smells like a dessert tea, which surprised me considering I was expecting something much more fruity.

I woke up with an upset stomach and decided to sip on this in order to settle my tummy. It’s not too surprising considering how strong the creamy hazelnut smell was, that this tea is very nutty. Much more nut than fruit. There’s a hint of something fruity towards the end, but I definitely wouldn’t call this a fruity tea. The good news is I didn’t experience any tartness, despite the rose hips.

Considering that this is much more nutty than fruity, I’m going to need to try this hot next. But overall it’s not a bad dessert type tea.

Hmm, the description says that oolong is considered the champagne of teas, but I always thought that that was Darjeelings. Anyway, this oolong still has bits, but there’s bigger pieces in this one too, and no stems.

The liquor of this one is darker, and more brown. Taste wise this is a bit weak in taste, it probably could have used another minute steeping. But the flavor is a lot more honey. This actually isn’t half bad. Lots of honey notes, the only thing holding this tea back is the lack of depth or complexity. The only flavor I detect is honey. Not bad, thought. Much better than the standard grade.

I’ve never seen an oolong with quite so much broken leaves. The leaves were a mix of black pieces, green pieces, and brown pieces, along with some twigs.

The liquor brews up a golden color. Taste wise, it reminds me a lot of a mild bagged black tea. It’s vaguely sweet, and honey tasting, but it also has the distinct brewed from a bag black tea taste. Eh, not a fan, hopefully the choice grade is better.

Backlog
I cold brewed this up the other day, and forgot about it, so it sat for almost 2 days. I have to say, that it turned out pretty good considering how much I over steeped it. It was only slightly bitter and astringent, which I assume is due too how long it steeped. besides that it was mellow, slightly sweet, and pleasantly vegetal. Thankfully I have enough to try again and get a better idea of what this has to offer.

I went in for my yearly hair cut a little early this year (I usually realize how long it’s been around my birthday in September). I know that’s really bad, but I always put off getting my hair cut because I want to be Rapunzel, and then by the time I realize my hair is getting ratty, I keep forgetting to make an appointment, and then next thing you know my birthdays here and it’s been another year since my last cut. This year my hair was longer than ever. No only did I have to stand up while my hairdresser cut the length, but even with my chair all the way down, she had to stand on her tippy toes while stretching my hair up to trim the layers. And it took almost an hour to blow dry my hair, poor girl. I definitely left a good tip for all her trouble. I’m 5’6 and had hair down to my butt when I went in, and now it’s just past bra strap level. And even though it pains me to see even those 4-5inches go, I know my hair looks so much healthier now.

Anyway, I had brought this, cold brewed, with me to the salon. Flavor wise it’s a little thin, but considering that it’s Acai, it kind of works. I always think of things that are acai flavored as lighter and more gentle in taste. The flavor is a little fake, but not all together bad. And there’s a nice lingering fruity aftertaste, that funnily enough packs more punch than the sip itself. The flavor isn’t my favorite, but it’s not bad, and is a good mellow option for staying hydrated when cold brewed.