Oolong? Really? Okay, it might be in here somewhere. The chunks of food in this tea blend are the largest yet—even from Teavana. Seriously, the elderberries are HUGE.
To prepare this brew, I followed my usual strategy with the “cornucopia of edibles” beverages from Teavana, pouring the entire one ounce envelope into my spice grinder and pulverizing it all to powder before infusion in a large glass Bodum French press cylinder.
Elderberries were the largest presence, both visually and in taste. Now I am wondering about the wisdom of using whole elderberries. Does anyone else grind their chunks of Teavana food before infusing? Otherwise it seems to me that most of the flavor would be trapped inside, with only the surface area making contact with the water.
The result of my preparation was not very good without sugar. In fact, without sugar I found it somewhat distasteful. So I added a huge dose of sugar, and then it seemed more like a strong elderberry juice, or perhaps closest of all to Sambucol elderberry syrup. Hopefully this brew will also be good for my immune system…
To me, this beverage bears no resemblance whatsoever to tea—whether oolong or any other sort. It’s potable, but I will not purchase it again.
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I would never grind a tea up before brewing. I’m pretty sure that the “food” items in tea are usually added more for visual effect and/or to make the blend cheaper, per weight, to produce. I’m pretty sure that the people who do the blending/flavoring for Teavana assume that the tea will be brewed as is and adjust the ingredients and flavors accordingly. But what I would most worry about would be releasing flavors from a parts of the “food” that aren’t supposed to be infused, like in the case of the elderberries where you may be grinding up the seeds which would release a bitter flavor. This is just my take.
How fascinating! So do you think that I am turning my Teavana beverages into fruit juice, etc. by using this approach? My concern is that the tea in these blends is so far down the list that it won’t even be detectable. But you seem to be suggesting that if I don’t grind the gigantic chunks, then the tea will be more noticeable. Is that right?
I believe you would taste more of the tea flavor if you don’t grind up the ingredients first. However, I’m not one to tell anyone how to prepare their tea. I don’t think there is a truly “right” and “wrong” way to enjoy tea. I think it’s best to experiment to find out what tastes best to you. Personally, I like doing side-by-side comparisons of different teas and brewing techniques.
I would never grind a tea up before brewing. I’m pretty sure that the “food” items in tea are usually added more for visual effect and/or to make the blend cheaper, per weight, to produce. I’m pretty sure that the people who do the blending/flavoring for Teavana assume that the tea will be brewed as is and adjust the ingredients and flavors accordingly. But what I would most worry about would be releasing flavors from a parts of the “food” that aren’t supposed to be infused, like in the case of the elderberries where you may be grinding up the seeds which would release a bitter flavor. This is just my take.
How fascinating! So do you think that I am turning my Teavana beverages into fruit juice, etc. by using this approach? My concern is that the tea in these blends is so far down the list that it won’t even be detectable. But you seem to be suggesting that if I don’t grind the gigantic chunks, then the tea will be more noticeable. Is that right?
I believe you would taste more of the tea flavor if you don’t grind up the ingredients first. However, I’m not one to tell anyone how to prepare their tea. I don’t think there is a truly “right” and “wrong” way to enjoy tea. I think it’s best to experiment to find out what tastes best to you. Personally, I like doing side-by-side comparisons of different teas and brewing techniques.