Christmas Cookie Shou Mei

Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge – July Tea #9-A tea paired with a biscuit/cookie

I don’t really have cookies around at the moment, so I will go with one of my many COOKIE teas for this prompt.  I always like this one… it’s one of Frank’s blends but it seems like it directly translates into the kinds of teas Anne makes for 52Teas, going for more of the natural route with lots of ingredients to create flavor, rather than earlier teas from Frank which relied on flavorings.  Such a unique blend of white tea, spices, almonds and marshmallow root.  I’d say the almonds should be better chopped for more flavor, but other than that I’d love to see a reblend!  Also, none of my cookie teas were ready for a sipdown, so this is not a sipdown.

This is a lightly flavored tea. I’m getting a nice orange and ginger flavor with almond lingering in the background of the sip. It didn’t strike me as sugary sweet like cookies, so I added some Truvia. Now it’s more like a Christmas cookie! I think imagination here is key. I am getting some buttery cookie aspects along with the warmth and spice that reminds me of Christmastime. The white base is muted here, allowing the flavorings to shine through and take the spotlight.

Mmm, I’m very glad that I bought two packages of this one. I’m really enjoying it a lot! There’s something special about Frank’s white tea blends. They’re always my favorites. I drank this one pretty quick. Time for a resteep! I infused the leaves for about 5 minutes the second go-around. And it’s just as tasty as the first cup! That’s rare for 52teas blends. I think I may grab a few more pouches of this before it’s too late…

I figured it was about time to change my icon – Go ’nucks! ;)

I was expecting something a bit sweeter and more cookie-like, to be honest. LiberTeas was correct in saying this comes across as more like a mild chai, I’d say. The most noticeable flavour is the ginger although it’s relatively low key compared to how it’s been in other blends. There’s also a nice little citrus-orange undertone with a hint of cinnamon. As the tea cools it develops a touch of sweetness, but it’s nothing that really brings to mind ‘cookies’. Still on it’s own it’s a quite a warm, pleasent tea.

Backlog:

I really liked this blend. The brewed tea smells delightful, in fact, I think I smelled more cookie than I tasted it and I did want a little more of the buttery, cake-y type flavors that teas like this from 52Teas are known for. This tasted a bit more like a mild chai to me than a cookie flavored tea.

But that was alright too, because I do love me some chai.

As the tea cools, the flavors develop a little and I get more of a baked goods type of flavor as the tea cools a little. (Not cold as in iced tea or even room temperature, but cooler than ‘hot.’) I still wanted a little more of the baked good flavor to come through or maybe something more ‘icing’ to bring it all together.

And I found it in the second steep! This tea you really NEED to resteep because the flavor is so much better in the second infusion. I happily tasted the cookie flavor I wanted in the first cup with the second infusion. Yum!

A really tasty blend.

And please – don’t forget that I’m trying to take over 52Teas! Please help me do that! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/497705217/the-great-52teas-take-over

Maybe if I think of this as more of a light chai, that will help me rationalize this tea. It just does not invoke Christmas cookie.

It tastes like a nice light chai with some orange and ginger. It’s good…I like it, as I do like chai, orange, and ginger. It’s not a really bold chai flavor…while I do like bold chai teas, sometimes you want something nice and light.

I am enjoying this tea chilled. I mainly taste warm (not spicy) ginger and light citrus. Now that I look at the ingredients, the citrus taste might be the orange peel. These flavors go really well with the slightly sweet white tea base. The aftertaste is softly gingerbready. An enjoyable cup.

I cold brewed this in a quart mason jar with 4 teaspoons of tea. I like how the longer “brew” time really brings out more flavor without getting bitter or astringent.

This needs a new name. It reminds me more of a chai or the mulling spices you put in apple cider. Mulling spices shou mei or Spicy Christmas. Regardless of name I like the flavors I’m tasting. The spices are the dominate flavor is definitely all of the spices while the white tea is somewhat light. Think I might have to bake this into something..