Cider Guayusa

Mmmmm I really like this tea when the weather’s a little colder outside. It’s almost like having a cider to drink…something I really enjoy when I’m ice skating in winter. Very nearly a sip down – I may finish this later tonight if the weather gets cooler this evening. My other half is at work tonight so I’ve got the house to myself to drink tea in and finish getting some of my packages ready for drop off tomorrow.

Sipdown, 118. Back up again because of tea deliveries today! This is still pretty tasty, but I don’t love it as much as I first did. I think it’s the guayusa… I like it with a citrusy blend, but I don’t think the apple stands up to it enough. It’s a bit too “guayusa” flavored, which is hard to describe but isn’t sitting well with my tastebuds right now. So this won’t be a restock but I’m glad I had some to try!

It was nice and cool this morning and very wet still from the overnight rains. This felt like the right choice to take on my morning walk with one of the dogs. It was enjoyable – the walk was not (unruly pup)…

I did try this out before walking out the door. First sip was very nice – smooth guayusa base with apple cider spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, maybe a touch of clove). Very drinkable by itself! However for some reason when I think of cider, I think of maple. So I added just a touch of real maple syrup and that took it to the next level! A little sweet cidery goodness with punch of caffeine!

This is resteeping iced in the fridge, so we’ll see how that fares later on…

Thanks to Sil for sending me a nice sample of this! It’s going on the list for my next Butiki order!

And what better tea to celebrate 100 tasting notes? Woot!

Yum yum yum, still not sure about how I feel about guayusa itself, but the flavor of this is fantastic!
I completely missed class today. In fact I am confused as to how it’s noon. I have been awake for at least 90 minutes and I’m wondering what I’ve been doing? The dishwasher is running though so I did that much. And made this tea.

I’ve got another guayusa too so I really wish I could get into the flavor of guayusa. I want to say I have had one before, I know I’ve had it blended with mate, but now I’m not sure. I have the apricot one from Butiki but I haven’t tried it yet. There’s just something so grassy/earthy about it that is just slightly off-putting for my tastebuds I guess.

But, the apple cider flavors going on here make it a heck of a lot more difficult to notice. I can’t tell if it’s the apple or the spices but something is blending in amazingly well with the taste of guayusa, and I have to actually sit here and try to pinpoint the guayusa taste on its own.

Hopefully this provides a good push for the day. The hurricane or whatever he is now has made everything feel so groggy with cloud cover for 3 days now. It was sunny yesterday for a bit, but it’s just so hard to do anything when it just looks/feels like it’ll rain (of course then it never does).

Also I have a question. I applied to a job almost a week ago and I haven’t heard back, would it be appropriate to stop in there (a store obviously, hey office crashing) and “check in” or something? Come with a non-typo resume in hand? Would it be ridiculous to just redo the resume? I am sad.

From VariaTEA.

When I first tried this blend and Good Morning Sunshine, I liked Good Morning Sunshine much more than this blend – but having another cup of this months after my first, I think this is actually the better blend.

The guayusa isn’t as “sharp” but is still present, and the apple/cinnamon combination is done in a very gentle sort of way where it’s rich and flavourful but kind of mellow and not really “sour/sharp apple” which I associate with poorly made ciders. As well, there’s a creaminess (almost vanilla but not quite) to this blend that really tapers the cinnamon and almost makes it seem pastry like. Overall, what I think I’m actually most reminded of is that Apple Pie flavoured dessert gum!

Once my tin of Good Morning Sunshine runs out, I will be replacing it with this blend instead; I think the apple is much more of a contrast compared with the other Mate/Guayusa blends I stock so I feel like I’ll have more variety, and I like that this is high caffeine/energy but it feels gentle and would be a almost tranquil way to start my day (especially work days).

If I remember correctly, it’s also very good cold!

Hmm, so I just discovered that I’ve been spelling ‘guayusa’ incorrectly this whole time…. whoops. Mostly noticed because I couldn’t locate this tea with my spelling…

So thanks to Stacy @ Butiki for this sample! Not sure why I’ve gone on a Butiki kick lately, probably because I realized that there were a bunch of teas I had yet to try, and since I’m planning another large order, should get to trying things sooner rather than later! Apparently I still have a few teas from my first order that I haven’t tried (including a sample of Pumpkin Creme Brulee, which is awaiting my 4-way pumpkin spice tea comparison).

So this tea. When I first got my huge package of teas from Butiki, by way of Azzrian, I opened up my little package of samples and this tea was all I could smell. Straight up apple cider… and I love apple cider! Pretty exciting. I’m not exactly sure how I managed to wait until now to try this one… The dry tea smells so delicious, sweet and cinnamony and appley, and I can see big apple chunks in the tea… mmmmm! I can barely smell the earthy guayusa at all, which is great!

I sampled this quickly while it was hot without sweetener, and am pretty sure I could drink it without, but threw in some rock sugar anyways. It’s pretty good! Not as strong as I expected, given the aroma (and given how strong cider usually is), but the flavour is like a weak cider with earthy guayusa undertones. I wish there was more tartness from the apples, but that’s about it. Otherwise it’s quite good!

The only downside of this tea is that I can’t really see myself picking this over a cup of apple cider, even though this is caffeinated. So I’m probably more likely to stick to the Killer’s Vanilla and Good Morning Sunshine as go-to guayusa blends, although this one was definitely worth the cup!

I’ve had this twice in the past 24 hours—hot last night and cold brewed this afternoon (stretching till now, I drink iced tea very slowly ^^;). I love cider, guayusa, and Butiki, so I knew I was going to love my little sample from Stacy. In fact, I’ve been saving it up for some reason, but I plan on placing an order soon so I need to get through my samples!

I think apple and guayusa are a perfect combo. The cider is apple-y and spiced without tasting like a chai, and the grassy plant-like (in a good way!) taste of guayusa is a perfect balance. It’s like a light, airy cider. A little tart, a little sweet, just perfect! I think cider teas are usually pretty heavy (like Adagio’s apple chai) so this is an interesting counterpoint. It’s not overwhelming, and I think I could sip it all day easily! Actually, I kind of did. Two hot steeps and a cold brew without losing flavor, which is nice since tisanes often only hold up to one or two infusions. I’m debating between this and the Apricot in my order, the cider is currently a bit ahead.

I received a bit of this tea from a recent swap with DaisyChubb – thank you very much, DaisyChubb!

I really like this. I couldn’t find it on the Butiki Teas website, nor did I have any luck finding it anywhere here on Steepster. This is really quite tasty. The apple is a nice pairing with the flavor of the guayusa, and the spices weave their way in and out throughout the sip. It’s quite enjoyable. Sweet and delicious!

I grabbed this out of the package from MissB because once I was brewing a tea at boiling, I might as well make another.

This tastes like sugar-free cider. It has a hint of apple sweetness as all ciders do but it remains mellow due to the guayusa base. Not my favorite cup but definitely very pleasant. Thanks for sharing, MissB!!

Quit my job and it feels grrrrreat! Need to prioritize and focus on school, plus my mom isn’t well and it would be nice to spend time with her over the holidays as opposed to working. Speaking of which, happy holidays!

I’ve had this maybe eight times by now and never knew what to really say about it. The taste reminds me more of apple cider vinegar than actual apple cider. Very tangy and kind of surprises you with every little sip. The cinnamon is more pronounced in here too.

The guayusa itself works, let me tell you. I drank two strong cups of this near supper time and probably didn’t fall asleep until 4am that night.