Candied Chestnut

I wouldn’t know a chestnut if I tripped over one like a banana peel. So my nose didn’t know what to look for when I opened this little sample from Single Origin Teas. My first thought was that I was sniffing chai spice.

Steeped, however, this takes on a whole ‘nother personality—a congenial one! It reminds me of a really, really good oolong (the vendor description confirms that I’m not making that up!) with brown sugar sweetness and that unfamiliar “something” that must be the chestnutty goodness. Leaves your lips and tongue sweet after each sip—like little sugar kisses.

FAVORITE TEA EVER!!!!!!!!!!

Synopsis of my long post: The tea gods love me. You must try this lightly sweet nutty wonderful tea. Full tasting notes come at the end of the post.

Back in 2010 I spend a semester at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and found this amazing tea shop Anteaques. There I had this wonderful chestnut tea. When I came back stateside I searched for a comparable tea. And searched, and searched, then searched some more. Some of the chestnut/nut teas were truly awful – undrinkable- others were ok. I admit I might have been overly hard on these nut teas, but I was on a mission.
Several months ago I was on a Ceylon fix – I’d just finished my last Ceylon – and I purchased some truly delicious teas from Single Origin Teas. Recently I decided to revist their site and that’s when the stars aligned and the tea gods smiled on me. Right there on the home page: Candied Chestnut tea.
I was all like “Be still my beating heart, you’ve been disappointed before”, but given the high quality of the teas I already purchased from Single Origin Teas I had to give it a try. When I smelled the leaves I knew I had found my chestnut tea at last. I swear this is the same tea. This tea makes me happy – the aroma, the taste, the warmth – Keats should have written an ode to this tea. The best part is that the tea lives up to my memory of it. I was starting to think that I had idealized this tea so much that should I drink it again I would be disappointed. Not so. It’s my tea “dream come true”.

Tasting note time:

As I’ve said before with Single Origin Teas what you see is what you get when it comes to the leaves. The dried leaves smell sweet. The first sent to hit your nose is sugary vanilla then comes the sent of chestnut with a barely there hint of fruit from the leaves.
Once brewed the predominant aroma is sweet chestnut with a touch of vanilla and the slightest fruity/floral hint.
Everything about this tea is light, but in a good way. The chestnut flavor is present throughout with a background note of vanilla. It’s sweetest when it’s in your mouth. As you swallow the phantom fruity/floral quality appears again. As the tea cools the fruity note becomes slightly more present.

I’ve kind of been hoarding the last of this sample knowing I can’t order more until after the move, but today was cold and I didn’t think I could face going to work without it. So I regretfully brewed the last of it and remembered why I fell so in love with this tea. Nutty. Chocolatey. Dark sugar goodness. I even forgot about the second steep (damn you Dowton Abby!) and it ended up still great and amazingly sweet. I will not be facing another winter without this.

Super tasty! Though I am biased as I love chestnut teas!

The flavor is pretty natural roasted chestnuts without being too sweet. The black base, though light and pretty close to a high oxidized oolong (which this is actually a chinese oolong fully oxidized) with roasty caramel flavor. The base goes well with the chestnut flavor. I got a really good second infusion too!

Full review at Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/single-origin-teas-flavored-tea-review/

I have just now gotten around to trying this sample that James sent with my most recent order, several months ago now! The scent in the cup as it sat on my desk kept reminding me of black licorice. It was a tasty cup that I had no idea what to except from. I added some half and half for the last part of the cup and that turned it into a creamy delight. I don’t especially care for the scent but the taste is good!

Backlog! From SEVERAL days ago, so all I have is the stuff I jotted down while sipping.

Here goes:

Bitter nut shell.
Citrus.
Maple.
Sour.
Lime.
Rum.

I remember that it did taste more like an oolong than a black tea. The weight of the liquid, the lightness of body and the almost sparkling texture…it was very bright. It wasn’t what I was expecting. I’ll try this again soon, and I’ll make sure to be more precise in my description! Thanks for sending this my way hapatite!

The dry leaves smell of rum and sugared nuts (think of those roasted nut stands in Asia).

The smell of the brewed tea is of roasted nuts and smokiness with a hit of sweetness at the end. The liquor is a light amber. The sip starts buttery and sweet and finishes with a woodsy smoke reminiscent of tobacco. The finish is brought back to an earthy sweetness.

I enjoy this tea and its complexity. It is great as an oolong because black tea would be too astringent. This oolong borders on being almost too astringent, but it pulls itself back from the edge with the sweetness and smokiness. From the leaf I thought it would be much sweeter, but it is actually quite well balanced. I could see this becoming more indulgent with sugar and cream, but I like it just the way it is.