This tea is really interesting. Definitely not what I expected, but still good.
When I first smelled the dry leaf, I totally noticed the peppercorns, but it was a little butterscotchy. I thought, what a weird tea!
I steeped some up today. I actually resteeped it too.
The package recommended 194 degrees for 3-4 minutes, but that didn’t match up with how I thought a white tea should be brewed, so I did my first steep at 140 degrees for 2 minutes. This resulted in a slightly weak cup, with the dominant flavor being peppercorn. I could taste a little cinnamon too, but to me, it was like they were trying to make butterscotch flavor with a combination of other flavors and it didn’t quite make it. Not sure if they actual put butterscotch flavoring in, but it does say there is added flavoring.
The resteep was different. I decided to go with the package directions, and it resulted in stronger flavor, and a darker brew. What was interesting was I got a lot more cinnamon and the peppercorn was toned down somewhat.
Still not sure it is really butterscotch, although I may have messed up the flavoring with my first steeping. Overall, it’s pretty good, and warming. Good with a little sweetener to make it more dessert-like. I can imagine this being very cozy when the weather is cold, unlike today. Ha!
