13 Tasting Notes
This is a delightful tea best served dumped in the Atlantic and forgotten about.
lol
Hahaha.
Perfect description. Is this what they used during the Boston Tea Party?
haha!! I don’t understand why everyone in America seems to love this tea, it’s vile :( even their newer cold blends you find at the grocer are disgusting, awful aftertaste
Spot. On.
Delightful! The tea tastes pretty much how it smells. Go up to a pine tree and inhale through your mouth… that’s pretty much it. However, mixed with a good spoon of honey and it makes for an excellent and nutritious winter tea.
How much do you use for a 6oz cup of tea?
I don’t go with anything precise. I just throw in a bunch 1-2 inch stem tips and let it steep until I feel like I have attained the proper taste. Considering how common it is to just go outside and get it, measuring quantity, I have found, is not that big of a problem.
Not because of commonality, but to get a cup that is neither too weak or strong it is.
Personally, I’m generous when it comes to it. I guess it depends on the type of tree you use. Blue spruce has densely packed needles, so for my 10 oz cup I’ve used 4 tips. I understand chopping the needles helps, but I am still experimenting! Tell me how yours goes so I can get a better understanding! :)
Sorry Nate… Just not that brave… LOL
Cofftea – to answer your question, I’ve found that about 20 or 30 needles (1 or 2 inches – try to get new growth) makes a mild flavor that really works. To get the most robust flavor, try baking them real quick in a toaster oven or boiling them.
Remember, pine is an evergreen plant, and as such, the cell walls in the leaves are especially hardy. Gotta break those down to get the good stuff.
Thanks Mitch! What water temp and steeping time do you suggest?
Well, this tea is flavored by pine sap / oil, so you’ll want to steep at boiling for as long as possible to really get that out.
My best cup came from boiling water @ 4 minutes. Of course, as Nate said, with a nice spoonful of honey to help keep it tasting nice.
Do you mean matcha? I’ve never heard of an oolong tasting like matcha… and certainly not a ginseng flavored one that does. YUM!=D