Autumn Hearth Send Message

Finally sitting down with this, though I did try it when blending. First a big thanks to LiberTEAS for starting this swap! I’m very happy to be part of it. And thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far. I was not expecting anyone to rate this or rave about it, but it warms my heart on this otherwise very sad day.

This tea was a thought experiment and I’m mostly pleased with it. I knew I wanted yabao, a woodsy sheng, juniper, pear, apple, cinnamon and maybe clove (I did not get to add that last one). When David release his Eight Treasures Yabao it made things easier, though I wasn’t sure how the jasmine and goji berries would play out, but I figure blossoms are just one part of the tree. I looked at lots of pear melanges but intended up purchasing two pear teas from Teavana (White Asian Pear and Anjou Pearadise) and sorting all the fruit, removing the tea, hibiscus and rose petals.

This is where this blend sort of fails for me personally, it smells too fruity and reminds me too much of other Teavana blends. Just pears and apples probably would have been best, but the peach and pineapple added sweetness and the orange slices looked festive, though I think they taste a bit too strong especially in the second and third steep. I’m going to try steeping this out further but I don’t think the fruit lends this well to extended gongfu brewing.

However it was fun to create (I also loved designing the labels!) and I do like the taste of the first cup. I would love to see what David could do with something like this, sourcing some pear, adding clove maybe even some tulsi. For those that haven’t tried the Eight Treasures Yabao Winter Blend from Verdant and liked this, I highly recommend you order at least a sample. I love it and its non-winter counterpart. Looking forward to tomorrow, thanks ladies!