90
drank Gourmet Root Beer by 52teas
1217 tasting notes

The Great Un-Steepstering of 2020 Review #8 (08/16/20)

I just buckled and made a large 52Teas order, so I really need to get through some of my oldest packages! But we are in another heat wave and I have this one and Ginger Cola from 2017, and I prefer soda pop-themed teas iced. Prepared 7.5g steeped in 2 cups 205F water for 3 minutes, which was added to 2 cups cold water, then left in the fridge to get nice and chilled.

The dry leaf, warmed steeped tea, and used leaf all smelled so delectably of root beer. The aroma on my cold water bottle is lovely, I can pick up the licoricey-aromas of the anise and licorice root, and sarsaparilla, and something a bit sweet/creamy as well… though I did sweeten this tea (I don’t normally, but to heighten the pop factor, I added a bit of liquid sweetener to the iced tea).

The flavor is quite nice… the black tea base is actually not entirely overpowered with flavors, as I’m getting a sort of malty/raisin bready flavor in the background. I’m really digging the anise and licorice root notes, which are leaning more in the direction of sharp spice (perhaps because of the clove, though I’m not picking up a distinct clove flavor) rather than sticky sweetness. The sarsaparilla creates this nice root beer-flavored base with that sweet, somewhat licorice/minty flavor, and while I often can’t taste vanilla added to teas, I am tasting it here; perhaps the sweetener I added is bringing that note to the forefront.

It is a nice iced tea, but one I pretty much knew going in I was going to enjoy. I really love root beer teas, and the flavors of sarsaparilla and the “licorice herbs.” I have enough leaf to do one more quart after I finish off this batch, and will probably prepare it the same, including the sweetener. Super tasty and refreshing, tastes just like uncarbonated root beer!

Flavors: Bread, Licorice, Malt, Raisins, Sarsaparilla, Smooth, Spices, Sweet, Vanilla

Preparation
Iced 3 min, 0 sec 7 g 32 OZ / 946 ML

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Bio

Hi! I’m Sara, a middle-aged librarian living in southern Idaho, USA. I’m a big ol’ sci-fi/fantasy/anime geek that loves fandom conventions, coloring books, simulation computer games, Japanese culture, and cats. Proud genderqueer asexual (she/they) and supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. I’m also a chronic migraineur. As a surprise to no one, I’m a helpless tea addict with a tea collecting and hoarding problem! (It still baffles me how much tea I can cram into my little condo!) I enjoy trying all sorts of teas… for me tea is a neverending journey!

Favorite Flavors:

I love sampling a wide variety of teas! For me the variety is what makes the hobby of tea sampling so fun! While I enjoy trying all different types of teas (pure teas, blends, tisanes), these are some flavors/ingredients I enjoy:
-Dessert/chocolate/vanilla/caramel/cream/toffee/maple
-Sweet/licorice root/stevia
-Vegetal/grassy
-Floral/lavender/rose
-Spices/chais
-Fruity
-Tropical/pineapple/coconut
-Bergamot (in moderation)
-Roasted/nutty
-Tart/tangy/hibiscus/rosehip

Disliked Flavors:

There are not many flavors or ingredients that I don’t like. These include:
-Bananas/banana flavoring
-Hemp/CBD teas
-Smoke-scented teas/heavy smoke flavors (migraine trigger)
-Perfumey teas/extremely heavy floral aromas (migraine trigger)
-Gingko biloba (migraine trigger)
-Chamomile (used in blends as a background note/paired with stronger flavors is okay)
-Extremely spicy/heated teas
-Medicinal flavors/Ginseng
-Metallic flavors
-Overly strong artificial flavorings

With the exception of bananas and migraine triggers, I’ll pretty much try any tea at least once!

Steeping Parameters:

I drink tea in a variety of ways! For hot brews, I mostly drink my teas brewed in the western style without additions, and for iced tea, I drink teas mostly brewed in the cold brew style without additions. Occassionally I’ll change that up. I use the https://octea.ndim.space/#/ app for water-to-tea ratios and use steep times to my preferences.

My Rating Scale:

90-100 – Top tier tea! These teas are among my personal favorites, and typically I like to keep them stocked in my cupboards at all times, if possible!

70-89 – These are teas that I personally found very enjoyable, but I may or may not feel inclined to keep them in stock.

50-69 – Teas that fall in this range I enjoyed, but found either average, lacking in some way, or I’ve had a similar tea that “did it better.”

21-49 – Teas in this range I didn’t enjoy, for one reason or another. I may or may not finish them off, depending on their ranking, and feel no inclination to restock them.

20-1 – Blech! My Tea Hall of Shame. These are the teas that most likely saw the bottom of my garbage can, because I’d feel guilty to pass them onto someone else.

Note that I only journal a tea once, not every time I drink a cup of it. If my opinion of a tea drastically changes since my original review, I will journal the tea again with an updated opinion and change my rating. Occassionally I revisit a tea I’ve reviewed before after a year or more has passed.

Inventory:

My Cupboard on Steepster reflects teas that I have sampled and logged for review, and is not used as an inventory for teas I currently own at the present moment. An accurate and up-to-date listing of my current tea inventory can be viewed here: https://tinyurl.com/xjt9ptx3 . I am open to tea trades (within the United States only!) at this time. Note that I will not trade teas that I currently have in a quantity less than 50g (samplers, 1oz packages, etc.) or any teas that are currently still sealed/unopened in my cupboard.

Contact Info:

Feel free to send me a Steepster PM, or alternatively, check the website URL section below; it goes to a contact form that will reach my personal e-mail.

Location

Idaho, United States

Website

https://teatimetuesdayreviews...

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