78
drank Winter Plum by Bayswater Tea Co.
350 tasting notes

So I guess this is a new Bayswater rooibos blend? I had to add it to the database and I can’t find any useful info online. The “ingredient list” on their website was more of a list of flavours. Anyway, the dry tea is very aromatic – I keep sniffing it and the only description I can come up with is “fruity and boozy”. The brewing directions on the label are pretty intense (“2 heaping tea measuring spoons for 1 cup of water. steep 10-15 min”) but I went with it. It brews up a nice reddish-orange colour. As I was tasting it, the fruity and boozy impression continued, because first it reminded me of… ok, you know when you’re making fruitcake and there’s the part where you soak a bunch of dried fruit and stuff in like, rum or something? That. Then I sipped it some more and I thought maybe it was more like mulled wine. So, fruity and spicy and boozy? It’s good. :) There a bit of tartness that makes me wonder if there’s a tiny bit of hibiscus in this blend, but it might just be the citrus, and it’s balanced by the sweet and spicy. It has “plum” in the name, and maybe that’s the only reason I’m getting plum notes, but if it’s just the power of suggestion it’s very effective.

I went back to inspect the dry tea a bit more closely. So, it’s mostly red rooibos, and the most obvious additions are these little dried orange (?) wedges, like a 1cm strip of orange peel but with a little triangle of orange attached, why is this so hard to describe. Anyway, there are also some big chunks of cinnamon stick, and some crystalline bits are definitely sugar of some sort, and some little chunks of what I think are dates.

I am confused but pleased by this tea. :)

Flavors: Alcohol, Cinnamon, Fruity, Sweet, Tart

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 8 min or more 2 tsp 10 OZ / 295 ML
Fjellrev

Oh, this sounds really nice for a rooibos.

OMGsrsly

They haven’t actually updated their website in years. :/

Lindsay

The girl who helped me with my purchase did say “If you need more tea and can’t make it back to Vancouver, just email us! We can send you more of the ones you like, or if you tell us which ones you like we can recommend others that are similar”. So they seem open to sending tea by mail, even though the website is lacking.

OMGsrsly

Yes, they will definitely send stuff! But you might want to contact them to see if they have an updated product list. :)

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Fjellrev

Oh, this sounds really nice for a rooibos.

OMGsrsly

They haven’t actually updated their website in years. :/

Lindsay

The girl who helped me with my purchase did say “If you need more tea and can’t make it back to Vancouver, just email us! We can send you more of the ones you like, or if you tell us which ones you like we can recommend others that are similar”. So they seem open to sending tea by mail, even though the website is lacking.

OMGsrsly

Yes, they will definitely send stuff! But you might want to contact them to see if they have an updated product list. :)

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Well it has been over a year and everyone I know thinks my tea obsession is a bit out of hand, so… I guess I’m not a total newbie anymore. :)

I’m drinking a lot more pure tea these days, though I still love a good flavoured blend too. Current favourites: Chinese and Taiwanese blacks, fresh Chinese greens, oolongs both green and roasted, sheng puer.

I really love companies that buy directly from tea farmers, and have an emphasis on quality and sustainability. Favourites: Verdant, Whispering Pines, Eco Cha, White 2 Tea. I live in a small town in the middle of nowhere, so I buy almost all my tea online.

For hot tea, I’m usually brewing in either a 100ml gaiwan, or a 10oz mug with a steeping basket. For cold tea, I cold brew overnight in 500ml mason jars.

My cupboard on Steepster doesn’t include small samples, just the ones I have at least 15g of. So if you see something you’re interested in, I probably have enough to share. :)

Location

Northwestern Ontario, Canada

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