Tea of the Week for May 9, 2022!
Yum!
This organic blend starts with our go-to green tea blend of chun mee & gunpowder teas. To this blend, I added lemon-y herbs (lemon grass, lemon verbena & lemon thyme), plus some dried lemon wedges & freeze-dried cranberries. The result is a bright, refreshing tea that will make your taste-buds dance!
It’s vegan, organic, gluten-free, allergen-friendly & all-natural!
organic ingredients: green teas, lemon grass, lemon verbena, lemon thyme, cranberries, lemons & natural flavors
more about this tea: Since I started doing this 52Teas thing, I have been reserving cranberry teas for the holidays. Understandable, I suppose, since cranberries are very much tied to fall & winter – but we drink cranberry juice year round – so why not drink cranberry teas year round too?
Last year, I reblended our Crisp Cranberry Soda Green Rooibos in April & I loved having this tisane in time for summertime iced tea brewing. So, I decided I needed to start including more cranberry teas throughout the year & not just the holidays!
to brew: give the pouch a gentle yet thorough shake before you measure out the tea – the herbs of this blend will shift to the bottom of the pouch & these do contribute to the lemon-y notes of the cup, so I strongly recommend you give it a shake to make sure those ingredients are well incorporated.
Use 3g of leaf to 12oz of hot water, allow to steep for 2 minutes. Strain & enjoy!
the first time I taste tested this tea (hot tea taste test), I unintentionally steeped it for 3 minutes (rather than the customary 2 minutes). The flavor was good, but it was a bit more astringent & even a tad bitter – which kind of works with the whole cranberry lemonade flavor profile, but I found myself enjoying the 2 minute steep more. The flavor is a little lighter, but the overall taste is considerably smoother – hints of a light pucker from the tart of the cranberry & lemon, but without the bitterness & astringency of the 3 minute steep.
that is to say that I enjoyed both steeps, but enjoyed the 2 minute steep more.
serving suggestion: I like this tea hot, but it truly shines as a cold-brewed (overnight!) iced tea. I like this without any additions but a wee bit of sugar (about ½ a teaspoon) will offer a little more of a traditional “sweet-tart” taste of lemonade.
