A Field in Innsbruck

Happy National Absurdity Day! Today the prompt is to drink your strangest tea blend.

I think this tea is probably the most off-the-beaten-path tea I have, as it uses a lot of savory herbs that I personally don’t really get in my tea blends, like rosemary and thyme. A blend of black and pu’erh for the base, with juniper berries, black currant, rosemary, and thyme, the aroma of my steeped cup is spot on for a forest of cedar and pine. It’s a little tickly on the nose, but pleasant.

On the sip, I’m getting a very forward pine tree flavor, which I really like. I was a little skeptical because of the herbs used (I have memories of a tea with rosemary and sage getting very savory and hard to sip) but a gentle hand must have been used here, as they are blending with the juniper note very well to add a somewhat brisker pine note, and the lingering rosemary aftertaste makes me think of sap. There is body to the tea, but it is hard to taste any base flavors beneath the strong pine flavor; a touch of musty earth, if you really reach for it. I only started to taste a subtle black current note as the tea started to cool down, which hits the back of the throat at the end of the sip. It goes nicely with the juniper notes, and I wouldn’t mind if it was a bit stronger or popped a bit more.

I didn’t really think I’d like this one much going in, but I’m really digging the strong pine flavor. I really need more juniper-forward teas in my stash.

I’ve been inspired by Varitea to use the alphabet to get me back on track for sipdowns and to try out some of my forgotten and ignored teas. Sooo

A is for: A Field in Innsbruck

Much like the last time I tried this tea, it was forgotten behind a number of other teas. This one is an interesting, savory tea but I always want it to lean a little more into the savoriness. Steeped up, it smells like a barn (in a good way), lots of earthiness and hay. The flavor is kind of a general savoriness mingled with the tea itself. Unfortunately, in the taste I’m loosing a lot of the individual notes that I could smell. I might try steeping this longer next time just to see if they come out anymore. Personally, I feel like this tea could have benefited from some smokiness to pull out the other flavors and bring them together but I also just love smokey teas!

Day 19 of Sara’s Old Tea

It tastes like cedar! Smells kind of like a cedar fire. But it’s not quite smokey. It’s kind of like taking a walk through the forest and licking the trees. I kind of like it.

I think it would pair well with any sort of fried potatoes.

It’s 100F currently and not even peak temperature for the day. So what am I doing? Drinking a hot black tea of course!

I’m digging these August Uncommon blends that I received as a gift from Mastress Alita. This one’s mellow, medium-dark and herbal, not so in-your-face as the Dots and Loops I had yesterday and this morning.

Light earthy, rich and herbal aroma. Sip is thyme and juniper, with rosemary to a much lesser extent. The tea quickly expands into a moderate earthy puerh note with light malt from the black tea, tanginess I attribute to the black currant, minerals and a hint of molasses. The juniper persists but isn’t dramatic. The herbs flow through lightly. It finishes the same with additions of tannins and oiliness. Despite the thin body, everything’s slick, my tongue, my teeth and there is a soft and persistent tongue-numbing effect.

Overall, it’s definitely a smooth, savory tea — herbal, woodsy and earthy. Pretty neutral taste for me that makes a fine hot tea for a blistering and dry California summer day.

Addendum: brewed 4g to 8oz western and the liquor was substantially thicker. I really enjoy the character of this tea! Upped from 80 to 85.

Honestly, this tastes like something I should be using to season up some lamb. So I put a good teaspoon of honey into it… and it still tastes like something I should be using to season up some lamb!

Really really neat tea, but extremely savoury. Fairly rich, which is nice, especially compared to that tomato-and-red-pepper-water tea I had a few days ago. Not something to drink when you want a sweet treat, but I actually quite like it. I have enough for another cup, and I might also use the leftover leaves from this cup to flavour a piece of chicken… guess it depends on if I manage to get out and do grocery shopping tonight, or if I stay home and continue hassling the cat.

Thank you, Sil! :)

Take #2

Starting off boxing day with a yummy cup of tea and some breakfast wraps; eggs, cheddar, hashbrowns, and Asian pears all rolled up in one yummy crepe! Now that I have a better feel for what this tea tastes like I can say I’m enjoying it a lot more. I taste the rosemary and Pu’erh base in particular which is an interesting flavour juxtaposition. I wouldn’t think that they’d work together but they actually do in a wonderful way. The juniper comes through in the front of the sip and the finish but less so in the body; that’s more reserved for the herbs/spices.

Anyone do any Boxing Day shopping yet? I’ve placed orders with Teavana and Red Leaf Tea thus far; should Bluebird miraculously restock Cola & Lime Guayusa I’ll be ordering with them as well but apart from that I think I’m done for the year. I nabbed a tea cook book from Teavana; even with the shipping the cost of the book w. their sale was cheaper than it would have been at the regular price. I’m excited for more inspiration to put the skills I learned in my last Sommelier class to work. No sale from RLT, just needed more matcha. I went with Apple, Grape, Bubble Gum, and Butternut Pie! I’ve only tried one of those (bubble gum) but I’m really excited for the others. In particular, I think Grape will be good!

Another tea from this weekend – all i can recall is holy THYME! I need to have another cup of this before sending the rest to omgsrsly but this one is my least favourite so far as it’s more thyme, then juniper then black tea base. the balance seems off a little in this one.

This is a very herbaceous tea— aroma is juniper and thyme. Lemon balm helps to balance the flavor, and it really does taste as billed, “a walk in the woods.” Once again a very intellectually interesting tea from AU. What I am realizing is that it doesn’t hit the notes that I am looking for in a black tea— what I am missing is the tea itself. I haven’t found any of the AU teas uninteresting but have only reordered one flavor (Staring at the Sea). I think AU has a great concept and will definitely check out their fall collection, so we’ll see.