Seasonal Stuffing

Mastress Alita’s sipdown challengeThursday, November 25th: Thanksgiving Tea #3

additional notes:  I was thinking of having Candied Yams (from Mastress Alita a while ago!) but it would be a sipdown and I’m not willing to part with that rare favorite yet.  So this is the next option.  Also a delicious rarity.  I like it for its savory qualities and almost picked it for Absurdity tea day. I hope those who celebrate had a great thanksgiving.

Autumn Harvest! I received this one in a past cupboard sale from tea-sipper, so thank you tea-sipper! Been meaning to try it all month and realized that since houjicha has next to no caffeine in it I may as well make it as my evening pot on a work night (and yes, I’ve got the Saturday shift this week so tonight is a work night for me… bleh.) This is a rooibos/houjicha blend mixed with almonds and savory spices… the smell of the dry leaf is very interesting. It has a sort of sweet marzipan quality, but I’m also definitely picking up on the spicy ginger and sage. I really have no idea how this is all going to pull together. I’m certainly curious.

Brewed up, it’s the dark brown coffee color of houjicha, and the aroma smells of roasted nuts, melted caramel, marzipan, and sage. I still can’t imagine these things going together… but the taste is actually better than I could possibly expect. The woody and roasty/nutty notes of the houjicha make a good base for something like this, and the sweet and spice create a counterbalance for each other that is an interested juxtaposition. I think my only real issue is the marzipan comes across as such a desserty note, and everything else in the tea is quite savory, so it feels a little out of place? I can see the need to get some sweetness in here, since the fenugreek and sage are very dominant on the tongue and I think without it the blend would’ve been way too harsh, and I can understand how sweet nuts does compliment the nutty notes of hojicha… but it just seems odd overall when the blend is very savory. I feel like maybe it just needed some slight tweeking of the components (maybe a dash lighter on the savory spices, or more rooibos in the blend to try to bring in more of the sweeter honeyed notes from that tea to lighten up on the marzipan flavoring?)

It’s different, and I’m surprised I actually like it… the more I drink it, the more I warm up to it. Maybe the fact I’ve never had anything like this is making it so enjoyable. I don’t eat actual stuffing (I’ve never liked the stuff; it’s a texture thing for me) so I can’t compare it to what it is trying to mimick, but I’m personally really enjoying a sage-heavy tea with a nice roasty base and some sweetness to keep the spice from being too overbearing. It’s definitely the kind of tea that is going to be polarizing, though.

Happy thanksgiving steepsterites!! I figured when better to try this tea than today following an awesome thanksgiving meal. Alas, I really don’t like this. Think an underlying marzipan with the actual stuffing spices. I just had stuffing and this actually isn’t that far off from the taste, though definitely heavy on the fenugreek. With that said, having tried this, I am convinced stuffing is not a flavor you want in a tea…at least it’s not one I want in a tea.

This is a hojicha green tea with almond an hazelnut flavors. Wow, the almond flavor is strong. Open the bag and it is a cloud of sweet marzipan. Brewed, the almond continues to be dominant, but it is coupled with the nutty, slightly floral hojicha. The green tea pairs well with the smooth almond. The green tea is definitely savory beneath all that marizpan, a bit brothy, and like stuffing I suppose. I was hoping for more herbal notes, or more apple, sage, or rosemary, to make this feel more thanksgiving-oriented, but the flavors are just not there. As the tea cools, you get more equal parts of marizpan and brothy green tea, which maybe aren’t the perfect pair. I think this should have gone more spicy and herbal, or gone for the sweet almond-cake taste all-around. Not bad, but not my favorite.