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“Autumn Harvest! This is one of my oldest teas, that I bought way back when I was first getting into tea tasting and collecting, back at the end of 2016 (can you believe I’ve amassed this much in...” Read full tasting note
Pizza… Spaghetti… Olive oil… Espresso… these are the foods we normally associate with Italy and Italian cuisine. But did you know that Italy consumes more pears than any other European nation? Or that Italy is the world’s second largest grower of pears after China? It’s true. Italians have been enjoying pears since the days of ancient Rome. The fruit holds a special place in their hearts not only because of their delicious flavor on their own but because they are wonderful to cook with and pair with other foods. Nowhere is this truer than in the breathtakingly beautiful villages of Tuscany. Tuscan chefs have created many recipes over the years, and routinely whip up such delicacies as pears poached in white wine, sliced pears with fresh Parmesan cheese or spicy pear pastries.
The slightly tart, highly adaptable flavor of Italian pears is perfectly complimented by their high nutrient content. The fruit is high in fiber, vitamin c, potassium and folic acid. Well, in the spirit of adaptability we’ve decided to try something new and match the sweet profile of pear with the mellow character of a South African Rooibos. We believe that what we have created evokes the feeling of a relaxing afternoon under the Tuscan sun – perhaps sitting under a pear tree. The cup is fresh, with herbaceous notes and lively hints of pear – delizioso!
Country of Origin: South Africa
Region: Cederberg
Shipping Port: Cape Town
Grade: Choice Grade #1
Altitude: 1500 – 2500 feet above sea level
Manufacturer Type: Fermentation turns the leaves from green to deep red and gives a slightly sweet note.
Cup Characteristics: Sweet ripe pear notes marry well with premium rooibos. Memories of lazing in the Tuscan sun.
Infusions: Reddish orange to full color (depends on brewing time and quantity used).
Ingredients: Luxury rooibos, Natural dried pear, Natural dried apple, Natural flavors.
Steeping Directions: 212F/100C, 3-5 min.
Company description not available.
Autumn Harvest! This is one of my oldest teas, that I bought way back when I was first getting into tea tasting and collecting, back at the end of 2016 (can you believe I’ve amassed this much in pretty much just two years? So sad…) I got it at the tea shop Steepers in Campbell, California. Wasn’t too hard to hunt down the wholesale source of the blend, which is Metropolitan Tea Company (of course, you’ll find this same blend under a multitude of independant tea shops in Steepster’s listings as a result since this is such a widely used wholesale source and teas are rarely cataloged under the wholesaler).
Since it’s one of my oldest, I want to sip it down (pretty much anything I got right at the tail end of 2016 when I first started this hobby I’m trying to quickly sip down due to its age!) So I’ll probably be working on this one as my nightly herbal for a bit. Like my Creme au Caramel Rooibos which I also got there at the same time (and which also took me a bit to sip down!) I’m expecting this tea to have lost some flavor, but it shouldn’t be undrinkable.
The leaf still has a nice fruity pear aroma, and the tea steeps up a nice vibrant red rooibos color. The flavor of the tea does, as I expected from the aforementioned tea I bought at the same time, show a bit of its age, though, as it does taste a little weaker than I remember when it was fresh, but it certainly doesn’t taste off-putting and won’t effect sipping it down (while I don’t usually add sweeteners to my tea on principal, I may add a little honey to this one just to help give the fruitiness some extra sweetness/definition to make up for the flavor being a little weaker than when the leaf was fresher). There is a noticable pear flavor to the tea, but it isn’t the nicest pear I’ve ever tasted in tea; something about it is reminding me more of the flavor of Juicy Fruit gum, and it might just be because it is paired with the honey-sweet rooibos base. The rooibos is quite distinct here as well, with a slightly woody note beneath the fruity pear flavor.
It’s nice enough, as a simple pear-flavored rooibos. While the pear does taste nice with the honeyed taste of the red rooibos, personally I think it would’ve paired better against the soft vegetal flavor of green rooibos.
Flavors: Fruity, Honey, Pear, Rooibos, Sweet, Wood
