10
drank Tart Apple by The TeaCupany
894 tasting notes

Another sample from the lovely Dexter.

Years ago I used to go for afternoon tea at The International House of Tea in Thunder Bay, and they had a marvellous Turkish Apple tea that was nothing but apple pieces, but had an amazing bright lemony apple flavour. And then it went away and I was very sad, and I’ve been on the hunt for a comparable tea since (just checking their site, they have a Turkish apple tea again, so maybe I’ll have to order.)

So anyway, that’s my backstory to wanting to try this tea, even though it’s loaded with hibiscus, and I generally don’t like hibiscus teas.

Well I still don’t much like hibiscus teas, and this one isn’t working too well for me, unsurprisingly. I opened the bag to take a whiff and was nearly knocked over by just how tart it smelled. I think this is the most acidic smelling tea I’ve ever encountered, because it was like sticking my face into a bag of vinegar. Nostril burning sour.

Steeped it’s better. The liquor is a bright pink, which is pretty, and the vinegar has mellowed, but is still there on the nose. Just a hint of apple cider vinegar.

Taste-wise, there’s a bit of apple, but mostly it’s just tart, tart, tart.

This tea certainly lives up to its name, but I was hoping for something similar but very different.

Flavors: Apple, Hibiscus, Sour, Tart, Vinegar

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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Bio

I grew up drinking jasmine green tea with meals, but really fell in love with tea on a trip to Britain in elementary school. My first great love was Earl Grey, and I still adore it and all its variants.

I discovered the beauty of loose leaf tea much later, when, on impulse, I picked up a few teas that were on clearance at a home store. My introduction to loose leaf teas were Masala Chai and Provence Rooibos by the Metropolitan Tea Co and an unknown brand of kukicha and gyokuro (little did I know what a precious treasure I’d stumbled onto with that.)

At the time I was lucky to live in a place with multiple tea shops and several places to have afternoon tea, which is a delight I still miss.

Tea is part of my daily ritual and a nice, affordable way to appease the collector in me.

I enjoy distinctive whites, greens and oolongs, flavoured blacks, and herbals that are heavy on the citrus, lavender or mint.

Rating rubric, to give myself some consistency:
0-15 Yuck, not even drinkable.
16-30 Disappointing, not really inclined to give it a second try.
31-45 Disappointing, but maybe there’s potential? Worth one more try, prepped differently.
46-60 Mediocre, not terrible but not memorable.
61-75 Not bad. I’ll definitely finish what I have and might buy again.
76-90 Very enjoyable. Tasty, complex, it’ll keep me coming back.
91-100 BEST! I love everything about it and I will drink it forever.

Beyond tea, I’m a sex educator, polyamory activist, and radical queer. I love backwoods camping, abstract painting, baking & cooking, nail polish, cats, ceramic sculpture, and home nesting.

Location

Winnipeg, MB, Canada

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