Tea: Elderberry Green Tea
Type: Green Tea
Packaging: Loose Leaf
Company: 52Teas
Purchase: Here
Description: Our buttery-sweet Chinese sencha blended with real dried elderberries and natural elderberry flavors.
“Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of Elderberry Green Tea from 52teas!”
As I write this, I am sitting here sipping on a delicious, icy cold stein of this tea. It is fruity without being hyper sweet, a bit tart but not puckering-tart, and marries well with our buttery-sweet Chinese sencha. Honestly, I can’t recall ever tasting elderberries before except from a local winery that makes some delicious elderberry wine (You should totally check them out if you like wine: Wyldewood Cellars). To me, it kind of tastes like something between a sour grape and a blueberry. However you describe it, it is delicious. (My 24-ounce stein has gone empty while trying to describe it to you, and it’s begging for a refill, so without further ado…)
Ingredients: Green tea, dried elderberries, natural flavors
Steep Information:
Amount: 2 plastic lunch spoons
Water: 12oz ~150°F hot spigot water
Tool: kati loose tea system (my Review here.)
Steep Time: 2-3 minutes (started Steep.it timer late, didn't pull mesh basket when it completed)
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: mildly sweet unidentifiable fruit
Steeped Tea Smell: vegetal with an after sweet hint
Flavor: smooth veegtal with hints of fruit and bitterness
Body: Light
Aftertaste: bitter, astringent
Liquor: dark translucent green-brown
I really am enjoying this tea, I think under better conditions it would do better. I also think it will be fabulous iced!
Post-Steep Additives: honey, brings out the fruity sweetness
After adding sweetener I highly recommend you do the same. This is a very soothing cup.
Notes: Since writing this review, and before posting this, we've made this tea many times at home in the Breville One Touch. I have reduced the bitterness and astringency, but not gotten rid of them. It really is a delicious tea.
Rating: 3/4 leaves
Leaf system:
1=Bleh! not again if it were free
2=Acceptable, if it were free or there were limited other tea options
3=I might purchase this tea from time to time, or select it while out
4=A staple in our cupboard from now on, I will purchase and keep purchasing
