Cran-Grape Shou Mei

Steep Information:
Amount: 6tsp
Water: 1000ml at 185°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 2 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: cranberry, grape, sweet,hints vegetal
Steeped Tea Smell: sweet cranberry, grape, vegetal, floral
Flavor: sweet, then sour with a floral finish
Body: Light
Aftertaste: vegetal
Liquor: Translucent light orange brown

Yummy. A Co-Worker asked to take the rest of the bag he liked it so much.

Rating: 3/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2014/01/52teas-loose-leaf-white-tea-cran-grape.html

First impression – BLEH! Artificial grape is one of my least favorite scents/flavors, so I was immediately skeptical. Upon tasting – where’s the cranberry? None that I can pick up in the slightest. Only more artificial grape. Definitely not a fan.

Sipdown (284)

A couple of teaple on Instagram are hosting a September Sipdown challenge. It started yesterday and I joined in via the Sororitea Sisters’ Instagram page. For those following along, I shared my tea stash yesterday and you might have caught that I separate the teas that are older than a year from the fresher teas (I put them in my “focus area” – Check out the photos here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CEjvtghgx_s/?igshid=1s5c8ov2zhy4i). It’s not an exact science because when I receive teas in swaps, I date them when I receive them even though I’m sure they’re older than that. So, the bijillion teas Roswell Strange shared with me in December, including this one, are marked December 2019 and they’ll stay with the fresh teas until this December. However, time has flown by and December is so much closer than it should be. I don’t think I have room in the focus area for all the teas that would need to be added come December so I’m working on sipping down the teas from December 2019 or earlier (aka most of my stash). To that end, I reached for this tonight, not expecting to finish it but I did.

It’s interesting because I mentioned a tea I had earlier came of sudsy to Roswell Strange but it’s actually this tea that’s sudsy to me. I blame the Shou mei which almost always tastes like soap to me. Once I get past the soap though, I am enjoying the grape flavor a lot. Actually, the grape almost sort of works with the soap. For some reason I’m reminded of the fruity L’Oréal kids shampoos that we’re meant to be tear free so stupid curious kids like me would open their eyes when rinsing it and then be mad when it hurts. They smelled like fake fruits but still tasty. Somehow that’s what this has me thinking of and it’s nostalgic but weird but still good?

Thank you Roswell Strange! It was fun to try and I think I enjoyed the flavouring. Just wish it was on a different base. Perhaps it was also slightly overleafed.

Another one that I drank today, because I was craving grape…

The dry aroma of this tea smells like the sweet, bordering on chemical, artificial grape scent from this marker set that basically everyone aged 18-26 seemed to own as a kid:

https://static.adweek.com/adweek.com-prod/wp-content/uploads/files/blogs/mr-sketch-markers-hed-2014.jpg

I added some honey to the cup because I remembered from past times trying this tea that it can be really chemical/harsh and weird and I think that was actually a really good call because the combo of the grape and honey was very pleasant. Softer and smooth, with a nice grape-y sweetness and distinct honey note. Actually very delightful, and perfectly what I was craving.

I don’t know what it is, but today is turning out to be a really great tea day! By that I mean that I’m getting through quite a few teas and tasting notes rather than drinking the best teas I’ve ever had. I was supposed to be heading to the hospital right about now to visit my grandad (knee operation, nothing serious), but got a phonecall not long ago letting me know that he was coming out this afternoon! I shall drink more tea in celebration.

I chose this one in part because I remember it having strong, fairly simple flavours and I’ve just eaten chicken with sriracha for my lunch so didn’t want to go for something delicately flavoured, and partly because I wanted to give another 52teas shou mei a chance, having just drank the Apple Jack’s Apple Harvest tea and brewing it at too high a temperature and with too short a steep for my liking. I can safely say that this method of brewing brought out the flavours much better! The shou mei still comes through but quite delicately, and the cranberry and grape are big flavours. I was quite amazed to see several whole dried cranberries and grapes in my scoop, which is always fun. I like my flavoured tea with additives, especially if I’m using my IngenuiTEA (which I wasn’t today, but that’s besides the point…). This was another tea that gave me ‘hot juice’ feels, but also tasted artificial and reminded me of sweets/candy. I really should stress that grape flavoured things give me this impression all the time, and it’s nothing to do with how well the tea itself is flavoured. Even straight up grape juice tastes like artificial flavouring to me, but it’s a flavour that I really do like. Maybe it’s to do with grape juice not really being readily available over here, but when I was younger most of the grape flavour I had was in sweets, excluding actual grapes, which I had a mildly unhealthy obsession with as a child. Anyway, it’s a flavour I like a lot, and while I’m not the biggest fan of cranberry juice it’s a nice flavour here and goes well with the grape. I also think the cranberry flavouring is pretty authentic. Weirdly, I’m getting canteloupe-y notes every now and again which is throwing me a bit, and the scent of the brewed liquor also reminds me of melon. I have no idea where this is coming from, and my only guess is cross-contamination (even though it’s stored in an air-tight container?) because I don’t see it mentioned in anyone else’s notes. The tea ends on a surprisingly floral note, which could be down to the shou mei though I’m not entirely sure. Either way, it goes nicely with the other flavours. This is a tea I definitely want to cold-brew in the summer.

Thanks Marzipan!

This tastes just like a grape drink you’d get at primary school. Not something I’d reach for all the tea, but it makes a decent iced tea. The grape flavor is about all you can taste with a slight hint of cranberry in the background giving some tartness. I really can’t taste anything else.

Thanks you Marzipan for giving me a sample of this tea to try. It smells like fruit punch or maybe Kool-Aid. Flavour-wise, I’m getting more grape than cranberry from this tea but the white tea base goes well with both these flavours.

Backlog:

I liked this one alright. I can’t say it’s my favorite from 52Teas, but I liked it alright. I felt as though the white tea notes were somewhat obscured by the strong Cranberry and grape notes.

But mostly what stood in my way of really enjoying this blend is that I’m not big on the flavor combination of cranberry and grape. It’s not a juice blend I’d buy … and I was just kind of “meh!” about this particular blend from 52Teas. It wasn’t bad … but it didn’t tickle my toes and get me up and dancing the happy dance either.