Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
I’m a picky eater. My wife and mother can attest to this. It’s not that I’m trying to be difficult really, but somehow I just wound up that way. Oatmeal is one of those things that, as a kid, made my stomach turn. It SMELLED amazing, but the texture and the appearance of it just ruined me for it. As an adult now, knowing more specifically what the gloppy stuff is, I don’t think I would have such an issue with oatmeal. I’m thinking I might just have to give it another try one of these days.
In the meantime, I’ve been working on this week’s tea of the week–a maple and brown sugar oatmeal flavored TEA! I’m actually enjoying a hot cup of the fruit of my labor right now, and it’s delicious!
My wife, bless her heart, made me some oatmeal scotchies for my birthday tomorrow, and they are an awesome companion to this tea, believe me. With rolled oats and natural flavors including oatmeal, maple and brown sugar, this is a tea that will “stick to your ribs” as my mother used to say of oatmeal. (Probably another reason I didn’t want any–why would you tell a kid that? It sounds horrible and painful.)
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I know I’ve said this before concerning at least one or two of 52Teas’ unusual blends, but, I really had my doubts about this one. I mean, I enjoy oatmeal (even though maple and brown sugar oatmeal isn’t my favorite, I prefer cinnamon and cranberries in my oatmeal), but I wasn’t so sure I wanted an oatmeal tea.
Nevertheless, I wasn’t going to shy away from trying it. The first time I brewed it, it didn’t turn out so great. I find that with this one, how I brewed it was crucial to a good turn out. Of course, that’s true of many teas, isn’t it? It’s just that this one needed a little different brewing than what I’d normally brew a black tea to achieve a successful cup. Using my Breville, I steeped this tea for three minutes (instead of the customary 2 1/2) at 200°F … and wow! This really does taste like Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal! Only… it’s tea!
The maple is the strongest note, and I can’t say that I’m disappointed by that, since I love maple and I’ve really been on a maple kick lately. The brown sugar is almost as strong, but not quite. One might think that means this is an overly sweet tea, but I don’t think it is. The black tea base comes in to give it some balance, and the oatmeal is more of a lingering background note.
This has a pleasantly robust flavor with just enough sweetness, and it also has a satisfying kind of flavor to it that is homey and comforting … not unlike a bowl of steaming oatmeal, made with love by mom.
Another unusual tea flavor done amazingly well by 52Teas!
