Well, technically this isn’t tea since “tea” means a beverage made from Camellia sinensis leaves, but it is a hot beverage derived from the leaves of a plant so here we go!
In my search for information about coffee leaf being used for beverages, I came across a documentary on the company website that was very informative. Many workers on coffee plantations must uproot their families as the coffee bean harvest ends. It makes it difficult for children to stay in school and to have consistency in their lives and causes interruptions to the family income. By learning to use the coffee leaves, the harvest is both increased and extended and the workers and the families have greater stability and higher income. It is worth a viewing when you have the time!
Now I am not a coffee drinker AT ALL so I am pleased to say that it does NOT taste like coffee.
Steeping the leaves has produced a beverage the same color as mango, and there is a natural mango aroma coming up in the steam from the cup. It is a nice, fruity smell without artificial candy scent. Note that other coffee leaf offerings may be darker as this company does many levels of oxidation just as can be done with tea.
The base does not taste like tea to me. It is pleasant, though. There is no bitterness to it and no drying of the tongue. It has medium body, creamy, with an aftertaste of wood and almost… smoke? I think of forest and find it to be mostly low notes.
The instructions say to resteep multiple times and that you don’t have to worry about oversteeping. I did keep to the suggestion of going two to three minutes for the first and five minutes for the second. The second steep has less mango flavor but now the coffee leaf flavor stands out much more, and it is just as full-bodied if not more so. I think of how Graham Kerr used to talk about mouth-roundness of flavor, and that is what I get from this.
If you enjoy trying new things, this is worth a shot! You may find a new flavor love.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Coffee Leaf
Where to Buy: Wize Monkey
Description
It’s like a mango party in your mouth!
- Our award-winning CLTea base blended with fruity and fragrant mango flavour
- Delivers antioxidants like mangiferin and chlorogenic acids
- Put your steeping on autopilot: can’t over-steep it, add hot water as needed for more cups
- Ingredients: Coffee Leaf Tea, dried mango chunks, calendula petals, natural mango flavour
- How to steep: 2.5g per 250mL/8 fl. oz cup, use freshly boiled water, steep for minimum 4 minutes
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
