I purchased this tea for a gentleman named Badger (okay, okay, technically his NICKNAME is Badger) who goes to college with my daughter and is serving as a bit of a guardian angel for her, for which her father and I are grateful.
Not only was the tea named BADGER, but it had hops in it, and Badger likes beer. It was fated that I would run across this tea while reviewing an entirely different one.
When I placed the order, I let the proprietors of A Quarter To Tea know of my heartbreak that I would not get to taste Badger Breakfast since we were giving it away, and they were gracious enough to immediately offer to send a sample so that we could try it. I don’t know tons about beer but I do know it has hops in it and I know that of the few I have tried, I preferred the somewhat bitter ones to the ones that had mainly high notes, if one speaks of beer that way.
The ratio of hops to tea was darn near equal. We put the whole sample in a Kamjove pot and steeped at 200F for three and a half minutes.
The bitter hops combined with the Indian black teas to produce a bitter cup…and the taste that lingered for quite a while with me was very like the effect I remember lingering from beer, a sort of dry scraping on the tongue that stays there and tingles a bit. It is different from astringency, very different.
We made a second steep, this time letting the leaves steep for four minutes. We tried some of it hot and it was now milder and less bitter, an easy feat to achieve on the first steep by using less leaf than we used if that is your aim, but I think this is SUPPOSED to be bitter like beer. And we let most of this steep sit out and get cold and I do mean cold. I think we liked it that way best of all!
I looked up some information about hops and found that they have a strong sedative affect, and straight hops tea has been used as a folk remedy to treat insomnia, tension, anxiety, and headaches for a long time. We definitely felt mellow after drinking this tea.
I think Mr. Badger is going to love this tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
A surprising new spin on breakfast tea, straight from Wisconsin! A muscatel and rounded blend of black teas, with subtle fruit notes, with the effervescent quality of hopps.
On Wisconsin!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
