| Photo: T-We Tea |
Country of Origin: Tanzania, China, India, Hawaii
Leaf Appearance: small, dark with lots of visible beans
Ingredients: Tanzanian CTC black tea, Chinese Keemun, Indian Nilgiri, crushed coffee bean, Hawaiian coffee cherry
Steep time: 5 minutes
Water Temperature: 212 degrees
Preparation Method: ceramic teacup and mesh infuser
Liquor: deep reddish brown
I have to admit that the cheeky name is one of my primary reasons for trying this blend. A line on the box describes the taste best, it’s complicated. It was all at once earthy, smoky, fruity and sweet. The coffee beans came through as a sort of chocolaty mocha. I had no problems drinking this tea straight but it was certainly bold enough to stand up to milk and/or sugar. If coffee tasted more like this, I might cheat on tea once in a while (gasp!). Note to self, save this blend for morning sips in the future. I had a bit of trouble winding down to go to sleep when I wrote this review. This is the third tea that I’ve tried from +T-We Tea and they have all been artfully done. I’ve been especially impressed by their use of teas from multiple growing regions. It’s not any easy thing to combine so many different tastes to make a cohesive blend. They opened a shop in San Francisco not very long ago so I definitely suggest checking them out if you are nearby. I had the pleasure of meeting Christopher at a craft fair in NYC and he really knew his stuff.
You can find out more about this tea here.