Saturday, June 06, 2009

Green Apple Tea now available!

Yay! I am so glad to have my Green Apple Tea back in my collection! It truly is one of my personal favorites - I love the crisp apple flavor, and it will be absolutely perfect for iced tea brewing!
I was inspired to create this tea because I have always loved Aspen soda (do you remember it?) I loved it so much that even now, when I go grocery shopping I check the soda aisle very carefully for Aspen soda, hoping that it will somehow magically appear again!

I am not beginning to suggest that this green tea tastes anything like Aspen, but it has one of the characteristics that made Aspen soda so memorable for me: a crisp, clean apple flavor that seems to sparkle! The sparkle in the Aspen soda probably came a bit from the carbonation of the soda, and while the green tea doesn't taste carbonated (or even at all like soda), it has a certain crisp, sparkling flavor that I find irresistible.

How to brew Green Apple Tea:

As with all green teas, it is important to note that water temperature is a KEY factor in brewing success. If your water is too hot, you are likely to scorch the delicate green tea leaves and this will leave the tea with a bitter, almost "burnt" taste. It is better to have the water "not hot enough" than to have it too hot. (Note: If the water is "not hot enough" you should allow the tea to brew for a slightly longer period of time)

The water temperature should not exceed 180 degrees F. Not all of us have thermometers on our tea kettles (I don't!) so I generally just pull the kettle when small bubbles form at the bottom of the kettle and begin to start jumping about -- not quite boiling, but generating a good amount of steam.

Use 1 teaspoon of loose leaf tea for each cup you'd like to make. I recommend that you allow your leaves to brew "loose" because this is the best way to get the most flavor from your loose leaf tea... so put them directly into your teapot, and allow them to brew without an infuser. If you absolutely MUST have an infuser, use a very large one, one that is at least three times larger than the amount of dry tea that you place in it to allow for tea leaf expansion. Or use a T-Sac (I do carry these, if you would like a box, you can order one by emailing me: anneliberteas@yahoo.com), and use a larger size than the tea that you're going to place into the T-Sac.

Allow your tea to steep for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes for the first infusion. Because I use a very high quality tea in my blends, you can always get at least 2 infusions out of my teas, sometimes more! For the second infusion, you should add at least 30 seconds to 1 minute of additional brew time.

I recommend using a small amount of sweetener (my favorite is agave nectar) to bring out the most in the flavors of any flavored tea!

Thanks for reading along!
~Anne

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