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scientistsinistralThe first proper fruit tisane!
Courtesan is a Yumchaa blend, the first one I've tried that is probably a proper fruit tisane. No herbs here!
They describe it as "A fruit tisane with flirty berries, pretty petals and a hint of blackcurrant. Juicy, fruity and just a little bit flirty, Courtesan blends real pieces of strawberry, raspberry, apple and blueberry with rosehip and hibiscus. A playful brew to keep you warm on a winter's night and refreshed on a summer's day."
Ingredients: Dried strawberries, dried raspberries, apple pieces, dried blueberries, rosehips, hibiscus, and flavouring.
It definitely smells very sweet and berry-like in the packet, in pure form.
I am at my parent's house, and therefore I have an electric kettle. What's more, their new kettle has temperature control (I saw it and immediately went 'oh that's an expensive kettle' because I'd also seen it whilst looking for kettles on my own.)
So this time, I can definitely say this was brewed at 100 degrees Celsius for 4 minutes, with about a tablespoon of the tisane into a mug of water.
I was also using a new tea infuser that I got that has smaller holes and can be turned upside down to catch the infusing material in case you want to resteep, as opposed to my shark or my ball infuser which you'd have to put on a dish to stop it dripping. It worked quite well!
(Or, as it happens, steeping more if it's not strong enough. Minutes are now kinda out of whack, so I'll have to test it again next time, but I can at least do it.)
The sweet smell is still there after brewing, though not as strong as it was in the packet. The water has diluted it some, methinks. It's a lot darker in the cup than I expected it to be - though then again with the blueberry that might not be so surprising.
Brewed again with more tisane, for four minutes. Probably slightly less than 100 degrees this time, as I was using water from a hot water thermos (although that water had been very recently boiled because someone in the house was having coffee at 9pm which, interesting.)
Sweet smell still very slight on second brew. It's a little more red this time, but still quite dark.
Hot Brew
Verdict: First tasting: doesn't really taste like much. Got the slight hit of the berry, but not what I was expecting from the initial smell. Gonna steep some more to get it stronger - I have too much of a sweet tooth not to.
Okay, steeped some more - now it's being taken over a bit by the tartness of the hibiscus, which isn't a bad thing but is going to cut against any sweetness that might be there, which isn't that much anyway.
Second cup: even with adjustments on how much tisane I used, it's falling into the same trap as the strawberry daiquiri - the smell is much stronger than how it actually tastes which is leaving me disappointed. I may just be doing it wrong, or my expectations may be tinted by the summer fruits we have at home at the minute which are just so much sweeter.
Two sugars brings it to a sweetness I actually like, bringing out the taste of the berries more, though still on the subtle side and on the edge of squash territory, but if I'm going to be drinking something with fruit in it I personally think it should stand without sugar and just off the fruit alone. Feel free to correct me in comments, I'm relatively new to teas/tisanes.
Lessons Learned: Perks of fruit tisanes: they don't get bitter, which means I can just reinfuse them if it's not strong enough (well. Until the hibiscus kicks in.)
Would I drink it again? I'm gonna try again with a little more tisane next cup, see if that does anything. This might be really nice as a cold brew, if I had anything to cold brew with (noraml cold brew bottle is at my other place because I wan't about to lug it home). I might try with a clear bottle and a strainer. But then, will that also bring out the hibiscus?
Second cup: I've got enough for one more hot brew, which I might try iced because I don't have enough for a cold brew cup, but otherwise I don't think I'm going to be purchasing this one again. It's not bad, it's just nothing stellar.
(Did not have any ice in the freezer when I did the third brew the next day.)
Courtesan is a Yumchaa blend, the first one I've tried that is probably a proper fruit tisane. No herbs here!
They describe it as "A fruit tisane with flirty berries, pretty petals and a hint of blackcurrant. Juicy, fruity and just a little bit flirty, Courtesan blends real pieces of strawberry, raspberry, apple and blueberry with rosehip and hibiscus. A playful brew to keep you warm on a winter's night and refreshed on a summer's day."
Ingredients: Dried strawberries, dried raspberries, apple pieces, dried blueberries, rosehips, hibiscus, and flavouring.
It definitely smells very sweet and berry-like in the packet, in pure form.
I am at my parent's house, and therefore I have an electric kettle. What's more, their new kettle has temperature control (I saw it and immediately went 'oh that's an expensive kettle' because I'd also seen it whilst looking for kettles on my own.)
So this time, I can definitely say this was brewed at 100 degrees Celsius for 4 minutes, with about a tablespoon of the tisane into a mug of water.
I was also using a new tea infuser that I got that has smaller holes and can be turned upside down to catch the infusing material in case you want to resteep, as opposed to my shark or my ball infuser which you'd have to put on a dish to stop it dripping. It worked quite well!
(Or, as it happens, steeping more if it's not strong enough. Minutes are now kinda out of whack, so I'll have to test it again next time, but I can at least do it.)
The sweet smell is still there after brewing, though not as strong as it was in the packet. The water has diluted it some, methinks. It's a lot darker in the cup than I expected it to be - though then again with the blueberry that might not be so surprising.
Brewed again with more tisane, for four minutes. Probably slightly less than 100 degrees this time, as I was using water from a hot water thermos (although that water had been very recently boiled because someone in the house was having coffee at 9pm which, interesting.)
Sweet smell still very slight on second brew. It's a little more red this time, but still quite dark.
Hot Brew
Verdict: First tasting: doesn't really taste like much. Got the slight hit of the berry, but not what I was expecting from the initial smell. Gonna steep some more to get it stronger - I have too much of a sweet tooth not to.
Okay, steeped some more - now it's being taken over a bit by the tartness of the hibiscus, which isn't a bad thing but is going to cut against any sweetness that might be there, which isn't that much anyway.
Second cup: even with adjustments on how much tisane I used, it's falling into the same trap as the strawberry daiquiri - the smell is much stronger than how it actually tastes which is leaving me disappointed. I may just be doing it wrong, or my expectations may be tinted by the summer fruits we have at home at the minute which are just so much sweeter.
Two sugars brings it to a sweetness I actually like, bringing out the taste of the berries more, though still on the subtle side and on the edge of squash territory, but if I'm going to be drinking something with fruit in it I personally think it should stand without sugar and just off the fruit alone. Feel free to correct me in comments, I'm relatively new to teas/tisanes.
Lessons Learned: Perks of fruit tisanes: they don't get bitter, which means I can just reinfuse them if it's not strong enough (well. Until the hibiscus kicks in.)
Would I drink it again? I'm gonna try again with a little more tisane next cup, see if that does anything. This might be really nice as a cold brew, if I had anything to cold brew with (noraml cold brew bottle is at my other place because I wan't about to lug it home). I might try with a clear bottle and a strainer. But then, will that also bring out the hibiscus?
Second cup: I've got enough for one more hot brew, which I might try iced because I don't have enough for a cold brew cup, but otherwise I don't think I'm going to be purchasing this one again. It's not bad, it's just nothing stellar.
(Did not have any ice in the freezer when I did the third brew the next day.)
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