Mango Peach Jin Guanyin Black Tea

Description

Still Getting Caught Up . . .

When I tasted the unflavored leaves of this batch of Jin Guanyin, my immediate thought was “stone fruit.” The beautifully full black leaves had notes of a floral honey & stone fruit, so I decided that I needed to flavor this tea with peaches, but what to go with it? Usually, I’d go with another “obvious” stone fruit, like apricot – & yeah, a peach apricot flavoring would have been stellar with this leaf – but, I wanted something a little less obvious, so I decided that I would go with mango! 

I’m so glad I made that decision because this is fantastic! The sweetness of these two fruits, the contrasting hint of tart from the mango, the honeyed note with floral notes from the black tea base – superb! 

This tea tastes great served hot, but it truly shines as a cold-brewed iced tea – so I highly recommend getting out your cold-brew jar for this one. It doesn’t need sweetener, but if you like your tea to be a bit sweeter, a teensy bit of sugar will enhance this tea nicely, allowing the aforementioned flavor profiles to shine even more. 

ingredients: black tea, organic peaches, organic mangoes & organic natural flavors

to brew: use 3g of tea to 12oz of nearly boiling water (205°F) & allow to steep for 3 ½ minutes, strain & allow to cool for at least 10 minutes. 

to cold-brew: using the above measurements (3g to 12 oz of water), put tea & freshly filtered, cold water in a jar or other vessel. Seal the jar & put it in the fridge. Allow it to steep for at least 4 hours – however, I recommend a longer steep – I usually stash it in the fridge overnight to enjoy the next day! Even with a prolonged brew time (8 to 10 hours) I do not experience any noticeable bitterness with a cold-brew.

serving suggestion: as I mentioned above, this makes a stunning iced tea. My initial taste test was as a hot brew & this tastes amazing as a hot tea, but I enjoyed it even more as a cold-brew using the same measurements. I didn’t sweeten the cold-brew, I found it perfectly refreshing, but if you prefer a sweeter drink, go ahead & add a bit of sugar (with the cold-brew, you may want to make a sugar syrup so that you can ensure that the sugar crystals completely dissolve.) A drizzle of honey or agave nectar also would work nicely.