My Overall Impression (Score of 86%)

If you have not figured it out yet, I love tea.  I have one modest problem though.  Every time I see a sale on loose tea, I will check it out to see what is offered.  When I first started my journey, I would purchase 7-10 small packets to learn more about regions, etc.  Plus, I’m always one to take advantage of a sale.  This has created a problem now that I have several shelves dedicated to my inventory.

While I’m doing my best to drink them, one amazing blend always falls through the crack.  Today, it just happened to be Teagardenia’s Autumn Dew.  This one is an adventure in a glass.  From opening the package and feeling like I just smelt a blended fruit punch to tasting this brew messes with you (in a terrific way).  It’s so diverse and one of the smoothest blends I’ve ever tried to this point.  I really do love this tea. 

Sadly, it’s not listed on their website (I have reached out to them) at the moment.  However, I hope that they will continue to produce this.  If you find it…..get it without hesitation.

The price when purchased was $8 for 100 grams (Feb 22).

Broken down:

• 100 gm / 3 gm for steeping = 33 cups
• 33 cups from package = 24 cents per cup

Typically, I double steep all my teas (use the tea twice) so I can get 66 cups or approximately 12 cents per cup.  I do not think you could beat this price and I’m upset that I waited so long to try this brew. 

Aromas

• When I opened the bag, it was a completely blown mind with lots of different fruits such as currants, apples, muscadel, raspberries, orange zest and peaches.
• This is followed by strong notes of molasses/golden syrup and hints of sage, thyme, oregano and floral.
• Once brewed, the aroma was the same but dropped. It was 40% of the strength of the loose blend in the bag. 
• However, I love this change as it gained more depth and is well rounded with hints of toasted malt, toast and muscadel.

Flavors

• Unbelievable smoothness in a glass. Just silky smooth with a delicate component to it. 
• The brew has great midpalate acidity with lower tannins than expected. However, this contributes to the great silky mouthfeel.
• Beautiful diverse flavors from the blended malt reminded me of malted pancakes/waffles.
• It shows a vast variety of fruits such as apples, pears, mandarin hints, Thompson grapes all covered with a touch of golden syrup to make it off dry.

Scores

• Aromas (4.2/5)
• Flavors (8.5/10)
• Overall impression (4.5/5)
  • Total score = 86.0 percent (17.2/20)

Foods to Pair and Why

• Don’t ask me why but my first powerful thought was to pair this with Thomas Keller’s fried chicken. It just seems like a natural pairing from the herb blend to the off dry notes.
• Of course, for breakfast, you would need to have either malted pancakes or waffles with this. Add in a few strips of brown sugar bacon to fully enjoy.
• For dessert, I kept thinking of a fresh fruit tart with a cream base using the tea for the infusion in the pastry cream. I would limit the berries but give a variety of fruits (mandarins, grapes, pears) to fall in each slice.
• The other idea that kept popping up would be to make either profiteroles or eclairs with the pastry cream or another infused cream.
• Maybe it was the weather but if I was drinking this in the fall, I know I would have this brew with a great creamy chicken pot pie.
• The last idea that came up was a deconstructed chicken and wild rice soup but served in a puff pastry square.