Alys's Tea Party Blend: Marion's Vanilla Mint

I finally got around to opening my package of Marion's Vanilla Mint Blend now that the weather has retreated to less oppressive temperatures.  Although the blend didn't come out precisely as I intended, it's very good even so.

The aroma and the taste are both intensely minty.  The combination of peppermint and spearmint creates a rich, full-bodied taste.  Unfortunately, that taste completely overwhelms the vanilla elements.  At most, the vanilla serves as a mellowing element in the aftertaste.

However, I have some lovely vanilla sugar, which brought the vanilla elements to the fore when added.  I expect that a vanilla honey would be equally nice in a hot version of this tea.

This blend ices up spectacularly well.

Alys's Tea Party Blend: Tex Rex Oolong

The Tea Rex Oolong blend is one of my custom blends, made 60/40 almond and peach oolong.   I'm pleased to report that, if you like these two flavors (and I do), the Tea Rex blend is delightful.  The flavor and aroma display more almond, as you'd expect from the proportions.  The peach insinuates itself in the aftertaste, joining in with the almond as a sweet note.  (If you chug the brew, you'll almost never notice the peach.)

Tea Rex ices very well, as it was intended to.  A tiny bit of sweetener heightens the peach elements nicely.   When the weather is less oppressively warm and humid, I'll try this blend hot.  I'm sure I'll like it though.  After all, I made it.  :-)

When brewing an oolong tea, keep in mind that you shouldn't bring the water to full boil.  I find that 180 degrees F is about right. Steeping time is 1-5 minutes.   Oolong is more forgiving than white tea if you over-heat or over-steep it, but it won't present at its best.