Tasting Tasty Tea

A while back I was gifted two boxes of tea from someone on the Buy Nothing group. The first was peppermint, one of Tony's favorites. The other one was Yaupon, which I had never heard of.

The internet told me that yaupon tea is an herbal beverage brewed from the leaves of the yaupon holly, a shrub native to the Southeastern United States. It's North America's only native naturally caffeinated plant. Yaupon has about the same caffeine as green tea and is rich in antioxidants, but it's low in tannins and doesn't have the bitterness often found in traditional black or green teas.

Because I usually drink my tea after dinner and choose non-caffeinated varieties, the box of yaupon got buried in my tea stash. Earlier in the week I rediscovered it, and tonight Hubby Tony and I had a yaupon taste test with dinner.

There were three types of tea in the box. According to the label:

• Pedernales is "Clean and refreshing, our staple green yaupon celebrates the tranquility of the Pedernales river that flows over and around huge slabs of limestone".

• Lost Maples is "Smooth and warm, our medium roast yaupon is inspired by Lose Maples, a forest unlike any other in Texas, and invites you to get lost in notes of warm caramel".

• Marfa is "Elegant and sophisticated, our traditional dark roast yaupon pays homage to the iconic West-Texas town of Marfa, where art and creativity converge. Enjoy the sweet nuttiness of this specialty roast".

I didn't realize until I opened the box that it contained loose tea instead of bags. I only have one tea ball, so following the directions I spooned one tablespoon of tea to each of three cups, then added hot water and let it steep. 

The package directions said the tea would be good both hot or cold, and I decided on the latter. I strained the tea into drinking glasses and put them into the refrigerator so it could chill.

At dinner time it was time to test.

• I filled two tumblers with ice and poured half of the Pedernales tea into each. I am not the biggest green tea fan, but this one was smooth and fresh tasting. Tony said it was his favorite.

• Next we tried the Lost Maples, using the same procedure. It took me a while, but when I got to the bottom of the sample I could definitely taste the caramel. This one was my favorite 

• The dark roast of the Marfa was obvious. I thought it would be a nice substitute for black tea, but Tony said that it was his least favorite.

Five years ago: The Hunt For Pastries