Whisky Flavored Tea

"O Whisky! soul o' plays and pranks! 
Accept a bardie's gratfu' thanks!"  Robbie Burns, "Scotch Drink" 1785

This tea can be described as Chinese black tea marinated in a Scottish malt whisky flavor.  According to Scotch connoisseurs, estery flavors in moderation are desirable in Scotch whisky.  Estery is possessing chemical esters, such as fruity, floral and solvent odors/scents.   The dominant scent of the tea is estery: pear, banana and nail polish.   One sniff of the dried leaves could make Robbie Burns turn in his grave.  

The brewed tea is still estery but surprisingly smooth with a hint of malt.   It is reminiscent of a fruit-flavored tea, not Scotch.  

Whisky Flavored Tea

Type:  Black       Country: Scotland       Preparation:  95°C 4 Min

Dry Leaf:  Chopped pieces make up the dried leaves.  Their pear-like or varnishy scent is overwhelming.
Wet Leaf:  Behind the nail polish scent, there is a faint smell of wet straw.
Liquor:   The tea is golden brown.   It is smooth with pear-like and malty flavors.  There is barely any astringency but a slightly sour aftertaste.

Tee Score: 3 of 5

Coffee Leaf Infusion

Coffee beans are made from the seeds of Coffea plants.  These plants' fruits or cherries, and dried leaves can also be used to brew beverages that taste nothing like coffee.

Except in places like Ethiopia and Sudan, coffee leaf infusion has never become popular or mainstream.  Some health food stores in North America do carry dried coffee leaves for those who use them.

Recently, a startup (Wize Monkey) in Vancouver, BC, has begun to market its Coffee Leaf tea (technically it is not a tea) in bag form. The arabica leaves are sourced from and processed in a Nicaragua coffee plantation.  

Each bag is brewed like tea, about 3-4 minutes at 95°C.

Coffee Leaf Tea bag

The infusion is rich red brown in color.  It is smooth, sweet and ever so slightly herbaceous.   It is pleasant but a bit generic.

Coffee Leaf infusion

A flavored version of Coffee Leaf seems to bring out more sweetness; however, it has a slightly bitter artificial aftertaste.

Mango Coffee Leaf

Why coffee leaves?  Some researchers claim that a cup of coffee leaves has higher antioxidants but lower caffeine than a cup of tea does.