If you’ve followed by blog closely you may recognize a couple of generalizations I’ve previously made about tea…
“Tea doesn’t last forever…” and “Fruit teas aren’t worth the cost…” are two such assertions. Today, however, I’d like to offer a counterexample to my own arguments.
Soon after I discovered TeaHaus some five? years ago and began trying their teas in earnest, I found Mr. Ollivander’s Magic Potion. Most people who are currently working at TeaHaus probably won’t recognize this tea, but it was extremely popular in its heyday. Why do I say it offers a counterexample to my statement that teas don’t last forever? At the time I purchased it, I found Mr. Ollivander’s Magic Potion to be the best Fruit tea I’d ever tried. However, it soon disappeared from TeaHaus and its place on the wall was never revived. Since I’d bought a decent-sized bag at the time, I’ve been hoarding it in Tupperware for years. Since it is a Fruit tea, the ingredients haven’t managed to lose all their lustre yet.
In scent, Mr. Ollivander’s smells like a cross between apple and licorice. As a Fruit, it has a thin texture, though some of the ingredients in this case add a goodly amount of complexity. Mr. Ollivander’s tastes both spicy like a Chai, and sweet like a Fruit, but also with a good deal of peppermint and other well-blended Herbal notes. Just as I wrote in my tea journal four years ago, “Mr. Ollivander’s Magic Potion is ‘all fruit and fun!'”. At the time I rated it a 9 out of 10, meaning i thought it was of incredible caliber. Here’s what TeaHaus had to say about Mr. Ollivander’s back in the day:
“Sorcery? Just maybe. What else can explain this captivating spell of strawberry, raspberry, cinnamon and licorice? Ingredients: apple pieces, rose hips, orange peel, papaya pieces, peppermint leaves, licorice root, lemon grass, cinnamon, black currants, rose and mallow blossoms and natural flavor.”
I’m not sure why it would taste like strawberry or raspberry since those things aren’t present, but Mr. Ollivander’s does have a very unique blended flavor. All these years later, I’ve yet to find a match for this fabulous and complex tea. Fortunately, it may not be necessary. Ready for the surprise? Although TeaHaus hasn’t carried it in years (possibly due to the wholesale cost), TeaGschwendner is still selling it off their website! Eeek! I was really geeked to learn that, assuming it to be one of those terrific teas to blow away and scatter to the wind, never to be heard from again. I’ve never really purchased anything off their website before (I’m not the hugest fan of online shopping), but TG (i like this abbreviation as you might imagine…) has a physical store in Chicago that I might just visit at some point. ;]
選別 parting.gifts 