TeaChat

I just got a boat load of sampler tins in and I have noticed that on my herbal samplers the temp is 180 degrees. Now I find this odd as every other adagio herbal I have gotten have been 212 degrees, and the time of 7 minutes matches on both. The 180's are all in new tins and the 212's were all in old tins. This also occurs with some of the rooibos.

Old Tins (all 212):
Sour Apple
Raspberry Patch
Berry Blues
Wild Strawberry
Rooibos Vanilla

New Tins (all 180):
Fruit Medley
Foxtrot
Dewey Cherry
Rooibos Caramel

Did the temperature change on these (and if so should I be applying these changes to my old ones) or is this a misprint?

-John

Yes, there was a misprint on the new tins, the temperature should be 212.

With herbal tisanes, the hotter the water, and longer the steeping time, the better. You can't ruin it by overinfusing the way you can with actual tea. I steep my nightly rooibos for a good hour before drinking it. It is part of my routine.

javyn wrote: You can't ruin it by overinfusing the way you can with actual tea.

Actually, that is not true. Many of the fruit herbals can be oversteeped causing a very untasty drink. Also, yerba mate can be oversteeped resulting in a horrible tasting drink.

Flowers, petals and herbs are not as delicate as teas. In fact when it somes to herbs used medicinally, it is recommended 1, 4, even 8 hours steeping (depending on the type of herb and use).

This obviously not the same with fruit and fruit is not an herb. Anyone who has over steeped lemon rind know this to be true. Just because it's not tea does not make it an herb.

Water temperature is also not as important as it is with tea. The only real guideline is to not drink it while it's too hot so as not to burn your tongue. Also, one can taste the infusion better when it is at a comfortable sipping temperature.

Moreover, herbs are like people and they hate being lumped into generalizations. They like it better when you get to know them for their personal characteristics.

RH:

I like my fruit teas better when I steep them in below-boiling water (around 180-190).

Why not try it both ways for each tea and stick to whichever one tastes best?

That gives you an excuse to drink lots and lots of herbal tea over the next several days!

~Yresim~

yresim wrote:RH:

I like my fruit teas better when I steep them in below-boiling water (around 180-190).

I noticed the misprint this afternoon when my latest order arrived in the mail! I was going to ask Richard about it in the chat room but it appears to be down?

I also don't tend to use boiling water for my herbal teas. The "hot" tap on the Poland Springs dispenser is perfect for my taste-buds and I try not to let the tea steep more than 7 minutes otherwise the tea tastes bitter to me and no amount of sweetener (which I try to avoid) can improve the taste at that point!