Sep 17
Troy’s Teaview Snapshot
 | "If you're looking for a strong maple syrup taste then just add some maple syrup to black tea, but this is a very good maple flavored black tea."
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As a Californian I should have no clue what a Sugar Shack is. I've never been to New England, or out of the southwest for that matter. I only know of them through my research into the Quebecoise side of my family. A Sugar Shack, for those not savvy, is a restaurant specializing in Maple Syrup based delights. They became a big hit all over the North-Eastern end of the continent from the day some Frenchman started sucking tree sap on a cold day to keep his taste buds alive. I've had the good fortune of a grandfather, on the other side of the family, who loved pure maple syrup and raised me right with it.Somewhere along the line, probably when I was out of honey, I started adding a little dab of pure maple syrup to my late evening black tea to keep things sweet, and haven't ever really looked back. The downside to this arrangement is that I have to have maple syrup around, and I have to deal with the inevitable sticky-cap related mess all over my hands. I swear the maple syrup producers have struck a devil's deal with the soap companies, I'm sure they could develop a no stick cap if they wanted to.
So with hopes of clean hands and good teas I set about making myself a cup. As usual I threw away the directions and just made the tea as I made all black teas, this was a mistake. My normal 1 tsp a cup and 5min at around 200 deg. F black tea methodology did not exactly produce the results that I'm sure the Tea Guys, Guys are going for. What I got was a very mild, barely perceptable flavor of maple, and a slightly stronger, but still weak, flavor of tea. So with hopes of improving my odds I did a little dumpster diving (eww, whats my elbow in?) and retrieved the instructions from the packet my sample had arrived in. First off, your going to want to increase the amount of tea you use to about 1 1/2 tsp per cup, and your going to need to steep it at near boiling, 212 deg F, for only about 3 min. This probably explains why my first cup was both weak and bitter.
The first thing I noticed about this tea was a searing pain in my throat. I probably should have let it cool down. After gargling a little aloe to repair my damaged jugular I decided to wait a minute, then three more minutes. Finally I cowered to impatience, dropped in a couple of ice cubes, and sent it down the hatch. The hatch was suitably appeased. If you're looking for a strong maple syrup taste (as I was) then just add some maple syrup to black tea, but this is a very good maple flavored black tea. The flavor is about 50/50 maple and Tea being held together with the pink peppercorns and cocoa. Its not exactly something I'd make into a daily drinker, but it'd be handy to keep a bit around as an occasional flavored divergence from the black tea norm. I suppose it would be much better on a cold winter day then it was at around noon in August though. Your mileage may vary on this one.
— To purchase Tea Guys Maple Sugar, or for more specific information on ingredients or the story behind this particular blend, click here to go directly to the manufacturer's web site.
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