White Fuzzy Navel – Adagio Teas (Cold Brewed)

Today’s tea is White Fuzzy Navel by Adagio. It is one of their currently available seasonal teas (along with Key Lime Herbal tea) and I was sent a sample pack of it with my last order from them.  

Ingredients: White Tea, Rooibos Tea, Apple Pieces, Orange Peels, Hibiscus, Natural Peach Flavour, Mango Pieces, Natural Orange Flavour And Marigold Flowers

They describe it thus:

The Fuzzy Navel, a sweet and lightweight highball of peach schnapps and orange juice, was an iconic beverage of the 1980s club scene. We've decided to throw it back this summer with a beverage for the 80s kids who grew up, and for those of us who only wish we'd experienced what was arguably the most ostentatious decade of the 20th century. Fear not - we aren't here to police the height of your hair or question the elasticity of your spandex. Enjoy an iced glass of White Fuzzy Navel and party on!

So, I know you all thought the cold brew bottle I got last week would sit there in its box doing nothing but look pretty, just like the milk frother I bought just after Christmas. So did I, I’ll be honest, because while I like the idea of these things, actually getting round to trying them always takes me a while.

But it’s been far too warm for me to drink hot tea for the last couple of days (I know it’s supposed to cool you down but not when your core temperature is about a million degrees* and the room you’re in is as warm or warmer), and with the weather set to continue to be equally hot over the next week or so, I decided to bite the bullet and give the cold brew a go.

*possibly a slight exaggeration

It seems there are several ways to make cold brew tea, generally ranging in the quantity of hot vs cold water that is added (although Bird&Blend suggest trying just about everything, including lemonade, fruit juice, milk and prosecco (not at the same time obviously)). I went for the easiest option (of course), adding cold water only and leaving it in the fridge for 24 hours, as directed by the bottle manufacturer.

I decided to try the White Fuzzy Navel tea as I’m really into peach-flavoured teas (their decaffeinated peach tea is one of the best teas ever) and being based on a cocktail it seemed like the ideal tea to lend itself to cold brewing. Unfortunately, the trial size was only big enough for one cold brew so I can’t now try it hot to see what difference it would have made, but while it has an interesting flavour it isn’t to my taste as a cold brew.

Okay, so I’ve found the first problem with cold brew tea – my sweet tooth makes it tricky because demerara sugar (my preferred sweetener for tea) does not dissolve easily in the ice-cold tea mixture and I found this tea completely undrinkable without it as it has no sweetness at all. For the second glass (the cold brew bottle makes the best part of 2 pints) I added some Manuka honey which dissolved slightly more easily but didn’t really improve the flavour much.

While it does smell pleasantly of peaches and orange this isn’t really followed through in the taste, and having left it for 24 hours the overriding flavour is bitterness (presumably from the white tea and the orange peel) which I wasn’t expecting, as I understood that cold brewing gave a much milder brew – and the peach flavour is almost non-existent, overwhelmed by the orange. However, it’s not undrinkable by any means, and I would say that if your interest is in the less sweet fruity type of teas you’ll probably enjoy this a lot.

Personally, I don’t think this tea lends itself to cold water brewing, at least not the type I tried, and if I had it again I would definitely make it with hot water and allow it to cool down rather than brewing it cold, or I’d just drink it hot, sticking to the recommended 4 minute brew time.

WHAT'S BREWING THIS WEEK?

Adagio has a summer sale from now until 30 July, with up to 30% off selected tea and teaware items, while stocks last.

T2 also has a sale on and are doing 3 for 2 on sale items.

Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee Co. are doing 10% off all their stock until midnight tomorrow. Also, if you add the promo code TENNIS at check out you’ll get a sample of their strawberries and cream fruit tisane.