658 Tasting Notes
The phones finally stopped ringing for a bit at work and I hurried to the back to boil the kettle. I have just been reunited with my all-glass Libre and was excited to use it (so pretty!). What would be a better choice for the tea glass than dragon pearls? I was so happy to realize I had some of these with me.
Aside from how much fun I have watching them unravel in my glass, these taste great. Perfect for the craving for light, floral teas I’ve been experiencing the past couple of days. Also, I think this is helping my headache. Let the phones keep ringing!
Second 52 Teas honeybush sample of the night.
This is nice. The scent was much like other pina colada-flavoured teas I’ve had in the past. The taste, however, is much smoother and more pleasant than the others. I find it nice and gently coconut-y. It’s very good but not completely jumping out at me so I’m not sure if I will purchase a pouch. Possibly, as it would be great iced a few months from now.
My second 52 Teas order (Valentines samples) arrived today. It took a month to get here, just like the first. I was disappointed by the teas in my first order and felt most sure about this one out of the order so I chose to make it first it because I really want to like ’em!
This is good. The smell is heavenly. But, I’m not getting the WOW STRAWBERRY that others seem to. For me it’s definitely more in the scent than in the flavour. I do really enjoy the vanilla and subtle and warm cinnamon in this one, though. It really hints at baked goods. My boyfriend’s mug cooled off when he didn’t finish it (he liked it but was distracted by video games) so I finished it and quite liked it cold.
I’m really glad there is none of the weird stuff happening in this one like there are in the earl grey cheesecake, apple vanilla chai, and peach cobbler for me. I think I will wind up ordering some.
Preparation
I got this in my first and unfortunately only (not for long!) Den’s order back in December. I set it aside for a time that felt special or when I felt ready to really focus on it.
And, well, I don’t know if tonight is either of those times but I wanted a black tea and I wanted it to be good. I had a feeling this would be.
I didn’t expect to like it this much. My palate is not very refined, to say the least. I also don’t have the vocabulary to explain what I’m tasting, but it’s wonderful. Smelling the dry tea, I expected this to come out quite strong and astringent. I’m shocked at how light and crisp and delicate it is. It’s really quite refreshing. I definitely see what others have mentioned about being able to taste its relationship to green teas. Here’s hoping Den’s makes it available for purchase!
Actually, on their facebook page, a customer asks them if they will be selling it (I guess a LOT of people have been wondering if they will). They replied that because few farmers grow black tea in Shizuoka, it is relatively expensive, but if they could find a consistent supply for a good price they would definitely consider selling it. You can read the facebook Q&A for more detail.
Thanks! I did see that, actually before I had tried the tea. I think it would sell pretty well if they did find a supplier.
The boyfriend chose this as the flavour for a Design a Tea sample. I wasn’t sure about this combination, but it ended up delicious! It was very tropical-tasting, suitably enough. It really felt like I was drinking fruit juice, a luxury I’m rarely able to enjoy. I kept getting apple notes at the end of sips, and it made me recall reading that mango is often used to create apple flavours in tea. Now I see why. The coconut was nice too, and definitely present, but the mango was the star.
Wow, I actually finished a bag of tea! It’s been pretty unseasonably warm, but at least today was windy. I figured I should use this up before winter is totally over and it gets pushed even further back in the cupboard.
I also wanted something that would make me sleepy so I simmered all I had left of this (about 4 tsp?) in almost two cups of unsweetened vanilla almond milk with a bit of light cream in hopes of making its texture more like milk. I also added several cloves, cardamom pods, a few pieces of cinnamon bark, and a tiny dash of ginger.
Awesome! Much better than any other time I had made this tea. I always wanted to like it as the taste is nice and the smell is awesome, but the flavour wasn’t very full on its own. This way, I got lots of the nice baked apple taste but the spices were ramped up.
