The Vanilla Marshmallow

My last tea from 2017! I just have to finish up the 25g of Yunnan Lily Black and this 15g packet and I’ll finally have achieved my goal of sipping down all the 2017 tea acquisitions in my cupboard! (Sadly 2018 is the “worst” of my spending habits… hooboy…)

Not sure how this one differs from the French Vanilla Marshmallow Assam, which I know I’ve had before. Smells about how I remember from that other blend… sort of a honeyed bread/malt note, molasses, and sweet vanilla cream. However, I’m getting a slight alcoholic/medicinal tinge on the sip, which is usually when I have a sensitivity to a flavoring… Not sure if it’s this particular batch, or the age (my packet was still sealed, at least), but I definitely remember I never got that on the French Vanilla Marshmallow Assam. It’s a little distracting from the cup, but not undrinkable. The base tea is wonderfully smooth, like warm bread, molasses, and a hint of raisin, and the vanilla (albeit a bit alcoholic) is sweet and bringing out a creamed honey sort of note.

I’ll have to see if that flavoring issue calms down a bit as I work through the packet and a bit of air circulates with the leaves, or perhaps just pull my remaining packet out of French Vanilla Marshmallow Assam to compare… but I’d rather horde that one, hahaha!

This is the tea that called out to me and convinced me to place my most recent order. Vanilla teas have been my obsession for the past few years. So, I was not about to let one by 52Teas get by without trying it.

As I measured out the leaves, I was reminded why 52Teas is a little more pricey than the bigger tea companies. It’s because they use such quality teas as bases. Instead of using cheap, lower-grade Ceylons or whatever, they blended this using long, dark Assam leaves. All nearly whole and high quality, mixed with off-white pieces of marshmallow root. They have a more fruity than vanilla aroma.

That said, while this is a very tasty Assam, that’s kind of all I taste. The vanilla is so subtle. It’s mostly in the exhale. Very mild. The focus is definitely on the base, not the flavorings. While that’s not exactly the experience I was looking for, there’s something very comforting about it. It’s satisfying in a way. I’m glad I have the rest of this sample to go through. Maybe I’ll see what it’s like with a splash of milk next time.

This was basically a godsend today for the 10 minutes I was walking to the bus stop. It was so cold and I was walking against the wind and each breath felt like razor blades in my lungs. This helped keep my hands warm and helped to warm my insides when I needed it desperately. This may have tasted better than ever today for the sheer reason that it was hot. Very hot. When heat was fleeting

There’s already been far too much celebratory tea drinking today. First, I have milk. Second, it’s my birthday. Yay on both counts!

Yesterday, I went out with a friend for lunch to a Georgian restaurant that I’ve been wanting to visit for a long while. We had soup, spicy with walnuts. We had salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, red peppers, piled high with fresh herbs. We had cheese stuffed bread. Hers like a pizza with salty cheese inside and on top. Mine in the shape of a canoe, stuffed with cheese with an egg on top. Super lovely lunch, super lovely visit.

Super lovely tea to start the day with. Milk and honey loveliness. The vanilla brightens up with milk, I find.

And now to plan my next milky birthday tea.

So sad…all gone. My other cup of tea from today. Nothing much to say besides a plea for Anne to make another vanilla tea ha!

Final count: 29 (13 non puerh)

Oh no, the pressure of writing the first tasting note on this one. I tried this the day that my parcel landed and have had it a couple times since, wanting to experiencing it more than once before considering writing anything. Silly me still has my taster of Amethyst’s Gold from my last order waiting to be cracked open, so I can’t compare for the time being, but at the very least, I can compare—mentally—to the original French Vanilla Assam available a few years ago. As a side note, merely thinking of the original 52teas blends is making me feel really old. How time flies! I remember trying French Vanilla Assam in my very first order back in… 2012 maybe? It feels like yesterday. It doesn’t help that I’ll be reaching a birthday milestone in a couple weeks, which has been leaving me crying in my sauerkraut as of late.

So, this blend, I’ll be quite honest. When I opened the package, I was quite disappointed. The scent of the dry leaf smelled a little dusty. Nineteen-02’s Coffee Caramel comes to mind, whose base I sadly described as “pseudo-stale” and reminiscent of Metropolitan teas. Maybe it’s just my nose but that’s what I’m getting.

Steeped, it smells extremely lightly of melted vanilla caramels. In flavour, I am picking up mostly on honey notes, a touch of dried fruit, and there’s a slight smokiness in the far background. It’s not that malty, which I was expecting it to be. I can pick up on some marshmallow root but it’s quite faint, and is completely killed off once milk is added. Overall, it’s a decent blend but not my favourite. I’ve already tried the other two fundraiser blends but have yet to write about them, but I will say right now that I prefer the other two!