This is a queued tasting note.
Ok, so this is 100% the tea I was most excited for in this collection. I mean, it’s essentially supposed to be a softly smoked pineapple blend, right? Holy shit am I on board for that. I actually LOVE using Lapsang Souchong in cooking with foods that incorporate pineapple because that smoky sweet cross with the flavours is the BEST fucking thing ever. It works the exact same way that ham & pineapple does.
So colour me surprised by my first few sips of this…
I have to wonder if I’m evening drinking the same tea that’s been reviewed by others because I found the smoke/tobacco elements of this tea REALLY underwhelming. I barely got smoke notes at all! What was really impactful was the sweet, rich and smooth cocoa notes from the cocoa shells in the blend. I knew that they would be a part of the blend, but based on the marketing I fully underestimated just how prevalent those notes would be. I mean, they were fucking delicious but in a small way I felt a bit like they stole the thunder of the other elements in the blend.
Moving on to the pineapple; even though I thought the chocolate was VERY strong and the smoke not strong enough I felt like the amount of pineapple flavour I got in each sip was perfect. I’d have loved to see the sweet, semi acidic pineapple juice notes contrasted alongside a different flavour than chocolate but this worked alright. It actually wasn’t long ago I reviewed Tea Taxi’s Recipe For Happiness blend and pointed out how I don’t view chocolate and pineapple as a natural pairing but this marginally changes my mind. In my opinion, the pineapple didn’t come off as floral like described by AU, though this works for me because I don’t think the combo of floral/pineapple/chocolate OR floral/pineapple/smoke would have worked. Something about that I think would have felt unbalanced or oddly contrasted. Finally, this one finishes off with a subtle black pepper tickle. It’s really the only “spice” element I got from the blend – but it was a nice touch.
Overall I DID enjoy the mug, but it wasn’t what I’d expected from it. I think I’ve found that a lot with this particular August Uncommon collection. It’ll be interesting trying this one again now that I have an understanding of how the flavour profile presents – I think that’ll make for a more pleasant experience/less perplexing impression.
Also, I’ve now tried all of the teas from this collection! Here’s how I personally score them…
1. Ventura Highway
2. Silencio
3. Dark Iris
4. Skylark
5. Days of Heaven
Right now the only one I see myself wanting more of is Ventura Highway. And, it appears that August Uncommon is gearing up to release another new collection so maybe I’ll grab some when I inevitably get samples of the new collection…
