4279 Tasting Notes
Summer sunrise – sure, it isn’t summer yet. But hey, the three feet of snow on the ground is melting! It’s the first time it has been over 40 degrees in a while. But maybe it is more important to drink this tea when you WISH it was summer (or anything other than winter). Basil is my FAVORITE. Especially the purple basil. I can put that on anything, when I have it. (Whole leaves on a pizza? Why not?) I’m not a tea expert, but this is different from any tea I’ve tried. The color isn’t quite black, it’s more of an amber. The flavor isn’t a strong black either. The lemon isn’t too much lemon at all. Maybe I’m used to overdoing basil, but I don’t smell or taste much of it here. It is a nice sweet and light flavor though… just like summer.
Preparation
Tart. Tangy. A bit sour. And yeah, I suppose a bit zingery. Not very berry which I think is why they call it “zinger”. I’m not sure how they make it taste that way. It’s not a bad tea but I definitely couldn’t steep this more than once. The second cup was more like plain water.
What an odd mixture of things in this tea! But it ends up working really well. The first thing is it almost smells more than it tastes (the dry leaves and also after steeping). I really like the scent, but it is a bit difficult to taste the individual things in it (not that that is the point). I’m not accustomed to some of things here, I guess, but they are very delicious together. Very nutty with a white chocolate scent. Toasty! And yes, it is perfect for winter! (It’s currently snowing and very windy out there.) The green tea really makes the flavors stand out. I really should drink more green teas with all of these awesome flavors in it. Another SpecialTeas I will never be able to buy since they disappeared. It’s almost worst having tried them at all if I know how yummy SpecialTeas are and I won’t ever be able to buy them.
Fruit fruit fruit. Delicious. Maybe it is my lack of fruit intake in the winter, but I don’t think this could get any fruitier! Really good! Very tart. The best fruity tea I’ve tried. It’s like drinking juice without all that added sugar (which I hate). I’m another person just now trying specialteas when they don’t exist anymore. Now I’ll know what I’ll be missing.
Lots of lemon. I usually don’t have a lot of lemon (except maybe lemonade) but rather than lemonade, this tea reminds me of a donut I once ate with frosting and lemon something or other on the top of it. I don’t know why. The first sip had a LOT of lemon. The green tea kind of disappears behind the lemon. It almost seems like a white tea rather than a green to me. It’s pretty good.
Yes, I did wait until Valentine’s Day to try this tea. I thought it sounded like a Valentine’s Day tea and it is, but really I’d drink it any time! Raspberries are my favorite, so I had to try this sample from Joy’s Teaspoon. I think it could have used more raspberry flavor, but the vanilla rooibos didn’t hurt! I love rooibos as well. A lovely scent and a delicious tea!