Strawberry Lemonade Bai Mu Dan

Inspired by Awkward Soul, I decided to cold brew almost the last of this one up last night. And yep, it’s still pretty tasty. Since I seem to be so finicky as to what I like in a cold brew, it’s not often that one actually works really well for me. I can’t really taste much strawberry in here anymore, but definitely some lemon, as well as some bite from the white tea. I’ll probably let it warm up a touch before drinking the rest of it whenever I get to it later today, because I think the flavours might pop a bit more. This is certainly a blend I’d want to pick up again if it was re-blended (and tasted as good as it did originally).

Also, have I mentioned that I’m in love with my bombilla? :D

I found this hidden in my cupboard, and MAN does it smell good!! I can smell both strawberry and lemon in the dry leaf aroma. Ahhh, it smells heavenly! It reminds me of something too…candy perhaps? Maybe Starbursts? Yeah, that’s it! Starbursts! Mmmm!

I can’t wait to try this, but I promised myself I would drink it iced. Since there’s only a little bit left, I’m going to have to brew it normally and then stick it in the fridge. Adding ice would only dilute it. So…how long do I need to wait for it to cool? Maybe I should stick it in the freezer instead…I don’t want to crack my mug though. Ugh! I’m so impatient!

A few hours later…wow! This is fantastic! I was unsure a white tea would be good iced, but this is really great! Strawberry lemonade, mmmm!! This is, wow, just wow. I’ve never been made speechless by a tea before.

This is only okay as a hot tea. I usually prefer my white teas to be unflavored unless it’s a jasmine white. Wait, strike that. I love 52teas Ginger Ale Bai Mu Dan and that’s a flavored white. Hmm, what was it about this tea that didn’t make me swoon the first time? Maybe it was just my mood…Whatever it was, I judged this tea a little unfairly when I first tried it last December. I’m raising the rating from 74 to 90!! This is definitely a tea that needs to be enjoyed iced. I honestly just can’t believe how good this is.

It’s iced tea season, and I finally found an iced tea worthy enough to make me want to brew an entire pitcher! And there’s still 10 packets left from the revival?! WOW!! How is that even possible??! I need to stock up immediately, and I suggest you iced tea lovers do the same! Did I mention I kept this sample in a ziplock bag for about 6 months? And it still tastes this good!!!!! This tea needs some lovin’ and I’m happy to oblige. :D (Make that 9 pouches left over from the revival).

Backlog …

On the Third Day of Christmas … this is the tea 52Teas sent to me!

Here is my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2011/12/16/on-the-third-day-of-christmas-52teas-sent-to-me/

Thanks LiberTEAs!!!!

Dry – this TOTALLY smells like Pez Candy! Once infused – It smells like Strawberry, Lemon, Peony/White Tea…lovely.

This is very soothing, very satisfying, and very tasty – YUMMO!

I can enjoy a sip at a time – hot OR a gulp at a time – COLD. This is great!

Another from last year’s 12Teas of Christmas. The aroma is white tea (duh) with a hint of pink lemonade under it all if you smell it closely. I’m not a big fan of white tea, it can turn my stomach at times and I have an automatic worry of that happening every time I drink it. This one is not smelling great for me and I specifically have had trouble with 52Teas’ Bai Mu Dan a couple of times now. However, I persevere!

I cooled the water for about five minutes as I am at work and then steeped it for 4 to 5 minutes. This particular sample didn’t quite yield 2 cups worth of tea but I tried to split it evenly, hopefully the bit of extra time will help encourage more flavour from the leaves as the smell was quite mild initially.

The steeped aroma is a hint of something tart (lemon myrtle!) and a slighter wisp of candied strawberry. Nice, but unassuming. Appealing though! First sips are extremely mild in the way that white teas is, but I do get a hint of the flavours I smelled earlier. There is a bit more lemon than anything else, and that’s okay. It’s certainly not the in-your-face flavour of lemonade, but it is pleasant enough. It puts me in mind of Neo-Citran, but much more pleasant.

The strawberry flavour remains illusive for me here, which is a bit of a disappointment. Strawberry is one of my favourite flavours when done right, but I find it very hard to accurately replicate in tea. This one glosses right over the strawberry and focuses on the lemonade. That’s okay, but since the title suggests some yummy berries, I’m a bit disappointed. This is drinkable though mild – but not special either. A middle-of-the-road sort of tea, for me!

EDIT to add that as it cools, it is much stronger in flavour. I am sending the last bit of my sample home to do a cold steep with. MUCH better cold!

i think, in retrospect, i must have started with the worst possible choice of teas from 52teas— lime jello salad. if you take a look my review it was outstanding! and while the other teas are good, nothing has yet achieved the same standard as the lime jello salad.

granted, as always, it could be my failure… but i don’t think so in this case. the flavour is there…. not the intended one i don’t think. i get cotton candy from this! nice, but definitely not strawberry lemonade.

i think 52teas is a very creative vendor. i also think as with any producer not every product will please every customer (ie: this is no lime jello salad)… and quite possibly the fact that my samples are fairly old (very carefully preserved by the grand CHAroma, but still) play a role.

i reserve numerical judgement because i just don’t have all the information. i will say that teavana makes an awesome tisane by the same name. were my sample fresh, and if i had the chance to compare i have no idea which would prevail!

There was nothing on the 12th, because we were out all evening playing at being grown-ups with dinner and a Leonard Cohen theatre concert. But the next day there was this.

This sound much more up my specific field of preference than the other two, this one. I’m a little surprised by it though. I can’t for the life of me recall having ever seen it before, especially because it rather seems like something that would have caught my interest when first blended. I expect it was probably in the summer, so maybe it was while we were away on holiday or something, and so I didn’t pay attention.

My first association when I smelled the dry leaf was bubble gum and it’s a thought I’m having difficulties really shaking. Secondary thought is that it smells exactly like a specific lemonade-y ice lolly that you can get in Denmark. That one is quite nice, although not a favourite. I’m not picking up much strawberry, mainly lemonade, and I can’t find the base tea in the aroma at all.

The flavour is an entirely different matter. I get lots of lemonade and also plenty of strawberry and then a peek of base white underneath.

I was right. This is right up my specific field of preference this. Oh dear, I do wish I had noticed this one when it was actually posted…

More samples! Wahh, this one is kinda old, oh well. This one came from Kittena!

First sip and I’m reminded that 52 Teas makes good lemon teas. The lemon tastes zippy and flavorful with a hint of sweet. The strawberry fruit hits me as a mild aftertaste. The white base seems a little stale, however, this sample has been kicking around my “try it” box for awhile.
I’m gonna wish list this one – I can see this being a killer iced tea, with slices of lemon and strawberries! YUM!

I used the rest of this from the 12 Teas of Christmas to make a quart of cold steeped tea. Still delicious. Sadly, I have now broken my tea buying moratorium 3 times (But if you buy tea twice in one mall, does it only count as one time, so I can say 2 times instead? No?) so I am fully banning myself from even looking at more tea…but I reeeeeally want more of this D:

Oh this is good!
I tried it hot, but it really needs to be iced.

Thank you 12 days of Tea Sampler :D

The smell is like candy, I want to eat it. I’m a huge fan of flavoured whites, and this one doesn’t disappoint, although I’m going to hold off rating until I try it iced.