Coconut Peppermint Patty

So I think that this was tea 10 from the 12 Teas of Christmas box. The label just said ‘peppermint patty’, but I can’t find that in the system and the one I have definitely has coconut in it – there are huge shavings in the dry leaf.

Dry, the tea smells coconutty and minty and is quite strong. This mutes quite a bit after brewing, and the malty base takes over with the coconut and mint taking a back seat. The taste is very similar – a strong, malty base with a fair amount of astringency (will try steeping below boiling next time), with a mild minty flavour. After adding a sweetener and a little milk, the base mutes and doesn’t hide the flavours as much. It’s actually pretty nice. Creamy mint in the sip, with a nice coconut aftertaste. Still, I get no chocolate. That’s not specific to this tea, though. I hardly ever get chocolate in tea, so don’t hold it against it.

I’ll finish my sample, but don’t think I’d buy more if it was available.

Raw Notes: Large pieces of coconut peel are very noticeable. Scent is very sweet and peppermint like though also malty from the black base.

Steeped Notes: Not only does it have peppermint and malt notes, but the infusion has brought out the coconut too. It’s a little rough ie astringent and I believe the black base to be too strong for the peppermint. The coconut is stronger then the peppermint but the strongest flavour over all is the base. It’s malty and rich but also sour, plus it does leave some dryness in the mouth. It’s a pleasant taste at first sip but after a second or two it just becomes dry and malty.

Overall: I love peppermint as it reminds me of candy canes and in my mind there is little as Christmas’y as that. So imagine my surprise when a tea called Peppermint Patty is not very peppermint strong and has two dominating flavours, ones that are not associated with Christmas. At least living in UK coconut is not a Christmas flavour for me. That makes my drinking experience rather disappointing, though fairly pleasant it’s just not Christmas-y enough for me and I had much higher hopes.

For pictures and more information please view my blog.
http://www.kittylovestea.co.uk/2014/12/24/tis-the-season-tea-be-jolly/

It’s dark outside and I’m still running experiments…time for one more tea from the great beelicious 2014 bag of goodies, late as it is!

This one sounded good in theory—I’m a big fan of coconut, and peppermint patties aren’t half bad either. Unfortunately, it lacks a little in the execution. The blend does have a nice minty, chocolatey smell, but with an undertone of something that’s slightly musty or chemical. I’ve found this in some other chocolate-flavored blends before (and the reason I gave up on chocolatey teas until I discovered Butiki), so it might be an issue with the flavoring, maybe it doesn’t age well. The taste is similar to the aroma. The mint part is nice, but the musty, almost medicinal part is back with a vengeance. It really overshadows the coconut and the tea base. There’s a winning combination somewhere in there, it just needs a little more work.

52teas’ 12 Teas of Christmas Day 10! (Drank Dec. 10)
Uh…. another minty black? O.o There sure are a lot of near-repeats in these 12 teas… and I’m getting more disappointed as I go along. Two chais in a row, one of which was pretty bad, 3 pumpkin teas (the base being the only differentiating factor), and now a second minty black. I see there’s coconut here, so I’m guessing it’s Coconut Peppermint Patty (I believe that was one of this year’s blends). I suspect I’ll enjoy it, and although it may get a reasonably high rating, big minus points to the 12 Teas of Christmas overall :(

(Turns out the label just says ‘Peppermint Patty’, but I assume it’s this tea.)

This is the only other tea sample I could find with actual coconut in it. I believe this one is from KiwiDelight (I apologize if I’m mistaken, feel free to correct me!). This is an interesting concept, as far as I know this is no such thing as a coconut peppermint patty, but I think it would be tasty if there was! This tea is a mix of very broken dark black tea, a few pieces of shaved coconut, some crushed peppermint leaves, and a cacao shell or two. Surprisingly, it doesn’t smell overly minty, in fact it mostly smells of coconut.

The steeped tea does smell quite minty, with a touch of added sweetness from the coconut and cacao. Hm… This actually doesn’t taste like much of anything besides mint, and a slightly bitter base tea. I get a touch of coconut as an aftertaste, but nothing more. It’s a shame, but sadly not dissimilar from other experiences I’ve had with 52teas…

From the Santea Claus TTB

This is ok, but not great. The chocolate and coconut are lacking, and while the mint is nice it’s nothing the amazes. I added sugar and cream, and while the sugar brought out the coconut a bit more I still felt like I was missing the chocolate.

Additional notes: Having a different blend of this one (but still one of Frank’s blends) and raising the rating from a 75. If I remember correctly, the other blend used a different coconut, really tiny pieces. I like the bigger, flakier pieces of coconut used here better (like in the Coconut Cream Pie blend.) The coconut definitely takes over in the flavor with mint and chocolate in the background. But I like how it all comes together in this one, making it an enjoyable cup. The flavors also make the black tea taste better, but it’s so light as it is, I don’t think I could notice the black tea anyway.

It smells amazing! Yummy mint, coconut, and chocolate. Smells exactly like a Thin Mint cookie. Unfortunately the flavors don’t transform well into the tea itself. I can taste the chocolate and the base tea – quite a bold black tea, too – but not the mint and coconut, whether it’s piping hot or warm.

Backlog:

OK, so this was a blend that I suggested to Frank. I had this amazing candy bar over the holiday season that was coconut, mint and chocolate and as I ate it, I couldn’t help but think that it would make an amazing tea.

I didn’t really like the dry leaf aroma. I can smell coconut and mint, and I like those two fragrances, but there is a slight chemical odor too and that was not appealing. Having blended and flavored teas for several years … years ago, I know that sometimes that chemical thing is “necessary” because the flavorings used to flavor teas are flavored oils, and they don’t always smell as good as they make tea taste. Knowing this enables me to overlook that funky smell because I know what it is.

Fortunately, the chemical note didn’t translate to the flavor. What I do taste is mint, chocolate, coconut and black tea. I like that all components are present in the sip. Now, I can’t say that this tastes as yummy as the chocolate bar did, but I do like that I taste a good amount of chocolate (there could always be MORE chocolate, you know? But there is a nice amount of chocolate here.) And the flavors meld together very nicely.

A really tasty blend.

This was a sample from EvaGrimm! Thanks :)

This smells very similar to Butiki’s Peppermint Patty. Though, the black tea base gives it a darker colour. I don’t smell any coconut, but there were huge flakes in the dry tea.

At first sip, the coconut is subtle under the mint. But subsequent sips are not sitting as well. It’s leaving a bit of a drying feel in my mouth. The tea base seems to be coming through more and taking over, though the flavours are still barely there.