Chai-napple Gunpowder

Cold-brewed for ten hours, then poured on ice.

I wouldn’t have picked this on my own because this blend sounds like a strange one not to my liking. It’s from a mystery grab bag. I figured I’d prefer it only cold-brewed. This dry leaf smells of pineapple and spices, notably cardamon. Taste-wise, while the spiciness is on the tip of the tongue when I first drink, the pineapple flavor is dominant nearly the entire time. It does taste artificial but not overly so. Pineapple flavoring is difficult to work with me. Still, this was pleasant and refreshing to drink, though I wouldn’t have bought it in larger amounts.

I really wanted to try this one, first because the name is awesome. There are plenty of pineapple pieces and big green bundles of gunpowder, however not many spices at all. Maybe that was just my pouch and there are more spices in other pouches. I LOVE the pineapple flavor though. It even overpowers the gunpowder flavor and I know that is usually a pretty strong tasting green tea. The pineapple reminds me of the Butiki oolong pineapple. I wish 52Teas had had more pineapple blends! For a chai, it’s a fail, but the pineapple saves the cup. Farewell 52Teas but I’m looking forward to see what LiberTEAs brings to the tea table! (I couldn’t resist some of these super sale grab bags today!)
Steep #1 // 30 min after boiling // 2 min steep
Steep #2 // 28 min a.b. // 2-3 min

This was pretty underwhelming the other night. General light chai spiciness, some fruitiness. Wasn’t a huge fan to begin with, and it appears that hasn’t changed. Perfectly drinkable, just… meh.

Matcha TTB

This tea had such a unique flavor combination, I just had to try it. And I wasn’t disappointed…this is delicious! The main flavor is sweet, juicy pineapple, but the chai spices add a nice warmth and there is also just a hint of smokiness from the gunpowder base. I’ve only tried a few things from 52Teas and this one is definitely my favorite so far!

This is my blind basket pick number 5. The bag was being stubborn to open actually had to break out a knife(yikes) since I don’t know where my kitchen shears have vanished to.
Once I finally got the blasted bag open, I was immediately comforted with the delicious smell of pineapple(yum). I love pineapple. Brewed the tea has more of a candy pineapple scent, which is still quite appetizing.
The flavor left me wanting some, it just wasn’t strong enough. It has a pleasant flavor with pineapple and pleasing gunpowder green tea, it was just a little too weak.
I only steeped at the shortest amount of time though(I know, I should’ve brewed longer but I was impatient). Next time I will let it steep longer and maybe a little more leaf. Might repurchase.

This is what I’m drinking currently. I’m finding myself a tad under the weather and when I’m feeling like this, spiced teas seem to lift my spirits if nothing else. I’m glad that I’ve got several reviews on tap at SororiTea Sisters so I don’t have to try to review teas with a sore throat. I’m more than caught up there (maybe not caught up here, still backlogging! But I’ve got plenty of reviews waiting for their scheduled time of publication.)

In the meantime, I’m drinking lots of spiced teas and slurping lots of Hot and Sour soup.

This is a good tea – not my favorite from 52Teas but I like the combination of spice and pineapple. The green tea base is pleasant. The spices are warm and comforting and exactly what I’m looking for on this sick day. The pineapple brightens the cup. I’d like a little more pineapple-y goodness in this today, I think. Then again, my tastebuds might be off because of the sick.