Assam a go-go

When I looked at the ingredients for this, I thought it might scratch the itch left from finishing off Lupicia’s “Chocolate and Strawberry Pu’erh.” The ingredient list sounded really promising, mixing assam and pu’erh with strawberry, hazelnut, and cream flavors, but unfortunately, I’m not really getting that from the flavor. The flavor of the assam is just not coming through the pu’erh at all, while the black tea added to the Lupicia tea really smoothed out the pu’erh flavor in that tea. So I pretty much just taste pu’erh, which isn’t my favorite tea type… it isn’t too “dirty” tasting here, thankfully. But the earthiness is very strong due to the hazelnut flavoring, which is really strong and prominent. I don’t taste strawberry or cream at all. If I had to wager a guess, I bet this is a blend of Adagio’s Black Cream and Strawberry and Hazelnut Pu’erh, as that hazelnut flavor is very distinct. I’m sad the other flavors aren’t popping, though (I’m actually a fan of that Cream flavoring Adagio uses).

So ultimately, I’m just getting a cup of hazelnut-flavored pu’erh, which is fine, but not what I was hoping for. I was really hoping for some malty and fruity notes. I’ll finish up my sample with breakfast but probably would not reorder this.

I brought this to work and have really been enjoying it during my breaks. It’s such a nice pick-me-up. Since I realized it tastes like Cap’n Crunch Berries, that’s all I can taste. But, I’m definitely not mad about that.

Day 2 of advent. Dry this smells like chocolate covered red fruit. It has a deep rich scent that I can’t quite put words to. This steeps up dark and reminds me of Lupicia’s Chocolate Strawberry Puer, which is one of my favorites. It smells like puer too. When sipping, I first get the puer taste that I can only describe as musty cave flavor that is toned down from other puers I’ve had. It sounds unflattering, but I don’t mean it that way. There is a red berry flavor in the finish along with something that hints of chocolate. I assume from the name that this must have assam in it. Maybe that is what is toning down the puer with a touch of malt? It was a good cup and I’d say it was like that Lupicia tea with the berry toned down and puer more center stage.
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