Sassyfras Strawberry

Happy National Strawberry Day! Pulled this last P&L sampler from my stash to drink today, prepared cold brewed.

The green tea itself has a deeply vegetal, spinach-like aroma. I get a bit of a berry fruitiness on the nose. The taste, however, is coming off strongly of the beets in the blend, and I’m wondering if that was a “luck of the scoop” from my little sample bag… I do taste some strawberry, but with the highly vegetal note of the green tea coupled with the strong beet note, it doesn’t really taste very fruity. Grassy, vegetal, a little metallic/earthy, bulldozing the subtle strawberry sweetness in the background. I’m not getting any sassyfras, which is disappointing…

I think I may have just overleafed this, adding to some of the strong green tea notes, and if I’d split the sample into two batches it might have been a little less intense, a little more fruity, and been more subtle on the beet. Ah well, I wanted to use up the full sample packet in one go. Not a particularly good cup, but I can see the potential in it and am chalking this one up to my preparation. That said, I’m still keeping my rating lower than I’d give otherwise since it is called “Sassyfras Strawberry” and I’m not getting one of those ingredients at all.

Home – 9:30 PM

So I recently signed up for the Piper & Leaf subscription box. They have some interesting blends and I haven’t tried anything from them that I’ve disliked.

This tea brews up a charming medium pink color (from the beets). The sencha is very mild and a little bit grassy. I really like the strawberry flavor here, it reminds me of strawberry jam. I’m not sure I know what sassafras tastes like (I assume like root beer?) so I can’t really say if I can taste it here. I think I can taste the beets just a little bit, but that may be just because I know they’re there. ;)

I bet this would be delicious cold brewed!

Haveteawilltravel kindly included this one as a bonus in my recent tea purchase. It’s not something I would have chosen on my own, but I’m actually quite enjoying it! The strawberry flavor is most prominent with the sassafras showing up mainly in the aftertaste. A nice light, fruity tea for summer!

The next one had me whooping with joy, it is a tea with ACTUAL SASSAFRAS in it!! I love the sassy, in fact it is what makes Red Jade one of my favorite teas, I just love it…having a backyard with the little trees in it was a big reason why, plus it just tastes really good. It smells really good too, this tea is super heavy on the strawberry, I can barely make out the sassy at all, but it is there lightly.

So this tea brewed pink, which was fun, thank you beets! The taste is pretty good, a little bit tart strawberry, but mostly sweet strawberry and refreshing green with a sassafras finish. My only complaint is that the sassafras is not stronger, but I am pretty sure most people who drink it are fine with the levels, I just really, really like sassafras. I have a sneaking suspicion that this tea will be a cold-steep staple for outings on hot days.

For blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/06/tea-box-express-june-box-tea.html

This blend is made up of green tea leaves, large pieces of dried strawberry, some kind of green twig and brown bark (which I’m assuming must be the sassafras), and small jewel-colored purple beets. I can smell the strawberry in both the dry mix and the steeped liquid. As was expected, the liquid took on a light shade of pink, almost a rosy peach, likely from the chopped beets. I can taste both the strawberry and the green tea and it’s very good.

Second Steep
8 ounces water + 175 degrees + 4 minutes

The color is still good on this second steep though the flavor is not as pronounced. The steeped leaves are also missing some of the fruity fragrance they carried in the first cup. There’s something different about this one, but I can’t place it. Maybe it’s the sassafras? I’ve never had it before so I’m not sure what it tastes like, but there’s almost a spiciness there.

Third Steep
8 ounces water + 175 degrees + 10 minutes, 30 seconds

Even on the third steep, this still has retained both its color and flavor. Overall, I really enjoyed this one. Green teas haven’t always been a go-to for me, but I could see myself drinking this often. I’ll be keeping it around I think.