Mandarin Cream

TeaBox B — thanks again everyone! Right away, this reminded me of the other Persimmon Tree tea I had, even if I couldn’t remember what that was at the moment. Coconut cream? The sweet vanilla/cream flavor is there mostly. I can’t really tell it’s oolong or mandarin after a four minute steep. It’s just okay! I think the “cream” used here works better with the coconut.

Also, why does my throat feel like constant rooibos now? I haven’t any rooibos since this morning. It seems like I notice the rooibos scratch more and more. I think I should just invest in some teabag wraps to make sure the rooibos doesn’t get in the cup… but I thought that problem was solved with my mesh infuser!

Apparently, I can go through a ridiculous amount of tea at the office (since they keep the AC mildly above freezing). The last remaining ounce of this was finished in a couple of weeks when I decided to bring some of my oolongs to work. Well, best decision I ever made since I rarely drink them at home, unless it’s the weekend. Is this a carbon copy of one of the larger distributers’ versions? Since I already have the tin, no need to really repurchase that method, right? If it’s a carbon copy of a cheaper blend, I’m all ears!

Sipdown!

I don’t know what I was thinking when I ordered this. I love oolongs, but flavored oolongs?

Well, I gave it a try. It’s not bad. The flavor is a bit weird, though. I can’t taste any lemon at all, or marigold – though I don’t know what marigold tastes like so for all I know I am tasting it, and it tastes exactly like the vanilla flavoring. I even added some sugar to try and bring out the other flavors but no go.

I won’t be buying this again.

This is an amazing looking tea. The loose leaves are very picturesque. The smell and taste of the tea are overwhelmingly vanilla. Slight floral notes with a hint of citrus, but too much vanilla in this mix for it to be a home run.

Oh man, so much busy! Yesterday I was exhausted after finishing the road trip, doing some post trip shopping (it seems this is a tradition now) and eating. I took a nap and ended up sleeping a whopping 14 hours. Then today I went to Hilton Head for more shopping (thrift stores are awesome, found some awesome tea things I am going to have to show off soon) and then to Hunting Island for some ocean fun. The ocean did my soul good, especially since earlier in the day a nice lady asked me if my blue hair meant I was a mermaid. Tomorrow we plan to visit Charleston and the tea plantation, so much excitement for that!

Today’s tea is something soothing and relaxing from The Persimmon Tree Tea Company, Mandarin Cream Oolong! This tea is a blend of Organic Oolong, Organic Lemon Myrtle, Marigold Petals and Natural Flavors creating a tea that is a mix of creaminess and lemons. I am a huge fan of Lemon Myrtle because it gives that essence of lemon without being a kick in the face of citrus. The aroma is nothing short of neat, I say neat as in cool, hip…you know, what people say when something smells unusual but good, at least I assume people still say hip, I am a bit out of the loop. It blends sweet cream, honeysuckles, orchids, and a hint of lemon at the finish for a really unique smelling blend, I admit I find myself very intrigued by these leaves.

Tossing the leaves in my steeping basket for a nice little bath in my teacup, I find myself greeted with a blend of floral aromas, primarily orchid and honeysuckle, and creamy lemons. It vaguely reminds me of a very floral creamy lemony cheesecake. The liquid is much the same without its leafy companions, it is very sweet and creamy with mellow lemons and lots of floral notes.

It is totally unexpected that this tea hits the spot, it is floral and sweet with just the right amount of lemon. It starts out lemony and floral with notes of orchids and honeysuckle to give it sweetness. This sweetness builds to a creamy midtaste and finishes with a blend of cream and lemon, again reminding me of lemony cheesecake. Like I said when sniffing the leaves, it is unusual, but in a very neat way, I found myself truly enjoying this tea and wanting more when I finished the cup!

For photos and blog (including me at the beach being a mermaid): http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-persimmon-tree-tea-company-mandarin.html

Here we go with another one I didn’t expect to like and then totally did. I thought this was going to taste like a 50/50 bar….which would have made me sad since I’ve never liked those. But, it is my mission now to try anything and everything I can at this point because I am continually surprised by really liking things I would never have chosen on my own. With that being said, I think this really ended up tasting more like a brighter vanilla. Not something I necessarily would have said “OH! OH! THAT’S ORANGEY!!!” So, for me, that’s good. I could definitely see myself ordering this. As it is, I am so grateful for the sample I received from Ost. Hey, Ost…it appears you know the tea-me better than I do!

I’ve read through several of the notes on this one. I was not disappointed by Mandarin Cream. I like vanilla but almost always dislike how much is used. It easily overwhelms my taste buds. This one has a pleasant aroma and the taste is very similar. Finally a vanilla tea that does make me flinch. Others commented they could not taste the lemon myrtle. I had trouble picking it out as well – until I added a little sweetener. It came out of hiding and was a lovely addition. The Pouchong leaf is mostly present late in the aftertaste. This makes a creamy cup but nothing that makes me think Mandarin.

The second cup is completely different. Without sweetener it is a cup of green tasting oolong. Add the sweetener and the vanilla reappears as a background support. With the creaminess you can make a orange creamsicle connection in the aftertaste. It is certainly only a hint but interesting.

More complex than expected. I personally liked this one but then I do not like over flavored teas.

L&CTTB

Very vanilla
Quite creamy and buttery – probably from the oolong.
Just a touch of citrus.

Desserty.

It’s nice.

I hadn’t realized when I pulled it from the box that this was an oolong.

Not sure I’d drink this too often, but it was a nice treat.

Admittedly when I was brewing this I didn’t remember what kind of tea is was and I was too lazy to look it up. It DOES NOT say on the tin. Oolong? Huh. Well, I got this as part of a gift set (to myself) purely because someone reviewed THIS tea, and I felt the set was the best value. I’m a sucker for sales and sets. I probably should mention that I got it in the mail a couple of months ago now and am only just getting around to it. =(

I was ALSO trying out a new infuser cup, and thankfully this tea has pretty large leaves because the ceramic infuser has pretty large holes. It also gets really really hot. But it has a panda on it and I couldn’t resist.

It really is more on the dessert side of the Mandarin. I don’t remember the review very well at this point, but for some reason when I brewed it up I was expecting something a bit more citrusy and crisp. This is like Mandarin creme cake, all the way- still very yummy but not what I was expecting.

This has held strong through 3 resteeps, boiling water, 3min each.

This tea is quite decadent. Dried leaf aroma smells exactly the same as the way it tastes, which I always love. This is like drinking a nice, hot version of vanilla ice cream and orange sherbet, but less sweet. The first taste is of a strong vanilla, then it ebbs a little bit into some floral fruit flowers, a bit of oak and rum, then comes back to the creaminess. Sadly, I think the oolong is a little lost in this blend, but it still tastes very good. I don’t think I could drink this too often since it is a heavier tea, but I have brewed it up several times and gulped it down before writing any notes!