Made a cup of this one today and I have mixed feelings about it…
The dry leaf smells really good with very bright notes of sour tropical gummy candies and a hint of banana. Steeped up, it’s quite juicy and bright with an upfront sourness and then a mix of mango and banana flavours that come through quite strongly. I’ve had a bit of a recent obsession with the Sour Banana Gummy Bears from Squish and there was something about this combo that really reminded me of that. I feel like sour banana candy isn’t exactly easy to come by, so I was vibing with the flavour profile.
However then it gets weird. There’s genmaicha in this blend and though it’s not super strong it does give a very distinct nutty/toasty flavour to the finish that feels all wrong with this really sour fruity candy kind of vibe. The finish is also a little funky in the way that tropical fruit is sometimes a bit funky and body-odor like. I did gag at one point because of it, when the tea started cooling and it got more prominent…
So, idk. I feel like I went on a whole roller coaster with this tea and right now I’m in that place where I’m deciding if I need to sit down and take a breather or if I want to hop right back on and ride the wave of adrenaline.