58 Tasting Notes
I was skeptical about this tea, mint tea’s are often very loud and obnoxious about their minty’ness, but against all odds I love it! A mint chocolate chip tea without any chocolate? Yes, emphatically yes. The balance between the flavors in this is is remarkable, the mint never shouts, the chocolate is always there but never overly sweet, and the black tea itself comes through which is a nice treat in a dessert tea.
If you find it a tad too minty I found the second steep to a little subtler with a tad more chocolate coming through, not sure if I’d go to a third one but I’m thinking about it :)
If you’re wondering whether a tea could actually taste like chocolate peanut butter cups, the answer is yes! Oh yes, Virginia, candy tea is for real. Perhaps not name brand candy, but candy none the less! As someone trying to quench his sweet tooth with someone other than… Well, sweets, this tea is a welcome addition to my cupboard. There is a bit of cheating involved, with chocolate chips and peanut butter chips providing much of the flavor overriding most of he black tea, but one doesn’t steep a cup of chocolate peanut butter cup tea expecting BOPF black tea! A nice dessert for sure!
My grandmother made wonderful lemon cut outs when I was young, this tea brings me right back to her kitchen 20 yeas ago eager for the icing to go on so I could have my first taste. While I wouldn’t go so far as to say it takes just like a lemon cookie, it certainly tastes like one smells, if that makes sense? Upon sipping lemon floods the senses but after a moment or two you start to pick up the subtler notes of vanilla and the hint of almond. I wish the white tea came through but with so much going on it just gets out of the way for the party!
Keep in mind this is a white tea and not an herbal infusion or a rooibis, be very careful with your steep times and water temperature as it wounds easily. I also recommend drinking it not quite hot, letting it cool down just a little more than usual seems to allow the flavor to firm up and come across a little better. A second steep really helps this blend, the lemon backs off a few notches and all the flavors come together in a lovely way!
As a big fan of sweets in general, and chocolate peanut butter fan even more so, I’m in love with this tea! The taste takes a few sips to build but once it does it’s a wonderful time. I’m trying this for the first time the day after Easter so the memories of premium chocolate are close, drinking this tea is so close to having a piece of sponge candy right out of my Easter basket! Yet the flavor is not overbearing, the chocolate is balanced nicely with the peanut and neither drown out the honeybush.
I’m thrown off by the score here, which I suppose shouldn’t matter except that I really like this and it rated so poorly I feel as though I’m missing something. Regardless, I think this is one of the smoothest vanilla teas I’ve tasted with a nice berry finish. The truffle gets a little lost under the primary flavored but it comes through in the very pleasant aftertaste. I did under steep this a little after reading some of the reviews, about 2:30 with water at around 205f, perhaps that made the difference? I just love this one, 64 or not.
I’ve spent some time in Key West and have some wonderful memories of the place so I was very intrigued by this tea, and pleasantly surprised. It’s not so much that it smells like Key West or that it taste like something you’d drink in Key West, but it certainly brings the place to mind. It has a gentle flavor that builds through each sip, tropical notes you can’t precisely pin down but in a pleasant way. It has become my go to relaxation tea, easy going and a bit playful yet never dull. I would caution not to add too much sugar as it can overwhelm some of the more delicate notes. Very much a must for my tea cabinet!
Preparation
This is by far the best silver needle I have tasted, it’s flavor is so complex and evolves over the course of the tasting. Be very careful on the steep times because 5 seconds either way makes a big difference, when they say the first steep after rinsing is only 10 seconds they mean it! I do find that after 3 or 4 steeps the flavor kind of mellows but on a good way, as though the tea was speaking loudly at first to be heard in a full tea cabinet but then settles down once it knows you’re paying attention.
