I’m drinking the “old” 52 Teas version of this tea, which I unearthed from my stash this weekend. I bought this one because I love bananas, and I really loved 52 Teas Banana Pudding Black back when that was released. I think I was trying to get some of that amazingness back in my life, but I think my cupboard must have snowballed by then and that’s how it is that I’m actually just getting around to trying it now.
I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 3 minutes in boiling water. I added a splash of milk. The initial flavour is very heavy on the cinnamon, and actually reminds me a lot of Cinnamon Roll Honeybush, at least to begin with. The banana and vanilla emerge in the mid-sip, although they’re by no means as prominent as the cinnamon. Hot, there’s a degree of astringency, although it’s not so bad that I can’t overlook it. Just a little of the chalky dry-mouth feeling. This one actually seems like a better prospect once it’s cooled. The banana becomes a little stronger, and the cinnamon seems to mellow out. There’s more of a creaminess, too, although I suspect my full-fat milk is helping that along! One thing I will say is that, for once, the banana doesn’t strike me as particularly candy-like. If anything, it’s putting me in mind of underripe green bananas – and the astringency is definitely playing up that effect (you know how underripe bananas can be a little floury and dry-tasting? Exactly.) Candy banana would have been more at home here, and I know for certain that I’ve never said that in a tasting note before.
I enjoyed my cup, even though it’s not quite as banana-centric as I’d have liked. It’s also not particularly sweet, so I might try a little crystal sugar next time and see if that helps to perk things up a bit. I like the cinnamon/vanilla combination, and it works well with what banana flavour there is, but I think a stronger banana flavour would have resulted in a much better balanced cup.
