Petali Teas

No recollection, sorry.

And it’s a sipdown!

#long time ago internet hiatus sipdown

Samurai Travelling Tea Box – Tea #12

I’ve had other violet blends from Petali before, so I was so excited to try this one since it’s a flavour that I think they typically do very well. I was sad when my mug steeped up though because the flavour was pretty flat and not really the same level of violet I’ve experienced in the past. A little sweet and fruity, and a little floral but just didn’t really land there fully.

Sipdown (623)!

Finished off the last of this sample hot, and it was significantly better than the shoddy iced cup I had last week – still a very delicate profile without any liveliness to the cup, but at least it tasted like peach/had any flavour at all. Still not a good tea though; but I am happy there was some improvement in changing the preparation style.

And iced cuppa, but a very disappointing one.

I was interested in this because of the many different base teas – I figured that would be really interesting, and then hopefully have a juicy peach note. It was incredibly flat, weak/watery, and muddled tasting though without even a hint of peach.

Such a disappointment.

Sipdown (528)!

This doesn’t taste bad, but it leaves me bored. The blackberry flavour comes through very clearly/distinctly but it’s kind of flat and it tastes very obviously fake to me. Not like chemical/harsh artificial fake but more like a muted blackberry candy type of fake flavour. I think if there was a bit of an acidic bite to this, like lemon or grapefruit, this would be a much more dynamic and exciting flavour profile – it’d still have that kind of mellow candied aspect but would lean just a little bit towards a more natural, nuanced profile.

This is just… fine. Not something I’ll miss.

Cold Brew!

Strained this one this afternoon to sip on; it’s basically just a raspberry/blackberry black tea so I was expecting a very clear berry flavour and maybe a little bit of tartness? That sounded like it’d make for an interesting cold offering.

I found it very, very boring almost immediately though – sure, it had a mixed berry sort of flavour to it but it was really flat/dull and kind of watered down tasting. I’m not exactly sure where the black tea base comes from but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was just a run of the mill Ceylon; it’s got that sort of generic/mild and relatively flavourless black tea taste (though with a hint of something floral) that makes Ceylon teas such a good canvas for added flavour. It was like sipping at blackberry with all the life sucked out of it though; I knew I had to do something to give this some life.

So, I made it into a “Brambleberry Lemonade” of sorts. I cut a lemon in half and juices the one half straight into my strained cold brew and then I took the other half and sliced it up into wedges which I just dropped into the mix to infuse alongside everything else. Obviously, the flavour of the tea is now really lemon heavy with some tartness – BUT the blackberry and raspberry notes that come through after that wave of lemon suddenly feel like they’ve been given new life! They come off as sweeter, and more pronounced. And the contrast between the two flavours – lemon and berry, is exactly what this needed to feel fresh, and interesting.

Actually worth the time it takes to drink it.

It’s a shame I had to take such drastic steps to get there though; and you can’t really rate a tea on how good it is when you’ve done so much to change it up from its natural state. On its own, this just isn’t a pleasant tea and that counts for A LOT. I’ll try it again though and see if it’s any better as a hot tea.

Hopefully…

See my full review on Sororitea Sisters:
http://sororiteasisters.com/2017/03/25/natures-candy-coconut-chamomile-from-petali-teas/

Backlog 18 January 2017

Honey was the dominant flavor in this tea. I noted on a scrap piece of paper at work that it reminded me of eating the honey spoons you’d find at the World Market or a tea shop.

Although it took me a little while to finish the tea hot (I mainly drink water at work, so it takes me a while to get to every beverage at my desk), it was a great tea at room temperature, too.

The dry “leaf” is pretty frightening. There’s so much sugar, coconut, and white chocolate pieces that the tea seems to be thrown in as an afterthought. But it smelled good, and I was craving coconut, so I got it.

The leaves were black, so I went ahead and brewed at 212. The resulting soup smelled deliciously coconutty, but it looked like mop squeezings after cleaning the cafeteria room floor of an elementary school on the last day before Christmas break.

The first sip was pretty horrendous, but it’s starting to grow on me the more sips I take. What little tea flavor there is lends a toasty flavor to the brew. I’m wondering if this is coconut sugar, but whatever it is, it’s a pleasant sweetness—heavier than I am used to, but not overwhelming.

The coconut flavor is strange. It’s a combination of fake coconut flavoring, thick and oily coconut (oil?), and something that reminds me of actual fresh coconut off the tree.

This might be great for when I am craving hot coconut cocoa. It’s THAT thick and sweet.

Whoaaaaa. This tea is weird. The dry leaf is so full of stuff that it’s kind of a wet mix. The leaf smells of honey, corn, and chocolate.

I was a little skeptical of the polenta flavor, since there are just corn pieces in there. But it kind of does smell like honey polenta when it brews up. The chocolate smell lingers as well, but I’m not getting much tea.

There’s sugar in this blend (the real kind), so it’s sweet, but honey is the dominant flavor. Corney polenta is also pretty dominant here. It’s a pleasant, interesting experience!

Steeped at 175 for 2 minutes this time. Much better. There’s no soap or bitterness. There’s hay, and I think there’s some corn in there, which was a nice surprise.

There’s still that weird, SO slightly bitter effervescence that I described as minty last time. I don’t know what that is, but I don’t like it much. Dryness in the back of the throat is still going on here.

I can imagine some people liking this tea, but this one just isn’t for me.

Well, I’m an idiot. As I pulled this tea out and smelled it, I kept thinking, “This is not like any Darjeeling I’ve encountered.” Well, of course I haven’t had many Darjeelings outside of Twinings, so there you go.

I was expecting black tea. Instead, the leaves are greenish white, and the tea has that hay smell. Luckily I used my good sense and decided NOT to brew this like a black tea. I still steeped it a little high…190º for 2.5 mins. Luckily, I didn’t kill it.

It’s smooth, with a bit of the flavor and bitterness of black tea. There’s something about the aftertaste of it that reminds me of mint and soap, though I can’t think why. It’s very faint, and only mildly annoying. It’s probably my fault. There’s a little hay in there and a mild, mild, mild astringency.

A shorter, cooler steep of the same leaves reveals the same flavors at a lower strength. Overall, I’d say, “Meh.”

I went to get the smallest offering of this tea, but there wasn’t enough left for the full size. So the person working there was nice enough to give this to me as a free sample. I’m not sure if the fact that the tea was sitting at the bottom of the tin affected this blend. I’m probably willing to get it again and try.

First of all, the leaves are very dark and extremely oily looking. This is the oiliest looking tea I have ever seen. It has a lot of nuts in it (pecan?) and brown sugar, and the smell is intoxicating…again. This is the third dessert tea I have had from Petali, and I haven’t been burned yet, so here goes.

The smell comes through as more caramel and nuts than the other dessert teas by Petali. Definitely that caramel pecan cinnamon roll at Cinnabon that will kill you if you so much as look at it. No surprise, but once it’s brewed, it has that oily sheen on top.
It’s sweet to the point where I feel like I put sugar in it myself—maybe a lump and a half. Again, this could be because it was at the bottom of the tin. The tea base is pretty weak, and I brewed it at a pretty strong concentration. The only hints of it I get are a bit of astringency on the back of the palate.

As to the flavorings: personally, I would call this tea Pancake Breakfast. Maple and pecan are pleasant and strong, as is the brown sugar of course. It also tastes buttery and caramely, with splashes of vanilla thrown in. My favorite part is that it doesn’t taste artificial. I mean, it is strong and obviously artificial, as you can’t get tea to taste like that by throwing bits of artisan-made pancake in, but it doesn’t feel like it should have the word “blast” in the title. Know what I mean?

If I’m looking to eat dessert and not eat 3000 calories of cinnamon bun, I’m definitely going for this, I think. It’s great for satisfying a sweet tooth.

If I’m looking to drink tea, I’m staying far away.

I’m exhausted, so this isn’t going to be the greatest of reviews.

Overall, I’d say this is meh. Perhaps this tea would benefit from a gongfu style brew rather than a western. 175 º for 2.5 mins resulted in a lightly sweet, slightly grassy, hay-like quality with high astringency. I’m getting thirsty brewing this tea.
There’s a honey aroma that doesn’t come out in the flavor at all. Perhaps playing around with the temperature and brew would take care of all that.

The flavor kind of reminds me of a raw puerh. There might be some hope for this tea on another day.

So I brewed Petali’s Lapsang Souchong and Margaret’s Russian Caravan side by side to do a little comparing and contrasting. All I can say now is that I want BBQ. I’m seriously thinking about doing a slow cooked carnitas recipe involving one of these teas.

The leaves of both teas offer up a hint as to the flavor: the lapsang is camphor-smelling, while the caravan is sweeter, more like a BBQ sauce.

Lapsang Souchong: The smoky smell is strong with this one, but as usual, it doesn’t come out as strongly in the flavor. That’s not to say that it isn’t a strong smoky flavor, because it is. The camphor smell is reflected in the flavor of the tea, along with a menthol flavor.

It kind of reminds me of Carmex, which I kind of don’t mind, but after a while, it starts to lessen the experience overall. Perhaps menthol is not the flavor for me.

After I swallow, it leaves a little tickle in the back of the throat like I just inhaled a little too much smoke at the campfire. I imagine some people might find that unpleasant, but I think it makes the experience more authentic.

Russian Caravan: I like the vocabulary to describe the difference in the smoky flavor. It’s just different. Maybe a different kind of wood was used for the smoking? It’s still very prevalent, but definitely not as strong as the Lapsang. There’s no camphor flavor or menthol, for which I am grateful.

The flavor of the tea is sweeter, which reflects the smell. There’s a bit more astringency to the tea itself, and it’s leaving a bit of dryness on the back of the palate. It’s like having a BBQ party instead of a campfire.

I don’t recommend doing two smoky teas at the same time. Sure, you’re able to really compare and contrast flavors, but after this much tea, I feel like I just smoked a pack of cigarettes! Definitely to be enjoyed in small doses from here on out.

Oh god . . .the smell of this tea. It’s like walking into a bakery on a cool morning when they are just pulling hot cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing out of the oven.

The tea stands up through the blend nicely, which isn’t always the case, and is even capable of contributing to the overall flavor of the blend by making it dark. Despite the presence of rock sugar in this blend, it’s only just sweet enough to highlight the cinnamon. The nutty flavor come through nicely as well. Even some caramel as it cools.

I’ll be keeping this around for breakfast and dessert tea for sure.

The smell of the brewed tea is like a dark cinnamon roll and coffee rolled into one. And it tastes a lot like it smells. It has a dark, slightly bitter flavor that is reminiscent of coffee. The brown sugar, cinnamon, and maple flavors come through most strongly.

This would make an great breakfast tea for mornings when you’re craving something you probably shouldn’t be having for breakfast. It also makes a good dessert tea.

Sipdown! Good tea but not stupendous. Homo milk brings out the chocolate a bit but it’s still doesn’t hit the spot when you’re in the mood for a chocolate mint tea.

Hot tea has been neglected as of late because I’ve been outside enjoying the lovely weather, and additionally, I’ve been… gasp … drinking coffee instead these past few days.

From the Amoda BF order comes this chocolate mint tea. I can really taste those cocoa nibs in here. It’s not as bold as the peppermint, but I love how it’s cocoa nibs and not some weird artificial flavour, or waxy chocolate that melts and leaves a scum ring. And that they added enough of said cocoa nibs so you can actually taste them.

But yes, the peppermint is still the strongest note here, and the base is on the weaker side, which isn’t a bad thing at all. I still wish there were a little more of something in here. Something to give it more body, as it’s a little thin.

With whole milk, this reminds me of when my Grandma would make me hot cocoa, and she’d always make it with Fry’s cocoa, sugar, and usually half and half. The cocoa nib and whole milk combination mimics that rich Fry’s cocoa flavour. She’s now in senior housing so no more can I visit her over a pot of hot cocoa, and yes, sometimes she made it in her teapot so we’d all have an abundant supply of liquid chocolate. Beats that hot chocolate mix, for sure. This also beats mint hot chocolate mix, and the Harney Chocolate Mint I tried the other day, but it still has a lot to learn from some other chocolate mint teas.

Sipdown. This ended up being decent, unexpectedly mildly roasty (which I like), yet ultimately disappointing since the violet notes are virtually non-existent.

This is a violet-flavoured white tea? The dry leaf smells morel like blackberry than violet. But what threw me off guard even more so is the base. It brews up a brown liquor, and both smells and tastes more like a roasted oolong than any variety of white tea I’ve ever had. I was expecting a delicate white with blackberry and violet notes and have ended up with a toasty tea with very subtle berry candy flavouring. I like it for what it is, but I’m glad I only got a sample from Amoda.

Shae sent this to me to try…I can’t remember if I saw this in her cupboard and requested or if she chose it for me. Though really, that doesn’t matter. This is a really nice tea, though I am not really getting any pear flavour….more apple and spice. Still, it is quite tasty. I love how it smells in the bag. The nutty aspect comes out to me more in a full body starchy way, rather than a direct nutty taste.

I’m glad I as able to try this. :)

Another from VariaTEA – this one was almost a win for me. The fruit side of this tea is good, but i am not a fan of “violet” flavouring. The tea base works well with this combination though, so it’s a win that way – it’s just not a tea for me, so holding off rating it as well :)

thank you VariaTEA for sharing this one with me. this tea smells AMAZING! It’s praline, hazelnut aroma is out of this world. I could smell this one for hours. Downside though? it’s not pear. Apple cinnamon hazelnut praline…sure… so while this gets high marks for the hazelnut side of things, i can’t call it a pear tea. but it was tasty!