The Pacific Place

0/3 sadly. This tea doesn’t quite taste like juicy fresh pineapple, more of a vague piña colada. The least offensive of the three, but definitely not something I need to drink again.

Another unfortunate disappointment. I love mango, and had very high hopes for this blend. But, much like the pineapple black blend from the same company, this just doesn’t really taste like mango. The slightly mango flavor smells like it has gone off? There’s just something slightly stale about it.

Slowly settling back into life here after a brief time away overindulging in music and food, both glorious. Both were good for my soul. The food choices were likely not particularly good for my health, but damn, my spirit sang.

And now, reality again. And tea. Thankfully, tea is a constant, either here or there.

Reached into my box from Daylon for another mystery sample.

A lovely lilt of floral as the water hits the leaves. Jasmine, smells like jasmine. The leaves initially appear to be a bit broken, but as they begin to unfurl, they are small and relatively slender, still attached to their stems and stalks.

The taste is honeyed jasmine and green and a bit of earth and a bit of astringency at the tail end of the sip. Lovely, and not all that different from restaurant jasmine green.

As the tea cools a bit, the body of the tea becomes heavier, a bit more grounded, as opposed to the initial heady floral notes.

I will update as I move through this cup onto the following steeps.

The second steep is creamy, but floral flavour is fading.

The third steep—the leaves are done.

Thank you, Daylon R. Thomas, for the sample.

Tastes exactly like you expect: tropical fruit punch. Or, the ingredients listed. Think “Skittles, taste the rainbow.” Very refreshing, naturally sweet, and probably a good iced tea.

I’m pretty sure this is a Huang Jin Gui. Vegetal,nutty, buttery, floral, and VERY green. It kinda reminds me of an everyday green tea, which kinda disappoints me. However, it also reminds me of a Yan Cha, maybe a Shui Xian or a Dan Cong, but greener. I can say it is a solid tea, just one that I wish that I chose carefully. More for an everyday drinking if you can’t reach a decent standard green tea.

I’m actually enjoying this one a little bit more. I used a different amount of leaves so the floral is even sweeter and a bit creamier. I still like jasmine more, but this really isn’t a bad everyday tea.

This was actually not too expensive and figured for a cheaper everyday oolong. I wanted to try a Magnolia Oolong anyway, which some may have suggested to go by Tea Ave first.

But Magnolias grow in Hawaii. And I wish they used plumeria to scent it. If only…

Anyway, this is a solid floral oolong that holds up well western and grandpa. Very sweet, and creamy, but could be creamier and fresher. Personally, I think Magnolia is a floral tea you should try once. I’m not sure if I would recommend this though. Don’t know why.

For comparison, I actually prefer Jasmine Oolong over the Magnolia. Oh well. I feel like I got a decent money’s worth…just too much.

Childhood memories didn’t stand up too well. The dry leaf smell is amazing, but the ceylon is way to strong. Passionfruit is the strongest nectar you get, but everything else is overpowered by the black tea. It absolutely NEEDS cream and sugar to taste the other flavors and sway off the ceylon.

The lesson of this tea is that Nostalgia can be deceiving. I wanted to see how veered my perception was anyway. This is an amazing flavor combo and one of the best dessert teas that I’ve had with cream and sugar, but that’s not ideal for health nut me.

I need to officially avoid Ceylon. Maybe I can get a better taste with less leaves.