6111 Tasting Notes
(52teas (Anne) 2022: 226)
Not generally a fan of peppermint in teas, but this was very candy cane-like and not herbaceous, with a decent dose of real chocolate, not (just?) chocolate flavouring. As a result, it was not only drinkable (for me), but enjoyable. A nice example of a more sophisticated chocolate mint black tea than some I’ve had.
(52teas (Anne) 2022: 225)
Enjoyed this, but couldn’t taste it properly – we are yet again in the throes of sickness, though it thankfully seems to just be a cold (so sayeth the rapid tests, anyhow). I got a huuuuge piece of pumpkin in the infuser, so definitely disappointed that my taste buds ended up being pretty dulled by the time I got around to drinking it. Probably would rate in the mid-high 70s but hoping it might even be tastier in the future!
(DavidsTea 2022: 101)
Sixth new tea. I’m really hoping I brewed this up incorrectly or something, because my first sip was quite awful. Like, considering asking for a refund awful. It was horribly bitter and chemically and just not good at all. I wasn’t a big fan of Maui Madness (which this tea is apparently similar to?) although I also remember drinking (or trying to drink) that one in a haze of early pregnancy where everything nauseated me, so it’s possible there are some bad associations coming up too.
Similar to Peach Pucker, popped the rest of this into the fridge to try again tomorrow with a fresh palate to see if it tastes any better.
ETA: Nope. Not better when chilled.
(DavidsTea 2022: 100)
Fifth tea I recently picked up; the latest take on a peach tea. It smelled ok – peachy, and definitely tasted like tart fuzzy peaches (didn’t check the ingredients but assume it was hibiscus responsible for the tartness). There was a bit of lingering bitterness, possibly from sweetener (blackberry leaves?) I put the rest in the fridge to try it cold, although my first go at it was room temp, not hot. Not a big fan.
ETA: Alright chilled, but far from a favourite.
(52teas (Anne) 2022: 224)
There’s a nice aftertaste to this one, of spice and oolong, but I’m not particularly taken by the aroma and initial sip. It does taste a bit figgy (I’ve recently eaten figs and feel like I can say this confidently), but that said, I also don’t know that I’m a big fan of fig in tea, generally.
I absolutely love fresh figs but can never find them!
They come out around the summer here, but the season is really short — we try to get as many as possible for the short time they’re around!
I sadly only had dried figs! I’m not sure if I’ve ever had one fresh.
(52teas (Anne) 2022: 223)
I had been avoiding this one a bit, expecting it to be a strong chai – but I was misremembering. It’s a smooth, gentle, coconut chai. This cup had 4 green cardamom pods, by chance, so it seems to be heaviest on the cardamom in terms of the spice profile, but it’s a pretty balanced blend overall. Very pleasant to drink without additions. I think the coconut might be going slightly off here – it’s just a touch soapy – but I think I just have one cup left and will try to remember to finish it off sooner rather than later.
(52teas (Anne) 2022: 221)
This tea smelled heavily of marshmallow root – a bit too much, I think. I wasn’t able to taste much raspberry flavour, so it was mostly a very marshmallow root-heavy cup, which gave it a bit of bitterness that I wasn’t overly fond of. I’ve had better flavoured genmaichas, but perhaps this one was just missing its raspberry due to age.
(DavidsTea 2022: 99)
Fourth tea is a returning tea that I’ve absolutely had before but apparently have not rated? My recollection was that I enjoyed it, but my current experience doesn’t quite match. It does taste like mango, but it’s a bit of a fake mango flavour (not as good as Lupicia), and I really want more from the black tea base. I really, really want 52teas to do a ripe mango black – it makes my mouth water just thinking of it!
(DavidsTea 2022: 98)
Third tea! And one I was most excited for, as it’s DT’s take on a flavoured genmaicha! However… I think the stevia killed it for me. I’m so used to 52teas’ glorious flavoured genmaichas, deliciously stevia-free, that this just didn’t taste right to me. It wasn’t terrible – pretty coconut-creamy, with some lemon, somewhat toasty, but ugh that stevia. It made me sad, and I feel like I probably am not alone in that.
I feel like this tea is somewhat comparable to Coco-Lemon Thai… but that tea was much better.
