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Not Recommended

Mr. Waffles drank Persimmon Blossom (Ya Sai) by Red Blossom Tea Company

39 tasting notes

The tasting notes on Red Blossom’s site make this tea seem like magic. And for $30/oz., I was expecting as much. Sadly, it’s quite bland. Smooth and pleasant enough, with the light taste of some indiscernible fruit, it’s nothing I would look forward to having again. Yet I bought a couple ounces, have had it a half-dozen times now, and will be clearing it out, little-by-little.

Revisting the tea a few times since I first reviewed it, I’ve found being more heavy-handed with the initial dose makes it much more interesting. It makes for a pricey cup of tea, but the appeal is there.

Flavors: Fruity

Preparation

205 °F / 96 °C 1 min, 0 sec 5 g 6 OZ / 180 ML

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A pu’er from La Maison des Trois Thés is what got me into tea, about 5 years ago now. I not only had no idea tea could taste like that but that it could amplify the taste of food so incredibly.

Perhaps because pu’er hooked me, I actually find it less interesting, these days. Taiwanese high mountain oolongs are my newest fascination. Phoenix oolongs and Wuyi teas can be pretty great, as well. And I love Puttabong’s 1st flush Darjeeling, even if no one seems to care about Indian tea that much.

Although I’m a tea snob, I find a lot of the attention tea gets to be extremely pretentious. I genuinely believe if you’re routinely picking up 5 or 6 obvious notes that then shift with each steeping, you’re imagining things. I’ve had the good fortune to eat an inordinate variety of fine food, internationally, and I can usually only discern 2 or 3 notes in my teas; that’s more than enough to keep me fascinated.

MY RATING SCALE:

95-100: I want to make babies with this tea.

90-94: Everyone should try this.

80-89: Great tea that I could drink every day.

70-79: Ehh. It’s good. I’ll drink it again, although doing so might bore me.

60-69: I’m not into this.

50-59: Gross.

Below 50: What did I just put in my mouth?