Hrm. This one is very light, but interesting.
Yet another takgoti + Samovar = awesome treat! The leaves here are quite tiny, and they smell of rose, almost. Very fruity-floral.
I’ve only had lychee in terms of lychee jelly in bubble tea or lychee-flavored juice drinks. I’ve never had the fruit itself, but when I think of lychee I think juicy-sweet, so I’m a big ? is appearing over my head. The other big ? is that takgoti said to steep this up between 170-175, which is interesting for a black tea.
So I watched this steep to a lovely light nut brown, and the smell coming from the cup smells like sweet, candied roses. My first sip… I was surprised at how light this one is! Very ethereal, if I do say so myself. Gossamer-like.
The black tea base here is more cuddly than substantial, and it fades softly into a floral-like note. It tastes like a rose tea, almost. What differentiates it a bit, though, is the juicy sweetness that is the endnote of every sip. It’s very lychee, if I do say so myself.
As it cools, the floral note becomes more of a blanket for the lychee fruit taste, which I actually really enjoy. So juicy and full and luscious. I can imagine this one being awesome iced, as Samovar recommends. It might bring the fruity notes out a little bit to the forefront. I’m finding I’m enjoying this one more lukewarm than hot-out-of-the-pot.
I can’t see myself craving this all the time. It’s really delicate and serene, which is wonderful, but I could see myself tiring of this. Iced, on the other hand, might be pretty awesome. I actually might try it like that and see what happens.
I’m sort of becoming a big fan of this Samovar-thing. takgoti, you devil, you… you are the ultimate converter to the Samovar experience.
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Whoa, um yeah… that is quite an interesting temp for black tea:) Being not a black tea fan I’d be absolutely terrified it’d be watery.
Ooo.. I want to try this sometime. I’m heading to San Fran next Christmas. I’ve been thinking about checking out their storefront.
@teaplz Hee, lychee isn’t something I can drink everyday either, but I’m glad that you enjoyed it!
@Cofftea I accidentally boiled this once and it scorched the flavor. It does fly in the face of usual black tea logic, but tea has a lightness about it that benefits from the cooler water.
@wombatgirl Oooh, you should! Their lounges are awesome.
Yeah, this one is actually really, really delicate-tasting. I could see it getting pretty bitter at higher temperatures. Mmm, though, Samovar…
Do you know what I love doing? I love sniffing my empty mug after a very fragrant tea like this. The smell just sort of lingers… in a wonderful way.
Haha! I do that too teaplz!
Whoa, um yeah… that is quite an interesting temp for black tea:) Being not a black tea fan I’d be absolutely terrified it’d be watery.
Ooo.. I want to try this sometime. I’m heading to San Fran next Christmas. I’ve been thinking about checking out their storefront.
@teaplz Hee, lychee isn’t something I can drink everyday either, but I’m glad that you enjoyed it!
@Cofftea I accidentally boiled this once and it scorched the flavor. It does fly in the face of usual black tea logic, but tea has a lightness about it that benefits from the cooler water.
@wombatgirl Oooh, you should! Their lounges are awesome.
Yeah, this one is actually really, really delicate-tasting. I could see it getting pretty bitter at higher temperatures. Mmm, though, Samovar…
Do you know what I love doing? I love sniffing my empty mug after a very fragrant tea like this. The smell just sort of lingers… in a wonderful way.
Haha! I do that too teaplz!