Frankenberry

Backlog:

In case Frank didn’t catch my full-length review of this tea back when I wrote it (see it here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/11/26/frankenberry-black-tea-from-52teas/ ) HEY FRANK! I WANT COUNT CHOCULA NEXT YEAR. And it should be super chocolate-y. Like … however much chocolate you usually put in a blend and then … double that … and then … go ahead and double it again.

I love the addition of malt flavor to this … it is just what these cereal blends have needed to give it that cereal-ish taste. I love the flavors of this tea. It made me smile.

Woot! First review :D this treat is ammmaaazziiinggg. The berry flavor is juicy but yet candy-like. I can catch marshmallow and malt. It’s like drinking liquid hot cereal. But in a good way of course. :)

Arby Advent Day 2
This tea is rather lovely. The strawberry goes very nicely with the light black tea. It looks like it’s flavored through dried strawberries, which I love in tea. It has a familiar flavor, like maybe I had a Teavana tea once that was similar? I’m not sure, but I’m quite a fan of this one! I don’t get the marshmallow flavor at all, but that’s okay. I drank this slowly over several hours and really enjoyed the depth of the flavor as it cooled to room temperature.

The strawberry flavour isn’t perfect – it has faded and is a bit artificial. The marshmallow is nice. I think a fresher version with freeze-dried strawberries would be amazing, but for a fairly old tea, this is a nice cup.

additional notes: The actual cereals are ridiculously priced at this point, but at least I have this still delicious tea. It’s still uncannily balanced in flavor of oats, strawberry, and marshmallow. How how how? I also had an Apple Jacks pop tart this morning. NOT AS GOOD. It’s a cereal inspired day, I guess.

Tea no. 5 from the 12 Teas of Christmas set.

I wish these teas came with brewing instructions. Each cup I’ve had from the box has been guesswork, so I’m not sure I’ve gotten the best out of them that I could have. I had no idea what Frankenberry was until I read some of the other tasting notes on this tea – we are deprived of so much here in England, cereal-wise. Regardless, it was obvious from the smell (and of course the little bits of freeze-dried strawberries) that this was a strawberry tea. At first I though there were bits of ginger in the blend, and was super happy to find out that it was marshmallow root instead. Flavour-wise, this tea is 100% strawberry marshmallow fluff to me. The malty black base has a strong presence in the initial sip, so I initially wished for a more mellow base to allow the yummy fruity sweetness to shine more. However, after learning that this tea is based on a cereal, I think the combination is inspired. It might dominate at the front of the sip, but the other flavours do come through towards the back, and then the maltiness lingers in the aftertaste with the creamy marshmallow and strong strawberry, much more reminiscent of cereal. I am now satisfied with the base Frank has used, but I still can’t help imagining what these flavours might be like with a milk oolong base. I bet it would be delicious.

Today’s Christmas tea from the box.

Boy this is strong! It smells so sweet and strawberry, like gummy sweets.

Steeped scent smells much like black tea, strong malt scent with some berry sweetness in the background, albeit more subtle than the malt tones.

Flavour is sweet, very sweet in-fact….it reminds me of those syrups you get for coffee only it’s in tea. It tastes chemical, sure it’s sweet but that chemical flavour is just strange…plastic like. On top of that it’s a very rich and malted black tea base with some sourness and astringency.

It’s drinkable but not pleasant. Such a shame since I noticed it’s organic ingredients. What’s more the plastic flavour lingers in the mouth during the after taste which is not very nice. Oh well, still drinkable and at least it’s a new one for me to try.

Steep Information:
Amount: 5 tsp
Water: 1200ml at 205°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 3 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: alcohol, sweet
Steeped Tea Smell: sour, berry
Flavor: bitter, astringent, sour
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: bitter berry
Liquor: translucent dark orange brown

do not like

5th day of the 52teas 12 teas of Christmas

Steep Information:
Amount: 3 tsp
Water: 750ml at 200°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 2 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: alcohol, sweet
Steeped Tea Smell: sour, berry
Flavor: astringent, sour, a little bitter
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: bitter berry
Liquor: translucent dark orange brown

better at 2 minutes, but still a bit too astringent and bitter without sugar etc

Rating: 2/4 leaves

blog http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2014/12/52teas-loose-leaf-black-tea.html

Kicking myself so hard right now. Bang – another winner! Love the pillowy soft strawberry fruitiness in this black. Reminiscent of Raspberry Cream, but even better because I prefer strawberry flavouring (although I imagine it’s a berry mix here, I’m mostly tasting strawberry). There’s more creaminess here too, with the marshmallow root (I was briefly worried that it was ginger. Thankfully not.) Quite tasty. Thanks for sharing, mystery swapper! (I’m now convinced I’m referring to *Rachel*…)

I was afraid of this tea because of the name, I mean really Frankenberry? I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. It does seem to taste like a lot of other berry teas I’ve had lately. That’s not a bad thing.