Tochiotome Black

I finally get to try Tochiotome! CameronB was so kind to send us a sample to try and it has been hard to wait for a morning when Ashman would be here since he is all about strawberry tea.

This is going to be my “tea with an ingredient in trail mix”, because of the little freeze-dried strawberries.

First, I was wondering why so many strawberry teas from one company? I have had Tochiotome Green but it was long ago and was a gift from a friend. I have had Frasier and Strawberry Black and our dear beloved Carol. Especially, how will this be different from Strawberry Black since they are both….well, strawberry black tea without other flavors.

Then I saw the base! This is CTC so at first I assumed Assam, but the taste didn’t back that up. Ashman’s first comment was that the tea was very mild. We don’t usually say that about Assam, so I looked it up and saw that this is a Kenyan base.

This went easier on my tummy than Assam does, and it was not until the cup after breakfast was finished that I noticed that a dryness builds after the sip. That is very helpful while eating, as it somewhat clears the palate. And the addition of strawberry leaves may help with the tummy issues, as strawberry leaf tea is used for settling the stomach.

Overall, this is a mild tea, with lighter strawberry flavor than Carol and Frasier and Strawberry Black. Strawberry Black has a very strange aroma in the dry leaf that I also find in Godiva Strawberry ice cream. It is VERY offputting for me, but the steeped Strawberry Black tastes fine and no one else who has had it with me notices that smell in the dry leaf.
This one smells like nice strawberries without the weird aroma.

So in order of preference, CAROL, Frasier, Tochiotome, and Strawberry Black. Carol has vanilla and rose petals and I believe a hint of coconut that I never taste but the description says it is there.

Thank you, CameronB, for a nice new tea to try and an item checked off the Sipdown Challenge list! You’re da best!

I love how this smells, it’s absolutely juicy strawberry goodness that makes me think of plump Amaou strawberries glistening in the sun. There’s not much sweetness straight and your brain kind of is expecting a sweetness simply due to the smell, so I like to add a skosh of honey. Maybe I should’ve tried rock sugar instead because I feel adding the honey kinda brings out it’s astringency more- like if you dragged your fingers across the surface of a dry balloon, that’s how your tongue will feel :/ Kind of unpleasant. I still love the tea, but maybe I would appreciate the green tea more? Not sure if there’s any left in the online store, so alas! I will have to wait until next year…

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Thank you Cameron B for sharing this with me, especially now that Lupicia is not as available as it once was. I love strawberry flavoring so I was super interested in this tea. Unfortunately I don’t love the black tea bases Lupicia uses. This is less offensive as some of their other bases since it is quite malty but that maltiness is also combined with a slightly drying brassiness. That brassiness interferes with the jammy strawberry notes that could be quite good if not for the base. It was still fun to try and made for a nice enough cup of tea, though I think the one cup is enough for me.

In other news, I got the KFC and it was terrible. So much build up for such a shit meal. Now I am debating if I want to go visit my sister this weekend or if I should stay in my apartment. The issue is I need to study, in theory, and it is a matter whether I would get work done there or not. With that said, I should probably get back to work.

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Found that there wasn’t much left in this tin when I was packing up a small sample to send to a tea friend. So onto the countertop it went, to be sipped down, and here we are!

I must’ve shared this with a lot of people, because I bought it earlier this year and I don’t recall drinking it much… But that’s good, because I love this one! It has a lovely strawberry flavor that’s somewhere between candy and fruit, with a bit of that fresh strawberry tartness but also the syrupy sweetness of those strawberry candies with the strawberry-printed wrapper. The CTC base reminds me of Grape Nuts which makes me smile. Flavorwise, it’s nothing special, but makes a solid foundation for the strawberry, and adds maybe a hint of biscuity flavor.

Anyway, will definitely repurchase when this is available again, in the spring or summer I think.

The small balls of tea resemble Irish Breakfast and for that reason I was very wary in steeping this one as Irish Breakfast steeps fast. Go over and it becomes bitter quickly. Thus far I’ve tried it hot and cold. But I like how it smells the most. Harhar. All joking aside I think I enjoy it most when it is cold steeped. The strawberry flavor is definitely the main attraction but the black tea helps really round it out nicely.

Tried brewing it with two spoons of tea instead of one, with regular milk. Was too strong & became slightly bitter. Perhaps my stuffy nose was interfering with the taste the first time.

Don’t pay attention to that first review of mine – must’ve been crazy when I typed it. I take it back. This is super juicy fruity strawberry deliciousness. I mean, Strawberry Quik??? What was I thinking? The only thing I still agree on is the score. I loved it then, and I still love it now. Such a wonderful strawberry black. Lupicia scores again!

The strawberry scent is very pleasant, very mild – it’s similar to the strawberry champagne version. Ended up choosing the black over green because I thought adding milk to it would be a nice touch. Something about this makes me think it’d be nice to make iced & spike it with shochu or something.