199 Tasting Notes
This is now my second birthday tea of the day :) While this is very good and something I’d very much enjoy drinking on a daily basis (if I could afford it and if Butiki weren’t closing), it doesn’t taste like cake to me. It moreso tastes like delicate vanilla or marshmallow. I’m just having it hot and plain. Maybe cold or with a little cream and sugar? I still have enough of the sample for another cup. I’ll be trying it again!
Thanks for the sample, NayLynn!
This was my first cup of the day because….there’s really no better day to tryallthebirthdayteas than on your birthday :) This being the first I tried, it was hard to compare it to others. All I knew was that it wasn’t nearly as sweet as I’d expected it would be. I also felt that it captured the buttercream taste quite well. So glad NayLynn sent me a sample of this to try!
Flavors: Butter, Cream
NayLynn gave me the chance to try this one in our swap. I’ve been wanting to try pretty much any 52teas blend that involved cream cheese because it sounds so interesting and seems fairly successful based on other people’s ratings. I, however, did not encounter as much success. Being that I was looking for that cream cheese flavor so eagerly, perhaps I set myself up for disappointment. This is a pretty good tea with its blueberry green tea flavor. It even has the buttery pastry flavor in the aftertaste. BUT…I get no cream cheese whatsoever. Maybe I would compare this more to a blueberry croissant? Not bad, but I’m still going to be on the hunt for more people willing to swap 52teas cream cheese/cheesecake blends!
Flavors: Blueberry, Pastries
Well, this was disappointing. I had it hot, though I think this could possibly fare better as a cold tea? I was so excited to try it the other night because the smell was so intoxicating. But, the guava flavor seemed to end there and did not continue into the flavor aside from a slight sweetness added to the white tea. Not impressed. At least I got this as a free tin for sharing on Facebook or something like that. I definitely like other flavors from Persimmon Tree much more. Glad to have tried it, though.
Jennkay sent me a sample of this, and I am so happy that she did because I probably would not have picked this based on the name. I thought the “passion” part meant it was just going to be like an extra delicious jasmine tea, but the passion fruit essence really made it so so good. This was nicely sweet without any additives and had that great floral jasmine aspect that I am loving so much. I also didn’t have any trouble brewing this even though mixed black & green combos can sometimes be a little finicky. This is another one from Persimmon Tree that I would consider buying.
Flavors: Jasmine, Passion Fruit
I really didn’t know what to expect exactly because I didn’t really have a grasp on what “buttery” flavor tastes like. So…I was pleasantly surprised. This is one of those teas that feels like it should have way too many calories to justify drinking (since I’m not one to waste calories on things I can’t even chew). With that being said, I also feel like I probably couldn’t drink multiple cups of this in a row without feeling like I’d had something heavy. It makes for a fantastic dessert tea :)
OMIGOSH WOULD YOU BELIEVE MY BOYFRIEND LIKES THIS???? He’s not usually keen on even taking a single sip of any of my teas. But, he took a sip of this and went to hand it back to me…and then yanked it back to take another sip, and another sip, and another sip before finally handing it back and saying, “Okay, fine, that one’s good.” Yes!!! Buttered Rum for the win!!
ETA: I got so excited about my boyfriend liking this that I completely forgot to thank the wonderful NayLynn for sending me this sample (as well as a few other similar flavors from other companies to compare)!
Flavors: Butter, Rum
I actually haven’t bought anything from there yet either. I have been lucky enough to receive samples of a couple of their teas, which is great since they sell in larger amounts than I would be comfortable buying unless I had sampled them first.
DavidsTea sells in as little as 8g if you have store access :) Or someone willing to hit one up for you. They’re great that way. Unfortunately, online purchases are in 50g increments unless you buy a sample kit.
So…I think I brewed this too long (somewhere around 2 1/2 to 3 minutes) and was left with a slightly bitter tea…or maybe sencha just IS bitter? I don’t know because I think this is the first sencha I’ve tried. My fault. BUT!! The apple flavor still exceeded my expectations! While this smells very jolly rancher-ish in the bag, the aftertaste is that of having just swallowed a bite of a very juicy Granny Smith apple. Lovely! I was warned by Jennkay, who was kind enough to send this (and the grape sencha from Den’s, as well) off to me, that I may not end up being incredibly fond of this. As a result, my expectations were quite low…which maybe worked to my benefit here? I don’t know. What I do know is that this grew on me. I’ll definitely be drinking the rest and probably will try ordering some of their other flavored senchas, especially since I keep hearing about how good their pineapple sencha is.
Flavors: Green Apple
Sencha can be bitter if oversteeped – my personal preference for greens is a max of 2 minutes at about 82C/180F. As long as it’s a good quality tea (and Den’s is!), you should be able to have a bitterness-free cup at that time.
I’m gonna try maybe 1.5 minutes tomorrow to see how that goes. Thanks for the tip! I’m kind of surprised it wasn’t more bitter than it was.
Sencha can be fussy. I think you could try this for even 1 minute at around 170f. And you can always try cold brewing it too!
Aww man! I’m kinda sad about how much I like this because it means now I have to buy some hahaha. I drank this cup down waaaaay too fast. It was so delicious hot! Sweet with just a bit of tang to keep it from feeling heavy. I get this caramellyness (pretend for a moment that “caramellyness” is, in fact, a legitimate word) from the fig and a softness (I guess we’ll also have to pretend that “soft” is a flavor) from the rose that I just can’t get enough of right now. This feels like the kind of tea to drink whilst watching sweet romance movies that make your heart melt. I love it, and I don’t even care if I’m the only one. Thank you times a million to carol who for letting me try this one out :)
Flavors: Caramel, Fig, Rose
Preparation
Oh my goodness…this is something I could definitely see myself drinking every single day! I just made it and took my first sip a couple of minutes ago and with each passing sip, it grows on me more and more (especially as the peach flavor comes out more and more). I’m sure this would be perfect iced, as well. Not to mention the leaves were quite pretty to look at! I may have the opportunity to go to a Lupicia store next weekend (crossing fingers), so I’ll have my eye on this one!
ETA: Thanks to Jennkay for the sample!
Flavors: Peach
I have no idea yet! I’m not even 100% sure that I’m going to be able to go, but I’m doing a race in Newport or Huntington or something like that on Sunday. So, I’ll be passing the Costa Mesa location on my way back home. Assuming I can convince my car-mates to stop and peruse, then I’ll be a happy kid! I’m looking at Cameron B.‘s thread about everyone’s favorite Lupicia teas just in case :)
Thank you, carol who, for this sample! I can’t say that I really taste much berry, let alone blackberry specifically, and it mostly just tastes like the black tea base. Perhaps it is getting a little old? Even still, I would expect at least a little bit of fruity sweetness. It’s just missing for me. At least I don’t hate Della Terra’s black base :) And I’ll try this again iced to see how that goes.