AAAARGH I got my tasting note eaten!!!!!
I first had this tea several months ago when I first got it, I think as part of my Black Friday splurge. I was not impressed. In fact, I was so weirded out by the flavor that I’ve avoided retrying it until now.
As usual, I have a better appreciation of this tea once I know what to expect. This is my first guayasa, so I don’t know how much of what I’m tasting is the flavoring and how much is the base. The “vanilla” part of this tea is pretty killer. It’s almost exactly the thick, sweet flavor of vanilla extract. The mint part of this tea is also a killer – in a less auspicious way. It’s pungent, a little too cool. It’s almost sanitary! It tastes more like some kind of cleaner than any kind of flavor you’d want in a food or drink. In addition to those, there’s also a grassy undertone (I think that might be the guayasa) that pushes it even farther to the left of what I was really hoping for.
If this tea had just the vanilla flavoring alone, I’d give it something in the 80’s or the 90’s. However, the mint part is just not enjoyable to me. I know people like this tea, so I know it’s a my-taste thing, but I’m having a hard time imagining someone drinking this and going “Mmm!” Fortunately, it’s not overwhelming enough yet that I don’t think I’ll be able to finish the bag. Yet.
