Thanks to Ninavampi for a chance to try this one! I’ve only had one 52teas experience before and it was… not good. So I’m excited to have some more chances!
The dry leaf smells fun – very strawberry-like, though with a hint of Jello strawberry-ness. I don’t get any of the lemonade until post-pouring when I smelled the leaves in the pot. Then it is pretty much full-on lemon. It’s faintly Pledge-like but with a woodsier/deeper note to it. I like. The liquor has a more balanced smell with a hint of tart lemon and a sweet dash of (Jello) strawberry.
The taste isn’t bad. We’re kind of fighting an uphill battle though since I don’t really have much of an appreciation for Bai Mu Dan. And I can taste the vegetal, thick, lima bean notes of the BMD which, even though I’m not a fan, actually tasting a tea underneath flavoring is a nice thing. I can also pick up lemon(ade?) which is a nice, natural feeling flavor. I think the lemon(ade) with the BMD alone might be something I heartily approve of since the fresh/tart/sweet of the lemon lightens the heave BMD.
The strawberry, though, is a little eh for me. Half the time it’s very nice – sweet and dessert like with a bit of creamy bit to it. Super yum. But other times, I get warm Jello and that throws me a bit and I just have to wrinkle my nose at it.
Honestly, I’m not wild about this one (a combo of the BMD and the Jello bit) but it’s totally drinkable and a lot better than I feared when I saw that it was a flavored white. Nothing I’ll buy but then, I don’t really buy many whites (or flavored non-blacks) anyway.
