Sea Breeze Green Tea

Hmmm so I’m first! I almost drank my entire bottle of this while I was out today, too hot outside…though some of it ended up in the bottom of my bag. I think I need a more trustworthy leakproof bottle.

This was cold steeped overnight, and it was really good. I never really eat grapefruit but I love the flavor of it, so it’s especially welcome here, and one of the main reasons I got this tea. I have never actually had the cocktail but based on this tea, I’d maybe give it a shot. (Though the variation with pineapple juice instead of grapefruit sounds even better.)

This is sweet, a little tart in a good sense, and the base is a nice smooth overall flavor to match. Definitely a very refreshing thing to drink when it’s hot and humid outside. I should have made an entire pitcher since I’m still so thirsty!

Now I’m really excited because one of these weekends, I’m going to go to Orlando and I have no idea what we are going to do, but that’s going to make 2 trips to Florida this year (and one more in October) and I have no idea what to do. My boyfriend said water park but meh, I’d rather take the time to go to a beach instead then.

And yes, this tea’s name did give me that idea.

Another thanks to momo for letting me try a tea on my curiousity list :)

I am typically not overly keen on flavoured greens, and while this certainly isn’t bad, it’s toeing the line of that category. The flavour is a bit reminiscent of 52teas’ Virgin Fuzzy Navel, and I can taste grapefruit, but the cranberry that’s supposedly in here is completely hidden. The one thing that does keep this blend from being “just another bleh green tea blend” is that I can taste the sencha, with its lovely “green tea”, caramelly aftertaste, that I’m really enjoying.

So, overall, not a favourite, but not bad either (aka, glad to have tried it, but equally glad not to be stuck with a full pouch!)

Hmm… this is interesting. I’ve never had the cocktail before, as I’ve said before, I’m not a big drinker, I was at one time a bit more of a “party animal” than I am now, but back then my cocktail of choice was usually a fuzzy navel.

But, I’m liking this combination. I wasn’t really sure about it at first, because my thought was … cranberry + grapefruit = very sour and maybe even bitter. And yes, there certainly is some sour notes to this, but, not sour in a pucker-y kind of way… it has a smoothness to it, and the tartest part of it is the finish and aftertaste where I am getting that tangy grapefruit acidity, as well as the tingly berry tartness. But even that isn’t disagreeable, it has a pleasantness to it all.

The Sencha gives it a nice sweetness… and I think that while the zesty character of the fruit flavors tends to infringe upon the buttery aspects of the Sencha … it does so in a good way. It doesn’t really eliminate the buttery notes, it actually draws attention to it by cutting short its presence, if that makes sense.

These flavors work really well together, and I’m very pleasantly surprised by how much I’m enjoying this. It’s going to make a stunning iced tea!

Lets try again (since my previous tea was a disaster). Thank you Dinosara for this swap :)

The raw mixture is dark green in colour with a few yellow petals and large chunks of cranberry scattered around. It’s scent is sweet and fruity in a tutti frutti bubblegum sort of way.

Once steeped the colour is golden with a soapy citrus fruit smell.

Taste is sweet, citrus, soapy, sour, tangy and buttery. The soapy element is strong in taste and flavour which is not to my particular taste and the sour citrus fruit does not help it a great deal. I’m on the fence still, it’s not terrible and it’s not great. There are pleasurable aspects to it and it’s a little different which makes it interesting. The cranberry is hard to detect.

This will be another tea that I cannot rate for the time being, I have 1.8 oz left so I’m sure I will be able to explain it better shortly.

Sooo glad to be drinking tea again…I went home for fall break and had to leave my lovely tea collection behind for four days….four days…..anyway that’s over now. :) So, after drinking some delicious jasmine green for my first cup back, I settled in to try one of my samples, namely this sea breeze.

My thoughts? Meh. Yes, this tea is ok…I’m not gagging or feeling anything unpleasant on my tongue. At the same time, I am not jumping for joy at this tea either, and I think I’m done with it for a bit. It seems almost like the flavors cancel each other out in a weird way…I taste cranberry, actually a tangy berry undertone more than anything, with the sencha overlaying the berry sometimes, sometimes the berry being more dominant.

I wouldn’t buy this, but I won’t condemn it either. :)

Steep Information:
Amount: 3tsp
Water: 500ml at 175°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 2 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: citrus, chemical tang, vegetal
Steeped Tea Smell: citrus, vegetal
Flavor:fruity, vegetal
Body: Light
Aftertaste: a little bitter
Liquor: translucent light orange

Not bad, but not great, dislike the after taste

Post-Steep Additives: agave syrup – increased fruity flavor, decreased (bu still present) after taste

Rating: 2/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.teatra.de/2012/06/24/52teas-loose-leaf-green-tea-sea-breeze/

I’m not really a fan of this when it’s brewed hot. Yesterday I took some of the dry leaf to work and cold brewed it while I was working. Oh. My. Goodness. It is super good when cold brewed. It takes some of the tart out and tastes like a smartie :] Mmm this is going to make a super good iced tea for the summer.