Coconut Cream Pie

Yum! This one is very simple. Creamy coconut with a mellow soft base. The sweetness isn’t a forward kicker except around the finish, which is soft like whip cream. As I get closer to the bottom of my cup that coconut whip cream sensation magnifies…Parks and Rec/Leslie amount of whip cream! It’s very rich and I’m impressed that I didn’t have to add milk to get that!

This tea gets even better as it cools. I may need to pick up more in the summer. The only thing left to do is compare it to my Fantasy Island from David’s Tea and the coconut tea from NM Tea co that arrived at my parents place a few days after I left for school… bummer!

Whee, 100 tasting notes. I sort of felt like I ought to have a really rarified tea for my 100th, but then I had one of those mornings where everything that happens seems custom-designed to frustrate and annoy. I couldn’t help but to reach for something sweet.

I’ve been awfully lazy about tasting notes lately. In point of fact, I have none for this tea, but my pouch of it is very nearly empty now, which saddens me. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I have.

There’s not too much that I can add here that other people haven’t already. The shavings of coconut are large; the vanilla is very subtle. The black tea holds up well to both. While it’s a decent tea without any additives, making it like a chai on the stovetop — sans sweeteners, but with a very generous spoonfull or two of sweetened condensed milk added along with regular milk — makes for a completely decadent treat.

I wouldn’t say that it’s a substitute for pie, of course…or even that it tastes exactly like coconut cream pie, when consumed hot…but the results are so delicious that this hardly matters, in my opinion. Thinking about it, I wonder if the viscosity and sweetness when served iced would make the difference?

Regardless…this was just the cup of tea that I needed for drowning a very cranky start to the day. It’s not an ‘every day’ tea for me…but it’s quite nice to have it on hand, and I think I can probably find a regular spot for it in my cabinet.

I had tea fail this morning.

I had picked up a small packet of those powdered sugar doughnuts on my way home from work yesterday as a treat for this morning (I had barely survived my first week of the Summer Reading Program). I had actually forgotten about them until after I had started steeping this tea. So I had several very yummy sips and then started in on the mini-doughnuts. It tasted great, but on the third mini-doughnut the pairing suddenly became a bad one. My super-yummy tea morphed into (parents, cover your children’s eyes) CHICKEN BROTH!

::bursts into tears::

I went and brushed my teeth knowing that the mint toothpaste would also be a bad tea combo, but I felt that it was the lesser of two evils. I made it through the very cooled first steep and had high hopes for the second. I can sense how yummy this tea is, but I keep getting flashes of “chicken broth.” Thus I shall hold off on giving this tea an official rating. Based on the first few marvelous sips I’d say that this tea’s baseline rating for myself is probably 85.

Tonight I am trying this much anticipated tea cold brewed. As many of you know I have gone a bit nuts but as I see it, it is just another way to experience tea and potentially experience the same tea in a new light. This was no exception. I found that the black tea base added depth to this cold. Plus, it is extermely creamy. I had assumed the coconut would be strong. Shows what I know. Although, I can taste it, it isn’t anywhere near as strong as I thought it would be. Overall it delicious and most unexpected.

Read here about why I am cold brewing so many teas lately. The first step is admitting you have a problem right?

http://iheartteas.teatra.de/2011/07/breaking-a-hard-habit/

Let me first start off by saying I never once thought I’d be able to try this tea, nevermind any tea from 52 Teas. Not for a long while, anyways. I have been DYING to try Frank’s creations.

So you should have seen how excited I was when I received this as part of the very generous batch of samples VariaTEA sent to me. ♥ I was ecstatic! Thank you so much!

I had no idea what tea to start off with today, so I asked my mom – a non-tea drinker – to go through my tea drawer and pick out one for me. She grabbed this one and couldn’t stop smelling it. It really does smell exactly like a delicious coconut cream pie.

But unfortunately, I’m finding the taste isn’t quite living up to the smell. I can taste the faint sweetness of the coconut, but I’m getting an almost papery aftertaste. Like eating construction paper. :( I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because of something I ate beforehand. Maybe my taste buds are out of whack this morning. Who knows? I still have a bit of sample left to try it again at a later date.

5 minutes later: I’m starting to taste even more of the coconut and creaminess, and it’s becoming 10x more delicious. I think it was because of what I had beforehand. Rating is bumped up!

The scent when I open this bag was a little overwhelming, but the steeped tea actually turned out pretty tasty.

I’ve been a little wary of 52Teas because I don’t find the black tea base to be my cup of tea, but I noticed someone mention the other day that these blends are best brewed just below boiling, rather than at boiling, so I tried that out this evening. I am quite pleased with the results.

The coconut is here, but not overwhelming like the scent, and the black tea base isn’t overtaking the flavour or lacking. I do think I prefer is hot rather than as it cools.

I got my first traveling tea box today from Tea Sipper! I had to go to the post office to pick it up on my lunch break. I haven’t had a chance to look through it all yet, but I found this near the top and I’ve always wanted to try it!

Well, I’m always happy to try a 52Teas blend without having to commit to an entire 2oz pouch. This one lives up to it’s reputation! This is one of the better 52Teas blends I have tried. I love coconut! This one is very creamy and the black base is mild and unobtrusive. There isn’t a whole lot in the pouch so I’ll probably leave the rest in there for other Steepsters to try. I just wanted a cups worth for sampling purposes :)

I hate to say it, but this just didn’t really float my boat, although I began to like it better as it cooled off, so I’m thinking I might try it as an iced tea, or maybe as a latte with Almond milk next time.

Thank you Kristaleyn for this sample! what a deeelish tea :)
I have to agree, the black tea part comes out a little weak, and that was with a 5 min steep. It was about to get bitter so I had to take out the tea basket.
That said, the coconut part is great!! just love it!
With some milk n sugar, I do get a cream pie sortof texture. Yumm!!
I’d consider buying this, if I could figure out how to make the base stronger.

Quick note:

Tastes like sweet young coconut shavings (it’s called “macapuno” in the Philippines).
I’m not getting much of the “pie” part.
I would love more pie crust, cream and custard, please.
Maybe I should try this as a latte.
Otherwise, it’s an excellent coconut-flavored black. Very satisfyingly coconutty.

Thanks to Liberteas for the generous sample!!