Lychee Black

Samovar!!! You’re letting me down! Call me disappointed with this one. I guess I’m expecting too much from a lychee black tea. I wanted something strong and bold, but this was more of a delicate flowery tea. The sampler pack was amazing. I was able to get four teaspoons from this =] Multiple infusion test? Yeah, no. The rosy flavor basically dies on the second steep. It doesn’t taste like nasty water yet, but it’s not the same caliber as the first steep. Completely different.

I had to double check the label to make sure I was drinking lychee instead of a rose tea as that was the primary smell and taste I was picking up. Yep, it was lychee tea. I took a few more sips and discovered the lychee. It’s really subtle and it comes and goes. It comes at the end of a sip every once in a blue moon. I guess this would be a nice rose tea, but since it was named Lychee Black, I feel deceived. If this were a rose tea, I’d give it a higher rating. Samovar, you’ve disappointed me!

Adjusting ratings are a pain… I clicked on the right most marker and then clicked the left key on my keyboard 10 times to get to where I needed.

Mike =] Why can’t we get a little tooltip when we are dragging?

Edit: Bumped rating up to 78 from my initial 73. I did enjoy this one so it wouldn’t be fair if I gave it too low of a rating.

Hrm. This one is very light, but interesting.

Yet another takgoti + Samovar = awesome treat! The leaves here are quite tiny, and they smell of rose, almost. Very fruity-floral.

I’ve only had lychee in terms of lychee jelly in bubble tea or lychee-flavored juice drinks. I’ve never had the fruit itself, but when I think of lychee I think juicy-sweet, so I’m a big ? is appearing over my head. The other big ? is that takgoti said to steep this up between 170-175, which is interesting for a black tea.

So I watched this steep to a lovely light nut brown, and the smell coming from the cup smells like sweet, candied roses. My first sip… I was surprised at how light this one is! Very ethereal, if I do say so myself. Gossamer-like.

The black tea base here is more cuddly than substantial, and it fades softly into a floral-like note. It tastes like a rose tea, almost. What differentiates it a bit, though, is the juicy sweetness that is the endnote of every sip. It’s very lychee, if I do say so myself.

As it cools, the floral note becomes more of a blanket for the lychee fruit taste, which I actually really enjoy. So juicy and full and luscious. I can imagine this one being awesome iced, as Samovar recommends. It might bring the fruity notes out a little bit to the forefront. I’m finding I’m enjoying this one more lukewarm than hot-out-of-the-pot.

I can’t see myself craving this all the time. It’s really delicate and serene, which is wonderful, but I could see myself tiring of this. Iced, on the other hand, might be pretty awesome. I actually might try it like that and see what happens.

I’m sort of becoming a big fan of this Samovar-thing. takgoti, you devil, you… you are the ultimate converter to the Samovar experience.

Second Samovar sample of the day. I’m now out of Samovar black tea samples to try until I come out of lockdown and can order again. It looks like there are only two that I haven’t tasted yet.

Does anyone else occasionally look at their tea log and go “wow, I can’t believe there are even that many teas in the world, let alone that I’ve tasted X number of them, let alone that I’ve written about Y number of them?” It’s a little mind boggling to me sometimes.

Wow, love the smell of the dry leaves. Floral. My first thought was lavender for some reason. Maybe my smeller is still off from being sick. It’s really rose.

The tea is a little too red to be called mahogany, but otherwise pretty close. And it has a sweet, fruity, floral aroma that is difficult to pin down. I’ve only had lychees in restaurants and I don’t really care for them as dessert offerings, but I like what their flavor does in this tea. It gives a sweetness to the tea that is a departure from the usual malty sweetness I get in Samovar black teas as it is lighter and fruitier. Nectar-like, really. There’s a slight nuttiness to it too, which is consistent with my experience of lychee in general.

This is one I’d like to drink next to some other rosy florals for comparison purposes. It seems to be a bit more subtle in its floral qualities than some others, which I like, and though I’m not an overly enthusiastic fan of the lychee by itself, at the risk of repeating myself, I will say I do like what it does in this tea.

This is a lychee tea. It doesn’t let you forget it though it is blended beautifully with the black tea base – a black tea, I might mention, that doesn’t overpower the lychee at all but then again, the lychee, also doesn’t overpower either, though you are fully cognizant that it is indeed lychee tea that you are consuming. It’s in the aroma of the brewed tea, it’s in the taste of the tea as you sip, and it’s there as you swallow and afterwards, too. The first two infusions were similar in this; I didn’t get to drink my third infusion (The Hubby drank it – and commented “it’s a black tea, no lychee presence”). I didn’t notice the rose that is mentioned in other people’s tasting notes and on the Samovar blurb on this tea. Just a note, but I think that only people who like/don’t mind lychee fruit will enjoy this tea otherwise, the taste of the lychee (which is a unique taste, imo) may overwhelm and confuse the tea drinker.

Today’s version: 2.82g (~0.5Tbsp)/212°F/8oz water/3 minute steep (1st & 2nd infusion/4 minute steep (3rd infusion).

The rationale for the high rating? It’s a beautifully blended lychee black tea – just as advertised, without hidden pretensions.

I’ve only had one other lychee black tea and I have no idea what lychee tastes like (or lychee blooms smell like). So yeah, slight handicap when rating this tea. On top of that, my brain has yet to fully engage this morning. So take this review with a grain of salt.

The taste is nicely floral. I’m not a huge fan of rose teas and this is very similar to a rose tea, but it’s probably the smoothest, least perfume-y rose-tea-like tea I’ve had. I didn’t really taste the lychee fruit, just the rose-esque finish, but the tea was lightly sweet so I’m thinking that’s the lychee aspect coming through. The tastes of the tea and lychee/rose combine nicely so it doesn’t seem like tea is overlaid with perfume.

Because I’m not a huge rose fan this isn’t something that I’d have to have, but it is very nice to drink and I enjoyed it.

Lightly sweet lychee flavor…..

I love it black or creamy, hot or cold. This is some tasty brew.

Got my Samovar order today, trying the lychee before tackling the Four Seasons. Let me just say – the glass oolong pot is adorable. It also seems to hold heat better than I expected, only about a 10°F drop in 3 minutes

Samovar’s description is good: this is light, sweet, and a smooth. It’s also floral. Read the description carefully and you’ll note that lychee flowers, in addition to the fruit, provide the flavor. I don’t mind, I like floral teas, I like the sweetness you can get from flowers of most types, but if you dislike rose teas you won’t like this either. The flavor is quite strong, almost perfume-y. The fruit is more noticeable if you take a big mouthful and swirl it around – there is a bit of a sour/berry taste.

I like the 2nd steep (5 minutes) at least as much, if not better. Less flower-sweet, more fruit-sweet.

Tasty flavored black tea, not overpowering. Used this with some canned lychees to make ice cream.

I love to smell this tea.

If this tea were household products, I would be in an elementary school PSA about huffing aerosol cans. [How 1990’s am I?]

Drinking it is certainly nice, too, but I need to play around with the steep times a bit because I think I tend to brew it weak.

Hey, Trish McEvoy! Want to make me a lychee candle? Kthx.

A very delicious tea, not overly strong as I thought it would be.