Vanilla Apricot White

Much better than I expected for a bagged tea. When I opened the paper envelope, the scent of dried apricots came rushing out. Once brewed, the flavor is light, but I could definitely taste a creamy sort of apricot. (It was definitely apricot, not peach. There was a pleasant tartness that peaches just don’t have.) I would definitely drink this again.

Really yummy iced! Finally got a REAL package of this tea after the previous fiasco. When I brewed a cup hot it was too light for me to taste any of the vanilla or the apricot. Now that it’s been cold brewed I can taste the apricot, but still no vanilla. It’s enjoyable, but doesn’t do what it “says on the tin” :)

I have no blessed idea what temperature I actually used to brew this tea. I am actively stalking the Breville Tea Maker to remedy this, but I think I’ll need to wait another month before I shell out the$250 bones. I used the setting just below green on my electric kettle.

Apricots, in my mind, are sweet, sensitive little creatures. In reality, they’re more acrid. The scent of this tea is accurate in that way – it disappoints my sentimental mind. The taste was similar. Nothing but astringency in my first unsweetened sips. A teaspoon of organic honey helped to bring out the vanilla a bit, and it toned down the bite.

I see that other folks are enjoying this tea quite a lot, so I’ll give it another shot – maybe iced next time.

Thinking this would be a very forgiving tea, I selected Vanilla Apricot White. Since I was at a New Year’s party, I didn’t have much control over water temperature and brewing time. This turned out to be a delight. Neither the vanilla nor the apricot flavors were overbearing – just a light refreshing delicate white tea that went well with the abundance of food being served.

I’ve never tried white tea before but I couldn’t resist the “vanilla apricot” flavor. However, I was disappointed because it does have a slight bitter taste. The only good thing is that the flavoring does not taste artificial.

I bought this on a whim the other day when I saw it at the store. I’ve had a few cups since then, and I’m moderately happy with what I’ve found. While it is on the more mild and non-overbearing side of flavor, the delicate combination of apricot and vanilla is quite delicious. I also noticed that steeping too long caused the tea to taste sort of bitter but not allowing enough time results in fruit-flavored water.

I was pretty excited to try this tea as I haven’t had a lot of chances to try white teas. But the outcome of this was severely disappointing. No matter the steep time or temperature used, this brew always ended up bitter. Adding honey or sugar did not help much and didn’t blend well with the flavor of the tea. I really wish I had something nice to say about this tea but it has to be the most disappointing tea I’ve bought.

I tried this one several different ways and by far the most successful was (believe it or not) steeping for 15 minutes. The flavors blended best after this amount of time, so that neither the apricot nor the vanilla dominated, and the tea was present, albeit as a backdrop. It has a gentle aroma and flavor. The apricot/vanilla lingers for quite a while and changes over time, first becoming quite sugary, then frutier, then sugary again.

Today I noticed the French on the packaging actually reads that it has “a suspicion [un soupçon] of fresh apricots and vanilla from Tahiti,” and that is exactly how I would describe my experience with this tea: I suspect that there are fresh apricots, because I think I can smell them, but I have no evidence based on the taste. It always seemed to brew weak, so finally I tried it with two teabags, and it’s just a weak tea that basically tastes like fruit water. I’ll probably stick it in the back of the cabinet and also just try it again when it gets warm as an iced tea.

fantastic strong vanilla / apricot blend. Ideal for making a refreshing iced tea. Definitely for a sweeter mood but just the right balance. The best of any Tazo’s I have had.