Sencha Claus

What a cute name.

Anyway, this was the only holiday tea that I ordered from TG, and when I opened the package, I immediately fell in love with the smell. Mmmm. It smells like almond pastries, specifically anything made with marzipan. It’s delicious. Like pignoli cookies. It’s really strong and assertive, with a hint of cinnamon and maybe something citrus in the end note.

So I steeped this at 194 degrees (yeah, it’s that specific), and the infusion was a lime green-ish color. The cup smelled absolutely mouth-watering. Seriously almond pastry. Not almond cookie, like SpecialTeas’ tea, but a more robust marizpan-ish smell. The wet leaves have a similar flavor.

There’s a lot going on in the taste! The tea is there as sort of a grassy note, but it’s not really assertive. In fact, it’s a little bland. That’s probably my main complaint about this. But the other flavoring in here… mmmmm. We’ve got some citrus that comes up. It’s sort of similar to the flavoring in a sfogliatelle, an Italian pastry made with phyllo with an orange-flavored ricotta-style filling. It’s that sort of orange flavor. Not the tart quality of the citrus, but the orange-ness. This probably comes from the orange blossom.

The other flavor that’s the most dominant in the aftertaste is that almond pastry taste. Pure pignoli cookies (which are made predominantly with almond paste). There’s a teeny creamy component, but it’s barely noticeable. It’s almost an almond extract flavor, or a scented flavor. It’s very subtle, and doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the flavors. If you concentrate, you might get a bit of cinnamon. I only got it on a few sips.

The tea base of this definitely isn’t the greatest. If it was better, this rating would probably be higher. It doesn’t taste fresh and doesn’t play well into the balance of the other ingredients. But the flavoring is definitely spot-on. The flavors aren’t as strong as the smell (thank god, or else I’d be pretty unhappy). Very nice for a holiday blend, though!

I first tried this tea about 5 years ago, when living in Chicago. Now, my brother-in-law regularly brings it to Christmas gatherings because he knows I like it.
And I do like it- the almondy sweetness complements the sencha well. But today I am getting something soapy in here too. It’s strong enough that I am wondering if I somehow got soap on my cup rim. Or perfume.

Am trying to push past this to the delicious almond. I’m even having this with almond biscotti-like cookies. Could it be the orange blossom that can get perfumey?

As you may be able to tell, this one is very inconsistent for me. I wouldn’t pounce on the pouch every year in December if it always tasted perfumey/soapy.
All of this said, when this one’s good it’s absolutely wonderful- the perfect holiday dessert tea. So I still recommend it.

The leaf smells odd but I can’t quite place the scent… a little spicy and almond-y but weirdly also reminding me of the Strawberry Dream from last night. The liquid form, however, smells very different. My first sniff made me go, “Hmm, Christmas.” Then I remembered the name and though, “Well, duh.” It’s sweet and dessert smelling – really quite delicious. Orange blossoms and almond are easily picked up and without the weird smell from the dry leaf that reminded me of last night’s honeybush… unpleasantness. There’s a little potpourri smell but it doesn’t show up unless I’m constantly sniffing the tea (and honestly, I can get that smell from most spiced teas). But it’s like almond pastry potpourri. Something with sweet, nummy icing on it.

But darn it, the taste is more potpourri with a almond + orange blossom chaser. Larger swallows give me a POW of orange blossom with a spice base which is nice, but the overall taste of the tea seems to be brought down by the green tea… it’s a bit flat and heavy. I think a lighter tasting green tea base would make this tea sparkle some.

There’s a lot of promise in this tea but unfortunately it just doesn’t combine right for me. This seems to be a disappointing trend with TeaGschwendner’s teas. But as I’ve said before, one aspect of these teas that I do like is the fact that they don’t overflavor their teas. If only most of the flavorings didn’t make me go ‘meh’.

(arrived today from teaplz – this is my first TG tea!) Lovely orange and marzipan (almond + sugar) scent. Do I detect a hint of mint too? The leaves unfurl and are quite varied — some are almost whole. The liquor is a surprisingly bright yellow-green. Orange and almond pastry-like (buttery?) flavor is strong on first couple sips, but then seems to give way to just a slightly citrus bitterness. The tea itself isn’t bitter – just the orange is a bit. I’m also getting a strong hint of cinnamon – more the warmth than the flavor (which is fine by me).

I think I like it. I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to buy it, and I doubt I could drink it every day… but I like the combo of light, wholesome green tea with a sweet, citrusy dessert-like flavor. A dessert tea that one need not add milk and sugar to is a nice change for me. However, I am tempted to put some almond milk in my next cup – it just seems like it would enhance the flavor profile. And since it’s not dairy, the orange peel won’t cause it to curdle. hmm…. this rating may go up and I drink and experiment more.

Using a gifted sample, the aroma of the dry tea (in bag) is alluring. This scent carries over well once brewed and let steep (2 min). The taste dances on the tongue like a light cake. Cinnamon and Vanilla combine evenly, but don’t completely over power the other notes. An enjoyable seasonal tea.