So this tea has been lingering in my cupboard. I think that as the days grow cooler I’m looking for spice and heaviness that can’t be found in lighter blends like this one. I have so much of this one left and I’m not surprised as the dry smell is very overpowering; in a more chemical than natural way. When brewed this takes on some more delicate qualities and I like it a lot more than other apple-esque teas that I’ve tried. I’m lowering the score just a bit because, to be honest, I think that had I tried a sample I would’ve skipped this one completely.
Notes of carrot and crisp apple.
2nd tea of the day! I steeped this at a slightly lower temp. than usual (175 F). This is a very back and forth tea for me. Although I do enjoy the flavor and the leaves are much more in the forefront in comparison to other Teavana teas; the price is not great ($15/2 oz). I say this simply because even though there are many teas at this price or higher I find that the tea-to-filler ratio is off. If I’m paying this much I really want tea; not just dried fruits. This begs the question: Should tea be for everyone or is it a luxury? This question of price should, in my opinion, be more important to the Teavana owners. On one hand they want to appeal to the masses with things like health benefits and their expanding physical stores. On the other hand the prices make it not an option for much of what I think should be their target audience: students.
Now back to the tea! This tea has a great smell; it blends pear and apple in the front end of the sip with much more subtle pomegranate notes in the background. The flavor is always crisp and fruity. I have noticed it is not a picky tea and over-steeping rarely causes this blend to get bitter/astringent. Overall this is a nice tea and I would recommend it as one of the best white teas Teavana offers.
So I finally got my package from Dragon Tea House! My mail people have avoided giving it to me for almost a week while they tried to figure out where in the world they had placed it. This was the first tea to be brewed in my new little teapot.
After taking a semi-break from tea I’ve come back and noticed that this tea has far more white tea leaves than some of Teavana’s blends. If I was blind testing the smell of the leaves would really throw me off. It smells like apples and mixed fruit juice.
The flavor is very crisp. I think this aspect is what reminds me of apples. I think that this tea would be very nice iced. I noticed on this brew that there is almost a sharp note at the end of the sip. It reminds me of something peppery; very odd!
gah. I need to finish this one! It is very heavily apple, carrot, and almost a peppery flavor. I can’t tell quite what that is coming from, but it is interesting. I would suggest using a bit less than they suggest or it is a little overpowering.
I’ve really come to decide that out of Teavana’s more expensive teas this is one of the better ones ($15). It really does have more leaves than other blends and it stands up to many infusions (3+).
The flavor is bright, fruity and ever so slightly spicy. The carrot is actually very interesting and the apple is great.
Now time for study!
I decided to drink this one again today! I’m still loving my cute little pot and I think I’m going to do extra tea today! :p I guess I’m just in a good mood! I’m also putting a limit on my tea spending. :O I am going to try and finish at least a few of these super sweet teas so that I can move onto some unflavored oolongs I’ve been eyeing.
This time the 2nd steep had a very distinct peppery type flavor and I think I know the culprit! I think that somehow the carrot pieces in this are what cause this flavor. It’s not bad in any way. I’m almost sad that the white tea in this blend is overshadowed by carrot/apple sweetness because what this cup really needs to be even better is some of the grassy/hay notes that white tea imparts.
