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Coming close to a sipdown on this one. I’ve had it for years, so it’s about time. I’ve been alternating between this and a Russian Caravan when I want something with a smokey breakfast tea profile. I have really enjoyed it, but this cup in particular isn’t as full on the flavor. It may have been my temperamental kettle not fully getting up to temp. Another thing not working in it’s favor for a reorder is my having fallen for AQ2T’s Russian Bonfire which has an additional layer of yum with a slight fruit flavor mixed in. But I digress… Trakir, it has been a lovely journey that is coming to a close, but we must soon part ways for now.

I am on my third steeping of this tea and am tasting something I haven’t before: graham crackers! More like golden grahams cereal, but without the cinnamon. It is faint, but I kinda like it.

The name Spumoni makes me think of Louie Prima. He sings about it in Banana Split For My Baby, which is the only reference I have of Spumoni. It’s an Italian ice cream flavor is my guess. In this tea I’m getting rich cherry, maybe a touch of almond with some basey notes that I can’t quite pin. Green tea seems like a strange choice to me for this with the deep flavors added, but maybe it’s a better reflection of Spumoni than I’m aware of. So far it seems like a nice tea, something fun to try, but not take home and introduce to the family.
In the mean time I’ll be keeping my eye out for Spumoni ice cream to try. Maybe in San Francisco’s North Beach? That seems like a good area to hunt for it.

It is a surprisingly cold spring day that came out of nowhere. Mexican Hot Chocolate sounded like just the thing to warm me up! I walked away from this while steeping so it got a few extra unintended minutes brewing. There is no bitter penalty to over steeping this tea, but I’m not picking up on chocolate notes. It does have a warming chili which I am grateful for. Although this tea has some nice traits to it, I’m not swooning over it.

I recently got a bag of this and am having a hard time getting an awesome cup out of it. I tried 212 for 3 minutes, which was eh. This cup is 200 for 4 minutes, which is better, but I was much more enthusiastic about it in my previous review. I get the orange and a hint of chocolate, but the flavors aren’t as popping as I am wanting. It is reminding me of Mariage Freres Wedding Imperial that took a lot of refining to get a kick ass cup out of. Tea struggles!

Today this seems more like a cup of sugar and spice instead of tea. It does taste like Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal with cardamon on top. Somehow it doesn’t quite satiate the desire for tea though.

This is one of my favorite flavored genmaichas! The mango flavor is done really well and pairs nicely with the toasty rice. I get more of the tea flavor on the sip, a little bite in the finish, but that is where the mango really comes out and lingers. I usually have this with cream because it amps up and rounds out the flavors making it more dessert like, but this time I’m enjoying it plain. Almost done with the last of the two bags I ordered a while back. I’ll definitely have to reorder some day when my cupboard is in check.

I’m enjoying this so much that I’m already running low! This tea is nice and malty with a little bit of hay. It’s mellow, smooth, comforting, well balanced, has no bite and resteeps well. Quite good!

I feel like I’m getting more cherry in this cup. I also gets hints of chocolate that remind me of scratch and sniff sticker chocolate. I dumped the rest of this sample in my steeper, so I probably overleafed it a touch, but I think it works out well. I don’t quite get what the latte part of the name is about, unless it is a suggestion to add creamer which I will try before this cup is done. Oh wow, adding creamer does make this tea pop! I never would have thought to add cream to an oolong for some reason. The cherry seems more pronounced, taking over the sip while the chocolate comes in on the finish. I’m liking this cup, but it’s not quite enough to reel me in for a reorder although I would try the flavors again if it were on a black base.

This tea cold steeped and served over ice with some cream….. SO dreamy! Warm weather and a cup of this tea iced screams summer to me. I think I either underleafed it or the tea has aged and lost some of it’s bang because it is slightly less intense than I recall. Either way I think I can solve the issue the same way I solve a lot of issues: ADD MORE TEA!