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I think I have some sort of origami themed sickness, I get out my paper to work on some pieces and next thing I know hours have passed, my teacup is empty, and I am sitting in a pile of origami. Do any of my crafty friends do this? Go into a sort of half-remembered trance and then realize ‘oh, I just did a bunch of stuff’ usually because your body lets you know you need to do something else (like eat.) It is both rewarding and a little strange. Clearly I am just the Cheval for the Loa of origami, and I am actually totally ok with that.

So after that slightly strange intro (clearly I need more tea, or possibly food) we are onto today’s tea: The Persimmon Tree Tea Company’s French Vanilla Bean. This sweet sounding tea is a blend of Organic Black Teas, Vanilla Bean, Coconut, and Almonds…those are some of my favorite things in a tea, I wonder if blended together they will be as good? Ok I already know since this tea was logged in my notebook, mwahaha I have tea spoilers! Wow, I am in an odd mood! So, how does this tea smell? Good, like really good, like a vanilla bean and almond infused biscotti dipped in chocolate with a touch of coconut sitting next to a steaming cup of rich, malty, black tea. Sniffing this tea makes me feel under-dressed and lacking elegance, clearly I should be wearing something pretty while sipping this out of fine bone china in some swanky Paris cafe.

Brewing this rich tea does not make it any better, I still feel like I am in the wrong place to be drinking this tea. At least I have a fancy teacup and nifty artisan made teapot to have my tea in. The aroma is super rich, it is sweet and heady from the vanilla, much like sniffing vanilla beans and not vanilla ice cream so it has that richness without creamy heaviness. There is also a cocoa and almond note, not really picking up the coconut though. That is because it is hiding in the aroma of the liquid! It is just a touch, but you can smell the sweet and creamy note of the coconut along with the deliciously sweet vanilla and almonds. There is also a brisk hint of black tea giving the tea a bit of a bite at the finish.

Ok, tasting time, I have my fancy bone china teacup with a matching saucer (really, the saucer is a huge deal for me) and I am ready to take my first sip. It starts out mellow and smooth while retaining the richness of the aroma, it is rich while not weighing you down, kinda like how you feel weighed down by a rich fudge but not by a rich slice of angel food cake. This blooms into a decadent blend of vanilla, almonds, malt, and cocoa, oh man is that ever rich! The coconut adds a level of creaminess to the tea in both mouthfeel and taste, luckily the amount is small so the creaminess does not slide to oily like some coconut heavy teas can do. There is a slight briskness to the tea which keeps the tea from sinking into a too intense heaviness, it wakes up the mouth after the decadence has lulled it into a stupor. The cocoa notes linger in an aftertaste for a while. I was tempted to add a splash of cream to this tea, but decided that would make it too heavy, my mom did try her cup with cream and while it was good it confirmed my suspicion (though she really liked it that way.) We ended up making an afternoon of it with many cups, this is a good afternoon tea.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-persimmon-tree-tea-company-french.html