This is one of the last teas I snagged in store (in a small quantity) before I moved out of Canada.
Dry Leaves: smells like buttery, popcorn.. a little fruity. Oddly, I shuffle around and don’t see much popcorn, just a few smashed bumps. Mostly just apple pieces.. lots of apple pieces. A little bit of green tea. I tried to make a 2tsp full that had more popcorn and green tea. I could see I about used all the popcorn and my next cups will be pure apple. I sneaked a cup before reviewing this and I got pure apple.
Steeped: Pear colour, light green tea colour. Smells a little caramelly apple.
Taste: Mild – Buttery, slight caramel and apple taste. A little sweet. Backburner: green tea. The flavours are balanced nicely and go together well. Absolutely no tart.
Reminds me of those popcorn balls I’d get at halloween (from a neighbour, home made and lots of begging to eat during the candy check).
Recommend: If you like popcorn teas – like genmaicha, try this. Also if you like sweeter teas. I’d recommend to buy online (or see if you are getting the first few purchases from that batch in store) to ensure you get an optimal mix of tea contents. This tea has a mild tea taste, so it would be good for people new to tea or do not like strong tea tastes.
My Thoughts: I got totally burned on this batch. I sneaked a cup before this review back in Canada and it was straight apple chunks (I had to really mix it and dump out to get stuff that wasn’t apple). I’m guessing the popcorn shifts to the top so that goes first. Then there is so much apple in the tea that there is a higher chance of getting that.. and the green tea is the heavy part that sinks to the bottom.
This was pretty much the only good cup I’m going to get out of my purchase, sigh. It’s not bad, unique. I’d love to show it to my tea-hating husband, but alas, I’m out after 2 cups unless I want pure apple tea.
Overall, not bad. I might purchase again but I feel burned enough that I might pass due to hard feelings.
