52teas

This tasting note has the distinction of being my 2500th tasting note! What that says to me is that I’ve been drinking a lot of tea, and not doing much else other than writing about it.

Anyway, when I opened the pouch of this, I was amazed by the aroma. There was always a jello salad at family holiday meals, it was usually a “7up salad” in which the jello was made using lemon-lime soda instead of cold water, and of course, there was always canned pineapple in there, and mini-marshmallows too. When I opened the package, I could smell that memory of 7up salad.

It tastes amazing too. I can taste the marshmallow, I can taste the lime and the pineapple, and it even has that jello sort of flavor to it. I am not sure how Frank managed to do this, but, it really is a remarkable tea… I shouldn’t be surprised because Frank is the best at what he does, but, this tea still surprises me. A little lemon-lime soda is all it is missing, which tells me that I should save some of this for the next time I have lemon-lime soda in the house, and steep it extra strong, and dilute with some lemon-lime soda. I’ll have a 7up salad in an iced tea glass!

Thanks to Dinosara for sending me this one. So I’m torn on whether I like this one or not. I can taste a little bit of maple and a little bit of pumpkin, but it’s more of those spices that go with the pumpkin. So it’s more like a Christmas/pumpkin spice tea. The black tea base is still a little bit weak for me. It’s decent but I don’t know if would jump at the bit to buy a re-blend of this one. I’m glad to try it though.

Ricky sent me this one back in August. I remember it was August, because he had taken pity on me for the Steepster club not being available internationally and sponsored the first box for me, and he also included a number of other things. So for once I remember.

I’ve been scared of it ever since. That creepy face on the label doesn’t help either.

I’m feeling brave and encouraged to embrace a whole new world these days though, due to the rooibos that Cteresa (enabler!) shared with me that I really liked. I asked the boyfriend if he was interested and at first he decided to pass, but when he discovered I was only making a small pot, so he would only be getting half the amount of our normal mugs, he too decided to give it a go.

I was surprised at how dark it brewed up. Some of it is because the holes in the strainer is larger than these leaves, but that doesn’t account for all of it. It’s almost as dark as your average black tea, only this has a sort of funny greenish tint to it.

The aroma was the second surprise. It smells very much like a relatively mild pu-erh. I hadn’t expected that. For some reason I was expecting minty. I think because in my brain I want to compare it to mate, which I think has a minty sort of smell. Why do I want to compare it to mate? Because the leaves look the same and because they both come from South America. That’s how much imagination I’ve got.

Flavour-wise, here comes the third surprise. Based on other posts and the information from 52teas, I was expecting a much stronger flavour, but it’s come out surprisingly mild, considering. I brewed at a cautious temperature, though, so that might have something to do with it. I was just expecting more pang, really.

I find it a bit coffee like on the end of the flavour and there’s a funny tingling aftertaste, a bit like I get from mate as well as finally that minty touch. Mostly though it’s just sort of earthy and a bit like a somewhat pale shadow of pu-erh.

Honestly, I’d rather have real pu-erh.

I had to buy this for my 11, 9 and 7 year old grandsons who are way into tea. I mean MONKEY FART TEA! As soon as it arrived I rushed over and my daughter put on the pot to boil. (each boy has their own tea set) The first pour was too weak. Need to have enough tea and enough time steeping for good flavor but you can tell that this is a great creamy banana desert tea. You could play with other tea and make a variety of drinks with a tiny addition of some chocolate sprinkles. (Yep I know how to be a Grandma!)

perfect cuppa to curl up with. milk, brown sugar, heavenliness

Wow I did not expect to love this tea!!!! Of course I had high hopes for it but I was a little worried that the coconut would set off that itchy reaction I usually get. Well, no scratchiness is to be found. Sweet!!
Unfortunately, the coconut really sweetens up the tea. I think it’s overpowering the cheesecake factor because when I first dunked the bag, after about a minute I stole a little taste and I could pick out cheesecake right away. I was impressed!! but now? Nope, no cake to be found :(
This makes me sad because I was so looking forward to that. Although I do get a sort of sweet cheese aftertaste, long after I’ve swallowed.
I’m letting the cup cool a bit now in hopes that a temperature change might reveal something extra.
So big thanks to Jenn for sharing this with me!!! I owe you one.or fifty! :)

ok now that it’s cooled, I can kinda sorta (but not really if you know what I mean) see it going in the cheesecake direction. Tsk. Next time I’ll cut the steep time. I think I have enough left for another!

I’m nervous about white teas, but the ones I’ve tried from 52teas have been really nice and inviting. This is no exception. Lightly sweet, hints of strawberries and lemon. Enjoying it hot on a cold Winter night, but must be awesome cold in the Summer!
It has a great aroma and the flavors are delicate and not too intrusive. A nice departure from blacks & greens..my taste buds can relax a bit just about now.
I’m still weary about trying whites by itself

This tea kind of threw me off guard. It had a pretty mild smell when I opened the bag (it was a gift from a friend of mine) and I was very unsure about how I would feel about a cucumber oolong blend. So I made a cup instead of a pot.

The smell after steeping (steeped for 3.5 minutes for the first cup) was faintly of cucumbers (no where near as strong/annoying as most body sprays) and the taste was crisp and clean. I felt extremely refreshed after drinking the cup that I had to go and make a whole pot of it. I don’t know if I will order some on my own, but I will definitely enjoy the bit that I have.

The rooibos is strong in this one. Perhaps I oversteep my rooiboses. In any case, I found the apricot to be mild. The flavor seems artificial and chemical-y. Like lip balm. This is the second 52teas to taste like lip balm to me. Am I the only one? I barely taste the cinnamon. Overall, a bit disappointing. I think I’ll steep the remainder of my sample for less time and see if it’s better.

Now I’m in the mood for a good Japanese green.

Thanks for letting me try this Uniquity! That’s another 52teas flavor crossed off my list.

It has a really strong strawberry smell before and after steeping. I’m content just holding it up to my nose and smelling it in. The taste was sweet and light and it didn’t have a bitter taste to it at all. Definitely one I want to keep stocked in my cabinet

Finishing off the last that I have of this tea. It is yummy… perhaps more today than my previous cups! I don’t know if that is because I used a little more leaf, or what… but I can taste all the elements of this tea today, and they are all in delicious harmony.

Tasty!

This is good… but it isn’t quite what I was expecting. The strawberry is pretty overwhelming, sweet and tart, but I am having a hard time tasting much else. The notes of pancake are there, in the background, but, they aren’t as profound as the strawberry. I think shall have to play around with this one a bit to get these flavors to better express themselves.

Until then, I shall not rate it.

I had all sorts of plans for today but unfortunately it’s wretchedly cold outside; -20 celcius with a strong wind that makes it feel even colder. The thought of standing at the bus stop in that sort of weather proved too much for me so I’m spending the day inside drinking tea. What a poor Canadian I make! XD

A nice, robust Assam seemed perfect for today, so I dug this tea out of the 12 Days of X-mas sampler. I was a bit amused to see whole cornflowers in the tea rather than just the petals. They actually look a lot like knapweed which is a horrible, highly invasive weed around here. I was expecting the tea to have a stronger vanilla flavour but it’s more of a subtle, refined note, I found. It makes the tea taste quite creamy and goes nicely with a bit of milk.

I think the appeal of this lies quite simply on how much you want to taste popcorn in tea form. The popcorn taste is impressively spot-on and tasty (and becomes kettle corn if you sweeten it, yum!) but personally I think I’d rather just eat popcorn. Nonetheless, these odd tea flavors from 52teas are a lot of fun to sample, and that’s more than I can say for a lot of tea!

Not bad, but not a favorite. I couldn’t really taste the mint, but it was a nice smooth, slightly sweet tea. I only have enough for one more cup and I think I might try adding some extra candy cane bits or something to bring the flavor out a bit more.

Sipdown! I know I haven’t been around lately, but I haven’t stopped drinking tea! I finally finished Cloud Atlas today and I’m already on to my next book.
This tea is really great as far as spice balance goes. It isn’t too upfront and they are well blended. I really loved using a bit of extra leaf to really bring that out. I don’t know if it really screamed pumpkin, but it was an excellent tea!

It took a bit for me to warm up to this tea, but you know what? It is perfect for this time of year. It has been a bit rainy today and I had to trudge through my last readings of the semester today; but now I can relax with a nice, fall inspired cuppa. This tea has some good spice flavors that are less of the mainstream hot cinnamon and clove and more of something that reminds me of nutmeg.

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the start of October than drinking a nice big cuppa pumpkin cheesecake! I love the fall so much. I love that the mountains surrounding our house are all turning such wonderful shades, the air is getting crisp at night, and we had that full moon that was amazing! I am planning on visiting Gap later today to pick up a green cardigan I’ve been having my eye on. I’m hoping they have one small enough in stock as it’s a men’s item. I can’t wait to wear stuff like that at school again as it is the most comfy.
This tea has been a bit up and down to me. It doesn’t really taste like pumpkin to me, but rather pumpkin spices. I love that though so not too many complaints! I’m surprised I still have so much of this left as I think I’ve had it for some time now. I love the spiciness without having to burn my tongue off or knock me off my chair. This tea is great for fun and reminds me of Thanksgivings past.

So it has been a very long time since I’ve had this tea. I’d say that it’s okay, but not up very far on my list; which would explain why I don’t drink it very often. The flavor isn’t bad it just isn’t to my liking. It is very clean tasting to me. The spices are there, but in a way that makes them feel more blended into the flavor. This aspect of the tea is something that I do appreciate about it. The tea is very smooth, but it just doesn’t remind me of pumpkin. I can understand why it is such a difficult flavor to pull off!