The Persimmon Tree Tea Company

Another company has this same tea, if I recall correctly? Anyways, the coconut in this very old sample is well on the road to being bad, so we’ll see if I suffer through the ~3 more cups left in the little baggie. I know this was decent when it was fresh, and it has hints of goodness still, but flavoured puerhs ultimately aren’t my thing as I just really don’t care for the base.

First impression: this smells like vomit. Oh no. Rancid coconut? Why does coconut seem to go rancid so easily in some teas and not others?

Anyhow, going to give it a shot anyways…

Brewed up, nasty aroma is gone. WHEW. (Ok, the tea has totally cooled, so I can’t speak for when it’s hot.) And the flavour…. is actually better than I was expecting! Creamy, sweet-ish coconut on a pu’erh base. Unfortunately, I’m getting a hint of soapiness, which I’d attribute to the coconut perhaps going off. Seems to be a pretty big trend with coconut (i.e. soapiness, off-flavours).

If the slightly weird flavour/soapiness was not present, I’d have to say that this would pretty much rocket into first place in terms of coconutty blacks (counting pu’erh as a black here, obviously), as it’s not at all astringent/bitter and the base is quite nice and earthy, while the coconut is deliciously creamy. I just am having trouble getting past those off flavours :( Hopefully not all batches of this tea are like that (and I suspect not, which is why some people like this tea while others really don’t). Mediocre rating due to this issue, otherwise it would be in the 80s.

Ahh, lychee. When I was little my parents used to get me little canned lychees from one of the many Asian grocery stores in NYC and I’d suck them down like candy. I’ve grown very fond of the taste, to the point where I’ll buy anything lychee flavored—of all the things I’ve tried, I think lychee ramune is my favorite though. Fizzy lychee, mmm. Of course this means I’ve tried quite a few lychee teas, though most of them tend to be straight lychee or add a floral element (like rose or jasmine) even though lychee is quite floral on its own. So I was intrigued by this blend—lychee peach?

I have a totally bizarre relationship with peach anything. I hate artificial peach flavoring, but when it comes to either real peach goodies or naturally peach flavored things I am totally convinced I’ll hate them… even though, every time, I really enjoy them! I don’t know why, my brain is just stuck on “you hate peach!” Which is blatantly not true, since there are about 10 peach teas in my cupboard. And oh man, I dream of blueberry peach pie. What a combo! Hint hint, someone needs to make a blueberry peach pie tea. With pie flavor included.

At first sip this blend is reminiscent of a lychee congou—strong(ish) black base, fresh and bright lychee flavor that fades into floral notes that fill your mouth. It’s not as heavily floral as other lychee teas I’ve tried, which is probably great for most people since I know quite a few who are not fans of floral blends. Then, at the very end, the peach comes in—subtly fruity, not full on “hey there I’m a peach tea!” There are definite apricot notes, and it’s more… summery-tasting than straight-up peach. It’s got a real juicy quality! Definitely one of my favorite lychee blends that I’ve tried, thanks to The Persimmon Tree for the opportunity to taste this gem!

SIPDOWN! I’m pretty sure this was contaminated when my sample packs decided to explode. It tastes vanilla-y with a whole lot of floral taste. I feel like this is probably a pretty good cup of tea but i’ll have to adjust accordingly once i get a sample that’s not totally contaminated.

I received this sample from the Persimmon Tree today and figured I’d get right down to business with checking it out. I love a good black and rather enjoy vanilla teas as well these days!

I steeped this one for 4 mins – and there is no real sense of the coconut in this one which makes me a happy camper. Instead what develops as I sip this one is a black tea with a subtle vanilla flavour to it. This is not a vanilla tea, rather is it a black tea with vanilla notes to it. I quite enjoy that change as I’m used to OMG vanilla teas that lose the actual taste of the tea.

In other news…I’m trying this whole blogging thing out. I’m TRYING to get around to writing something every day, though that’s certainly not really happening yet. someday though…someday. I might even manage to figure out where i’m going with it.

I am a ginger hound. Gingerale, ginger beer, ginger tea, ginger candy, ginger anything, I’ll eat/drink it! Not just for the flavor (which I adore) but I have an as-of-yet undiagnosed stomach condition that makes me nauseous annoyingly frequently and ginger is the one thing that always helps. I have a ton of ginger teas, but the nausea usually hits late at night so I am always looking for a good, solid ginger herbal to add to my cupboard. Right now my go-to is Twinnings Lemon Ginger (yes, bagged, I know!) because it’s very potent, but sometimes I want a more mild blend. Enter The Persimmon Tree’s French Lemon Ginger!

This tea seems to have pretty low ratings, but I guess it’s one of those love it or hate it blends (as ginger teas often are!). It’s mild and smooth, the ginger is not at all overpowering even after an 8-minute steep. I’d even say it was subtle, without the spicy heat ginger sometimes packs. The lemon comes not from lemon rind but from lemongrass and verbena so it’s not punchy citrus but mellow and tame: this is like a toned-down version of those in-your-face herbal blends. Nothing overwhelms, you can even taste some sweet woody notes from the honeybush. A very pleasant tummy-soothing night blend if you’re a fan of ginger! Thanks to The Persimmon Tree for this lovely sample.

Loose
Appearance: delicate leaf, white bits, greens, brown
Aroma when Dry: fruity, syrupy, jammy, guava, floral
After water is first poured: guava, slight floral
At end of steep: same
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: hints of green
Staple? Perhaps summer seasonal
Preferred time of day: afternoon, evening
Taste:
At first: crisp, fresh guava
As it cools ? notes open up, tea gets juicy
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No

Lingers? Yes, guava with a bit of tang, closing on a sweet note

Would be best chilled, revisiting in summer

Passion fruit is one of those flavors that I adore, but no one else in my family likes so I rarely get anything flavored with it. It also doesn’t seem that common in teas, oddly enough—I guess it’s one of those fruity flavors that’s hard to capture? So of course when I saw this blend I had to try it!

Dry this blend is divine, and very strongly floral (which I love). Passion fruit already has a hint of floral, and the jasmine amps it up a lot. I cold brewed this even though it is the middle of January—it’s so warm in my apartment that with the heaters off and fans on I am still walking around in a tank top. In New York. I really need some iced tea! And is this ever a refreshing one. Heavily floral but not perfumey, and the passion fruit and jasmine are perfectly balanced. I think jasmine can easily overpower other ingredients but it’s used lightly here so the passion fruit still shines. I swear there’s a hint of pear in here too, perhaps from the base? Which is a black/green blend but tastes mostly like a green to me.

It’s also naturally quite sweet, honey-like almost—not artificial or cloying. Definitely more complex than I was expecting! Thanks to The Persimmon Tree for this sample.

Loose
Appearance: multi colored, large, fine leaf, several greens, bright red- orange safflowers, deep blue cornflower

Aroma when Dry: deep deserty sweet, almost spiced icing
After water is first poured: floral, buttery coconut
At end of steep: coconut spiced rice
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: med spring green

Staple? YES

Preferred time of day: afternoon, evening
Taste:
At first: coconut pulp, closing with hints of floral, tea lightens at close
As it cools ? Starts to get a honeyed coconut note, with hints of honeysuckle, and pineapple mint, gets thick brothy texture, hints of salt on close

Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No

Lingers? Yes lightly herby coconut notes, closing with white tea and hints of melon

Second steep (4 min)
Aroma: milky, buttery
Taste:
At first: lighter, spice notes deepen, notes layer, coconut cream notes finish
As it cools: notes open, tea gets creamier, brothy

Third Steep (5 min)
Aroma: light nuttycoconut
Taste:
At first:brothy, only hints of coconut and salt

yaaaay I’m back kind of!
haha I still feel like I’m under a rock. Anyways! My blog has been dormant far too long, since this tea was an amazing replacement for DavidsTea’s Dulce & Banana (sorry DT, I sipped them side by side and I prefer this one), I thought I would do a fancy photoshoot :3

Seriously my favourite iced tea ever. I don’t know what it is about this blend, I think it’s the lack of artificial flavouring? Whatever it is, it’s worth a try at least as a warm before-bed tea. AAAAND I have a coupon code for everyone: 15% off! Exciting :D I think anyways ;)

Pics: http://www.daisychubb.com/review-banana-dulce-by-the-persimmon-tree/

I should note as a disclaimer, not every tea is a 100% from Persimmon just because I got some samples from them. This tea though, I chose to be my first to review – because to me, it is 100. More reviews coming soon! Just had to get the rave out of the way haha!

Freaking. Delicious.
Honestly, the most tasty blend I have had in months. For me personally it is a 100. I’ll share why later.

Preparing my blog post and taking lots of pretty pictures, but dang, this tea is so refreshing! (Iced!) Stay tuned ;)

Full Review on http://sororiteasisters.com/ on the 22nd but here are my snippits:

Coconut Cacao from The Persimmon Tree is a lovely way to experience your daily pu erh intake! I love pu erh for its health benefits but I also simply love the deep flavors of pu erh itself. Some however do not care for pu erh let alone unadulterated pu erh so they may tend toward something like this to get their health benefits.

I will say that I am not too fond of the initial aroma of this tea in its dry form or its steeped form. I personally find the aroma a bit off putting however in talking to others, I seem to be the only one who is put off by the aroma. Its probably just me. I just thought it only fair to state this in my review. As for the taste however, its lovely!

The combination of chocolate and coconut into a pu erh base is genius! One reviewer on The Persimmon Tree website, and fellow Steepster, calls it their tea latte without milk! I have to agree, it is quite creamy, full, earthy without being too earthy, and just sinfully delicious. I don’t even find it too sweet either which shows what a masterful blend it is!

Another thing I respect about The Persimmon Tree is their committment to our environment. On their “About” page you will find the following:

We, at The Persimmon Tree®, contribute to the sustainability of our planet. Where possible, we use recycled and recyclable materials in our shipping supplies and printed materials. Using recycled products increases the demand for recycled material, which increases the rate of recyclability. Our passion is to instigate and experience positive change through the simple things, and we encourage our customers to do the same.

Thanks to Chuckieroy for this sample!

Nicely fruity. The flavors come out more as the tea cools. I wouldn’t be able to tell you if it tastes like lychee since I’ve never had any. :) It does have some peachy notes, though, and an overall fruitiness. When it is cold, I pick up some faint florals in the background.

I steeped my first half mug for 3 minutes, then let the rest of the mug sit and steep for probably another 5 minutes. The flavors definitely intensify with the longer steep. It didn’t become bitter, though, which was good.

Definitely bold, definitely sweet. Very vanilla. Very forgiving. I steeped for quite awhile by accident and it doesn’t seem to have suffered much. Going to have to try this next to Tea Merchant’s Silk Dragon and see if there is a difference and if I prefer one to the other.

I could drink the silk oolongs all day long, I think.

Such a lovely honey color liquor and the leaves unfurl to such a huge size! I steeped 3 times and combined all 3 steeps in one pot.

A nice, mellow vanilla flavor that lets the oolong peek through. The lemon is much fainter. More a smell than a taste to me. Still very nice.

This reminds me very much of Silk Dragon Oolong from The Tea Merchant. I think I prefer The Tea Merchant’s blend, but this is very, very nice and I will enjoy it while I have it! Thanks so much to JosieJade for the sample!

What a beautiful tea and the smell is wonderful on opening the tin! I tried to get the temp. right and not over steep it. The color after steeping was a lovely amber and it smelled delicious. The tea was what I had hoped for: light, smooth and a subtle coconut flavor. I loved this tea!

This tea is amazing! Got a 1 oz tin of this for free with my first order from persimmon tree. I made it over ice and its real sweet and juicy! Lots of guava flavor but I can still taste the tea as well! Will have to stock up on some of this :-)

Has not super thrilled about this hot, but decided to dump it over some ice and add some sugar and it makes a really nice iced peachy tea! Glad I decided to do that. I love iced peach tea!

Someone send me this in a swap and all of my swap samples got mixed up so I can’t remember :[ But thank you whoever you are!
The aroma of this tea is just delightful! The flavor is very light and floral.

Thanks for the sample Azzrian. I like vanilla quite a bit in foods, but I don’t tend to favor it in teas unless it’s part of a more complex tea, such as vanilla caramel. So, for my taste, this is nothing special. I was a little put off by the dry leaf smell. For most teas, other than chais, I don’t add dairy, but based on other’s tasting notes, I added some cream and stevia which made it acceptable, but nothing I’d go out of my way to have again. For those that like vanilla teas, this may hit the spot nicely.

Muchos gracias to Azzrian for this delightful Genmaicha!
I don’t often make it at home because I often end up having some when I go out for sushi, but then when I do, I always remember how much better it is when made with fresh loose leaves and rice!
This is so warm and comforting and just like a big hug or chicken soup. The roasty toasty rice aspect really reaches down to that happy tea place, and then I am hit with a sweet finish that takes me by surprise every time.
I’m on my second steep now and I think it’s better than the first. Really enjoying this cuppa. Is it sweeter somehow? I think it is! Now I am wondering if I added sugar and forgot, but I really don’t think I did. If this is naturally sweet, it is darn good!
Anyhow, thanks again Azzrian for the “hug”!

This is really quite lovely. So smooth and delightful. Not overly done with any flavor, it allows the natural flavors of the pouchong to really sing and the pouchong seems to be perfectly matched with the flavors of lemon-y citrus and vanilla. Sweet, silky and really wonderful. Nice to sip after a long day.

ICED TEA MODE!

I found out I have bronchitis. Ewww. I woke up not feeling any better despite my amazing husband driving out in the middle of the night to buy me cough syrup so I’d stop coughing. I’m happy to suffer, really, unless he was tired of being kept up all night again from my coughing. Of course, the syrup helps a little, but I still feel awful and chest clogged.

With that said, more teas! Especially ones like this that I can doctor with honey and lemon. Green Pomegranate? Very good iced with lemon slices and honey. Like wow, the pomegranate comes out nicely. It’s not tart. Very fresh. The green tea is nice here too – this is way better than hot as hot it’s pretty light and the fruit is low key.

Annnd this is the last of my sample. My eyeing Persimmon Tree for another order in the future, but gah at the shipping costs! They aren’t even far from me and $7 is a little steep for a small order.

My brain is exploding on how The Persimmon Tree has two sections here, some teas on one, some on another, blllarg!

After some quick house cleaning, I’m ready to get cracking on more NaNo writing! I’m behind by a lot! WWah! Rest assured, I have plenty of material!

DRY: Sweet sweet pomegranate with a tart twist. Delicious! I love how the Persimmon Tree has amazing smelling teas.

STEEPED: again, delicious pomegranate smell, green gold coloured tea. I went with a 1.5 minute steep for 175f. 2t for a cup.

TASTE: Green base that is slightly savory, but also a touch silky and a little floral. Very lightly flavored pomegranate with a very light and natural pomegranate tart peeking out – just a tiny bit of tart, and is actually tasty. Great pomegranate aftertaste that is naturally sweet, the tartness not messing with it. I can tell if I over steeped GP that it’ll get bitter.

CHECK OUT THIS TEA IF: you want a lightly flavored green, with the ability to do a lower temperature steep.

COMMENTS: Dang, Persimmon Tree, always expertly flavored teas! If you can get this steeped just right, it’s pretty good! However, I can see this tea not being for peeps who want a strong fruit flavor. I enjoyed this and will try the rest of my sample iced sometime.