Lotus

I am sitting with a cup of this saying goodbye to Leonard Nimoy. Truly one of the biggest influences of my childhood. If it hadn’t been for algebra, which I could not grasp, I wanted to become an astronomer or work for NASA. Instead, I settled for playing Kerbal Space Program and watching old reruns of Star Trek TOS. It’s NCC-1701 for me. No bloody A, B, C, or D! I don’t know about Mr. Nimoy, but I feel certain Mr. Spock would have enjoyed this tea – or will in a couple centuries. Que spacey music.

OMG I LOVE This and I for one hate anise! So let me tell you the first impression I got from this is flowery black pepper! Then a creamy sensation took over. Then a floral after taste – but wait THEN it developed back into the pepper. I took agree, I don’t know what is going on with this tea but I am in LOVE here!
I am absolutely getting some of this!
I am surprised it took me so long to give this one a try!
It has me rethinking several other teas from The Persimmon Tree that I have passed by!
Regarding the other two tasting notes I really never thought I would have liked this.
So glad they sent me a sample!
:)

Wow, this is really good cold steeped. I kinda forgot this in the fridge, so it has been steeping for 2 days.

Very little bitterness compared to it hot, and lots of smooth, creamy vanilla and nutty flavor. Yum! Last of my sample though.
I’d love to see this tea in a blend, maybe with some chocolate.

I’m on a tea-buying hiatus in order to control the massive amount of space my tea cupboard takes up. I bought over 100 types (not including any samples) in only 3 months. ;~; So, no more tea buying! Even samples! But somehow, a small (5 sample) order from The Persimmon Tree snuck in. At $1 a sample + free shipping I couldn’t really resist since there were a few flavors I’d really been meaning to try. This was not one of them, but I’ve never had lotus flavored tea so I was curious.

I’ve had a lot of lotus-flavored snacks: one of my favorite things to pick up in Chinatown is candied lotus root (even if it does trigger a bit of my tryophobia). It’s got this juicy, crisp quality very reminiscent of watermelon with a nice earthiness too. So I foolishly hoped this tea would taste like that, despite it being stated as anise-like with a hint of vanilla. Well, those flavors are definitely there and quite pleasant actually, but the base green… oh my god. Mushy canned peas. I HATE peas, and this tea is all steamed veggies. Not nice, fresh from the garden veggies (I’ll even eat peas if they are very fresh)… canned veggies that have been sitting in a grocery store for 2 years. I had 2 sips and had to pour it out, it was making me nauseous. If it weren’t for the anise/vanilla at the end, this would get a big fat rating of 1. But really, you don’t want vanilla in your canned peas. It might actually make it worse!

Thanks to Alphakitty for this one.
It tastes like flowers and Anise. It’s SO not like the other Lotus Teas I have tried…in any way, shape, or form. This one…is…strange. It’s not bad tasting…just really DIFFERENT. I can’t say I like it but it’s not a cup I wouldn’t poor down the sink…I WOULD finish the cup, but…I’m rather confused by this one. Perhaps one day…we will find a happy medium…this tea…and I????

Backlog:

A delightfully floral tea. It’s really quite lovely, with a pleasant sweetness. I tasted licorice notes as well as vanilla tones. Really good. It seems like … based on the other tasting notes, this one is either a love or a hate kind of tea. I, for one, love it.

Here is my full-length review of it: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/02/11/lotus-green-tea-from-the-persimmon-tree/

Loose
Appearance: black grey dark curls
Aroma when Dry: bright, sweet lotus notes, peppery
After water is first poured: salty bright lotus floral notes
At end of first steep: bright lotus floral bittersweet notes
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: clear
Staple? yes
Preferred time of day: any
Taste:
At first?: sharp, slightly fuzzy sour floral lotus
As it cools?:sour nutty tangy notes open up, tea gets fuzzier, deeper, thicker
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Softly, crisp floral lotus, slight hints of grass

Second Steep (5min):
Light, floral brothy, drying notes in close

I don’t really get this tea. I’ve had lotus before as like a sweet paste in moon cake or similar Asian desserts, and this tea does not taste like that at all. The tea tastes more savory and less floral than I expected. It somehow also reminds me of some kind of ointment. Not really my cup of tea. Really interesting, though!

First Sip Thought: “Ahhh…awakening my senses!”

Smell: A bright, and quite peppery scent at first. As it steeped, I felt the scent becoming much soother.

Taste: Keep in mind, I have not tried other lotus teas before this one. Thus, my thoughts will be very different from anyone who has because I won’t be comparing. I dove into this tea with no thoughts in my mind so I was surprised a lot with the flavours that were appearing in my mouth. As my first sip thought state, it was definitely very strong but not in a bad way. The first sip took my mind away to a flower bed where I started trimming bushes and planting flowers of all sorts. Very floral, but very welcoming. However, the taste started to get softer with each sips and I started getting hints of maybe a vanilla grassy taste that lingered until I saw the bottom of my teacup. This may be a tea I would have an interesting relationship with. I’ve read other reviews that it was much more enjoyable cold, so I will try that next time. I will also be infusing this for a second time to get a softer, yet creamy taste from it.

www.theteacupoflife.blogspot.com

Another vanilla infused tea, another note about how too much vanilla can overpower the tea flavor.

I’m glad they chose a green tea as a base, since I couldn’t really taste the green tea. It seems that a more robust base would hold up to a strong flavor like this. I also really couldn’t taste any of the anise flavor that was supposed to be in there. Don’t get me wrong – I like the tea. I love vanilla. I just kinda wanted something more complex from this cup.