The Persimmon Tree Tea Company

I have come in a complete circle with my tea drinking today. Started the day off with decaf teas and pain killers, then got productive and drank a bunch of oolongs, and now I’m back, winding down with more decaf teas before I take pain killers to sleep. xD
This one actually tastes a lot better today than it did with the sample I got a couple weeks ago. I bought a tin of this in their sale last week. Glad I did.
For some reason it tastes a lot better.
It really does taste sweet and like bananas. A soft banana flavor.
I don’t taste much of the chamomile this time too! This is great! Good tea to wind down with. (:

I’ve been wanting to try more of The Persimmon Tree’s tea for a while now.
And were nice enough to send me samples in exchange for reviews!
I’ve tried a few of their teas now and have really enjoyed them, so I have high hopes for these samples!
As many of you know, I’ve started on a quest to find more relaxing teas to drink like chamomile. And since I’ve always only had bagged chamomile from Celestial Seasonings I decided to try a loose leaf chamomile!
Plus banana and coconut are flavors I love, so of course I had to try this one!
The dry leaf smell was sweet and slightly banana-ish, but nothing too overwhelmingly strong.
But the taste was quite different. It was sweet and light, hardly any signs of banana and coconut. There was very faint hints of banana in this tea, but nothing to be super excited about. I was hoping for more flavor than just chamomile, but it seems like chamomile is a difficult flavor to hide. :S
In comparison to other chamomiles I’ve had (which aren’t too many sadly), it’s actually pretty good. While I wish it had more banana and coconut flavors, it still has hints of those two here and there.
I did enjoy this tea the two times I had it, and once they have another really good sale like they did a few months ago, I would definitely pick this one up!
I would like to play around with this one a little more. Perhaps there is a way to bring out the flavors more!
Anyway, overall, it’s a nice and calming tea. Definitely is relaxing, and perfect to drink when I’m drugged up! Glad I got to try this! I’ll have to get more in the future! (:
Thanks to the Persimmon Tree Tea for this one! :D

It’s been a long, looong time since I’ve last posted on here. Let’s just say that life and school have been crazy, but I’m trying to get all my various responsibilities back in check. One of those responsibilities was reviewing this tea. The Persimmon Tree was kind enough to send me a tin in September, so I’m glad I was able to make this happen.

It’s a caffeine free, organic rooibos but the caramel notes I usually get from rooibos blends are far, far in the background here. This tastes like melted mint chocolate chip ice cream… the kind of flavor you get at the end of the bowl. The chocolate is somewhat understated, but it doesn’t let itself be forgotten, either.

You can see pictures here:
http://wordsabouttea.blogspot.com/2014/11/mint-chocolate-chip-rooibos-by.html

Tea and Chocolate TTB
Smells like very ripe bananas, and a touch of alcohol. There’s little chunks of fruit (banana and I think apples), red peppercorns, and some pieces bigger and smoother than the Rooibos that I think is cocoa shells.

Steeped at boiling for 5 minutes. I’m starting to think that might have been actual pieces of chocolate, not just cocoa shells because it’s a light brown milky color. Like a watered down hot cocoa. It smells like bananas and woodsy Rooibos. There’s some banana in the front of the sip, but the middle is mostly Rooibos.

Adding sweetener helps a lot. Now I can taste some sweet chocolate and some very ripe banana. It actually reminds me of mashed banana, about to be added to bread or pancake mix. There’s still some of the base tea there, but it’s much more mild. Overall not bad for a late night snack.

Well, this was disappointing. I had it hot, though I think this could possibly fare better as a cold tea? I was so excited to try it the other night because the smell was so intoxicating. But, the guava flavor seemed to end there and did not continue into the flavor aside from a slight sweetness added to the white tea. Not impressed. At least I got this as a free tin for sharing on Facebook or something like that. I definitely like other flavors from Persimmon Tree much more. Glad to have tried it, though.

Jennkay sent me a sample of this, and I am so happy that she did because I probably would not have picked this based on the name. I thought the “passion” part meant it was just going to be like an extra delicious jasmine tea, but the passion fruit essence really made it so so good. This was nicely sweet without any additives and had that great floral jasmine aspect that I am loving so much. I also didn’t have any trouble brewing this even though mixed black & green combos can sometimes be a little finicky. This is another one from Persimmon Tree that I would consider buying.

Oh man, so much busy! Yesterday I was exhausted after finishing the road trip, doing some post trip shopping (it seems this is a tradition now) and eating. I took a nap and ended up sleeping a whopping 14 hours. Then today I went to Hilton Head for more shopping (thrift stores are awesome, found some awesome tea things I am going to have to show off soon) and then to Hunting Island for some ocean fun. The ocean did my soul good, especially since earlier in the day a nice lady asked me if my blue hair meant I was a mermaid. Tomorrow we plan to visit Charleston and the tea plantation, so much excitement for that!

Today’s tea is something soothing and relaxing from The Persimmon Tree Tea Company, Mandarin Cream Oolong! This tea is a blend of Organic Oolong, Organic Lemon Myrtle, Marigold Petals and Natural Flavors creating a tea that is a mix of creaminess and lemons. I am a huge fan of Lemon Myrtle because it gives that essence of lemon without being a kick in the face of citrus. The aroma is nothing short of neat, I say neat as in cool, hip…you know, what people say when something smells unusual but good, at least I assume people still say hip, I am a bit out of the loop. It blends sweet cream, honeysuckles, orchids, and a hint of lemon at the finish for a really unique smelling blend, I admit I find myself very intrigued by these leaves.

Tossing the leaves in my steeping basket for a nice little bath in my teacup, I find myself greeted with a blend of floral aromas, primarily orchid and honeysuckle, and creamy lemons. It vaguely reminds me of a very floral creamy lemony cheesecake. The liquid is much the same without its leafy companions, it is very sweet and creamy with mellow lemons and lots of floral notes.

It is totally unexpected that this tea hits the spot, it is floral and sweet with just the right amount of lemon. It starts out lemony and floral with notes of orchids and honeysuckle to give it sweetness. This sweetness builds to a creamy midtaste and finishes with a blend of cream and lemon, again reminding me of lemony cheesecake. Like I said when sniffing the leaves, it is unusual, but in a very neat way, I found myself truly enjoying this tea and wanting more when I finished the cup!

For photos and blog (including me at the beach being a mermaid): http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-persimmon-tree-tea-company-mandarin.html

Up way before dawn. While zapping spam and catching up on tasting notes, I decided to have this again this morning. Today I made a 4 oz concentrate then added milk and a little sweetener for a latte. Very comforting, though it would have been better as an evening cup. I don’t like being jarred awake but this is a little too cozy for 6:00 AM. Don’t know until you try. Warm. Silky. Vanilla.

Twice in one day I find myself not aligning with some of the other reviews. I am not a vanilla fan normally – well except in my morning frap. I don’t dislike it. Vanilla just doesn’t enter my radar as a choice often. That said, I liked this one. The white tea stars are pretty to look at but I don’t think they add or take away from the taste. The vanilla is a bit overwhelming in the dry scent. The wet leaf has a caramelized vanilla aroma that I liked. The taste is strongly vanilla but not in an off or offensive way. My favorite thing about this blend is the aftertaste is pleasantly vanilla and fades quickly. It does not leave that sweet icky taste I dislike in many vanilla blends.

The thing I noticed in a some of the reviews is that the Assam base was bitter. I just don’t get that. Back in my tea bag only days, Ceylon was the ragged bitter cup and Assam destroyed my stomach. This caused me no grief at all. So maybe the difference is past experience (some of you have just had a lot better Assam in the past than me) or I have simply become immune to moderate or less bitter. I found it nicely smooth.

Someone (don’t remember who) mentioned latte in their review. I am thinking a little sweetener and some milk, this would be delicious.

Tasting a tea I took from the Lewis & Clark teabox. This looks like a decent enough black tea but the flavor is a bit odd. It tastes like a sweet barbeque lapsang souchong… I’m not sure if it’s from the black tea itself or the TINY bit of rooibos in the blend. Not actually smoky but the flavor is unexpected! Only a hint of fruity flavor for a second. No cinnamon. It has that cardboard black tea base flavor. This is too bad as the blend sounds like a nice idea but it doesn’t result in anything I’d want to drink again. Nothing works here. And I like smoky teas too.
Steep #1 // few min after boiling // 4 min

Nice citrus-y green. Nothing spectacular but nothing bad. Can find a similar taste in many teas. The advantage is that it is decaf. Thanks Ost for the share.

Did you know that October is Fair Trade month? Every Tuesday I’ll be reviewing a different Fair Trade Tea (this tea is from last week, the site was down when I tried to post it.) This Masala Chai from The Persimmon Tree Tea Company is one of a handful of Fair Trade blends that they offer. While chai is traditionally served with milk and sugar I find that I prefer this particular chai plain because I can taste the spices more clearly. It’s very heavy on the cinnamon and cloves with only the barest hint of ginger and cardamom. These flavors seem to get lost once I add milk and sugar so I typically double the amount of loose leaf when I serve it traditionally. I decided to make one more cup last night and found that I had run out of milk again. Instead I made this with half and half, which gave it much more body. I loved how thick and creamy it was, so I may consider making all of my chai this way; it’s much better than using whole milk.

You can read the rest of the review on my blog:
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2014/10/7/tuesday-tea-masala-chai-the-persimmon-tree-tea-company.html

Backlog:

I like this Masala Chai. The spices are bold and the black tea does not hide behind them. It’s a good, strong, robust chai and that’s just the way I like it. (Oh sure, I enjoy milder versions of “chai” too, but, I’m really quite fond of the bold, spicy chai blends.)

A good balance of the usual spices. I like that I can taste each of the spices and no one spice overpowers the others. This one is awesome as a latte.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/07/08/masala-chai-blend-from-the-persimmon-tree/

Ceylon is like the granddaddy of tea. I have had it a thousand times in everything from breakfast teas to Earl Grey and most flavored points in between. I slightly remember having it straight back in my boil the crap out of the tea bag and leave it in the cup days. I seriously don’t recall ever having it in unblended and unflavored loose leaf. This leaf looks more like Darjeeling or Nepali tea. It has red, green, and brown leaf pieces in it. At 195 F for 3 minutes I get a copper/orange cup that is way lighter than I expected. There is only a small amount of bite with the lowered temperature. It is definitely not abrasive. I don’t notice any noticeable dryness. This is mellow, fruity, a hint of floral. It seems kind of woodsy, leafy, maybe a touch earthy. After posting on my blog I noticed The Persimmon Tree lists this as an afternoon tea. That is exactly how I described it. I did not detect any of the mint a couple of the reviews here mentioned. Those reviews are a couple years old. Possibly their’s was tainted or just a different harvest, as I did not pick up on it at all.

This is a damn fine white tea…it brews up to a surprisingly rich golden brown brew that sits heavy and comforting in the mouth on each sip. It lacks a lot of the bitter notes I’ve experienced in other whites – which speaks more to my brewing than the blends, I’m afraid – and is all kinds of enjoyable to sit and drink.

It has a lot of nutty, bark-y notes that remind me of fall leaves and the way that autumn smells…although it’s not a flavoured white it has a lot of complexity that keeps me coming back for more. I’ll definitely be buying this one in the future.

I’m not sure I love this. I can definitely taste the vanilla, but I wish there was more or something. I wouldn’t buy this one but I’m glad to have tried it. I had been wanting to try an earl grey with cream flavor. I’ll keep looking.

Here we go with another one I didn’t expect to like and then totally did. I thought this was going to taste like a 50/50 bar….which would have made me sad since I’ve never liked those. But, it is my mission now to try anything and everything I can at this point because I am continually surprised by really liking things I would never have chosen on my own. With that being said, I think this really ended up tasting more like a brighter vanilla. Not something I necessarily would have said “OH! OH! THAT’S ORANGEY!!!” So, for me, that’s good. I could definitely see myself ordering this. As it is, I am so grateful for the sample I received from Ost. Hey, Ost…it appears you know the tea-me better than I do!