I got this in my swap with moraiwe. I’d been curious about this tea for some time – more because I couldn’t quite imagine what it might taste like than because I thought I’d love it, so it was awesome to be able to try it without having to shell out for two ounces.
This tea smells very fruity – in an artificial way that’s not entirely pleasant – both dry and steeped. However, it doesn’t taste like much. It’s slightly bitter, and I’m getting hardly anything in the way of blueberry, cream cheese, or danish. More than anything, I’m reminded of slightly oversteeped Lipton – the base is thoroughly standard and unimpressive. I can see how it might work reasonably well as a base for a blend with other strong flavors, but said strong flavors are sadly absent in this cup. There is a (faintly chemical-tasting) aftertaste that I can almost convince myself might be cream cheese. Almost.
I brewed it for five minutes, which may have been too long (although the instructions do say to steep for 4-5 minutes, so I feel justified in giving a rating based on this steep). I’ll try this one again with a shorter steep time, but I highly doubt it will become a favorite.
I’d recommend 2, maybe 2.5 minutes for a 52teas black. They tend to get astringent quickly unfortunately.
Thanks! I’ll try that. I usually like my tea strong and am not averse to a bit of astringency, but this was a bit much even by my standards.