French Vanilla Marshmallow Assam

Sipdown

Ashman and I have been drinking this one at breakfast on the past couple of weekends. We do not add milk or sugar and for us this tea doesn’t need it. Some Assams are super brisk and might need that smoothing but this one is just right.

The vanilla is present but light. It really does present as a breakfast tea rather than a stand alone dessert cup to me, because it isn’t super sweet and cloying and it is not heavily flavored. It does have enough briskness to pair with food and clear the palate. The briskness comes as that fruity/raisiny end of sip aftertaste.

If you like your tea with milk and sugar this can certainly take it without any loss of its character, but we consume more sugar than we should already so we leave it out where we can.

If you enjoy Assam tea, this is definitely one to treat yourself to one day.

The vanilla and marshmallow are very desserty and pleasant, but there’s also a bit of an aftertaste, almost fruity, that’s a little strange. I’m still enjoying this sweetened with milk. The flavors combine well with the black base.

AJRimmer Advent Day 19

I didn’t taste the marshmallow here; just a pleasant vanilla black tea on a hearty assam base. But I like vanilla and I like assam, so I’m not complaining!

Virtual Teatime with Todd during Sunday Doctor Who! We got the same teas from the Mystery Box sale (sans one banana tea; I appreciate it, Anne!) so we decided to do a sampler round during our weekly Sunday online viewings. I wanted to do this tea first, because I had a sealed older packet from the 2018 Christmas box, and I’m all about using up older tea first.

The dry tea leaf actually had an aroma that reminded me of coconut creme, for some reason. I brewed 5g for 3 minutes in 500ml water. Steeped up, though, it smells more like vanilla brandy, and I think I do pick out the marshmallow, though my nose is still reading the fragrance as toasted coconut (maybe it’s the toasty association in my brain of both ingredients?) The tea is smooth, with notes of malt and honey, and I’m definitely tasting vanilla and cream, with a touch of astringency left after the sip. It’s actually a rather robust black base, and I think if I were to make a second pot, I might add just a hint of sweetener, perhaps experiment with a touch of honey or making this as a latte with vanilla almond milk. Straight up, it is a nice breakfast option or afternoon pick-me-up tea due to the boldness of the assam.

I got this recently with a 52teas sale. I tried it with my friend Sara while enjoying this week’s Doctor Who. She got it in the same sale.

The brewed tea smells of black tea and vanilla.

The assam itself has a nice, rich flavor, with something like a citrus note. The vanilla is a nice complement for the flavor. I don’t taste any marshmallow, but I’m still happy with this tea. Oh! I have marshmallows, and I was kind of hoping for that flavor, so…

Floating a single marshmallow in the cup doesn’t change the flavor from what I can tell, but it is fun. Thanks, 52teas! I like.

Sipdown (354)

I feel like Marshmallow Assam was the most brisk, the Vanilla Marshmallow was a bit softer, and French Vanilla Marshmallow Assam is even softer. Personally, my preference is for the Vanilla Marshmallow but all are delicious.

This particular one is soft but has a whole lot of marshmallow yum to it. Less vanilla than I recall in the Vanilla Marshmallow but still enough that its detectable. Plus, you also get flavor from the base which gives this enough body that it works as a good morning tea (I say as I drink it at 4:36 in the afternoon).

With all that said, I don’t find myself reaching for this one often enough so I am passing on the last of my sample to someone I know will appreciate it. So this is goodbye and I am okay with that…at least for now.

Don’t you just love happy mail? This was part of a little box of cheerful that came my way this weekend from ashmanra. Mostly you had me at Assam, but there’s a pastry-cookie-like bonus in the vanilla (you notice that first) and the marshmallow, which pleasantly tops off each sip. Reminded me a little of H&S Vanilla Comoro, but with a little muscle.

Divine! I would give this tea 110 points if that were an option.

Yesterday, I mis-labelled this tea in my post.

It is actually this one that I had sipped down.

And it’s a sipdown!

I was super thrilled when Annie was posting tasting notes on the 52Teas advent this past Christmas. I couldn’t wait to see what blends would be released, and Annie was mentioning them every day. So thanks for that… I was experiencing the advents through tasting notes, since I didn’t grab an advent. AND THEN Annie was awesome and shared most of the the advent teas with me. I really really appreciate it. I’ve heard so many people fawning over this one so I’m happy to try it. I love vanilla and marshmallow root and assam. I used less than a teaspoon as the pouch suggested, but used my smaller mug. The assam is a smaller leaf and not the huge assam leaves, so I can see why this suggestion was made. The flavor is lovely – a nice comforting hug of a cup on a winter day (sipped while reading Tommy Orange’s ‘There There’ in front of a sunny window). I like the additional vanilla flavor, because usually if there are only vanilla beans in a 52teas blend, I can’t really taste vanilla at all. Here, I’m tasting a little bit of vanilla and some marshmallow on a brisk assam base. On the second steep, the flavors were a bit diminished. Third steep, the leaf was very done on the flavor level and was pretty much a plain assam by that point. So this blend is tasty enough. Possibly not as magical as most of you made it sound! As an aside, this blend reminds me of my beloved Berried Treasure blend… why didn’t anyone else share my love of that one?! I love Berried Treasure more, but of course will also enjoy the remaining teaspoons of this one. It also reminds me of the big leaf Marshmallow Assam that was Frank’s blend. This blend could also remind me of another beloved: Peachy Keen but with additional blackberry and peach flavors. I do like the idea of a vanilla/marshmallow blend always being in 52Teas permanent collection.
Steep #1 // less than 1 teaspoon for a full mug // 18 minutes after boiling // 2 1/2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 10 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #3 // just boiled (half a mug) // ?? min

10,000 random notes and saved tea drinking on here. Craaaaaazy. Also not nearly as impressive as when someone like rowell strange hits it, since i often have terrible un-tea related notes. But it’s nice to know that i’m sticking with this whole tea drinking thing and that while i’ve gone from no tea, to 350+ and back down again, it’s something that i genuinely enjoy. Vanilla teas will always have a home in my cupboard and this one is no exception. Pretty sure it’ll always be a 52 tea vanilla….unless i’m lucky enough to get in some MF or DF. Thoroughly enjoying this one still!