Mango Madness

Ok, now we’re gonna get into stuff from my date – but first I’ll write about the actual tea stuff, I suppose. I got this one iced since I still had my free tea from signing up for the Frequent Steeper program (I struggle so much writing “Steeper” instead of “Steepster”), and that was going to expire on Sept. 1st so I wanted to redeem it since I was pretty sure (and correct) that I wouldn’t be stopping at the store before the 1st.

I’ve actually never had this one before prior to getting it iced but it’s one I’ve been off and on curious about for a while; I finally decided to try it instead of one of my standard “To Go” choices. If I would have been able to redeem my free tea as a latte I would have gone with Cotton Candy, though.

Anyway, this was pretty good. It was light/mellow and fruity. Most prominently were apple, orange, and mango notes over top the somewhat hay-like white base. Other citrus notes were also present, but in a far more muted and less distinct way. I was surprised that the mango in this was so agreeable to me; I usually don’t embrace Mango with open arms. It’s a fruit I’m a bit hesitant towards.

Also, apparently there’s pineapple in this (which I didn’t realize when I got it). However, that flavour was completely lost to me; I didn’t even get a hint of my favourite fruit in this blend. Not disappointed about it though, given I didn’t even know that was something in the blend when I drank it. After all, they didn’t named is “Pineapple Madness”. That just doesn’t have the right ring to it, anyway. So I did enjoy this on the whole, but I don’t think I’d buy it again.

And now for the date with Thorne…

So he met me at DAVIDsTEA (I’d already done my shopping), and he seemed really nice and sweet but he was so damn quiet. I think he must have been really, really nervous or just a very shy person in general. It was weird though, because our text exchanges prior to this he definitely had not come off as so quiet and reserved.

So while I enjoyed sipping on this tea, I tried to help him pick something from the wall. I think, like most tea newbies, he was really overwhelmed. It was a long sorta trying process as the staff (very patiently and sweetly) pulled things down for him to smell. After about ten minutes of suggestions he finally decided on a hot cup of Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait, which he ended up not liking; he was very polite about it though and asked if I’d be offended if he through out the rest of it. I, of course, said it was ok.

After that we had a quick meal; it was also pretty awkward though because he was, again, being super quiet. And, I mean, I can handle quiet but there’s a difference between being a quiet/more reserved person (like my brother is when he first meets people) and forcing me into carrying the entire conversation. I’d try to prompt a response from him by asking questions and he’d shoot back a one or two word reply and then just stop talking. So I’d ask another question, and same thing. I felt like I was talking to myself, and then after a while I sort of felt like an ass for just talking non stop. But if I hadn’t’ve kept talking then we would have been sitting in complete silence…

After food I was torn; I half wanted to just go home and I half wanted to continue the date in the hope he would maybe open up more. We ended up continuing it; we decided to go to his place (which he said was within walking distance) and watch some anime. I think his definition of walking distance is much different than mine because it was, easily, an hour to hour and a half long walk – most of which was uphill. I did not enjoy the walk, and it was especially frustrating given it was mostly silent.

On the way to his house we passed an icecream place and he decided to treat me. That was really, really nice of him – and also probably the most forward/outspoken he’d been the entire time. I told him to pick whatever flavour he wanted and that I was up for trying anything. I like “out there” flavours. He chose Maple Nut, which was really good but I think his idea of “out there” may be different than mine. Oh well.

When we did finally get to his place things got on a better track. I think he was much more comfortable at home, so he was talking much more and I felt like I was actually getting to know him better. We watched the pilots for a few different animes (he showed me the pilots from two of his favourites that I hadn’t seen and I did the same), and I think the conclusion here is that I’m probably going to start watching Hellsing because it looked really good.

And then the night ended, and that was that.

I think overall I had a fun time, especially near the end of the night, and I’d be down for hanging out with him again. But, I think as friends and not anything else. There was just no “spark” or chemistry between us and maybe part of that was how quiet he was, but I don’t think so. We I did get him talking he was fun and we had shared interests, just in a friends way is all…

Sipdown!
Cold brewed this, left it in the fridge for about 24 hours as I tend to do.

Honestly I’ve had a few mango flavoured teas sitting in my fridge lately, they’ve all been pretty good and this one doesn’t stand out any more than the others.

I’m enjoying having a cold brewed tea on hand these days, given that it’s been close to 40 degrees celsius with the humidex. blech.

So anyway, this was good, but I won’t be buying more because it’s not way better than anything similar that I have!

This tea reminds me of summer with its aroma. It reminds me almost of a sweet candy. Takes me back to the days where I lived in a city with the street vendors who sold mangoes on a stick, they would cut it right in front of you, shaping it like a lollipop and add chili powder at your request before sending you on your way. This tea is beautiful in that manner with the tasting of it sweet and even sweeter in it’s memories.

Books recommended to go with this tea are: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Marquez Garcia, Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel.

This was the sampler in store today and it makes for a very nice iced tea. Just smooth mango flavor. Yum!

As a mango-lover, I had high hopes for this tea but found it fell short in the flavour department. The mango taste was certainly authentic but not prevalent enough to hold up against its counterparts, which could have better complimented mango, the namesake of the tea. Certainly light and refreshing and perhaps it would have been better if steeped longer than the recommended time at a slightly higher temperature than the usual calling for green varieties. Would not buy again but would purchase for others new to tea who enjoy fruit flavours.

Sipdown!

Last night I drank some of this hot. After reading the notes others had left, I decided to coldbrew the rest overnight, which is what I’m sipping on now.

This is better – more floral, less murkiness in the flavour – when served cold. However, I think I let it oversteep, as it tasted a bit bitter. Adding agave nectar to cut the bitterness didn’t help much.

Ah well. I have other flavoured whites and fruit teas to try. So long Mango Madness, turns out I wasn’t very mad about you.

Brewed it hot and it was okay. But it got better and better as it cooled down!

I’m not sure if I underleafed this one or if it’s just not for me. I’m just putting this here to log it but might try again with more leaf if I ever get more

Not what I was expecting, but pretty good. I couldn’t really taste the mango though which was disappointing for something called Mango Madness

great mango tea. alway hard to find a tea where mango is the main ingredient and here it is! yum, and it is super good iced too!