Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
My wife and I have a favorite Chinese restaurant here in Wichita (if you live here or plan to visit, you HAVE to check out Oh Yeah; It really is awesome. Tell Shu that Frank sent you). Anyway, the food there is amazing, but I think my wife’s favorite part is the Mango ice cream. It does strike me as the perfect, sweet, creamy ending to a fabulous meal. Anyway, it inspired me to make this week’s Tea of the Week. I hope you enjoy it.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Every once in a while, Frank from 52Teas puts out a tea that kind of makes me go “eh, that sounds alright.” I don’t get tremendously excited over it, but, at the same time I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.
This is one such tea. I wasn’t all that excited … it seems like everyone has a mango flavored tea these days. The ice cream aspect, yeah, that changes it up a little bit, but, it’s still basically mango. But, I like mango, and I’ve loved the other ice cream flavored teas that Frank has developed so I was pretty sure I’d enjoy this. But this wasn’t something I was super eager to try … I knew I’d like it, but, it wasn’t all that exciting to me.
But then, WHAM! I taste it, and it blows me away! This is amazing!
I am sure that Frank’s new black tea base has a little something to do with my enjoyment of this tea – it tastes rich and bold. He developed a new black tea base back in May, I think. And it is big improvement over the standard go-to base he was using for most of his black teas. It is slightly astringent, not too much. No real bitter notes. Just smooth, pleasant tasting black tea that melds well with the creamy notes and the sweetness of the Mango.
The mango is strong and tastes true to the fruit, deliciously sweet with just a hint of tart. And the creaminess of the ice cream flavor tastes so smooth and rich. I find that this particular tea tastes best when it’s cool (this tea is MADE for iced tea!) but, if you just can’t wait until the tea cools off before you try it, do allow it to cool slightly in your cup for a few moments before you taste it. I found that if I let it sit for just three or four minutes, the flavor is infinitely better than my initial first couple of sips just after I poured the cup. It tastes creamier, more mango-y, and just … moreish! (And I have a feeling that if I were to try the mango ice cream that inspired this tea, I’d have moreish feelings about it too!)
A really delightful cup of tea, and a surprising one, too. I love it when a tea surprises me like this!
