Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
This tea was a suggestion from our friend LiberTEAs. Am I the only one who thought the white stuff in the peppermint patties was coconut? I really wish I had some of this with me right now, but it’s all at the office, I’m afraid.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
Yep, you read that right … I suggested this flavor. So, needless to say, I had high hopes for this Coconut Peppermint Patty Flavored Black Tea from 52Teas when I brewed it. What inspired me to suggest this flavor is a chocolate bar that I received in my December Knoshy box. The candy bar was amazing, and I loved the flavor combination of peppermint, coconut and chocolate, that I wanted more of it. And what would be better than to enjoy those flavors with a cup of tea … or perhaps, in a cup of tea!
I’m not particularly fond of the dry leaf aroma. I can smell the coconut and mint and those two components smell nice, but there is also a slight chemical odor to the tea that I don’t find appealing. I could smell it while the tea brewed too. I overlooked it though, hoping that the brewed tea would smell – and more importantly taste! – better than what I was smelling as the tea brewed.
Thankfully, I don’t smell that chemical-y note now that the tea is brewed. It doesn’t have an especially strong scent at all, which I find kind of odd since it’s a supposed to have coconut and peppermint flavors and they tend to be aromatic (especially peppermint!) Oh, sure, I can smell the coconut and the peppermint (as well as notes of black tea and chocolate!) and it smells delectable … but it’s not a strong fragrance.
I waited a few minutes to allow the temperature of the tea to drop slightly (no need to burn the tongue!) and YUM! This is good. I’m happy to report that the tea doesn’t have the chemical flavor that I feared it might have when I smelled the dry leaf. I’m tasting chocolate, I’m tasting coconut and mint, and I’m tasting black tea!
Yay!
The black tea is a nice, solid base. Recently, there’s been a conversation on Steepster about 52Teas’ black tea base. I personally like this base, I think that the base that was utilized previously by 52Teas was a tad too harsh depending upon what it was blended with. Sometimes, the blend came together just right and the flavor was delicious, but sometimes, there was just a bit of harshness to the cup. I can’t say that I’ve experienced a similar “harsh” flavor from the newest blend of teas – a recipe that was created a couple of years ago that combines Keemun, Darjeeling and Assam. Personally, I like this blend, but, I think the base would be even better if 52Teas dropped the Darjeeling and added a Fujian black tea instead.
Anyway … as it is, I like this black tea base with this particular blend of flavors. The background flavor is flavorful and not overwhelming. The malty notes of the Assam work nicely with the creamy notes of the coconut and the chocolate.
And I love that I’m tasting chocolate. There is a nice level of chocolate here (although, as I’ve said before, more chocolate is always better. I’m telling you, if I ever move to Wichita and go to work at 52Teas, I’m going to be adding an extra scoop (or two) of cacao nibs to the chocolate blends. And, I’ll probably be accidentally adding cacao shells to the inventory and adding a few scoops of those to the chocolate blend too. Frank: cacao shells add an amazing chocolate flavor. 🙂
With the exception of a desire for more chocolate flavor in this blend, this is JUST what I was hoping for with the combination of these flavors. It’s very yum, and I’m loving it.
