Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black (Darjeeling)
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Orange you glad we didn’t just do another ho-hum Orange tea? Oh, my darjeelings, we couldn’t do that to you!
Instead, here’s a blend of real Margaret’s Hope Estate Darjeelings blended with real orange peel and natural orange and cream flavors. It’s a Dreamsicle Darjeeling. There’s some purists out there who might find it an outrage that we would create a flavored blend with what is known as the “Champagne of teas”, but we’re not scared. Give this a shot and you’ll be wondering why no one has attempted it before.
Just remember that Darjeeling is a bit more delicate than most black teas. Some tea nerds would argue that it is technically an oolong, as it is only oxidized about 90%. The upshot of all of this is that you have to steep it in water just below the boiling point (180-190°) for three to four minutes only.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m actually *revisiting* this tea because I can’t seem to find a review from the first time I tasted it. I may or may not have reviewed this tea from the original batch – but regardless – here’s my review for the reblended batch that was released about the same time that 52Teas announced their VIT (Very Important Tea): Dreamsicle Puerh as their special release for their fundraising campaign.
But I certainly don’t mind revisiting this Dreamsicle Darjeeling Black Tea, it’s one of my all time favorites from 52Teas. I was so happy to see that Frank (Chief Zoomdweebie over at 52Teas) decided to reblend this tea!
Unfortunately, as with nearly all reblends from 52Teas, I can’t say that this Dreamsicle Darjeeling is as memorable as the original batch. Oh, this reblended batch still makes a tasty cup of tea, but it just isn’t quite as … “dreamy” as I remember.
This has plenty of orange flavor, it’s the vanilla tones that I think are lacking. This is not as creamy as I’d like it to be. However, I do get a really nice flavor from the Darjeeling – it’s crisp and I am getting some wine-like, fruity notes that are distinctly Darjeeling-esque. I also taste some of the woodsy notes of the Darjeeling.
The orange adds a nice brightness to the cup, and it tastes very much like the orange I would taste on the outside of the Dreamsicle treat, it’s sweet and refreshing. I do taste some vanilla notes, I am just wishing I tasted more, and I think that just a little more vanilla would give this a more “Dreamsicle” taste.
Overall – it’s good! Just not as amazing as I remember the original batch tasting.
Dreamsicle Puerh from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Puerh
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Created for our recent crowd-funding effort on indiegogo.com, this is a lovely sheng puerh blended with freeze-dried oranges and organic flavors. This is a real treat, but there are only a few available.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
When 52Teas offered a special limited-edition blend as one of the rewards of the re-open Zoomdweebies campaign on indiegogo, I knew I had to buy in and get one of those limited-edition blends! And this Dreamsicle Puerh is the mystery, special limited-edition blend that 52Teas made for that campaign!
And while I wasn’t as excited about the prospect of a limited-edition pu-erh tea as I would have been about perhaps another type of tea, I really am enjoying this a lot more than I expected to like it. I guess it’s just another case of me pre-judging a pu-erh before I’ve tasted it. I do that a lot, as you probably are aware from my previous pu-erh reviews.
But the first thing that convinced me that this was different was when I opened the pouch and smelled the strong very dreamsicle-ish aroma. I didn’t smell an overwhelming earth scent. I didn’t smell fish or brine or dirt. I smelled orange and vanilla and a slight vegetative scent in the background. The brewed tea has a very slight earthy tone to it, but it isn’t off-putting nor does it overpower the delightful notes of orange and vanilla.
I brewed this the same way I’d brew any pu-erh … in my gaiwan! After a quick fifteen second rinse, I brewed the tea for 45 seconds for the first infusion, and the flavor here is pleasant and light. The “dreamsicle” flavor is prominent with lots of sweet orange and creamy vanilla tones. The sheng puerh adds a hint of vegetative taste to the cup and it’s vaguely reminiscent of a white tea. I notice notes of hay and a slight earthiness, but it’s not anything that overpowers the cup. There’s actually a really enjoyable balance between tea and flavoring here.
With the second infusion, I’m noticing that the orange notes have muted somewhat. The vanilla notes are more prominent than the orange now, as are the notes of the puerh. There is more of an earthy note, but not so much a “dirt” or “brine” kind of taste that is often associated with a puerh … this is the good stuff! There is no bitterness to the cup, but I am noticing a slightly dry finish that I didn’t notice with the first cup. With the subsequent infusions I found that the dreamsicle flavors continued to subside, allowing the complexity of the mellow sheng tea to emerge more fully.
At first, I admit that I was just a little disappointed by this development, because the orange and vanilla flavors are really delightful, however, I’m thinking about this in a different way now. I got to experience those delicious creamy citrus notes in the first infusion, and as I progressed through the infusions, the dreamsicle notes waned but I got to then experience a really lovely sheng puerh! I get the best of both: a flavored tea and a delightful puerh!