Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
In the meantime, here’s a real treat. I was GOING to make a peanut butter marshmallow treat genmaicha for this week, but that just struck me as too savory and I need something bright and sweet right about now, so here then is our very popular marshmallow treat genmaicha paired up with a kick of sweet strawberry! I will be really surprised if this one doesn’t sell out very quickly, so don’t drag your feet. And let me know what you think about the peanut butter marshmallow treat idea.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
When I stopped by the 52Teas website to get the information I needed to start this review of their Strawberry Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha, I was shocked to see that this tea hasn’t yet sold out! How is that possible?
This is absolutely YUMMY! I can’t remember if I’ve ever actually had a strawberry flavored marshmallow treat. I seem to recall that marshmallow treats were one of those treats that my step-mother would actually make once in a while, so, it was a treat that I had on occasion and more often than I do now, because I prefer making cupcakes to marshmallow treats. But I don’t recall ever having a strawberry marshmallow treat.
Whether I have or haven’t, I will say that this tea tastes just like I’d expect a strawberry marshmallow treat to taste. The strawberry is sweet and a little bit tart. I taste marshmallow, notes of vanilla, and the toasted rice in the Genmaicha gives it just the right ‘rice’ note.
The green tea tastes sweet and buttery. It doesn’t have a strong vegetative or grassy taste to it, but I do taste some slight vegetal notes. Mostly I get that warm, toasty, nutty flavor that I typically would experience from a Genmaicha.
Like I said before, I’m shocked that this tea hasn’t sold out yet! I highly recommend getting yourself a pouch of it before it does!
Strawberry Zabaglione Green Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
This is a fun tea! I’m really surprised I haven’t done this yet, given the popularity of our Strawberry Zabaglione black teas, but I guess I’m doing it now. Here’s some delicious chun mee Chinese green tea blended with freeze-dried strawberries and organic flavors. If you enjoy our Strawberry Zabaglione black tea, you’re not going to want to miss the green tea version.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
I really enjoyed 52Teas’ Strawberry Zabaglione Black Tea so I was fairly certain that I’d enjoy the green tea version as well. In fact, I thought I might like it even better, because the buttery notes of the green tea would add more creaminess to the custard-like notes of the zabaglione flavor, and the lighter flavor of the green tea base would allow for more of the strawberry and custard notes to shine through.
And that certainly IS the case! This is so good. The subtler profile of the green tea permits more of the juicy flavor the strawberry to come forward. The black tea version had a black tea base that was just a wee bit temperamental, and the green tea – so long as it’s brewed at a proper brewing temperature and time for a flavored green tea – is not quite as temperamental.
The strawberry tastes sweet and a little bit tart, and I feel that tingly berry note at the finish. The custard notes are smooth and creamy, and the softer flavor of the green tea not only makes the custard taste more evident, but the sweet, buttery notes of the green tea add a little something extra to those custard-y notes.
And while I do remember tasting the flavors of strawberry and custard with the black tea version, I taste MORE strawberry and custard now, but even though the flavoring tastes more intense with this adaptation, the flavors do not overpower the crisp, invigorating flavor of the green tea. It’s a more harmonious blend!
This is really good served hot, but I like it even better iced!
Candy Cane Green Tea from English Tea Shop
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: English Tea Shop
Tea Description:
Candy Cane: Green tea, peppermint leaves, orange peels, cinnamon pieces, chicory, strawberry leaves and vanilla pods with mint, vanilla and coconut flavours.
Taster’s Review:
This Candy Cane Green Tea from English Tea Shop is another tea from the holiday package that I received from a friend this past Christmas. The dry aroma smells like a candy cane … but there is also an artificial sort of smell to the dry leaf too. It’s a little off-putting, but I’m hoping that it won’t affect the flavor of the brewed tea.
Yeah, I can still taste a bit of that artificial-ness, but, while it did smell a bit off, it doesn’t taste horrible. On the contrary, this is actually tasty. The flavors of candy cane are there: mint and vanilla.
I taste hints of orange and cinnamon too, and they lend a holiday kind of warmth to the cup. I like that while I can taste these flavors, they don’t interrupt the candy cane notes that I’m tasting, rather, they seem to accentuate the candy cane flavors.
And then there is the chicory and coconut which I think is what I was smelling and tasting that is so odd. Maybe not so much an artificial scent but it’s just weird that I was smelling (and now tasting) coconut and chicory in there, you know? It’s just … strange. It doesn’t taste bad, just a bit unusual and a little out there, you know?
The green tea seems a little lost in this blend, and I think I’m finding myself wishing I was tasting a little less of these other flavors and more of the green tea with mint and vanilla to give it a more candy cane-ish sort of taste.
Overall, it’s not a bad candy cane tribute, and I’d drink it again if it were offered to me. It’s sweet, minty and creamy, just like I’d expect from a candy cane and I like that. But there are some other flavors in there that make this tea sort of stray from what it would seem should be its original intent, which is to be a candy cane tea. The result of which makes this an average tasting candy cane tea. Not great, but not bad either.
Cran-Strawberry Young Hyson Green Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Thinking about Thanksgiving this week and cranberry sauce and decided to make this delicious blend of sweet young hyson green tea with dried cranberries, freeze-dried strawberries and organic flavors.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
When 52Teas announced this Cran-Strawberry Young Hyson Green Tea as their tea of the week for the week of November 25th, I was pretty sure I’d enjoy it. I like cranberry, I love strawberry and I enjoy green tea. But I like this a lot more than I expected to! This tea offers a really appealing balance of sweet and tart, along with the smooth, lush flavors of a Young Hyson green tea. It’s really delightful.
I like that the cranberry and strawberry flavors are well-paired here, one doesn’t overpower the other and they aren’t competing with one another. As I said above, it’s a really good balance between sweet and tart. The tart cuts through the sweet enough so that it’s not too sweet, and the tart isn’t making me pucker. Very nice.
The Young Hyson tea tastes vibrant and it has a nice texture to it. When the tea is served hot, it has a soothing, broth-like comfort to it. When it’s iced, it tastes refreshing and smooth.
Really nice.
White Guava Tea from The Persimmon Tree
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where To Buy: The Persimmon Tree
Tea Description:
White Guava tea brews a light infusion with a beautiful, rich scent and a delicate tropical flavor. It comprises an exotic blend of white peony loose-leaf tea leaves, strawberries, ginger, and natural flavors, and as with all of our white teas, White Guava tea prepares nicely both hot and iced.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
As I sip this White Guava Tea from The Persimmon Tree, I can’t help but think of summertime! Specifically, I’m thinking of summertime in Southern California, when the strawberries are in season and you can buy fresh, ripe strawberries right from the field from which they were grown.
Well, it’s been well over 10 years since I’ve been in Southern California, and for all I know, all the strawberry fields are gone now in favor of “city improvement,” which means more buildings and less strawberry fields. That doesn’t sound like improvement to me. But I didn’t come here to get all political on you, so I’ll stick to the tea.
This tea is bursting with guava and strawberry flavor and I love that the flavors taste true to the fruit. This doesn’t taste artificial. There is a hint of ginger to this, just enough to provide a little interest without it becoming too intrusive of a flavor. It is sweet, fruity and delicious.
And then I taste the White Peony tea flavor, which is sweet and delicate with subtle earth notes. Everything in this cup is really well-balanced: it’s not too fruity, it’s not too spicy. It has just the right amount of flavor to complement the tea without overpowering it. It isn’t bitter. There is a faint astringency to the cup but I only started noticing it when I started focusing to find it. The aftertaste is lightly sweet with just a barely-there hint of berry tartness to it.
This is wonderful served hot on a chilly winter’s evening, but, it’s even better served iced. Cool and refreshing!