The Persimmon Tree Tea Company

I just received my order today, but I couldn’t resist trying just one more of the samples before bed! At first sip I felt a bit of déjà vu. I recently reviewed Aries by Nina’s Paris, and they taste nearly identical, despite the fact that one is rooibos and berries and the other is rooibos and cherry. Yes, I looked it up – cherry is a fruit!

There’s a surprisingly big difference between the dry smell, which is kind of woodsy, and the taste, which dives straight into cream and something fruity and ambiguous. With rooibos I always seem to taste a slight hint of caramel flavoring, but I think that’s just because I’m a little weird!

Overall, this was enjoyable. Like its sister tea, I’m not going to go out of my way for it, but it is a nice change of pace.

This smells yummy and very strong. Thankfully, the butterscotch flavor is subtle and not overpowering. I can get a hint of it, but it’s more a “something extra” on top of the tea. Not my favorite flavored tea, but passable.

I was so excited to see my order of samples arrive today! I do wish they had included preparation notes, but I think I’ll just spend some time marking up a notecard to keep with them.

I used 3 tsp in my 16oz infuser mug and added half the little package of rock sugar that came with the sample set. The website said to use 1-2 tsp (I assume per 8oz), so I split the difference because it was so inexact… and because I needed to break the sample in half because my husband wanted a mug too!

I can definitely taste the peach and strawberry, but the hint of straw in the aroma keeps throwing me off, despite the nice peach aftertaste. It wasn’t until I caved and dropped in some raw sugar that I actually started to enjoy it. I’m still not picking up on the citrus, but I am getting a hint of creaminess that plays well with it.

I think I’ll leave the sugar crystals out of the next sample I make! While I’m glad I was able to try this one, I don’t think it will be something I reorder.

Merlin sipdown. I recently discovered that I really like assam. This is nice, with mild vanilla flavor. It needs to be sampled with the rock sugar.

Woo! Cheap sample from the Persimmon Tree Company!

Now I have a theory that my old Perfect Mug from DavidsTea is effecting how teas taste. It just seems like I’m getting a “ceramic” taste or something that is taking away from my enjoyment. I really noticed it with H&S’s Vanilla Comoro as it was so incredibly amazing at work, and just odd when I had it at home.

This one also tastes like ceramics. So I made a new cup in my timolino and poured it into a bubble cup for comparison.

Perfect Mug: Mostly ceramic flavour, with chocolate and mint swirling about with hints of vanilla. Ok, but nothing I would ever crave.

Bubble Cup: Much better! It’s a strong rooibos flavoured blend, and I can taste the chocolate and mint much more.

So, I guess that’s settled. It’s my perfect mug that’s wonky. :| I’ve only had it since December, so I’m not sure what’s going on. Maybe I wore away the finish on the inside? Maybe I need to do some crazy thing to clean it and start over again? IDK.

Anyone notice anyting like this with their DavidsTea Perfect Mugs? This one has the darker coating inside, which is unusual as I think most of them are bright white. Maybe that’s part of it? IDK.

Not bad! The mint and rose are not overpowering the white tea flavor. Not my favorite combo ever but not as bad as I had feared (I recently found I have an aversion to overly rosey teas!) If you like mint and rose this would be one to try :)

I won this tea (along with a few others) in a contest the company ran on their Facebook account last year. I’ve been trying them each periodically, but this is my first time writing up a Steepster review for them.

The dry leaf has a very light and somewhat overly sweet aroma. The Bai Mu Dan itself, is large and full-leafed and remains surprisingly intact after being blended with the other flavors.

I brewed this tea in my tea pooper for convenience and the moment the water hit the leaves, the sweetness of the tea became more mild and far less overpowering for me.

Once the tea was ready, it was a lovely, light greenish yellow color and smelled like a spring morning. I discovered that I had brewed it a bit too hot, so had to add an ice cube and that’s when the fear of over-steeping came in.

On the contrary, this tea is actually quite good still! In fact, as a tea drinker who prefers non-flavored teas, I was surprised and excited by the flavor. It’s full-bodied for a white, but balanced nicely with the lilting flavors of the guava and marigolds in particular. I think it’s the hint of ginger that makes it pop and all come together into one smooth package.

So yes, I would recommend this tea!

This is the second white tea I’ve tried from this company, and like the first, this is an incredibly dry tea. I only steeped it for 3 minutes but as soon as I smelled it, I felt the mucus membranes in my nostrils shriveling up.

The taste, thankfully, isn’t as dry and it is still drinkable. I think I should have tried steeping for only a minute or two instead of three full minutes.

Under the dryness, the flavor is extremely pleasant. There are slight floral hints which fade into smoky dryness as the tea passes along my tongue. Very nice but I don’t think I’ll be drinking this regularly in the summer months. May be more welcome when the weather turns cooler.

Wow, this is really good cold steeped. I kinda forgot this in the fridge, so it has been steeping for 2 days.

Very little bitterness compared to it hot, and lots of smooth, creamy vanilla and nutty flavor. Yum! Last of my sample though.
I’d love to see this tea in a blend, maybe with some chocolate.

I have a sample of this from awhile back from Kasumi no Chajin, ty!

Decided to do more tea rounds in one of my yixing pots – this one for my oolong pot.

Gotta say, this oolong is very different from others I had. It sips in creamy like floral. The ending is very complex: slight bitterness similar to a nut, mystery spice (package said star anise, but just slightly), nutty and sweet. Each steeping got better and better with less bitterness, but losing complexity in later steepings.
I’m not sure how accurate of a flavor I’m getting as my yixing pot is still in “suck all the flavors” mode. Overall, I love everything except that bitterness.

But oh man, I had this tea while making my gumbo. 55 minutes of stirring roux! Totally need tea while I do that as it gets really boring standing there whisking for that long. Then once I added the holy trinity veggies – that smell WOW! I can like drown in that smokey savory smell! I had to stop drinking tea and just inhale the roux gumbo smell of a long time.

I can’t remember what peach cobble tastes like, but I can say that this is pretty good. It’s mild, and fruity, with warm peach notes and something buttery/pastry-like hovering in the back. It’s slightly sweet and slightly comforting too for this frazzled Monday morning.

There’s a lot of sediment at the bottom of this cup though. This was a pretty good $1 sample though!

This tea is a winner. When hot, the caramel is subtle, smooth and sweet without being overpowering. Then, I got busy and forgot about my cup for a while (the horror!). When I found my forgotten cup and sipped it at room temp, I was pleasantly supplied to find that the caramel flavor intensified. It was much less subtle; but still not overpowering. Icing it down toned the caramel down quite a bit, but I still like it. Way to go Persimmon Tree!

The jasmine is a bit too strong, in my opinion. It isn’t as bad as some of the super perfumed jasmine greens I’ve tasted (Bentley’s, I’m looking at you), but it’s much more noticeable than I normally like. That said, it’s not to the point where I’d stop drinking it.

Comparing to Persimmon Tree’s Vanilla Bean, I like this one much better. The vanilla’s a little more subtle and I like the base tea quite a bit. I’d drink it hot or iced all day long.

It tastes very much of natural guava and I think I’m (finally) convinced that I don’t really like guava. Sad :(

The smell of vanilla is strong with this one. I brewed for 3min @ 200F twice. Hot, there is something off in the flavor almost artificial – not my favorite vanilla. But, cold is much better. Unlike other vanillas which get lost cold, this one’s clean and very tasty.

This is rather nice. I chose this as my unflavoured black for the morning and don’t have any regrets! It’s sweet, bright, slightly oaky, and I think amidst the astringency there’s also a bit of smoke.

I’m not sure I like it enough to grab 2.5 oz of it, but maybe. I’d probably order another sample later on and decide then!

Sipdown (113 teas / ~113.5 oz)

This is pretty tasty, and if I weren’t mentally exhausted I would be able to describe it. It’s not the best black blend I’ve had but it’s enjoyable. A bit astringent, a bit sweet, as well as strong.

I’m playing Doodle or Die right now: http://doodleordie.com/profile/cavocorax It’s fun if you guys haven’t tried it. It’s “telephone” with drawings – you draw it, someone else describes it, and a third person has to draw whatever the 2nd person said. So you can see how the pictures evolve.

My drawings are pretty out there, but some people make ART out of theirs.

Hot brewed this extra strong and poured over ice. Excellent! I love the lighter flavor of the white tea even more than the traditional black base peach iced tea :)

I feel bad rating this so low, but it’s not for me. I’m not generally a big fan of Earl Grey’s to begin with and this one comes across as too perfumey for me.

I’ll add to my sample box or something.

I forgot how strong rooibos can taste – I hope I don’t regret getting this sample, but for $5 for a pack, how could I? (I also snapped up the black variety pack too!)

The banana liquor is very tasty, although I wish the rooibos wasn’t quite so medicinal. I’ll play around with the steep times a bit before I rate it because this has all the potential. :D I’m also pretty happy with this company so far, and I want to like their teas.

I tried this again with a spoonful of sugar. It’s okay. The sugar overpowers the chai flavor, but I remember that I didn’t much care for the tea without sugar. Maybe some cream would help it?

I finished the cup this time! I didn’t last time.

I’ve never had rooibos before, so I bought a sampler pack from Persimmon Tree to try it out. I’ve decided I am not a fan. This tastes… odd. The tea is more astringent than I’m used to, and plays at the border of being spicy. I miss all the lovely tea notes.