The Persimmon Tree Tea Company

Wow this tea has a very strong fragrance brewing, of vanilla and flowers. I’m not complaining—I prefer my earls on the strong, heavily fragrant side, and able to withstand some milk or raw sugar.

This one’s strong in flavor too! Could definitely be cut with milk and/or sugar. A little bitterness but not much, next time I could steep it for slightly less time if I didn’t want to deal with milk, but it’s fine solo right now really. Sweetness and vanilla, lots of that “extract” and perfume feel. I could be misidentifying but I think I can actually see specks of vanilla bean at the bottom of my cup, and that doesn’t surprise me given the aroma and taste. The citrus comes in at the end, a nice surprise and not too tart but definitely present enough to keep you on your toes.

This is one of those Big Ones as earls go, clobbering you all-around—in vanilla, in bergamot, in everything. For me, that’s not a problem!

This one’s a pretty and slightly unusual color in the cup, a dark copper tone with more red with its brown than most unflavored black teas. Dry and brewing it smells like a much lighter/fainter sister to darjeeling or blacks from Nepal. It does have that astringency and mellow but ever present tannin one associates with those teas, done lightly. There’s also an element of warmth, warm spices somehow that darjeelings often lack, and it’s rather pleasant combined with the more typical darjeeling-ish light and floral qualities. It’s also somewhat sweet as these types of teas go, a kind of honeyed sweetness that is not unwelcome at all. I like! It seems I enjoy when darjeeling qualities are mixed with brawnier, warmer, richer, or smokier elements (exhibit A: my fondness for Upton Imports Baker Street Afternoon Blend).

Bummed I had to use the stovetop kettle for this as when I went to use my Russell Hobbes electric one today there was a rattling noise coming from the sealed base and then a screw flew out of the inside. The thing has a warranty—I contacted them this afternoon—so we’ll see. It was super cheap as these things go anyway—less than $40—but I really did like it, especially because it would keep a BREWED pot of tea warm, not just heated water (that way you don’t have to keep steeping every cup you pour to keep your tea warm long enough). And it was so fast! Going to miss it while I figure out what’s what. This weekend has been a little annoying—other disappointments with long-anticipated orders I won’t get into right now plus some drama in my social circle and stress about my husband’s job security—but oh well. There’s always tea, right?

It turns out that smooth and malty black tea, along with some sour hibiscus and citrus rind, makes a decently convincing cobbler. Apple is a distinctive flavour here for me. It tastes lightly spiced too. It comes off as a bit tart but it’s not bad, especially when some of the astringency tones down a bit as it cools. Thanks for giving me the chance to try this, Jackie T!

There’s always money in the banana stand. I could really go for a chocolate dipped frozen banana right now. Luckily, Jackie T sent this my way.

This particular banana may be hot instead of frozen but it’s a small point; it’s still coated in chocolate. The liquor is a little murky and smells strongly of the two objects in this rooibos’s namesake. The flavour isn’t disappointing either, although it’s weaker than the aroma and I am tasting a bit of the base. I wouldn’t mind a banana split right now either. Or a fried banana. I’ll probably settle for one of the raw bananas sitting in the kitchen though. Bananas are the best food.

On a side note, this reminds me a lot of Banana Dream Pie from David’s Tea, which also has chocolate and banana flavours.

It’s strange, in an interesting way — I got a nice little Persimmon Tree sample package (thanks much, Starfevre!) labelled “Vanilla Berry Truffle”, but the tea inside is actually this one, “Mint Chocolate Chip”.

I’m certain of that, because it has none of the ingredients of the former (no white chocolate, no black currants, no hibiscus) — but it does smell of mint, it has big chunks of dark chocolate. And, as a few people here have noticed, it also has those pieces of apple which aren’t listed in the ingredients (at least not here on this page, I mean, and I don’t have the correct package to refer to).
(P.S. just updated the ingredients, from Persimmon Tree website)

Anyhow… that’s all good, because I’m pretty sure I’d prefer the Mint Choocolate Chip Rooibos, to the other one. (White chocolate isn’t something I’d reach for.)

So, the tea. I really like it. It’s nice and smooth, the mint is not too strong, the apple adds a nice hint of fruit. But I wish it tasted more of chocolate. Although I steeped it for 9 minutes in boiling water, a lot of the chocolate pieces didn’t melt. I think it would be perfect with some added chocolate syrup.

I added sugar and a little skim milk.
(Oops, I wonder why it says steep at 200F for 3-5 mins? I guess I overdid it. :-)
I have enough for another cup, so I’ll try it again the “right” way.)

I bought this one specifically to be cold brewed or made hot, then iced.

Really good decision!

This is a really light tea, strongly tasting of peppermint with a generic floral flavor as a background note. I don’t specifically note it as rose (of which there were lots in my sample!), but it’s definitely a flower. There’s also kind of a light citrusy note I’m picking up. It’s not super pronounced on every sip, but I’m definitely getting it. With summer coming up this is definitely ending up in the re-buy list! :)

I love Wisconsin weather. We jump from 40’s last week to 86 today. No joke.

But this tea! So good iced! I get caramel and a lightly toasted nuttiness (from a combination of rooibos and coconut, I think) with a really light, natural banana flavor.

Bonus picture of mini monkey stuffie going bananas for banana coconut: http://i.imgur.com/QXSURuh.jpg

Ahh rooibos, my nemesis. We meet again.

Weirdly enough, I don’t smell it in the dry leaf. Instead I catch the aroma of chamomille and coconut. Little light on the banana. But I don’t dislike chamomile, so I figured we’d give this a shot. I started smelling the rooibos at about the three minute mark while steeping, but kept going to the 5 minute mark, fingers crossed.

The result? All that worrying for nothing. The chamomille and floral aspect is pretty overwhelming. Too overwhelming really. I get the slightest hint of banana and coconut with a touch of caramel. But if I’m not really looking for those other flavors, it tastes like a pot of sweetened chamomile with a tiny banana aftertaste.

So, in an attempt to bring out the other flavors and beat back the chamomile with a honey drizzle shaped club, I added some honey. Success. Banana then chamomile. Still loosing a lot of the coconut and caramel to chamomile, but at least I taste banana in my banana tea. It’s a tasty tea no matter what, though and I have a cold steep that I popped in my fridge just under an hour ago to see how that changes things up (hoping for coconut!)

Either way, I didn’t taste rooibos. So in my mind, that is a huge success.

It is a pu-erh kind of day today. I have PLENTY of teas right now, but not a whole lot of pu-erhs I really like, and only one serving of this one left!

I woke up today in the mood for a puerh! That has never happened to me before! Interesting how our tastes develop :)

Thanks to Jackie T for a sample of this one! This is one of the more friendly and accessible puerhs I’ve tried. It still very much tastes like a puerh, but is pretty mild and has a nice floral sweetness to it. This one would be good for puerh novices for sure. Tastes like the garden smells after it rains :)

I really thought I was craving something earthy and dark just now, but obviously my tastebuds had something different in mind. That being the case, I definitely sweetened this one with just a little honey after the first sip. The woodsy flavor and very slight smokiness just wasn’t cutting it for me untouched and the honeysuckle finish wasn’t quite enough to make it so. But wow WOW WOOOOW that tiny touch of honey really opened some beautiful floral and sweet notes. It makes the whole sip have this really sweet afterthought that is so complementary to the puerh flavor. Yum! I’ll definitely be squeaking all the resteeps I can out of this one today.

So, I went downstairs to make this tea, iced, as it’s freaking hot here, and my roommate intercepted asking for some tea.
Problem: He asks for the tea “You know, that really good one you have a lot of.” When you have just under 200 teas, that only really narrows out the samples/almost sipdowns.

Anyways, I did find it, but I didn’t have some with him as I need noncaffeine for this late of evening. Mmmm, peachy orange! I steeped this a little extra because I was lazy, so I really taste the green rooibos base. I prefer this tea at 4 minutes.

Peach picnic! This green rooibos blend is really sweet – lots of sweet orange cutie flavor, with some peach and a hint of strawberry. Be weary of adding additional sugar as this tea is already sweet.

Peach Picnic shines when iced – the sweetness is just perfect, great fruity and citrus taste, along with being really refreshing. The green rooibos does well here adding a little grassy note, working well with the fruityness, but not too grassy in reminding you of grassy picnics.

Anyways, I’m going to use the rest of this tea iced!

Full review at Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.wordpress.com/2013/04/24/peach-picnic-from-the-persimmon-tree-tea-review/

Sorry for my lack of posts recently, my internet has been on and off (mostly off) for a few weeks now and it’s made posting reviews very difficult. :( Thankfully everything appears to have been fixed so I am back in business.

In dry form this tea is noticeable a mixture of both black and green teas that are in rather small pieces. Mixed amongst them are a few yellow petals and flower buds.

As I open the packet a sweet and fruity scent fills the air. It does smell like passion fruit but could also be mistaken for mango or possibly papaya no hint of anything floral or jasmine like.

Once steeped the tea forms a red/brown colour and has a dry and slightly sweet fruit aroma. It’s fruit scent has change and is a little unrecognisable, now it’s more like peach.

In taste this is rich, roasty, fruity, sweet, woody and floral. There is a thick jasmine flavour that has become somewhat earthy and rich
with help from the black tea. Almost enough to be bitter but just edging away from it slightly. The fruit is still more peach or apricot than anything else but it’s gone in a flash and taken over by the jasmine.

In a weird way it reminds me of a generic cheap fruity Oolong. It’s nice but not something I think I would ever crave or miss. Nice if you like a strong fruit based tea that keeps it’s tea elements, however I am in two minds about it.

Backlog:

A delightfully floral tea. It’s really quite lovely, with a pleasant sweetness. I tasted licorice notes as well as vanilla tones. Really good. It seems like … based on the other tasting notes, this one is either a love or a hate kind of tea. I, for one, love it.

Here is my full-length review of it: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/02/11/lotus-green-tea-from-the-persimmon-tree/

1 tbsp used for 375 ml

A little astringent. Jasmine is not overpowering and balances well with the fruity passion-fruit flavour.

Thanks to Sil for sharing this with me!

I can’t believe there’s rooibos in this. I think I talked myself into the idea that I hate rooibos on account of some bad, hay-like, medicinal tasting rooibos teas that I’ve tried in the past…. Even though there are a few I like, mostly the lemon/lime ones from Della Terra. Anyway to me this is mostly green. Green and caramel. And yum.

I still like it. I have two small tins and I am happy about that!

As far as green caramels go, not that I was ever technically ON the hunt for such a thing, but if I had been, the hunt would be over.

Oh my god.

I need to bump this rating up from 83 as I really love this. So glad Persimmon Tree added a better shipping option for Canada as I’m really regretting not ordering the bigger size of this and Mandarin Cream.

If someone places an order that I can piggyback on, let me know! ;)

Probably the me from a year ago or even 4 months ago would have dismissed this as being too weak, not flavorful enough. But it’s so classy! It’s delicate and the base is tasty and sufficiently noticeable and the caramel is not a question! It’s an answer!

I thought I was looking for my holy grail caramel BLACK tea but I ended up accidentally finding the holy grail caramel GREEN tea. I usually only do two steeps as I find (with all teas though) after that it is too weak and watery for me. I should try cold brewing the leftovers of these precious leaves.

I want to drink it everyday but it’s kind of a rare commodity in my cupboard because I don’t have much. And even though Persimmon Tree thankfully added a better shipping option for Canada, it’s still $15. But I will return!

See my review of Mandarin Silk to read my little Persimmon Tree Tea Company story.

This was one of three teas I recently ordered from this company, I was not disappointed!

I had this after eating a chocolate and I still was able to notice the refreshing sweetness, AND taste the green tea in the most pleasant of ways!

I drank some while working on Season 4 of Doctor Who, I don’t have much left. I don’t know when the doctor switch up happens but I’m already sad about losing #10.

Tangent!

I’m pleased with this tea, I got the smallest tin but could see me reordering for sure. It’s fun to figure out what your staple teas should be by trying lots of new ones. :)

Brewed at 175 degrees for about 2 ish minutes.

I assume this is now called Mandarin Creme as the ingredients are the same.

Except my tin states “pouchong”, and both descriptions under the two names of this tea say it’s oolong. I don’t know what pouchong is but rest assured I’m going to google it once I’m done this review!

Soooo my Persimmon Tree order arrived today. I had posted a comment on their Facebook wall complaining (politely of course) that their crappy shipping options for Canada meant that for 1 oz of tea (added to my cart to determine shipping fees) it would be $28 at the CHEAPEST to ship to me.

Anyway they responded immediately, apologized, gave me a free shipping code and added a new shipping option for $15 to Canada which is totally reasonable as their teas come in tins!

Yay! So I ordered three teas and a sample of a fourth. I had to share the story because good customer service should not go unacknowledged. And I am pleased to report that the teas I ordered are awesome! Thank you, Persimmon!

This was so good. It’s creamy and flavorful yet light, and the tea base is also noticeable, delicate and delicious! I ordered the smallest tin of this and am thinking perhaps I should have got the larger size! Soooo good. It’s flavoured but not overwhelmingly so, and there’s no unnatural taste whatsoever. That is all. Yum.

180 degrees for 2-3 min, as I wasn’t sure what pouchong was, haha.

This was my first experience with rooibus. Having read of its medicinal flavor, I thought coupling it with my absolute most favorite icecream flavors might be a good way to start.

When I opened the package I was thrilled with the dominant and familiar scents of mint and chocolate but a little put off by the unfamiliar aromatic background offered by the rooibus – but I was determined to persist.

I continued by preparing the liquid by following the recommended steeping directions precisely (1-2tsp, 200degF, 3-5 min) using a stainless steel tea infuser with my favorite ceramic mug. Except for the aromatic, the scent was strongly reminiscent of my favorite icecream and I began to sip with some enthusiasm – for a bit.

Although I enjoyed the flavor initially – the mint chocolate was component was perfect – but the aromatic background from the rooibus became tiresome rather quickly – as did the the somewhat chalky mouthfeel.

I guess I will need to experiment a bit with flavors and and steeping conditions. Perhaps in my enthusiasm for the minted chocolate flavor I oversteeped the tea. I guess I will need to get more sample to investigate.

I guess for me, rooibus based beverages may eventually fall into the “aquired taste” category as I definitely had the sense of possibility – and the prospect of a naturally caffeine-free hot night time beverage is still attractive.

SECOND NOTE In my first note (below) I described my initial experience with this tea and how I was perplexed by the relative lack of coconut flavor experienced by me in comparison to that observed by others as reported in their notes. I considered that my small sample might not have been representative of the “bulk tea” and my recent experience with a new larger sample happily supports that possibility.

The new dry tea sample has a much stronger scent of coconut, so I was hopeful that the tea steep would follow suit. I again prepared the liquor as recommended and was thrilled that the flavor of natural coconut (perhaps lightly toasted?) was now assertively expressed in the luquid and persisted nicely in the aftertaste. The black tea base and the fruit seemed to marry well. NOW I feel this tea is consistent with my expectations and will likely keep it on my shelf.