The Persimmon Tree Tea Company

I got a free 1oz from the Persimmon Tree tea website for Facebook posting & it came in a cute tin. The tea smells strongly of guava, and when I steeped it the guava taste was really strong. I don’t get any strawberry or ginger unfortunately. I really should try it iced because I think the hot guava is throwing me off… only time I’m drinking guava juice is cold…

I still love this tea but for whatever reason it’s a whole lot maltier and…thicker mouthfeel and just darker than I remember it being. Not that it’s a bad thing. Perhaps age is doing it? I bought this tin a while ago. It’s still good, just I think my own tastes have changed and I’m back in search of a favourite vanilla tea although Queen Mary’s Creme Brulee may have taken the spot.

Still my favourite vanilla tea. Darkly flavoured (if that makes sense), very malty but nicely vanilla. I didn’t feel like anything that was on top of my desk so I went spelunking in my treats drawer and found this and I haven’t had it in….a small forever. It was time, especially after the disappontment of earlier. Still very fond of this tea. Maybe if I find some coconut and put it in myself I can make myself a fantastic coconut that way. Does anyone know who might sell giant flakes of coconut as a tea ingredient?

From what I remember this is good. I drank it during a rather upsetting meeting so I don’t remember the particulars but I’m pretty sure it was good.

Still my favourite vanilla tea. I let it steep a bit long so it was a bit bitter and of course I forgot I was drinking it so it’s luke warm now but I still like it. Yum Yum Yum.

Still enjoying this tea, though it was a little weak today. Should have gone with 5.5 or 6 tsp for the 1000 ml mark. I wanted to fill up my giant cat mug twice with this pot.

Tea is aging okay. Persimmon Tree has been bombarding me with 50% off sales all week that I’ve been resisting. Can Not Purchase More Tea.

Tastes a bit darker than normal, I think. I like it and the vanilla that pops when a bit of sugar is added. Milk to make it creamy and it’s a good drink for doing overtime at work. I used 2 tsp again in my finium brew basket but had more water in my ginormous handmade-to-my-specifications cat mug which holds about 20 oz to the tippy top. Probably filled it 17 or 18 oz. Also I have no idea how long I steeped it since I forgot to set a timer and then forgot about it for a bit. Whether it was a long bit or a short bit, I have no idea.

Sitting at work at 8pm, staring at the Steepster Explore tab. Exciting.

I haven’t yet mustered up the motivation to walk to my far-away car since I’m in the overflow parking lot today and I don’t enjoy walking that far and over gravel in 3-inch heels. Bah.

This tea today, I overleafed it a bit, I think. I made it for the first time in a mug with my finium brewer and mis-judged how much leaf per water ratio. I usually make it in the pot but I didn’t have that much water because the filtered water is all the way on the other side of the building, and like my car, I didn’t want to walk that far today. This is still good, just a little bit…much.

This tea is getting me through this working Saturday. I’m not like Sil, this is voluntary overtime, but that doesn’t make it any less sweaty work since I’m used to sitting at a desk to do my work and all day today I’ve been deconstructing binders full of stuff. About 100 left to do before I can go home.

This tea is back to what I remember it being the first time I drank it. It is chock full of almonds and vanilla beans and it’s smooth and sweet with no astringency or bitterness.

Another sample of this. This time it is, I believe, from Alphakitty instead of my own order. Hopefully I love it this time as much as I did last time. It was really really good. This time there was a lot of tea dust that got shaken out of my strainer before I put it into the pot. I noticed it all over my desk when I was filling the basket so I shook it over the trash a bunch of times. Hopefully there will be less contamination in the actual tea because of that.

Well, I’m wondering now how old this sample is. I’m getting much less vanilla than before. It’s still present in the aftertaste and in the slightly creamy smoothness to it, but it’s not quite as…there. I still like it, but I’m not IN LOVE with it as before. Hopefully when I finally end up getting around to buying this tea (eventually, hopefully, need to drink some tea down before I make any more orders) it will be more like my first experience than this one.

smooth smooth smooth! This is an absolutely creamy dreamy vanilla black tea. Despite the almonds, I didn’t pick up much nuttiness, maybe because my little sample didn’t have many. This isn’t an in-your-face vanilla, but rather blends thoughtfully with the medium strength black tea base. I brewed up some to drink before going to work and some to drink on my way to work and I’ve been enjoying my mugfull right now but we’ll see how well it stands up to a travel mug. I added milk and sugar and it made the tea even better! Brought out more vanilla notes and creaminess, as one would expect.

This is the first of the giant bag of samples from my order from The Persimmon Tree so here goes nothing! I ordered a bunch of stuff that was rather out there for my tastes so I’m not sure I’ll like any of them, but I was feeling adventurous I guess.

So as a caveat, I am not really familiar with lychee. Didn’t really have an asian supermarket nearby growing up in either country I spent time in and my parents’ taste and cooking was pure Americana/Canadian.

In the smell of the brewed tea I’m getting a faint fruity spiciness, I guess is not the word I’m looking for, but it’s the closest one I can find. Not getting much peach. The taste of the (too)hot tea is fruity and floral and pretty exotic to my taste buds. It’s not bad though, not in the slightest, just new. This isn’t a tea that I’ll buy again, but I’m glad to have tried it.

Just got home from town. I got a tiny microwave for the den. Now I need to start figuring out what needs to leave the room for more space… but not today. I still have blues slide guitar riffs rumbling through my head from yesterday’s concert at church. It was awesome. Ready to relax. I want tea but haven’t much ambition. This puerh is a simple nice enough for what it is tea. I used a Finum and a 5 oz cup. 20 second steeps. Just a basic good cup for a lazy afternoon.

A nice simple sweet puerh. It is smooth with no harsh edges. Last time I had this I called it book leather with out the mustiness. Today it is more horse tack – which I like. A good start to Monday. Went well with my bagel.

This is the first day of my forced (and hopefully temporary) retirement that I have had the chance to relax and kick back. I slept in late. How awesome is that. Watched some guitar lesson videos – maybe I’ll actually learn to play someday. Fixed a ham & swiss sandwich on flatbread. Made several cups of this tea. It’s an exciting life.

This isn’t very complex. It doesn’t have any nasties associated with it. It tastes like puerh. It is lightly book leather with out the must. The first cup was earthy. afterwards not so much. I liked it in a I don’t have to think to drink kind of way.

Sip down! A tasty one at that!

Banana Dulce (aka Banana Coconut) poured over ice, milk and honey. I steeped this one for like 10 minutes – I find the longer steep really helps the flavors come out. Very creamy, bananay with a hint of caramel.

YUM

I do like my green rooibos blends and found the chamomile used decently here. I might have to get more of this as this tea makes a great end of day latte.

(see previous review http://oolongowl.com/2013/02/13/banana-coconut-from-the-persimmon-tree-tea-review/ )

Stayed home from brazilian jiujitsu due to migraine (bleh) and after I felt a little better I made this tea, iced latte style.

Really mellow as I’m towards the bottom of the tin. I find the longer steep really helps bring out the banana. Just before I was done steeping, my roommate enters with a bag of funnel cake mix and asks me to help him make it. Sigh, I missed exercise and now I’m eating funnel cake.

(see blog post for review http://oolongowl.com/2013/02/13/banana-coconut-from-the-persimmon-tree-tea-review/)

Despite me doing “oolong week” at Oolong owl, I can’t drink oolongs at night – so how about banana dulce (aka Banana Coconut)?

I selected this one for the chamomile, hoping to kill off my headache. I’m kicking back, sipping tea and playing on my new Nintendo 3DS – yeah Fire Emblem! I steeped this for 7 minutes, with a vanilla bean pod for extra creamy. Very nice, slightly sweet, banana flavor!

OMG – I was eating Trader Joe’s “Go Bananas” which are frozen, chocolate covered banana slices – I need that in tea form! I was trying to find chocolate to add to this tea, but alas, I used it all recently.

/stretch stretch
I escaped brazilian jiujitsu practice with mat burn on both feet! Not bad, no sprained fingers! Though, very sore all over from 2.5 hours of working out.

This is the first time I enjoyed waiting for a long steeping 6.5 minutes this time! I did stretches while I waited for my tea and feel much better!
The taste? Very good, I love the banana taste and the creamy caramelly flavors. Totally worth steeping this one for extra time!

After this cup, I’m gonna crash to get ready for 9am jiujitsu practice!

This tea is TASTY! TASTYTASTYTASTY!

First off – The Persimmon Tree did a few name changes, so this tea is now Banana Coconut. mmm, coconut!

What I found while reviewing this tea is the magic is in the steep time. I first did the rooibos steep time – which produces a stronger chamomile taste with a banana aftertaste.

I then discovered that The Persimmon Tree has this tea listed as 5 to 7 minutes, the herbal steep time. I made another cup at 6 minutes and WHOA! It’s just a little woody chamomile, finishing off with strong creamy sweet caramelly banana flavors. This tea also make an amazing latte – it’s like having that cup of warm milk before bed but much more relaxing from the chamomile with a tasty banana brown sugar treat.

See the full review on my blog, Oolong Owl here: http://oolongowl.wordpress.com/2013/02/13/banana-coconut-from-the-persimmon-tree-tea-review/
I also have a promo code posted there!

Thanks so much Kasumi no Chajin for the envelope of teas! This was one of them! The dry leaves smelled surprisingly sweet to me! After a three minute steep, this one was BRISK. Wow. Pretty astringent but I like them that way sometimes. I did love the flavor behind the astringency.. a bit malty. The steep color was very dark. The second steep had just as much flavor. Pretty good!

[By the way, if you see multiple tasting notes from me, posted right after the other, I just post them all at once. The first tea I post right before the other was usually the tea I drank in the morning. The second would be from later at night.]

I am so happy to have this tea again! I only had a sample back in the day when I reviewed it the first time. I have more knowledge about teas now and I ADORE this tea! I love a great pouchong!
Full review on sororiteasisters.com on the 17th!