The Persimmon Tree Tea Company

Lewis & Clark Traveling Teabox – Tea #18
A sweet and fresh green tea with a fruit flavor that doesn’t seem to be any one fruit flavor (this is supposedly pineapple, papaya and mango) but seems like a generic tropical fruit flavor. There are tiny pineapple pieces in the blend but there is also a flavor that reminds me of a preservative of some kind.
Steep #1 // 35 min after boiling // 3 min

Add this one to the list (and everybody needs a supply of these) of morning teas that are no-muss, no-fuss; nondescript, but extremely drinkable. This is not a malty Assam that clouts you over the head. It’s gently bread-crusty instead. Thanks, k s, I liked it.

I’ve read through several of the notes on this one. I was not disappointed by Mandarin Cream. I like vanilla but almost always dislike how much is used. It easily overwhelms my taste buds. This one has a pleasant aroma and the taste is very similar. Finally a vanilla tea that does make me flinch. Others commented they could not taste the lemon myrtle. I had trouble picking it out as well – until I added a little sweetener. It came out of hiding and was a lovely addition. The Pouchong leaf is mostly present late in the aftertaste. This makes a creamy cup but nothing that makes me think Mandarin.

The second cup is completely different. Without sweetener it is a cup of green tasting oolong. Add the sweetener and the vanilla reappears as a background support. With the creaminess you can make a orange creamsicle connection in the aftertaste. It is certainly only a hint but interesting.

More complex than expected. I personally liked this one but then I do not like over flavored teas.

Backlog:

As I was brewing this tea, I could tell it was an Earl Grey creme type of tea because I could smell the notes of vanilla as it brewed. And it smelled scrumptious!

A really good Earl Grey Creme. The strong bergamot is softened by the creamy sweet notes of vanilla. The combination of these two flavors create an almost caramel-y sort of flavor that is quite delectable.

A mellow black tea base, but it is still smooth and pleasant and adds a nice background flavor for the bergamot and cream. Mild but not so much that the flavor is lost.

A really enjoyable cuppa.

This is an exceptionally late post because yours truly feels quite awful today. Not even the dread lord Cthulhu miniature I am painting can make me feel better, the trials and tribulations of Fibromyalgia! Some days you feel fine and some days, for no reason, your body decides that everything is going to hurt and none of your medicine helps, the only option is to curl up in bed until it goes away. Usually I can still write, but sometimes a flair up is joined by a migraine (like today) and that means no looking at a computer. Luckily after a nap my headache is gone so I can write, yay!

Today’s tea is Jasmine Pearls by The Persimmon Tree Tea Company, a tea that I frequently forget exists. No idea why, I have enjoyed every Jasmine Pearl I have had, but after I drink it they tend to leave my mind until I run into them again and say to myself ‘how do I always forget how much I love this tea!’ It is really quite a funny process. These pearls are made from Organic Jasmine Scented Green Tea, I prefer the process of scenting a tea with jasmine over just tossing the flowers in a blend, usually the effect is much more subtle and quite wonderful, it is very easy to get overwhelmed by jasmine’s intensity. The aroma of these pearls pretty intense, very heady jasmine with notes of fresh vegetation. It reminds me of standing next to a blooming jasmine late on a summer evening, the aroma of the flowers fill the air and the smell of growing things surround me.

Into my gaiwan they go! Part of me is tempted to make a jasmine scented yixing pot, that could be intense or a disaster…food for thought. The aroma of the slowly unfurling pearls is very sweet, a heady mix of jasmine and honeysuckle nectar with a strong sharp notes of freshly broken vegetation. The liquid is sweet and floral, like flower nectar mixed with a delicate green tea.

For the first steeping the taste is fairly mild and the mouthfeel is nicely smooth. It starts off with slight fresh vegetation and then a gentle fade to honeysuckle and jasmine, it has the taste of flower nectar and growing things, it is delicate but has a definite presence.

Second steeping time! The aroma is really coming alive, strong jasmine notes waft out of my tea cup pretty much filling the area with headiness. As expected this steep is stronger than the previous one, it starts off like a fresh green tea, more vegetation than vegetal, though there is a hint of artichoke. This fades to an explosion of heady jasmine sweetness and nectar, the taste is strong but still well balanced with the green.

The aroma of the third steep is mostly sweet jasmine nectar, I do not detect any lingering notes of green tea, it is all flowers. The taste is winding down, there is only the sweet flower nectar blend of honeysuckle and jasmine. If you are like me and prefer your jasmine tea on the sweet and mild side rather than super intense flower bouquet, then I recommend this tea, it is light and refreshing and maintains a good balance with the green tea.

For blog and photo: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-persimmon-tree-tea-company-jasmine.html

From the Lewis and Clark TTB.

This has a nice, pleasant apple-y aroma. I can taste both the black and rooibos easily and mostly just the apple flavor, which could be stronger. I don’t get much peach or cinnamon, though, and these could be much stronger as well.

Backlog:

A really good vanilla flavored black tea. The black tea is robust and full-flavored and it marries well with the sweet, creamy vanilla notes. Slightly dry astringency. The dry leaf has some coconut and almond slivers but I really don’t get a lot of coconut or almond flavor from this. If I slurp the sip, the aeration does encourage these flavors to come forward a little but they are still quite slight and nearly indistinguishable.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/06/10/french-vanilla-bean-black-tea-from-the-persimmon-tree/

From the Lewis and Clark TTB.

The dry leaf is rather fragrant. As soon as I open the packet, out goes the aroma. The flavorings in the tea itself are strong – particularly the bergamot – but not at all off-putting. At first I can only taste the bergamot, and then the vanilla comes through, in the aftertaste. Unlike in other Earl Grey’s I’ve had, there is no unwanted super malty interference from the base tea, so I didn’t feel the need to add milk or sugar, which is a big plus.

Marco Polo TTB

I lost the note to this when my computer died and the only thing I remember is that this reminded me a lot of The Tea Merchant’s and DAVIDsTEA which are my favorite EGC’s. So I guess this would now go in that category also.

Marco Polo TTB

I made this on the stove top with whole milk and dark brown sugar to share with my chai loving husband.

In the beginning I get lightly spiced cookie (Myhusband thought shortbread?) yeah, a spiced shortbread cookie. As it cools the spices came out to play a little more. I think I may have been depriving myself of cookies because that is what I got from another one of persimmon tree chais . So it got me thinking, it has been months since I last had a cookie, I will have to fix that soon.

I’m so ready for FALL! I’m jealous of the people I see on here with cool weather already.

This tea fit the bill for my caramel craving after the last one. It’s very light tea base with just enough caramel to cover it up. Perfect, light, caramel. Nom.

Marco Polo TTB

Sweet creamy vanilla, spiced sugar cookie, the ginger and pepper tingles on the tongue. Something I could make for the whole family at night. My husband who will only drink caffeinated teas wanted to try this. I had everything taken out of the box that I wanted to try and my husband comes over and wonders if he would like anything, I cringed and held my tongue as I watched him unpack the tightly packed box looking at almost everything. I’m so glad he chose this one because I was about to give up on rooibos because I don’t like it but I can’t taste it in this one, yay!

This sample from k s was welcome; as (wouldn’t you know it) I was awake hours too early on a Saturday morning—gentle rain on the roof is such an unnatural sound of late, it woke me. So I steeped this a little long and strong to get the bleary eyes open while watching a Veggie Tales kids’ show on one of the few analog channels left in our area. (Haven’t Veggied since my son was a little ‘un. They haven’t changed much.)

I’m seeing “peppery” in the reviews for this one; may be I was just too sleepy to notice that. My sleepy brain registered “starchy and crusty,” but in a good way, like rye bread toast crust.

Lewis & Clarke TTB

I’ve not been a huge fan of The Persimmon Tree’s teas in the past, but I popped open a sample of this one and it smells quite tasty, so I thought I’d give it a try! The dry leaf is mostly black tea with some red rooibos and rose petals mixed in for dramatic effect. It smells somewhat tart and quite apple-y in an apple juice kind of way. There are no instructions, so I did a 3 minute steep at 200 degrees.

Once the tea is brewed, I still smell quite a bit of apple with maybe a little peach in there? I can also smell a bit of cinnamon and something resembling butter. This tea tastes… odd. It’s almost smoky, and I don’t really get any fruit from it. There’s a baby hint of apple near the end, and a touch of cinnamon, but otherwise this is nowhere near any kind of fruit crisp… :(

L&CTTB

Very vanilla
Quite creamy and buttery – probably from the oolong.
Just a touch of citrus.

Desserty.

It’s nice.

I hadn’t realized when I pulled it from the box that this was an oolong.

Not sure I’d drink this too often, but it was a nice treat.

You know those teas you try and, although you can’t quite put your finger on what makes it so pleasant, you look down and there’s only dregs in your cup? This is one. My first pouchong. It is thick and velvety and juicy with maybe a little hay-toast-and-honey vibe. My thanks to k s for the treat.

Have you ever wondered where exactly Hobbits come from? Well, my dear sweetheart (and fellow geek) Ben came up with the best theory ever; Hobbits are spawn of Ungoliant! His theory is this, the various spider spawns and Ungoliant herself are known for their perpetual hunger, in face Ungoliant managed to consume herself she was that hungry. One of the main things we know about Hobbits is that they really REALLY like eating, a grand total of seven (probably large) meals a day is not normal. Clearly their ravenous hunger means they are the long lost descendants of the great spider herself.

One of the biggest problems with being Gluten free is lack of certain favorite desserts from my childhood, my mom used to make the most delicious apple or peach crisps for me. Peach Apple Crisp by The Persimmon Tree Tea Company is a blend of Biodynamic Black Loose-Leaf Tea, Organic Nilgiri Loose-Leaf Tea, Organic Assam Loose-Leaf Tea, Organic Orange Peel, Fair Trade Organic Rooibos, Roses, Organic Hibiscus, Safflower, and Natural Flavors, a sizable list of ingredients! The aroma smells pretty varied, there are notes of roses, delicate peaches and apples, a touch of citrus, a bit of woody rooibis, a tiny bit of tart hibiscus, and lastly a sweet malty and caramel finish. It does not really smell like a crisp, but it does smell sweet and fruity, so I enjoy sniffing it.

The brewed leaves are delightfully sweet, there are notes of apples and peaches (real fruit, not candy or fake fruit, always a big plus!) there is also a rich caramel and malt aroma with a tiny bit of rose at the finish. The liquid without it’s leaves is richly malty with accompanying notes of caramel, wood, and fresh peaches and apples. The fruit smells more like cooked fruit than fresh fruit, giving it a bit of a crisp feel.

Tasting the tea, it starts off with a blend of malt, caramel, and woody notes, this gives it a bit of an oatmeal themed crisp crust. This transitions to fairly mild apple and peach with a hint of citrus and an aftertaste of roses. If I close my eyes and imagine I can almost taste the crisp, but with about half as much sugar (which can really easily be fixed with a bit of sweetener) this is one of those teas that is really good at capturing the idea of a crisp without tasting exactly like one. I like it, the tea is a good dessert tea without being overly sweet so it could be a substitute for a dessert or a companion to a sweet dish.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-persimmon-tree-tea-company-peach.html