18
drank Youthberry White Tea by Teavana
33 tasting notes

No no NOOOO YUCK. I usually like Teavana teas when I want something overpoweringly flavored or don’t mind overpaying for just a good straight loose leaf (love em or hate em, they do have some good quality unflavored teas… just pricey). This is characteristically Teavana in that the tea comprises a minority of the contents and they drown it in extra flavors. The main problem, however, is that they have chosen “essence of petrochemical rubber tire factory” as one of the flavors they added to this one along with all the berries & other stuff. I can taste the conveyor belt and fractional distillation chamber rinsing fluid just as prominently as the berries and tart florals.

For those who enjoy this tea and call it “unique”, maybe they just like their Acai berry notes well balanced with trimethylbenzene, or enjoy the tartness of pineapple offset with a good phenolic benzotriazole type methacrylate… Perhaps they are just used to brewing fruity teas with industrial factory waste-water imported direct from China. I guess, then, it would be unique. Not in a good way though.

Once it cooled and you spoon it full of sweetener, you can almost drink it. The trick is to try not to breathe in the aromatics (too artificial) while drinking it, and try to imagine yourself in a sweatshop shoe-sole factory while you do.

I would only wish this tea upon my worst enemies and those who actually enjoy artificial/industrial chemical flavors.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 2 min, 0 sec 5 g 10 OZ / 300 ML
TheTeaFairy

“essence of petrochemical rubber tire factory”
Lol, sounds appalling!!!

TeaWings

What a shame, it would be a nice fruity and tart white if not for the chemical flavors and smells

Ysaurella

bleh ! sure not something I would like to try !

darby

Awe!!! This is one of my favorites! Although I blend it with Wild Orange Blossom

TeaWings

That’s okay darby, I love blue cheese but have friends that abhor the stuff.. and some chemicals like phenylthiocarbamide have genetic markers which make it tasteless to some but bitter to others… maybe it’s something complicated or maybe just the candied pineapple, but it just didn’t go over for me ;-) You can certainly have what’s left if we ever do a swap!

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Comments

TheTeaFairy

“essence of petrochemical rubber tire factory”
Lol, sounds appalling!!!

TeaWings

What a shame, it would be a nice fruity and tart white if not for the chemical flavors and smells

Ysaurella

bleh ! sure not something I would like to try !

darby

Awe!!! This is one of my favorites! Although I blend it with Wild Orange Blossom

TeaWings

That’s okay darby, I love blue cheese but have friends that abhor the stuff.. and some chemicals like phenylthiocarbamide have genetic markers which make it tasteless to some but bitter to others… maybe it’s something complicated or maybe just the candied pineapple, but it just didn’t go over for me ;-) You can certainly have what’s left if we ever do a swap!

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Musician, pilot, philanthropist, tea lover. Nothing beats a spiced oolong at 10,000 feet. Except maybe a cuppa dian hong with my feet next to the fireplace. Or some fresh bai hao yin zhen before bedtime. My rating system is pretty much like this:

1-20 : ‘Blech’ cuppa. Didn’t even finish the one I brewed, rest went in trash. That bad, at least for me.

21-40: ‘Meh’ cuppa. Finished it but threw away the rest of the tea or used it for other purposes like baking, gifts for in-laws, or serve to unwanted houseguests. Kinda like Twinnings or Lipton bag tea.

41-60: ‘Standard’ cuppa. Won’t buy any more, but will certainly brew all that I have left. Probably will use it to blend with other teas or as a base, or large quantities of iced tea for parties and such.

61-80: Good cuppa. Now we’re talking. Worth buying more if at the right price, love blending some of these too. Sometimes a few oddballs will find their way into this score just because I liked the fruity flavor or having it as an iced tea. Also my starting score range for new kinds of tea until I develop a good feel for my preferences or learn to better distinguish quality characteristics.

81-99: Awesome cuppa. You’ll probably find this in my pantry pretty regularly, unless it has been discontinued or I’m waiting for my next trip to Asia or Europe to pick up some more. Holds up well to multiple infusions (unless black/herbal), and will typically drink it unadulterated/straight. I’ll gladly pay premium prices and chances are I’ll be ordering and tasting a bunch of other teas this producer/company offers.

100: Cuppa bliss, oh where have you been all my life???! I will burn frequent flier miles and journey to the ends of the earth while paying nearly any price to make sure I have this stocked at all times. Over time as I discover some magical new teas, a few may fall off this list. Try to keep it max 1 per type of tea.

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