Finally tried this last night. I actually bought this with my second 52Teas order, just before last Christmas. I’m not sure why I held off. Maybe because I’d heard such great things and I didn’t want to be disappointed.
Let’s get one thing straight. I am not disappointed, because this is absolutely amazing. I was unsure about the scent at first. I could only really detect the honeybush, and maybe a faint whiff of chocolate. I left it sitting in the kitchen for 6 minutes or so, though, and when I came back things had definitely changed. I could smell strawberry, for starters. I added milk to this, because I couldn’t get my mind to think ice cream if it wasn’t some kind of creamy. That actually seemed to drown out the scent again, but I needn’t have feared.
I was seriously impressed by the first sip. The initial taste was quite strongly chocolatey, then the vanilla started to edge in, and then the strawberry emerged right at the end, carrying through into the aftertaste. Maybe because the milk contributed the creaminess I was looking for, but this tastes just like Neapolitan ice cream. It’s hot, but that doesn’t seem to matter somehow. The flavour is spot on. It’s almost uncanny.
I’m looking forward to this evening just so that I can drink it again. It’s going to be a really welcome addition to my summer pre-bedtime rotation, and I suspect there’ll be tears when it’s gone. I’d like to cold brew it, because part of me feels that ice cream should be cold. It’s so gorgeous hot, though, I’m almost tempted not to bother. I do have the SBT version of this, so perhaps I’ll break that out tomorrow. I’m almost done with the Razzleberry I’ve got at work, so I’ll need some more iced tea to keep me going tomorrow. Apparently we’re going to have a heatwave, but I’ll believe that when I see it.
I don’t think there’s anything left to say, other than “I really love this tea!” Amazing, amazing stuff.
