314 Tasting Notes
I heard that durian is a love or hate fruit. I’m in the “love durian” camp. I love it’s overripe guava-like, vanilla-custardy scent and texture. I think it’s a delicious (and insanely healthy) fruit. And I am so happy to know that Lupicia has it in tea form!
The flavor is decidedly durian! The flavor is right-on. Yay! I am not disappointed. And it is definitely “powerfully fragrant”. :)
The aftertaste really is like a “fruity onion”, as Mad_Alyss_14 so aptly stated. I love that description. There’s this “shrill” hint of freshly cut onion in the flavor and aroma…it’s intriguing. Like melon and onions. I know oniony tea sounds weird but it’s good!
The green tea base seems fresh and is slightly astringent. My loose leaf sample looks like fannings, though—like shredded leaves from a tea bag.
I’m enjoying my sample and will buy a full tin soon!
It makes me wish good, fresh durian were easier to come by here. All we can get easily is the frozen stuff.
Preparation
This tea has really grown on me and I really love it. I love its malty, sweet roIl quality. It almost tastes like liquid Kings Hawaiiian Bread. I’ve been drinking this all day for the past several days and it’s just all-around great!
It’s so easy to brew too. I basically just toss a teaspoon in my travel mug, add hot water and forget about it. It’s always delicious. I can’t make a mistake.
I’m upping the score to perfect!
Preparation
I treated myself to this at the Hayes (“Zen”) Valley Tea Lounge today! It was nice and relaxing. I found the flavor to be very mild, soft, slatey and earthy. I think I detected some cocoa notes. But the dominant flavor was minerally earth. Kind of “root-y”. Definitely puerh.
It was fine overall. Great to enjoy over a portobello mushroom and gruyere cheese sandwich (which is what I had) at the lounge. But it didn’t wow me enough to buy more to take home.
Good but not full-tin worthy. :)
Surprisingly, this tastes best with the hot water at work! For me, I discovered the perfect brewing method:
1. Tear open and empty three tea bags into a 12 oz travel mug.
2. Fill with hot water from the hot water spigot.
3. Steep indefinitely and sip until done.
That’s it! So simple. I get all the velvety, earthy cocoa and spice flavors. Nothing bitter. Very smooth and comforting.
Preparation
I can’t get over the intensely fruity scent of the dry leaf. It just screams FRUIT (red berries, specifically). Fruits which are bordering on overripeness.
It’s kind of daunting in its fruity aggressiveness!
I just love the scent once brewed, though. It’s delicious, like a warm strawberry compote topped with cream and dusted with powdered sugar. There is a mild fresh floral and green stem component too. Like a bouquet of dewy, long-stemmed roses.
And the flavor is just as beautiful. The green tea taste reminds me of Sauvignon Blanc— brisk and grassy, clean and fresh. All overlaid with this hazy perfume of sweet berries and flowers. I can’t help but think of springtime.
Preparation
Yummy strawberries!!!
Once brewed, this smells deliciously like strawberry jam on warm toast—yummm.
The taste, compared to the scent, is pretty mild. I detect something slightly grape-like and woodsy. Maybe even “bubbly” (like champagne). The strawberry flavor is way in the background—an accent.
On cooldown, I taste grape-y honeybush.
Not bad at all. The scent far outweighs the flavor, though. But I love honeybush—it’s very calming for me—especially after a long day. And I love the scent of strawberries ’n toast. So, I think this is fabulous in whatever flavor!
Preparation
Made a substantial dent in my stash this summer—de-cupboarded several teas!
Thought I’d treat myself by cracking open this much-revered flavor!
What a beautiful tin! My first Mariage Feres!
Quick first impression:
Smells like a nuclear Strawberry Shortcake
Tastes like a Spring Easter Basket—all pastel candies and fresh meadow flowers.
More details later…
Preparation
I still can’t believe how much this reminds me of actual neapolitan ice cream, when I drink this!
This time, I’m distinctly reminded of spumoni—must be the strong cherry note I’m getting—and I swear I’m tasting some pistachio in here as well?
Speaking of which, wouldn’t a Spumoni Honeybush tea be great?? :)
Preparation
This should be called “Clove Tea” and nothing but! :)
The flavor is predominately cloves…maybe with a smidgen of cinnamon and orange peels scattered here and there as garnish.
I noticed that there are rose petals and carrots on the ingredient list, but I taste them naught. Perhaps as the tea cools I detect a hint of floral?
But if, at some time, you are craving the taste of cloves (Djarum cigarettes maybe? ;) ) drink this and it’ll do in a pinch!
Preparation
Yep, this is very satisfyingly Butter Pecan-like! …and there’s also a hint of something vaguely like brandy? Like flambe’d sugared pecans. It’s a good, warming and comforting flavor.
Basically (and obviously), this is butter pecan ice cream re-invented as hot tea! The black tea base is strong too—has a good “kick”. Kind of malty, kind of toasty. Complements the sweet, nutty, vanilla flavors.
I love butter pecan ice cream and this is a good homage to it.
Is it like the outside or inside of the durian? If the latter, I may give this a try…
Durian, isn’t that the fruit that stinks to high heaven? :)
I can’t get past the cat urine smell of the outside to get to the inside, which is supposed to taste great. If this tastes like the inside without the bad smell, I’ll try it just for that.
I thought that was the one. I heard something once about some hotels where it grows having rules about it not being allowed inside the building. But I can’t remember where I heard it though.
Maybe in another tasting note. I think I posted a wikipedia link about this fruit somewhere on steepster at some point in time. Still haven’t worked up to trying the durian shake at the local Vietnamese place I like so much…
@Thomas Smith: This tastes like the inside of the durian. The scent is like the whole durian. But then again, I don’t get “cat urine” from the smell, fortunately. :)
@Angroboda: Yeah, when I was in Thailand, there were signs in our hotel prohibiting durian to be brought inside. Apparently the smell can be pretty prevalent.
@sophistre: Those durian shakes are actually really good! Try it!