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This time through I tried it iced.

The strong flavors I mentioned in my previous notes seem to work much better iced than they do hot. And, given we’ve hit a heat wave, iced just hits the spot today.

I still think the flavors are stronger than I normally like anymore, but I still feel this is an enjoyable blend. I don’t expect it will ever make every day rotation anymore, but when the mood hits me, I can see myself being drawn for another glass of it iced.

I used to drink Caribe all the time, but then I lost interest in flavored teas and has literally been years. I was doing an order from Harney for Father’s Day and I hate ordering just one item, so tossed in a few samples, including this one.

I was reminded of how intense the aroma of this tea was the moment I opened the packet. The flavor just stands out with a pleasant tropical fruity mixture that I find enjoyable without the presence of all of the fruit. Plus side and down side there.

I should have enough to try it iced again sometime soon. I’ll eventually try to decide if its something I still enjoy enough to buy in larger quantity.

- edit

As the day went on, that tropical fruit flavor started to wear on me. I still suspect I might like it better iced and will have to try one day soon.

From subscription box

The last few days have been so hectic. Today is my third day trying this one out and I am finally getting a change to notice it let alone drink it while its hot or make any notes.

This one almost seems to have a toasty flavor, but its very subtle. Not normally something I enjoy, but its not getting in the way here.

It also has a bit of a drying affect in the mouth, more than I am used to in the black teas I have tried from Yunnan.

I’d say more, but I just slathered the lower half of my right leg with Icy Hot, so now everything tastes and smells like menthol. Not good planning on my part. I will have to return to this one another day.

What a way to start a Monday. An hour of physical therapy that left me hurting before my work day even started. Then too much stuff dumped on me at work that all require I move around to different equipment, which makes is nearly impossible for me to sit down, elevate, and ice my ankle.

On the plus side, this showed up in my mailbox Saturday and its exactly what I needed. The scent when I first opened the tin was strong enough to go through my face mask and gave me a bit of a happy thrill.

Not something I’d want to drink year round, but when the summer months are here, it seems to hit the spot just right.

From subscription box

I feel kind of guilty rating teas that I’m pretty sure I won’t like before I’ve ever tried it, so I didn’t. My preferences really just lean towards black teas. But hey, it doesn’t hurt to try new things out and that was the point of this subscription box.

Its got an interesting mouth feel. Almost thick in a way or viscous. And that’s the good things I have to say. :)

The smell of the dry leaves, wet leaves, or the tea itself just doesn’t appeal to me. It doesn’t really remind me of anything, its just unappealing. The flavor is very light, which I also find unappealing, but what is there also is just not my thing.

I’ve only logged this once? Seriously??? It has turned into a staple. If I don’t have some, its because its out of stock and I will reorder as soon as it shows up again. And when I do, I usually buy 4oz at a time.

This actually says a lot given that I honestly don’t drink a lot of tea. I usually have somewhere between 1 and 3 cups a day depending on how the day is going. Unless i try something I just don’t like, I always just re-steep the same leaves. So it says a lot for me to buy something in quantity.

I am always amazed on how sweet this one seems to me. I mean its honestly not sweet at all, but really gives the impression of something like syrup or brown sugar. It is so warm and comforting and smooth. And it really makes an excellent iced tea as well.

If I could only have one tea to drink for the rest of my life, PTA would be it. And I don’t think I would mourn the loss of all the others.

From subscription box

The delicious toasted nuttiness is pretty much all I can taste. Its just too much for me this morning. I keep trying, but I’ve just never had luck with oolong teas. Now some years back I picked up an Amber Oolong that was also toasty in flavor. I didn’t like it on then first go, but was able to appreciate it more on later tries.

I’m not going to rate this right away as I want to give it another try or two down the road just in case my opinion changes.

From subscription box

I think I am coming to realize I have a thing for black teas from the Yunnan province in China. Not quite 100%, but most I have tried I have really liked. This is no exception.

First thing I noticed was that the dry leaves had a pleasant smell. Don’t ask me what it smells like because I have no clue how to describe it. :D

As for flavor, I notice a flavor that kind of reminds me of stone fruit. Its not like stone fruit, but reminds me of it. There’s a slight sweet taste as well. There’s another component as well that, well, made me think of soap. Yeah, I know that doesn’t sound good. It didn’t taste like soap, it just kind of reminded me of soap and is likely something I don’t have the words to describe and that’s the closest I can come up with.

Note: This is not like the horrible lemon joy dish soap flavor I get from cilantro. That’s just disgusting and does in fact taste exactly like the liquid lemon joy dish soap we used when I was a kid before they changed the formula. And yes, I know exactly what that tasted like. I come from an age where every family had a dish washer. It was called whatever kid was available. I started hand washing dishes when I had to stand on a chair to reach the sink. And learned the hard way how important rinsing was. :D

There was also just the faintest hint of astringency. Not strong but just barely noticeable. As the cup cooled, this became more pronounced. Stick the cup in the microwave for a minute and its back to being just a faint hint.

I did a second steep later in the day. I don’t know if its because this was a second steep, or I just steeped it for a shorter time than I did this morning, but all of the elements are more muted this time around. I think the sweetness stands out a little more.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this. Not quite in my top 3, but I will happily drink what I have an am considering ordering more.

I’ve got to stop reading other’s reviews before I write my own. It just makes me grumpy. Same goes for books. Do they make this stuff up? Are we consuming/reading the same thing?

So after the last Shou Pu-erh, I was a little/very gun shy. The fish that’s sat on the dock all day in the sun taste and smell may have scarred me for life. I’m actually shocked I tried again. But I have come to trust Brenden enough to know that’s he’s not going to try to pass something off that is utterly terrible. It might not be something I like, but it won’t be decomposing fish.

However, I was still paranoid, so I gave it a good 90s rinse in boiling water. I did not detect fish in the wet leaves so I then steeped it for another 60-90s. Yes, i ignored the directions, but I did mention the paranoia. Significantly longer rinse, about half the steep time.

It took me a while to get the guts up to actually sniff the result. i had a lot of trouble identifying the smell. Its not fish though which made me a little hopeful. And then I had a conversation with a coworker on what a Shou Pu-erh is and a basic on how it is made. And he told me about a Burmese Tea leaf salad, one of which form is made from fermented tea leaves. Ah, delaying tactics.

While this conversation was going on, I kept sniffing, trying to identify what I was smelling. Dirt maybe? I think there’s some there but its not the main thing. And then it hit me. Old leather work boots. Not the stinky foot smell part of it, but the old well worn leather work boots with some dried mud on them.

So, in my celebration on the absence or rotting fish, I should say what I actually think of this. But I honestly don’t have an opinion yet. Its not disgusting. I think I need to give myself some distance and come back to it with the expectations of leather, dirt, and maybe tobacco instead of rotting fish.

No rating this time around.

As I am not much of a fan for smoked anything really, I had never tried a straight Lapsang Souchong. So when I saw this, I was interested.

What I get primarily is florals. Not heavy so, but that’s what stands out to me. As it cools, it gets significantly more drying.

Not bad, but its not really my thing either.