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“Yay! New Teas! The pear flavor is sweet and strong, and the buttery sencha melds beautifully with the pear. I can even taste a very faint note of mint to this tea. Very faint, but it is there. ...” Read full tasting note
“Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge – December Theme: Holiday Teason Tea #2 additional notes: Another good one to revisit! Pear teas from 52Teas are always special, so I’m glad I was able to try...” Read full tasting note
“New experiment, i decreased the steep temperature and let it sit for longer. I think i like the result. It is a lot lighter, but more creamy sweet and zero astringency. I think i came to realize...” Read full tasting note
“Got this ages ago and I can’t believe I haven’t posted a tasting note on this yet! Today I’m having this iced, because it is really quite warm and I really need to get the hang of making iced tea...” Read full tasting note
This was one of my favorite Christmas teas from Frank’s era, and to be honest, I’m not sure if I loved it so much for the tea (although the tea is really delightful!) or the name because – seriously – so clever! Right?
So what is a partridgeberry? Well, my research on Wikipedia tells me a partridgeberry can be a creeping herbaceous shrub native to North America (scientific name: mitchella repens) or it can be a lingonberry (scientific name: vaccinium vitis-idaea). Since I have neither mitchella repens nor vaccinium vitis-idaea at my easy disposal, I decided to choose the easiest/most accessible of these two to include in this blend: the lingonberry.
Prior to blending this tea, my experience with the lingonberry was limited to trips to IKEA and seeing lingonberry jam on the shelves (and at one point, I purchased some of that jam to make a sauce for meatballs. No, I didn’t get the meatballs from IKEA.) I also purchased some lingonberry glogg last year. That was pretty tasty.
Frank’s description of this tea went like this:
Yes, okay, I am a very silly man. I just couldn’t resist.
Back when I was planning to create all new blends for the 12 teas of Christmas sampler, I was trying to figure out how to go along with the 12 Days of Christmas song. I figured out this one and some sort of Turtle® chocolate treat blend. Three French Hens might have been some kind of French vanilla, but four calling birds completely stumped me.
Well, anyway, here’s our buttery-sweet Chinese sencha blended with wild-harvested Partidgeberry (Mitchella repens), dried pears and natural pear flavors. Silly or not, it is delicious if you like pears.
Yes, I love pears! And I’m much more familiar with pears than I am partridgeberries. And this is technically not supposed to be a partridgeberry tea but a pear tea.
I started with organic Chinese Sencha (just like the original recipe!) and added dried pears and instead of using wild-harvested Partridgeberry, I used internet-purchased lingonberries. And they look pretty in this blend, like little red crystals amidst the long spears of green tea and the chunks of pear. It looks very Christmas-y, this tea.
organic ingredients: green tea, pears and natural flavors
ingredients: lingonberries
At 52teas.com, you will find unique, hand-blended artisan loose leaf teas: a new limited edition creation every week of the year. We pride ourselves on offering truly unique, one-of-a-kind tea blends that you won’t find anywhere else.
Yay! New Teas!
The pear flavor is sweet and strong, and the buttery sencha melds beautifully with the pear. I can even taste a very faint note of mint to this tea. Very faint, but it is there. I thought that my taste buds might be off a little bit when I first tasted it, but then I checked the info on partridgeberry and I found that its flavor vaguely resembles that of wintergreen.
Delicious! I just wrote a review for this tea to be published on the Tea Review Blog soon!
Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge – December Theme: Holiday Teason Tea #2
additional notes: Another good one to revisit! Pear teas from 52Teas are always special, so I’m glad I was able to try this one.
whoops but just now remembered that it’s Pear challenge day on the fourth! I should have had this then!
New experiment, i decreased the steep temperature and let it sit for longer. I think i like the result. It is a lot lighter, but more creamy sweet and zero astringency. I think i came to realize that there is no actual partridge “berry” but rather the leaves of the plant.
Got this ages ago and I can’t believe I haven’t posted a tasting note on this yet! Today I’m having this iced, because it is really quite warm and I really need to get the hang of making iced tea before the hot summer months. So I am making this double-strength hot, then sweetening and pouring over ice cubes. It’s pretty good! I can taste mostly green tea, but then quite a bit of pear. I also get a very slight mint note, presumably from the partridgeberry. Although I like this iced, it is definitely better hot.
Note is for the Feb 2017 (I believe) reblend of this tea. Unfortunately, I got a little confused between this tea and Gathering Berries, so I don’t really remember any specifics here aside from berry (common to both). At the very least, it was pleasant. I felt like it was a fitting tea to drink in this season, though!
Also, I think this tea may have been gifted to me by someone; not entirely sure I bought it myself, and it’s from before I set up a subscription. So thank you, mystery person!
the search in my archives tells me that I only reblended this once in 2016 – I thought for sure I reblended it twice, but the search doesn’t show it – so either my memory fails me or my search does. Anyway – it’s been a while since it’s been reblended.
It has! I feel like it’s a tea that’s been forgotten about; perhaps it will make an appearance in a Christmas poll next year?!
It will definitely be on the poll because every year that I’m blending the teas, I think – why am I not reblending the Partridgeberry? It should be a permanent part of the 12 Teas of Christmas because of it’s name. LOL
Right? Also, I feel like it would be fun to theme a 12 teas of Christmas based on the song. I have so many ideas already!
It would be fun to do that. The logistics of it worry me a little though because I don’t know how keen customers would be to order an all new teas box like that – I know that when I first restarted the 12 Teas of Christmas box – I was thinking of doing a mostly new teas type of thing – and I got very little response with it – and it wasn’t until I said that there’d be a mix of both reblends and new teas that I got any real interest in it.
But maybe now that you have gained the hard-won trust of your large band of dedicated followers and even newbies…
Still, it’s a risk. I get that.
Eh, I like trying all your new teas as much as revisiting old blends. I’d be down with half or more of a Christmas box being new creations, but that’s just me! :)
Me too. Or keep the Christmas box as sort of a half and half thing and a spring box of new teas. I was going to suggest a mid-summer box, but for that, it might be safer to do another half and half version too in terms of sales.
I feel like the Christmas box would be great as a half and half reblend/new box! I do love reblends, but I love sampling new teas more (well, except for a few existing teas that I’m totally in love with). We also get a good number of reblends throughout the year already.
Also, I feel like taking one year to do a 12 days of Christmas themed box with all new teas (well, maybe a reblend of this one!) could be really well-received. I don’t know how many boxes you sell per year, nor who purchases them, but I feel like themed things + new teas pique interest. Honestly, the only reason I haven’t purchased the box every year is because I don’t want to get more of teas I’ve already tried and still have around(!); this year, the lure of not missing out on new teas (I was sad when I missed out on some last year) + feeling like treating myself made me get it, and I have zero regrets. If it was all new teas, I’d have no hesitation.
Alright – so I need some ideas for the teas. (I’m not sayin’ I’ll create such a box, but, if I do, I need to know what teas should be in the box.) I have a few ideas, but I would love to hear other ideas
I feel like I totally missed the main tasting notes on this one. I think I’m missing out, since I really don’t taste much in the way or pear. The base isn’t my thing (sencha is a bit bitter and vegetal IMO) and I can’t make out any particular berry or fruit.
Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Fruity, Green, Vegetal
Reblend
While the Christmas theme, coupled with the IKEA association (lignonberries), makes me view this tea more favourably, I’d enjoy it more if it had a more exciting green base. The wintery fruit flavours are tasty, and like something that aforementioned company would be proud to sell.
…But Chinese sencha is the bane of my flavoured green tea-filled existence, and my feelings are torn (when my “non-tea” friends claim they hate green tea I swear they are getting some of their biases from an oversteeped batch of generic straight Chinese Sencha).
Edit: To clarify, the recommended steeping parameters fit this tea perfectly and there is no bitterness- just lots of veggies. The parenthesis is more a reflection towards my experiences with Chinese Sencha in general, which have made me a tad jaded and not just a little bitter in person.
Flavors: Berries, Pear, Vegetal
For my earliest tea drinking days when I would look unfavorably toward green teas, the ones that would come to mind were young hyson and dragon well, believe it or not. I had very bad experiences with both of these teas and I have since come to the conclusion that it wasn’t so much the tea type as it was the person brewing the tea. (In other words: me.) Back then I was very ill-educated about how to properly brew a green tea – I didn’t understand that water temperature was so important and I also didn’t understand that you should be mindful of tea brewing time. I never used to set a timer back then – I was always just like, yeah, it seems like it’s been 2 minutes or 3 minutes or whatever. I have learned from the error of my ways and have come to appreciate both the aforementioned teas.
The main reason I chose the Chinese Sencha here is because it’s a reblend and I wanted to kind of stick to the recipe. The reason I use it in other blends is that it really depends upon what I’m blending – Chinese Sencha does have a nice buttery note to it that works well in flavors where I want some creaminess. I personally like Chinese Sencha – but your criticism of it is definitely noted. :)
I think you’re spot on with that assessment on why many people struggle with green tea. Before I had a temperature variant kettle, steeping the more temperamental green tea varieties sometimes resulted in a few putrid cups- all my fault. Coincidentally, Dragon Well and Young Hyson were the teas that made me start to appreciate straight green tea. However, I probably would never have gotten that far if it weren’t for flavoured Chinese Sencha teas like this one.
I appreciate your explanation for choosing Chinese Sencha. I’m sorry if my criticism came off as harsh, or seemed like an attack on 52Teas and your suggested steeping parameters. I have a lot of respect for your blends, and my general apathy towards Chinese Sencha is personal and originates from overexposure to it. 52Teas is probably the only company I’d consider taking a chance with this tea base.
Now that I think of it, your Lime Jello Salad also has Chinese Sencha and it’s one of my favourite flavoured green teas. Maybe I prefer this base iced/cold steeped, and probably should’ve tried that method with this one. As for this particular tea, if you ever reblend it with a different base I’d probably be the first in line to buy some; I enjoyed the flavouring quite a bit. :)
No – I didn’t take it as harsh criticism – but I did want to offer an explanation as to why I do select Chinese Sencha when I do. Chinese Sencha is kinda like Ceylon in that it’s the ‘go to’ tea when someone is crafting a flavored tea. I have been trying to put more thought into the blends rather than reach immediately for the Sencha (or any other tea automatically) and try to think of what tea would best suit the flavor I’m trying to accomplish.
I appreciate your input so I thank you! I didn’t feel like I was being attacked at all, I just wanted to clarify. The Lime Jello is crafted with a Chinese Sencha (or was) – perhaps I might toy around with it the next time I reblend it – although Lime Jello is one of my all time favorites as well so maybe it’s better NOT to mess with it.
Your willingness to experiment with blends and tea bases is what I love about the new 52Teas. It makes me much more eager to try all of your different offerings; even if I didn’t like a particular flavour profile or tea base on a previous occasion, there’s a good chance I may like it in a new reiteration. I’m actually sitting here sipping away at another one of your green blends (Pineapple Peach), which uses an interesting tea from the Satemwa Estate. It’s a lovely contrast in versatility with this Pear tea.
Lime Jello Salad is a prime example of me loving something made up of components I typically dislike. I would love to try a bunch of experimental variations of Lime Jello (that would be fun), but that’s because I’m already a big fan of the original with Chinese Sencha.
Thank you for commenting and providing such thoughtful explanations. I know a lot goes into the creation of each blend and trust your judgment. The stars may need to be aligned precisely so for me to personally love a blend with Chinese Sencha, but I appreciate that it has its own niche in the tea world and respect when you choose to use it. The same goes for Ceylon, CTC, Honeybush and Hojicha- I generally shy away from these but you and a few other tea blenders have done some wonderful and adventurous things with all of them.
Hear, hear! Totally agree.
52Teas, I appreciate so much you taking the time to unwrap your approaches and rationale with creations. I may not always have something to say in response, but I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and expertise. It gives me something to sit with, experiment with, and mull over, and ultimately, appreciate teas even more. So, thank you.
sample from variatea. not a fan. There IS a pear flavour here but it comes across to me as being slightly artifical and there’s something else there that isn’t working for me…not sure if it’s the sencha base or what, but this is not the pear tea for me. oh well. At least i know now :)
Well I am a little (okay a lot) late to the 12 teas of Christmas game but better late than never I suppose. This is certainly a good start because it has a flavor reminiscent of my beloved Cranberry Pear from DAVIDsTEA, albeit a little lighter due to the green tea base. Also there is some great pear candy notes to this. Yum!
So, I bought a stupid expensive vegan gelato thing today when I was grocery shopping because it’s Cranberry Pear flavoured and I have a secret hope that it’ll taste like DT’s Cranberry Pear. Anything to get to relive that great tea ;)
Cranberry Pear is my favorite. I even bought this hella expensive cranberry pear cider vinegar. Boy, I tell you what, that stuff is marvelous sprinkled over some lettuce. Or bread. Or cold green beans.
Oh, sorry. This is tea stuff. Sorry!
Oooooh, sounds delicious.
Discontinuing it seems like such a weird choice since it was loved by so many of us. Luckily I still have some and I have this so I am happy.
I think this one actually improves as an iced tea. The partridgeberry kind of rounds out the pear. I can’t really describe it, but it’s good.
would like to try this one too! LOL