Fraisier

This seems utterly impossible. I just finished my pouch of Fraisier and there are no tasting notes from me? I swear I remember making comparisons to Carol! So here we go…

You know this was popular because I have teas that have been hanging around for six years and I got this for Mother’s Day and it is gone, mostly because Ashman likes it a lot and we have it for breakfast on weekends with our bagels.

Carol is limited edition and sells out fast. It is black tea with strawberry, vanilla, and coconut. Fraisier is black tea with strawberry and vanilla, and they also sell a plain strawberry black tea.

Carol is our favorite and goes FAST. I realize that it might not be wise to stock up too much of it with the way coconut can go rancid, so I guess I won’t try to buy a year supply when it comes back before Christmas.

Strawberry black is good, but there is a very weird aroma in the dry leaves that comes through a little when steeped, but everyone has liked it well enough.

Fraisier is excellent. It resteeps pretty well so I can use 3 teaspoons in my stump pot, steep, make another steep, and pour into the big pot. I don’t know what that weird aroma is in Strawberry Black, or if the vanilla here covers it up, or if this is just a different strawberry flavoring.

Speaking of big pot, anyone have a favorite they recommend? I don’t want to take anything too delicate outside to the stone patio and have been looking at the big Curve pot. I have a large tetsubin we use now, but it is pretty heavy, which I guess isn’t a big deal but each time we use it, I think how we really should look for maybe a ceramic pot, which will be heavy enough in that size. I am thinking around 36 to 40 ounces.

Also, joyful squealing here as the cherry vanilla bagels are back at Panera! Brekkie on the patio this morning on our first day with lows in the 50’s! Never mind that we still have 90’s in the forecast. I need to find everything that makes me happy and note it because I dislike the short, dark days and have to battle seasonal depression. Like the cooler weather, hate the shorter days.

I did well with sipdowns today, so I figured as a treat I would steep up some teas that I haven’t had a chance to try yet! This one is from the group order at the end of last year.

Oh my goodness, I love it so much! Lupicia does some amazing strawberry teas, and this is no exception. The base is quite dark and brisk, as it has some CTC leaves mixed in, but it’s not bitter. It creates a nice, malty foundation for the scrumptious sweet-tart strawberry flavor! I do get a little hint of creamy, buttery cake here as well, though not much.

I’m sure they likely intend this to be drunk with milk, but that’s not generally my style. I’ll have to try it next time though, as the strong base could definitely handle it!