Boléro

Just opened the bag, which was given to me, so I hadn’t smelled or tried it before.
The dry tea looks and smells fantastic : I can identify the apricot and the peach, maybe the fig, in the aftersmell. Before checking the flavors, I just knew it was fruity and extremely mellow.
I drank it 3 times already.
The first time, all I could think of was “oh mellow, very round taste, very sweet and nice, cannot identify any specific flavor in this blend”.
The second and third times were the same, combined with a question of how I would rate this tea in comparison with others; I came up blank on this latest topic, wondering whether its appeal might last.
Despite knowing which flavors to expect,I did not manage yet to identify any when drinking. To me, they all are blended together in an harmonious and lush blend.
When drinking it, I am reminded of the rich lotions and body butters, with a fruit fragrance, that I loved while I was younger, especially an Apricot thick lotion from Body Shop which I always wanted to eat ;) It’s like I was doing it now.
I also really like the feeling this tea leaves in my mouth after swallowing it, as if a soothing balm covered my palate.
The tea taste only comes after the mellow explosion of fruits; it’s good, though not exceptional a base. I did not feel any bitterness.

All in all : a fruity tea very easy to drink, throughout the day.

Adventaggedon Day 16 – Tea 2/6

Apparently this is a mix of peach, apricot, and fig – but when I opened up the advent this morning all I could smell was mango and the steeped tea also tasted remarkably like mango to me as well. It was a little unexpected to see something so fruity and tropical tasting, but it’s probably been my favourite black tea from the MF advent so far & I would definitely order this one again.

Aromatic, full bodied and delicious!

Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CI4C7sbgyfh/

I’m really surprised I haven’t written tasting notes for this tea before! My brother went to France several years back and brought some of this back for me. I have several people trained to get me tea when they are pondering souvenirs for me. <3
This tea is really fruity. It’s hard to pick out the individual fruit since they all blend together so well, but if I had to pick a prominent flavor it would be peach. I get flavors of tea in the start of the sip with a little peach, then something a little ashy and alkaline in the middle to end and the finish is all fruit that lingers for a while. It’s enjoyable, but it hasn’t grown on me significantly in the time that I’ve owned it. I think I’d like to try it cold steeped once the weather warms up.

Sipdown no.15 of 2020 (no. 610 total).

I thought I might be able to get in a few more sipdowns before the new year. I drank this one yesterday morning and again this morning.

Normally, I sip down saving the best for later — and I just noticed that this was one I rated 90. It deserves the rating, though I really tasted the apricot and cornflower more this time around. I didn’t really get mango, but that could just be luck of the spoon. It does have that lovely French thing going on.

So how did I end up drinking this one “out of order”? Because I am not observing the order. I’m just going with what seems to call to me at the time.

It’s sort of freeing. How have I been such a tea control freak all of this time?

This was a sample from Cameron B. It’s quite fruity, and it reminds me a bit of Paradise iced tea. Like with Paradise, it’s hard for me to pick out individual flavors, but I’m thinking there might be some peach? Mango? It’s good, but given that there are similar blends that are cheaper and more readily accessible I don’t think it’s one I’d buy. Still, I’m glad to have had the chance to sample this one.

This was one of the 30 tea samples from MF that my wife bought me for my 30th birthday. It was delicious. A great balance between the tea and the fruit. With one sip Trader Joe’s Mango Black stopped tasting good.

Dexter sent me this lovely sample. Normally I look up a tea before trying it, but I figured it might be fun to try this one not knowing anything about what flavors it’s supposed to be. The leaves themselves are small and very dark with a few colored petals mixed in. I’m not getting a ton of dry scent from them, aside from a vague sweetness and something maybe resembling vanilla?

Once it’s steeped up, it smells quite peachy to me. I think I can also smell vanilla and perhaps some strawberry or other sweet fruit. It definitely tastes sweet and peachy as well, and there’s an interesting intense almost raisiny flavor. There’s also a touch of tartness coming from somewhere and it balances nicely with the rich and sweet fruit flavors. Overall, very yummy, sweet, and fruity! Looking at the description, I can definitely see fig being what I interpreted as that raisin note, and apricot as the tart element. Not too shabby! ;)

P.S. – I want more figgy teas!

A sample from Ysaurella. This is today’s afternoon tea at work. I gave 1 tsp of leaves 4 minutes in boiling water, and added a splash of milk. The flavour of this one is one of the strongest I’ve ever encountered from a MF tea. I can taste apricot straight away, and fortunately it’s an accurate, natural apricot and not a terrible chemical monstrosity. I can also taste the deeper, darker sweetness of fig. It adds a sweet syrupyness to the fresh, sweet top notes of the apricot. I’m not really getting peach, but that’s a small complaint when everything else is so present and correct.

I like this one, and that’s not something I usually say about apricot teas. A cupboard candidate for sure! Thanks again to Ysaurella for sharing this one with me!

Good, but not great. I know, I feel like I should be getting 50 lashes for saying that, or something. What I noticed most was the base, and much less the fruit notes. I got a slightly bitter and astringent base, so I think that just hid the flavours. I din’t steep too long, and I did let the water cool slightly before using. That said, it was generally an ok taste, not terribly unpleasant, but not amazing either. I may consider cold steeping the rest.

Thanks to Dexter for sending this my way.