Tea Blossom, formerly known as Almond Tea during her appearances in the 1980's series, is a character from the Strawberry Shortcake franchise.
General Information[]
1980s[]
Almond Tea was one of the many new friends met by Strawberry Shortcake during her trip around the world immediately before the 1983 TV special. A native of the Orient country of China Cup, Almond Tea returned the favor and visited Strawberryland to help Strawberry Shortcake celebrate her move into her Berry Happy Home with a huge housewarming party. An undiscovered facet of Almond Tea's personality is that she is stated to possess psychic powers, and was able to, on occasion, see glimpses of the future. Her pet Marza Panda had a similar gift, only it worked in reverse, and only allowed him to see flashbacks.
2003[]
Tea Blossom, originally Almond Tea, was one of the international friends in the 2003 series. She lives in China Cup and lives in an antique shop that serves herbal tea. Strawberry met her in the special dvd, "World of Friends". She and the other international friends met and they all had been invited for the house party Strawberry was having. Tea Blossom had trouble adapting to all the customs and foods in Strawberryland and got upset about it.
Personality[]
In 2003, she is Strawberry's friend from China and she stays at Strawberry's house. She is sweet, but shy. She has trouble adjusting to Strawberryland and the new culture makes her anxious. She's nervous and tentative. She is a crybaby and whines in her younger years. She is polite and has good manners. She meets Peppermint Fizz when she and Strawberry are traveling across the world. Tea Blossom and Peppermint get along, and Strawberry is happy to see her friend after several years. She lets them stay at her house over night and then helps them find a boat across the ocean. She is clueless in the fact that the boat captain is actually the Purple Pie Man, but then again she has never met The Purple Pie Man.
Appearance[]
1980s[]
Almond Tea is a young, Asian girl with dark short bob hair with a yellow lily hat atop her head. She wears a purple vest with a floral, long-sleeve shirt underneath. Almond Tea also wears lavender pants with green striped socks, and purple Mary Jane shoes.
2003[]
Tea Blossom reappears, but this time with dark purple hair and purple eyes. She wears a purple and green cheongsam with cuffed jeans and traditional platform sandals. Her hair is tied into odango buns, but as a teenager, it is tied into pigtails and the rest of it is long and down past her waist.
Pets[]
In both the 1980s and 2000s generations, Almond Tea/Tea Blossom has a pet panda named Marza Panda. Marza Panda's gender has been a bit vague throughout their appearances in the franchise, being referred to with both he/him and she/her pronouns. While they can be friendly, Marza Panda also tends to be vain, selfish, and dignified. They are also rumored to be descended from panda royalty.
In the 1980s, Marza Panda resembles a teddy bear. They have a white (or lavender, depending on the artwork) head and upper body, with the latter ending in a scalloped hem. Their ears, arms, lower body, and legs are purple, and the pads of their paws are white and circular. Their eye patches are also purple, and vary between being depicted as circular and depicted as flower-shaped. They have black dot eyes and a black heart-shaped nose. They wear a lime green ribbon around their neck.
In the 2000s, Marza Panda looks more like a regular panda. Their ears, arms, upper body, legs, and tail are purple, and their head and lower body are white. Their eyes have lavender irises, and are surrounded by circular purple eye patches. They have a purple triangular nose and round dark purple paw pads. They wear a lime green ribbon around their neck, which is decorated with a flower that has an orange center and five pink and white-edged petals.
Trivia[]
- Marza Panda's name is a pun on marzipan, a confection made from sugar, honey, and ground almonds.