Adham

Back from my road trip and ready to dig into some things I have waiting to try…I’ll start with this, which was a free sample with my order. I like tuochas because they remind me of little tea cups themselves, and there’s something charmingly self-referential about that. I’m used to going straight to a long steeping on pu-erhs, but I decided this time to follow the steeping guidelines and start with 30 seconds.

I’m glad I did. Still plenty of flavor there, though I can’t say as I detect a noticeable trace of the chrysanthemum. There’s the characteristic earthiness, and plenty of natural sweetness. I’m looking forward to comparing this with the camel’s breath which came in the same order!

From the coffee and tea bar at the Hotel Monaco, Salt Lake City – looking forward to trying this as I’ve read a lot about Mighty Leaf here but never tried their offerings. I’ve been drinking a lot of undistinguished iced tea during the long days of driving, so it was about time to have something with a bit more character.

This one is very mild in flavor – orange is there, and a rooibos base, but that’s about it. It’s warm, soothing and pleasant but not overly complex. I’ll try some of the other varieties on offer and see how they fare.

At Strada Cafe, Berkeley – had a steaming hot cup of this. I remember liking this one the last time I had it, but it’s been a while so I wasn’t really sure how it would measure up today. Turns out it was quite tasty! I liked the blend of bergamot with more of a citrus accent, without being overdone. Some natural sweetness to it, unobtrusive black tea base. A very good back-up tea for a cafe setting.

Staying at a cabin in Big Bear Lake, California, where this tea was on offer. My, it’s been a long time since I’ve had it! I remember it being so different from “normal” tea, almost like it was something I should save for special occasions. Jaded, jaded, jaded. Now it tastes flat but still carries with it the associations from the good old days. Suppose I should be honest and rate it how it tastes to me know rather than how I remember it tasting to me…

I like the idea of seeing what is in other people’s tea cupboards and being able to try something new at random! Staying with friends in Pasadena, who have a big Mason jar full of assorted tea bags. This one was interesting to me, as it was from a company I hadn’t heard of before, and something with berries in it sounded nice as a summertime drink. It brewed up a deep, rich red color, much like Red Zinger, with a similar fruity aroma.

Wow, talk about tart! Looking at the ingredients, I see that they could have hardly picked a more sour blend – rose hip, hibiscus, blackberries…all seemingly picked before their prime. The flavors were strong and fruity though, so I think this would probably make a very good iced tea, just far too sour for my taste to have straight as hot tea.

I ran out of the black tea variety of this one long ago, but still have a little of their red. It hasn’t got anything recognizable besides rooibos in the dry leaf, but my does it have the scent and flavor of a master blend! The rooibos does give it that distinctive flavor as a base, so those who aren’t fond of it should probably steer clear. Wrapped all around the rooibos though is the Marco Polo profile – naturally sweet and featuring just the right amounts of citrus and floral notes. Yummy yummy.

Off on a three-week road trip tomorrow! I’m not taking any of my teas with me and will rely on chance encounters with newly discovered denizens of the world of tea while I’m gone…

I wanted a fresh, light, yet complex green tea this morning, and reached for this one. Good choice! It still amazes me how much flavor can come out of a briefly steeped green tea, and how much the flavor can change from the first steep to the second. This stuff tastes good and somehow it just feels healthy, too.

Wow, quite an aroma when you open up the packet! Pungent – it’s the bergamot without a doubt, but the lavender is really prominent, making the whole thing much more aromatic. The leaves look nice; it’s gratifying that they seem to be using good quality tea as their black base.

After five minutes, the liquor is medium-dark brown, and is just about as fragrant as the dry leaf. Lavender is still muscling its way to the front of the room, with bergamot trying to get a word in edgewise. Taste, I’m getting the same dynamic – I’d probably call it lavender tea with the addition of bergamot rather than the other way around. Not sure if I’m a huge fant of lavender tea however – it’s an aroma I associate with perfumes and potpourris rather than consumable items, so this one is probably a bit too much for my taste. Interesting to try, though.

I’m in the mood for a chai, but I’m not sure if that’s because I knew this was one of my last two Golden Moon sampler packets. The dry leaf smells really good, plenty of warm spice – and with temps here now in the low 70’s compared to the high 90’s of just a few days ago, it almost feels like I need some inner warming.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a chai without milk or cream and sugar, but for the sake of being anal about these tasting notes, I’ll have at least a sip of it as is. Good thing! After five minutes in just-boiled water, it’s not near strong enough for my taste. Back in the pot with you! A few minutes later I check on it again and it’s much better, though still somewhat meek. Time for the additives.

Now I’m feeling sorry for this tea! I really think it has the potential to be good, but I don’t think I handled the steep very well. Next time I’ll stick to simmering the tea in milk for a good long time to get all the flavors out, as I’m finding this just too weak. I’ll leave off rating it until we meet again.

I feel like I can finally have another little bit of the small sample packet I originally ordered, now that I’ve placed a “real” order because of today’s special and know that more will be on the way.

Postscript before the note – as I made my way through multiple steepings, it still amazes me how distinct yet interrelated each one is. I will betray my roots in US pop culture of the 70’s here and say that it reminded me of the Brady Bunch, with each steeping taking on a personality of its own:

1st steep: 190 degrees, 45 seconds. Peter. Quite possibly the sweetest of the bunch, warm-hearted and ready to make you smile. Yet there are hints of hidden depths! Ah well, when it’s time to change, you’ve got to rearrange…

2nd steep: 190 degrees, 45 seconds. Marcia. Still sweet, but now becoming oh-so-sure of itself. Could it be too perfect for its own good?

3rd steep: 190 degrees, 45 seconds. Bobby. Now the sweetness is getting balanced with some earthiness. This one’s been skinning his knees in the grass.

4th steep: 190 degrees, 60 seconds. Cindy. Is there such a thing as too much sweetness? Probably not. It just happens to be snack time, and we’re having apple juice with Mrs. Beasley.

5th steep: 190 degrees, 60 seconds. Greg. Things are really maturing now. This one wants to go off and be in a mug on its own so it can be the rock star it knows it really is.

6th steep: 190 degrees, 90 seconds. Jan. Despite her protestations of “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!”, this one should drop the insecurities and simply revel in being Jan. Relax sweetheart, you’re perfect just the way you are!

I have a feeling that with future steeps I’d get around to Mike and Carol too, and probably even Alice. Wouldn’t want to take it too far though and end up at Tiger or, heaven forbid, cousin Oliver.

What a great tea.

Two of my favorite flavors – how well do they go together? I decided to try really hard not to steep the H-E-double hockey sticks out of this one, so that I could catch as much as possible out of both flavors without succumbing to bitterness. The dry leaf smells super!

Mmmm, came out just right. The aroma has both vanilla and jasmine, individually discernible but also combining to form one yummy whole. The tea itself is naturally very sweet, and I’m getting absolutely no bitterness. The liquor is medium brown with a hint of green. I actually got out my cream and sugar and have it waiting on the side, since I usually prefer vanilla teas with those additives, but this tastes so nice the way it is I’ll think I’ll leave well enough alone. The only thing that niggles at me is a slight, unusual aftertaste that I can’t quite identify. Guess I’ll just have to try more again sometime to try and suss it out…

After my strong cup of French Breakfast this morning (the caffeine in there had me buzzing for quite a while!), I wanted something a little more mellow for this afternoon. I’m down to my last few Golden Moon samples, so this seemed like the right one. I had a feeling the tightly compacted chunklets would do a good job of expanding, and that was definitely the case. After two minutes of steeping, they looked to be about halfway undone, i.e. a good place to stop and take a first taste.

1st steep: 2.5 minutes, 190 degrees: There’s a pleasant buttered vegetables aroma, which is partially but not fully realized in the flavor. I also have some subtle floral and toasty notes, but they’re pretty far in the background.

2nd steep: 3 minutes, 190 degrees: I’m not getting as much toastiness this time, but a little more general vegetal flavor. Buttery notes have toned down too. Aroma is milder but still grassy and pleasant.

Overall not a bad Oolong, but I probably wouldn’t seek it out especially.

I wanted a strong one to start off the work week, and this seemed like a good bet. Nothing too out of the ordinary in the scent or appearance of the dry leaf. I’m going for five minutes of steeping time to make sure I get all the flavors.

Well, it certainly is black tea. Dark, dark brown liquor and a full-bodied aroma with hints of tobacco. The first sip lets me know that there are plenty of tannins – I’m getting that scritchy feeling on my teeth, like I’ve been eating spinach. There’s some sweetness there too. Okay, time for the cream and sugar. Mmm, that really mellows out the tannins, but it’s not bringing any other flavors strongly to the fore. Overall it’s a fine tea, but not spectacular.

Hmmm, I’m afraid Den’s Sencha has spoiled me. Prior to tasting their varieties, I probably would have looked on the Golden Moon Sencha as quite a nice pick. The leaves are pretty enough, the vegetal and fresh aromas are present enough, and the tea itself is tasty enough. But in each of these categories, the Den’s Sencha is head and shoulders above Golden Moon’s. Den’s has a much more substantial mouth feel and a lingering buttery sensation that is really good.

Looking forward to this one, as it’s been a while since I had a good chance to sample some Sri Lankan teas. Nice spicy, rich and enticing aroma to the dry leaf.

Great balance of flavors here. Strong and complex at the same time, just the way I like them. I’m getting a warm general spiciness rather than a particular note like cinnamon or clove, and some sweetness that I associate with berry or stone fruit jams. I want to see how this will taste with a little cream and sugar, but I’m enjoying it plain so much there’s not going to be a whole lot left over! A pleasing amount of astringency and good mouth feel.

With the additions it’s really luscious. I think the berry/fruit notes have morphed into maltiness. The aftertaste is like I’ve been having shortbread cookies with the tea but I swear I haven’t!

Score – two really nice ones today.

Mmmm, this one smells so good, it’s just crying out for cream and sugar – but I’ll start it off solo and see how it goes. Steeped for five minutes at just under boiling, the scent is mouth-watering – chocolate and malt. Yum, tastes chocolatey, and creamy as well. Not sure how they get the creamy flavor in there without there being any cream in it yet! I think they must use a fairly mild black tea as the base, because the tea flavors are present but mild. There’s very little astringency or bitterness.

Okay, can’t hold off any longer – I’m putting in the cream and sugar. Wow, it’s really like a light-bodied hot chocolate now, but just enough tea flavoring in there to make it different from that. A little bit of yeasty/bready flavor in there too. I like this a lot!

I’ve tried a couple different pu-erhs, and some I’ve really loved, but don’t have a whole lot of experience with this tea, so I’m looking forward to see how this compares. I’ll definitely be doing more than one steep with this one. The loose leaves are dark, dark brown and have a fruity/spicy aroma to them. Promising!

1st steep: 3 minutes, 200 degrees. Dark brown, coffee-colored liquor. Not super strong taste-wise, but interesting. I’m getting spices (cinnamon and clove) and the telltale fermented flavor of pu-erh; not sour or yeasty, just earthy. So far, so good.

2nd steep: 5 minutes, 200 degrees. Just about as dark the second time around, but the aroma has really been toned down. The flavor is mild but still earthy, and retains some sweet/fruity/spicy notes. The combination of them all is a little like chocolate – an interesting effect.

I love jasmine pearls, so my expectations here might be too high, but what the heck. Opening the packet I get that lovely scent of jasmine blossoms, sweet and for this variety, particularly juicy. I’ll plan on doing a couple steeps and see what develops.

1st steep: 2 minutes, 190 degrees. The pearls are semi-unfurled, and look like little caltrops with their spikes pushing out in all directions from the central core. The liquor is a clear, light golden-green, and the scent is jasmine but with an unusual note that reminds me of a chemical sweetness, almost like acetone/nail polish remover. It’s enough in the background though to not be bothersome. The flavor is light and sweet, with the distinctive perfumed aftertaste that I really like about jasmine pearls. Just a hint of butteriness, too.

2nd steep: 3 minutes, 190 degrees. Now I’ve got a kelp forest in my little pot, with long green fronds gently waving about in the currents of hot water. The liquor is a little cloudier this time, and a little duller in tone. The aroma is still distinctively jasmine. The flavor is much milder this time, and I’m not getting any new notes that weren’t there the first time.

Overall, I’d call this a good but not outstanding example of jasmine pearls.

After the last attempt with Imperial Oolong, I was looking for something to cleanse the palate of the lingering taste of lightly-toasted, semi-rotted wet leaves, and chose this one.

Whew, quite a perfume there on opening the sample packet! Very peary, pear-squared, pear upon pears. This should do it… Looking at the ingredients, I’m wondering if the pollen in the mix is the only additive to contribute the honey flavor?

After four minutes, I’ve got a clear, medium-dark brown liquor with great clouds of pear scent coming off of it. The taste is overwhelmingly pear, but now we’re getting into “too much of a good thing” category. It’s moving in the direction of pear incense or perfume (pearfume?), i.e. a little too artificial or at least overpowering. I’m going to add some cream and sugar to this one to see how it works out…

I think that’s better. The honey flavor is coming out more now, and combines well with the pear. Still, the pear component is a little too ramped up for me. I’d have another cup of this if offered, but won’t go out of my way to order it.

This one is really making me question my understanding of Oolongs. The dry leaf smells innocuous enough, and the liquor is an unassuming clear medium-brown. Surprises await though, first in the scent. I’m getting a mix of, strangely enough, popcorn and mulch in this one; could that be right? The first sip confirms it. I’ve never had anything quite like it, and can’t figure out if it’s just an acquired taste that I haven’t yet acquired, or if there’s something amiss with this particular batch. After a few sips, the aftertaste is particularly unpleasant, so I don’t think I’ll be finishing this one off. Too bad! I’m going to leave off rating this one, as I really think it could be an off batch.

Really looking forward to this one, to see what distinctive notes I could find in this Assam variety.

First thing, I’m learning a lesson here: I will no longer store anything next to previously opened (even if zip-locked shut) bags of tea flavored with coconut. The scent is too strong and recognizable to me, and it clouds my ability to tell what else might be in there.

So, I’m relying on the steeped scent of the tea (slightly fruity) rather than the dry leaf. The liquor is dark, clear brown, even after barely three minutes. In fact given the depth of the color, I’m surprised by how mild the flavor is. There’s a good mouth feel, a little bit of astringency, and a pronounced peppery note that I like, woven into some more subtle dry fruit flavors, somewhat akin to Darjeeling. I like it, but I think I’ll try steeping it a bit longer next time and see what else appears.

Others have commented on the beauty of finding little pink rosebuds in the mix, and I was also happy to find these miniature beauties floating around among the long white tea leaves and tiny shards of coconut. Nice smell to the dry leaf – coconut is definitely there, and I find that such a strong smell that it’s hard for me to get at what else might be present.

I gave it 2 minutes at 180 degrees, and think that was just about right. I love coconut, so I don’t mind that the taste tends to take over. I’m not getting a whole lot of vanilla in the tea itself, or rose for that matter, but that’s perfectly okay with me. The roses should be there just because they look nice. Next time I make up a pot of this I’m going to try to suss out where the vanilla is hiding.

Two flavors I never would have thought about combining – how is it going to come out? Two different kinds of tea, too. Brave, those souls at Golden Moon. I like both vanilla and mint, but in sampling this tea I realize that I think of mint as a high, cool note and vanilla as a low, warm note. I keep getting thrown off all the way through – the smell as I open it up, the smell as it’s steeping, and the flavors as I drink it. It’s like I’m listening to a bass and a soprano at the same time, and wondering where the tenor is!

It’s weird, I like all the flavors in this, and it’s probably just me but I think it would take some getting used to if I were to drink this on a regular basis. Not quite sure what to rate this yet, so I’ll throw it somewhere in the middle.

A stalwart aroma greets me upon opening the packet – deep and toasty, and umpteen times more interesting than a regular old English Breakfast. The dry leaf is small and dark, and after three and a half minutes I’ve got a little pot of clear dark brown tea. Now I’ve got some fruity and sweet notes in the aroma, and my mouth is starting to water!

This tea isn’t shy – it’s got lots of strong flavor, and I keep thinking it tastes like Lipton (in a good way) on steroids. Now this is what EB is supposed to taste like. There is pepper, and fruit, and wood, not too much but just enough astringency – nice job! Buzz buzz buzz…pretty good caffeine content in it too, I’d guess.