1443 Tasting Notes
This matcha is smooooth. We whipped this up as a vegan matcha this morning with almond milk and dates! There was very little bitterness here, despite heating almond milk on the stove and not having any way to measure to temperature. There was just a hint of bitterness toward the end of the sip, but it didn’t linger. Otherwise, this was a delight this morning!
Preparation
This tea reminds me of hojicha…wait, are these the same teas? It’s really delicious and roasty toasty.
Reading up on it here: https://lilikutea.com/blogs/column/is-hojicha-different-to-bancha
Thanks to Cameron for this delicious tea!
Preparation
Happy Friday! I made this tea for a 3a Zoom for school this morning (Martin was thinking maybe I’d see you here :)).
I don’t know if it was the tea at this specific unearthly hour, but it tasted just like a dream. This really does remind me of my all-time favourite Yuchi Wild Mountain Black from TTC, but with some subtle differences. That honey sweetness just sings and there’s hints of maltiness that break through as well. Such a winning combination.
I should really make the two side by side for a direct comparison. I have a few teas I’d like to do that with adding up…
I’m headed back to bed for a couple hours, then off to start the workday!
Preparation
Maybe after the exams… I would be able to join one day :)
Ah well, I found out that I understood Courtney’s note of me badly. We explained each other in PM… but still :) if we would be able to make some Steepster Zoom or anything like that… it would be awesome!
Check out this on Discussion: https://steepster.com/discuss/42508-zoom-slash-facebook-tea-meetup-anyone
I’ve had not the greatest tea day, so i’m unsure why I chose this haha!
This one has a very strong scent. I’m unsure how that’s been achieved as the ingredients list green tea, raspberry pieces, and orange pieces. The scent is quite offputting to me, but the flavours do come through. The raspberry adds a fresh tartness and there’s hints of orange that complement it. The green tea base is fairly nice as well.
Sadly, the scent honestly almost ruins this one for me! The recommended steep is 3-4 minutes, but I went with 2.5 minutes to attempt to lessen the scent (without much success).
Preparation
2021 sipdown no. 32
Unfortunately not enjoying a single rooibos from August Uncommon, which is in complete juxtaposition to their black teas, which I quite enjoyed!
This one is very amaretto-y, which is a point in its favour, but sadly I despise amaretto haha! There also seems to be a faint hint of what I can only describe as olive tapenade, almost hidden at the end of the sip. I can’t say much else, because I couldn’t finish the cup. I offered it to Lexa, who often does enjoy amaretto, and she also did not enjoy.
Nonetheless, always happy to have the opportunity to try new teas. Thanks Cameron!
Preparation
2021 sipdown no. 31
This one smells very pear-like dry. Steeped it starts smelling like a mix of juicy pear and green apple/green apple candy.
The flavour is quite good. It’s a tiny bit floral and mostly pear. Lex said “This tastes just like juice. Warm juice.” We made this pretty late, so what remained of our cups got thrown into the fridge.
This morning this was great chilled. I would say the exact same pear/green apple flavour, but with the faintest hint of chalkiness. It wasn’t overly distracting though and it was just in the background.
Thank you Cameron! :)
Preparation
2021 sipdown no. 30
I’ve made it twice now, steeped once at 5 minutes and once at 4 minutes. The 5 minute steep seemed to bring out more flavour.
There seems to be some fruitiness here, I would say berries of some sort because there’s a slight tartness that could be reminiscent of raspberries. There’s also the faintest hint of sweetness that could be caramel, if I really reach. But otherwise, I’m not getting a lot else? This seems like it could be user error, but I’m really not sure where I went wrong!
Thanks Cameron for sharing!
Preparation
It’s fairly old, so it’s possible it hasn’t held up well. I haven’t tried this one in ages…
This is a very finicky tea. When you get it just right, it is brilliant strawberries and cream. When you don’t, it bites you. I liked it a four minutes and 200F.
Cameron that’s okay — I’m still so happy to have tried it! And actually, once I posted my note a previous note I wrote on it popped up, and it seemed I had a similar not the greatest experience!
ashmanra that’s great to know! Some teas are so finicky and need a special touch!
some flavored teas are better for me steeped one minute, more flavor pops (and then resteeps, so I don’t feel like I’m wasting the leaves with only one minute.)
That’s a neat trick tea-sipper! I’ll have to try that out.
yeah, i think its because a longer steep sometimes lets the base tea take over the flavor.
2021 sipdown no. 29
In juxtaposition to most notes I saw on this one, I am getting a fair amount of heat from the ginger and less maple. I was hoping for the opposite, but still a tasty cuppa. The ginger is not as intense as I’ve had in other teas, so I am grateful for that.
All in all, not a bad cup to enjoy this afternoon.
Cameron has really got me thinking on the teapots we have and perhaps soon I’ll have to make up a whole pot instead go just my normal mug. :)
Preparation
2021 sipdown no. 28
Another sipdown this morning, this one was a bit more sad. This was thrown in as a sample in my CS order and it was truly delicious. So silky I couldn’t believe it. I would definitely order this one in my next CS order.
Aside: Lexa got me a super cool Star Wars planner that I’ve been trying to get into the habit of using. I also use Google cal, but I liked the idea of a little paper planner too. Anyway, all that to say that at the start of the weeks, I’ve begun writing down which teas I want to sip down in the next week or so! This week it’s Red Snail and Charlotte aux Fruits Rouges because they’re getting close!
Preparation
I did a planner for a bit last year and it was fun! I ended up with so many stickers… Writing down tea goals is a good idea!
Haha, the stickers! I have some, but I haven’t used any yet. I can’t say the same for my course notebooks – loads of stickers!
I just committed to using a planner for my classes last year and it’s helped me out so much!
That’s awesome Lexie!
A wee note because I polished off two Teavivre samples this weekend: Lapsang Souchong Wild Black Tea and Keemun Aromatic Snail Black Tea.
I have too many delicious straight black teas to consider ordering either of these, but nonetheless happy to have tried them!
2021 sipdown no. 26 & 27
