Dinahsaur

This tea was a gift from a friend. At the name, I was a bit concerned, as I rarely find myself enjoying teas with rose (the rose always seems too sweet and makes me think only of perfumes). The smell of the dry leaves was somewhat stronger than I was hoping. When brewed, the scent of (what I assume to be) almond extract was overly sweet and put me a bit out of my senses.

The flavor was somewhat more mild than the aroma, but still not to my taste. I haven’t a large amount of experience with Teavana teas quite yet, but so far it seems that many of them are flavored too strongly and too sweetly. It seems to frequently overwhelm the flavor of the tea itself and taste of other things entirely. I presume it is to bring the tea into the modern market that is so overwhelmed with strong, sweet drinks. I have a standard Darjeeling from Teavana to look forward to, so I hope to find that more natural and tasting of the tea itself.

I had this tea at a local cafe and the first thing I noticed with the powerful vanilla aroma of the tea. I first tasted the liquor plain fresh from the pot and found the vanilla flavor a bit overwhelming. I finished it with a very small portion of raw sugar and some non-fat milk to fill out the cup.

As for the tea itself, it was quite tasty in general. It is a nicely flavored tea, which is a bit of a compliment from myself (who is not disposed to care for flavored teas). The vanilla did quite overpower the flavor of the tea itself, so I cannot speak for the quality of the leaves. I should, however, have this tea again when in the mood for a sweet, full tea on a chill morning.

This tea is pretty much gross to me. It’s like drinking over sweetened fruit juice. I prefer Capri Sun to the Youthberry Wild Orange Blossom. I was unable to detect any tea flavor at all.

My personal theory is that Teavana claims this is their best seller just so they can get rid of their extra stock in the form of samples… Just a theory!

I have tasted a number of random pu-erh teas and this is one of my favorites to date. It was an added random sample mini tuo with an order from Life In Teacup, but I have been unable to identify just which tea it is. However, it was so tasty, I wanted to write up a little something.

Using a gaiwan and relatively recently boiling water, I gave this pu-erh its first new breath of life. And smelling the air wafting from it as I poured that first infusion, that’s exactly what it was. It’s very earthy and natural in scent. As I tasted it, I felt as if I was hiking the woods on a dewy spring morning. The sensation of tasting this particular pu-erh brings back happy memories.

Though it has a light bitterness to it, I was surprised at how light the flavor was on the first infusion compared to how darkly the liquor brewed. The bitterness has a hint of sweetness, like you would expect of a hoppy ale or porter.

At this point, all I can say is that I’m saving the wrapper and going to do all I can to identify this pu-erh so I can order myself a larger quantity!

I steeped the tea in a gaiwan with recently boiled water. After a quick wash and “leaf awakening”, I was first a little overwhelmed with how green the Oolong was. My first cup helped me set my pallete and only after that was I able to truly appreciate what I was tasting (I’m still new to active tasting)!

The liquor itself is a bright hay color and gives off a vegetal, grassy aroma at first. After a moment I was able to detect some citrus notes (the bergamot, it seems). This tea has an astringency I found quite enjoyable and has a refreshing citrusy, lightly sour after taste that lingers pleasantly. The tea itself is very light in general, which adds to the refreshing flavor of the overall tea.

I quite enjoyed this tea and am eager to try it again!