259 Tasting Notes

57

This tea is not unpleasant, but it does not stand out for me. If I want a chocolate tea, I have other options that “pop” in my mouth more boisterously. I don’t think this is a bad tea, but it’s not memorable.

Preparation
4 min, 0 sec

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93
drank Caramelized Pear by Art of Tea
259 tasting notes

I purchased this tea with some scepticism. I love the flavor of pears, but I’ve had too many tea-bags that proclaim Pear flavor with no discernable taste nor even odor of pear.

This one is a true keeper. The aroma is strong and distinct and the taste is divine. There are pear over-notes, mid-notes, and base-notes! I was so caught up in my first cup that all I could do was start thinking about my second cup. For me that is a signal of true tea dementia. When I get demented over a tea, I know that I love it.
If you like sweet flavored teas and the taste of pear you will love this. It’s de-caf so you can drink it all evening long and you don’t need to worry about over-steeping.

Preparation
5 min, 0 sec

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89

This is the first Pumpkin tea I have tasted, so I don’t really have any points of comparison. I’m the kind of person who chases after things like “Pumpkin Pie Martinis” and “Pumpkin Ravioli” so I write from the perspective of a pumpkin lover.

This tea pleased me very much. Most importantly, the pumpkin flavor seems true and not at all synthetic. The mix between the black tea, the spices, and the pumpkin was exquisitely done. If you like flavored teas as I do and if you are a fan of the Pumpkin as Food or Flavor source, you owe it to yourself to give this a try. Very well done, Culinary Teas!

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66
drank Chocolate Monkey by Art of Tea
259 tasting notes

I wanted to like this more than I did. The description is tantalizingly delicious. I’ve had several cups of Chocolate Monkey and it’s nicely subtle. It’s quiet, aromatic, and has a great banana aftertaste.

It’s naturally sweet and very laid-back. The monkey seems to be napping and not up to much mischief here.

I realize more and more that I like big, brash, arrogant teas and that the subtle delights often pass me by because I want an enormous flavor whallop. Chocolate Monkey is a bit sedate and lady-like for me. Maybe if I crush the peppercorns? I’ll try that next.

Preparation
6 min, 15 sec
teaplz

I have this as well! I’m a big fan of banana and chocolate (and the two together as well!) so I was pretty excited when the boyfriend gave this to me for Christmas. Loved your log, and can’t wait to see what my experience is like!

LENA

I would love to try this tea. adding it to my shopping list I’ve been on a black tea binge lately, so when I recently tried a white tea, I really had to concentrate to taste anything.

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82
drank Luigi Amaretto by TeaGschwendner
259 tasting notes

Ever since I drank far too many Harvey Wallbangers in college one evening because they tasted so NOT like alcohol—-I have been wary of liquers. On the other hand, I love the name Luigi and use it as a nickname for any convenient masculine figure—and TeaGshwendner had such an attractive description, that I had to get this tea.

TeaGshwendner, right now, is most certainly in my list of top ten tea companies because I love the sensational things they do with flavor. If you approach Luigi Amoretto you will think that someone has opened a bottle of Amoretto and is waving it right under your nose. This is not necessarily a bad thing. The appearance is intriguing. With all of the raisins, apple pieces, and other visually appealing things in Luigi Ameretto, one wants to sprinkle it on ice cream, on cereal, or simply to eat it stright up.

I used two teaspoons and a dash extra because I have humongous mugs. I also allowed it to steep for a full ten minutes (not be design but because I was distracted). The result was a fine and festive mug of fruitiness which smelled exactly like Amoretto. It’s a kind of fruity, creamy, almondy brew. I like it. I like strawberry and chocolate and chai flavors better but this tea is just great and would make a superb gift for the almond or apple lover in your life. On second thought, however, I won’t give this away. There are times when I want something different and this will remain in my cupboard. I can most certainly imagine drinkers give this tea 90 plus points.

TeaGschwendner seems to be all about high-quality flavors and mixes and this is a great autumn/winter tea. I felt a bit as if I were out on a crisp November day in New Hampshire, 75 years ago, watching Robert Frost (temporarily called Luigi) picking apples and tossing them into a vat of toasted almonds.

Preparation
8 min or more

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97
drank Eros by Mariage Frères
259 tasting notes

Eros tea is floral and fairly light. That being said, however, the lightness is deep, rich, and conveys a sense of yellow like a painting by Turner, who made yellow seem more exquisite than anything nature could offer.

The aroma is not as intense as Marco Polo, another favorite of mine, but it is like being in a French country garden—possibly at Giverny where Monet painted. With Eros I once again noticed the brilliant way that Mariage Frères has deep rich flavors that sustain themselves on the tongue, in the throat and in the aftertaste. A lot of light floral teas I know give a little whiff of their perfume and POOF! they have vanished. This tea stays: like the finest French perfume, it caresses you with its vapors and aromas.

It’s a nice black and would be a wonderful blend to serve at a sophisticated tea party or, as the name suggests, after a romantic tryst.

One of the things I like about Mariage Frères teas is they are resolutely natural: the ingredients must be of the highest quality and there is no hint of anything synthetic or ephemeral. it may cost more than other black teas, but it is worth it. Considering what you get, it’s a lot less costly than a tea bag at Starbucks!

Preparation
4 min, 30 sec
Carolyn

This is a beautiful review. I will have to look for Eros. It sounds wonderfully sensual.

JacquelineM

I so would like to try this tea, and the Marco Polo! I think their French Breakfast looks great too. I saw them offered online at Dean and DeLuca but was wondering if there were alternatives. Thanks!

Kyle Hildebrant

Thanks for this review. It’s spot on. I love this tea.

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45

Some of the other reviewers loved this tea. I thought it was rather drab. I don’t know if that is because I don’t appreciate subtlety as much as some or if my tea-bag (sent to me as part of a holiday letter) was old. I got the earthy taste, but could not pick up on the promised overtones.

I know that Numi has some enchanting bagged teas so I might try to revisit this was a bag I know is new. I’ve had other teas that do earthy and chocolate-y in a much more intensely pleasing way.

Preparation
4 min, 30 sec
Cofftea

Probably the only Pu Erh that anyone will ever get me to try. Except for maybe GM Pu Erh Chai… but only because it’s chai.

Carolyn

Puerhs can be substantially different than the ones you seem to have tried. For example, many puerhs brew up dark with a heavy earthy aroma. (And this is what I’ve mostly seen sold by non-puerh focused tea companies. But other puerhs brew up into light, golden sweet tasting liquors tasting of honey and other sweet things. They’re more similar to oolongs or yellow or white teas.

Cofftea

The only one I’ve tried is Adagio’s Pu Erh Dante.

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11

The date between my nose, taste buds and this tea was an unmitigated disaster. Firstly, the tea is over-packaged in a tea bag in a little box covered with cellophane and a rip cord. Secondly, the tea had no discernable flavor. Just a tad of sweet earthiness, but nothing I would call caramel. Aftertaste is nil.

The problem might be that the more loose tea I drink, the harder it is to find a tea-bag I like. And I know that I like huge bursts of flavor, the more so when I drink a non-caffeinated tea. But there are some Numi bagged teas that are worth-while. This tea might be perfectly delightful for someone with a much subtler sensibility than I have.

Preparation
8 min or more

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89

The tea smells and tastes exactly like Root Beer. I brewed it and let it steep for a good 7 minutes because I was feeding the cats but as the aroma suffused the room I could swear I heard the chords of “Hoe Down” from Aaron Copland’s ballet “Rodeo” with Gene Autry in the other room singing "I’ve Got Spurs (that jingle jangle jingle). I know that root beer is not especially “western” but this brew transformed me into the “Fanciulla del West”.
The taste is thorough root beer and I drank it up with gratitude that I could feel so “rooting-tooting” replete without a ton of calories.

I drank it sraight up, neat. I am sure that it would be just dandy with sugar and some milk. Indeed, the milk might give one more of a “float” feel.

But it was so excellent I wasn’t stopping for the dairy.
I am a person who is enamoured of dessert teas and I have to order this. I had it as a sample along with the rest of my NecessiTeas order. Isn’t that how the dope peddlars operate? They give you a sample and you belong to them for life?

Now I have to rush to have a second infusion…it really is that good and it has made me feel a bit silly and screw-ball-y. It’s a NecessiTea indeed.

Preparation
7 min, 0 sec
Cofftea

I have a rootbeer black as well. I love steeping a large batch in just enough boiling water to cover the leaves then filling up the liquid discrepancy w/ carbonated water and chilling.

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61
drank Buccaneer by SerendipiTea
259 tasting notes

I’ve had three cups of Buccaneer and think that it is mis-named. Maybe it should be called “Shepherd” or “Vicar” or “Constable”. It’s not a tea for dashing pirates or for Edith Wharton-style young ladies who are intent on conquering European high-society. It’s a good tea for a crepuscular read of Barbara Pym. It’s a great tea to share with an early evening visit with your neighborhood curate. You will taste its tones of vanilla and coconut and they will be kind and gentle, unassuming and a bit timid—but they are indeed there.

I may not be entirely fair: I’ve observed that I am not good at doing “subtle” when it comes to teas. I want mad concoctions that rage in my mouth! Buccaneer is a mild and very servicable tea. You can steep it for a while and it won’t taste bitter at all. It’s a tea for kind, gentle, wise people and not for pirates and debutantes. It is a perfect tea as is and milk and sugar will not hurt it, nor will they be necessary.

SerendipiTea has great looking packaging and speedy delivery service and I’m looking forward to trying more of their teas.

Preparation
6 min, 15 sec

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Profile

Bio

I really love big, bold, brash teas. Smokiness enthralls me. I don’t seem to do subtle.
I don’t do rooibos.

My rating system:
0-30:
Never again in a hundred million years

31-55: This tea probably has some redeeming qualities but I won’t would not seek it out again.

56-70:
Shows some promise but also has a fundamental flaw. I probably owe these a second taste but am unmotivated.

71-80:
Good with at least one strong quality; I probably would not buy it but would drink it cheerfully.

81-90: Worthy contenders; they might be ranked 100 on somebody’s else’s scale. I like them a lot but have not fallen in love. Will probably buy and use.

91-95: These are the true loves, the chosen ones, the ones I dream about and crave. Unless they are in a limited edition—la! how you tease me!—I will always keep in my cupboard.

96-100: I cannot be separated from these teas and would develop a panic attack if I were to run out.
-

“She is too fond of books and it has turned her brain.”

Elderly dowager. Quintessential cat lady.

Tea which must be in stock always:

Black Dragon LS by Upton Teas: My choice every morning.

Florence & Lapsang Souchong by Harney & Sons

a good Gen Maicha

Samovar: Russian Blend, Maiden’s Ecstasy, Ryokucha

Mariage Frères: Confucious, Vivaldi, Eros, Aida, Marco Polo

American Tea Room: Brioche

Leland Teas: Bogart

Life in Teacup:
An Xi Tie Guan Yin Grade II modern green style & also Charcoal Style

Location

In the midst of the middle of the heart of nowhere in particular.

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