Jillian

So based on my last experience with this tea I decided to go out and buy some goji berries from the health food store. Having tried them I’ve concluded that they and this tea have only a passing aquaintance. They both have a bit of a tartness to them, but when I drink this tea I keep thinking ‘tart strawberry’ instead of ‘goji’.

I resteeped the leaves from last night and they were plenty strong enough to provide me with another cuppa this morning. This tea does lose a lot of its unique qualities on the resteep I’ve noticed, and it tasted more like a slightly smokey generic (but still high quality) black tea.

Halloween party tonight and what better way to make sure I’m bright and awake? I think I used a bit too much dry leaf because it has a slightly bitter aftertaste but oddly enough it almost seems to work with the smokiness of the tea. (And sorry, still not tasting any pepper.)

I steeped this for slightly less time than before and that helped a bit. It has an interesting odor reminiscent of spiced apple cider or maybe those ‘Christmas scented’ potpourries. Taste-wise the chai spices are still too much for this tea unfortunately and they’re just too harsh on the tongue to be really enjoyable.

This isn’t tasting as strong as last time, maybe because I blew out my tastebuds with hot pepper. Note to Self: When de-seeding jalapeno peppers DO NOT give into temptation to try eating the seeds. >.<

One thing I’ve noticed is that the leaves are a lot more broken up than those shown in the picture on the H&S website, although this is probably due to it being a sample packet and possibly getting crushed a bit in the mail.

I resteeped the leaves and the sweetness of the white tea came through more, though the bergamot was dulled. There was also a strange sort of vegetal taste to it.

Meh, like I said before, not nearly as good as Adagio’s Thai Chai. My boyfriend and I made a cup of each and tasted them side by side and he agreed with me. I’m half thinking of offering this tea up for adoption.

The boyfriend and I went out for breakfast this morning and I ordered this at the restaurant. Just taking a sniff of the tea revealed a heady fragrance of sweet fruit. I didn’t have a timer of course, so I tried to use my watch to time the steeping. The package recommended 3 minutes so that’s what I went for.

Upon tasting I found the tea to be quite delicate and slightly sweet in the way that white teas (particularly bai mu dans) can be. The fruitiness was only a faint echo but it still made a good impression. Part of the problem might be that it was steeped in one of those little metal teapots which had more than a cup’s worth of water, thereby diluting the tea a bit. Despite that it was a still an enjoyable cuppa and it made my breakfast feel very decadent. :D

I added two heaping teaspoonfuls this time and I think I might be closer to the correct amount. It has a distinctly flowery scent, almost like you smell in a field of wildflowers after a light rain. The tea starts out tasting rather light, slightly sweet, and fruity and finishes in a slightly cooked/baked taste, though the latter isn’t nearly as prominent as in the Formosa Oolongs I’ve tried.

I know black teas generally aren’t much good for resteeping, but I’ve noticed that there is a smattering of green tea leaves in this tea suggesting that it might be a blend of black and green (although definitely more of the former than the latter). So I decided to go for it with the leaves from this morning.

I added on an extra minute to this morning’s steeping time, I think it worked out to about 5.5 minutes. The result is a little thin but still nice and drinkable. I know tea is supposed to be a warming beverage in general, but there’s something very ‘warm’ about the taste of this particular blend.

Drinking this first thing – it might be a little too smooth for early in the morning. ;) This tea is best drunk plain I think, adding milk would just drown the subtle flavours and it just doesn’t need it.

Managed to keep the bag from spliting open this time. In my opinion this tea tastes better with more steeping as opposed to less.

I had one of these today with Passion tea. I’m not a fan of the tea by itself, but blend with the lemonade it’s a delicious, fruity caffine-free treat.

Steeped 4 minutes. Smokey.

Steeped for 2.5 minutes. Not bad at all.

This is that last of this tea as I only had a small sample envelop of it. It didn’t blow my mind but it’s still a very pleasent tea, though I think I’d like to try some other Ceylons before I decide whether or not to get more of this one.

I steeped this for 5 minutes in boiling water that had been allowed to cool for a few minutes. Lengthening the steeping time just seems to emphasize the slightly over-baked quality this tea has. I think I’ll try for less next time.

Added a touch of honey – because it’s not like this tea is sweet enough already or anything. ;) I also skimped on the milk more than usual and it came out sweet but very cocoa-y.

I was feeling like something cold when this caught my eye in the international foods section of the grocery store. It tastes very ‘clear’ and refreshing, even if I doubt the highest quality sencha was used as it was a little on the harsh side – more like a bancha maybe. Even so it was a nice cold drink, with zero sugar or other additives.

The leaves are big, even curled up as they are. I’m not actually sure if I’m getting the full amount in my scoop. In fact I’m sure I didn’t, as the tea is pretty weak and tasteless after a 3 minute steep.

Edit:
Resteeped for 4:15 and it didn’t really improve things much. I guess I’ll have to try again with more leaf next time. :/

I’m having the second steep from yesterday iced as we speak. This is a tea that seems to get sweeter and the jasmine flavour more pronounced as the tea cools.

Backlogging from this morning. :)

I seem to be on a bit of a honey kick right now. I added about half a spoonful and I actually really enjoyed the way it changed the taste. It’s still distinctly herby but not in such an obvious good-for-you way. It’s sweet, but not hugely so, just right for before bed.

It’s neat to the point of being mesmerizing watching the pearls open. It starts with the white tea leaves slowly unfurling from around the pearls. And these are proper, suculent-looking white tea leaves/buds, not the chopped, torn-up bits you get with some teas. Then the green tea, which is in smaller pieces, sort of puffs up and slowly drifts apart.

It feeds the eyes aswell as my sense of beauty and art, because to me tea is more than just drinking a cup of tea leaves in hot water.

I tried this tea in less than boiling water based on suggestions I’ve seen in a couple different places. Steeping time was 3 minutes.

There’s a lot of bits that escaped the strainer this time which is a tad annoying (it wasn’t like this the first time so it might be that the bag got accidently crushed in my tea cabinet). I know some people like to eat the steeped tea leaves, but I find it a bit annoying to have to spit out little pieces of leaves after every sip.

The smell is fruity, almost what I’d call berry-like (muscatel???). I’m not sure that 3 minutes is enough time, at least at this water temperature as the tea is tasting a little bit weak. I think I’m getting a bit of what the description referes to as ‘nuttiness’ although for some reason it reminds me more of bread. I’m also getting a hint of the sharpness (brightness?) I noticed before, though it’s a lot more palatable in this instance.