Scatterbrain

Free sample provided by Teavivre, thanks again to them. This is my first Keemun, hooray! I always love when I get to try something completely new to me. As far as aroma goes, I noticed similarities to my previous experiences with Chinese black teas, such as a malty aroma with hints of cocoa and a slight bit of honey. While the leaf was steeping, the cocoa aroma intensified and a small amount of smoke presented itself. Every tea has a tone or a feeling to it, and the tone that this tea was presenting was dark and haunting.

The taste followed suit with the aromas. Dark chocolate, lots of malt and a little smokiness. This tea has some real heft to it. It’s not bitter, but it’s intense. It’s not astringent, but it’s robust. It reminds me of some really high quality coffee in its intensity, but it lacks the acidity of coffee. The smokiness is almost like an illusion to me, you can’t smell it or taste it on nearly the same level as a lapsang souchong, you just kind of feel like it’s there.

This tea would make a great wake up cup as well as an awesome late night tea.

Oh, jasmine. I’m not sure there’s a more intoxicating smell on this earth. It envelops you, comforts you and lets you know you’re in for a treat…it’s truly something special.

This one tastes very pure and natural. The jasmine does not smell or taste perfumey or over-the-top at all. As I sat and contemplated the imagery this tea was presenting to me, I noticed some of the same things that Bonnie identified. Pine forests and blue glacial water like in the Canadian wilderness. Then to a moonlit forest late at night, seeing the precious jasmine flower bloom before me. Wonderful. I absolutely love the imagery that tea can give me.

This is a very smooth and very sweet tea, probably the sweetest jasmine tea I’ve had. Absolutely marvelous, thank you for the sample Teavivre.

Azzrian, you’ve officially earned the title of the person who sent me the tastiest samples. I haven’t been let down yet. Nice oolong flavor with a light citrus flavor and a truly silky vanilla cream flavor. Awesome.

This is another sample I received from Azzrian and I’ve been excited about trying it since I’ve never had a tea from Nepal before. First of all, I want to say that I’m a little puzzled as to how this qualifies as a black tea…it’s completely green and light brown. When brewing it emits an extremely fruity and somewhat floral smell, and the liquor it produces is a light amber. Overall, ot seems very much like an oolong to me. As for the flavor, to me it tastes like a combination of silver needle mixed with peach and apricot. It’s very “juicy” and a little tangy with the pleasing astringency and mellow nature that a white tea would possess. This one is definitely interesting, very unique and I like it a lot. Thanks Azz, I probably would’ve never tried this on my own.

Wow. I might sound crazy but I’ve just had a full-blown religious tea experience. I started out drinking it casually watching Dr. Who honestly having no intention of picking apart the flavors but this tea commanded my full attention. It pulled me into a completely new space. I paused the tv, closed my eyes, and just spent about 15 minutes sipping the cup with my eyes closed making taste associations because boy, the flavors and images this tea presented to me were endless. I got everything from almond cookies, to dirt, to cranberries, and beyond.
I had visions in my mind of everything from sandy beaches to mountains and lush pastures.
And the moment I even just started smelling the wet leaf I felt a real, tangible rush of euphoria and exhilaration.

Honestly, I cannot fully explain just how significant and ethereal this experience was. It was a mental quest through life and all its sensory experiences. This is what great tea is all about, it is almost beyond this world. This tea has taught me to better appreciate tea and to surrender my senses to it fully when I consume it, because after experiences like these, I truly believe that in some way that is currently unknown to me, tea is a divine plant. Call me crazy if you wish… This tea rocked my world, thank you Azzrian, thank you Mandala and thank you to whoever is responsible for the production of this exquisute tea.

Wow, I love this. Thanks Azzrian. I’ve been on a big white tea kick lately, it’s just so pure, refreshing and relaxing and this is the first flavored white that I’ve had and I think it’s fantastic. The kiwi and strawberry tastes very natural and combines well with the white tea and yes, I can taste a little tequila in there too! There is also a subtle natural sweetness, so no sugar needed! This is delicious, and it’s unfortunate that they don’t have it anymore because I’d buy it in a heartbeat.

Backlog… I figured after I just did a review on another red rooibos blend, I might as well just get this one over with. I’ve been doing a lot of drinking teas and not writing tasting notes on them because they were boring or disappointing. But anyways…

As I wrote in my review of Teavana’s rooibos chai, I generally don’t care for red rooibos (with one exception being Tazo’s full-leaf vanilla rooibos). This one is pretty much on the same level as the rooibos from Teavana, maybe a couple points lower. I can barely detect the spices in it, the rooibos is (as always) watery and flat, and I taste no chocolate whatsoever. I can see why you didn’t care for this one, Amanda. But I’ve got good news, I passed this one on to my brother who is far less picky with teas than I am, so it will not be wasted! Thanks Amanda.

My Bostonian relatives sent me home with a bit of this to try and I finally got around to it today, I just find it hard to get excited about rooibos blends. Like another reviewer said: “it looks good, smells good, and tastes okay but has no body whatsoever”. That’s the problem with red rooibos in my opinion; it lacks depth and body, it’s completely flat and boring. Green rooibos I enjoy, but the more I try red rooibos blends the more I realize I just don’t like them.

This is a mug of comfort, and that’s exactly what I need right now. Something has been going on with me lately that is very unpleasant, it started when I was in Boston and it’s been getting progressively worse with each day that goes by. They are headaches but the word “headache” doesn’t come close to describing how horrific they are. It starts when I get up out of bed in the morning, beginning with a feeling of extreme pressure in the front of my head that turns into throbbing, extreme pain. It gets so intense that I can do nothing but lay in bed because with each movement I make, every time I stand up straight or perform any task, I get jolts of crippling pain all throughout my head. Every noise, every little bit of light, every time I move my head or TOUCH anything, I’m hit with pain that hurts so bad it causes me to scream, it got so bad at one point that I was lying in my bed crying and I felt like my skull was simultaneously on fire and about to explode. I’m sorry to whine, it’s just that this is really worrying me. I looked up my symptoms and I’m not finding anything, does anybody have any insight that they could give me?

This is my very first Darjeeling, hooray! It’s good to know that it’s organic, fair trade AND produced on a biodynamic estate as well. The dry leaf smells like autumn leaves with a little bit of a fruity scent, overall the smell is reminiscent of a darker oolong. As for the flavor, there’s definitely a little bit of a roasty flavor but the flavor is predominantly fruity, specifically grape. On top of this, there is a little bit of a pleasant astringency. This is a second flush tea, so I’m sure there are better Darjeelings out there but my first impression of Darjeelings is a positive one, because this stuff is GOOOD. This would without a doubt make a fantastic cold-brewed iced tea.

I saw this when it was brand new on Teavivre’s website and didn’t hesitate to order 100 grams of it. I had never had a Golden Monkey before but have heard good things about them and was curious.

The leaves were not quite as golden as I expected them to be, but the dry leaf put off a pleasant malty aroma not unlike the Bailin Gongfu black also from Teavivre. I’ve tried this hot quite a few times now and I’m not getting much complexity from the tea. I expected sweet potato and honey flavors along with malty qualities but all I’m really getting is malt. Still, it’s a nice and comforting grainy and malty flavor, just not quite what I was expecting.

Last night, I set up a pitcher to cold brew overnight, and today at noon (12 hours later) I gave it a try. The flavor is TOTALLY different cold brewed. It’s a bit hard to describe. I do get a little hint of sweet potato this way but the brew is more astringent, and there’s also a little bit of what I would call a metallic taste and a slight fruity flavor. As strange as that may sound, I’m finding this to be a very refreshing iced tea and in my opinion, this tea shines most cold-brewed.

I went on a bit of an Ito En shopping spree at Wegman’s today and got quite a few of their more spendy teas (this one, Uji Kabuse, Silver Needle, and a Darjeeling). This one sounded interesting to me because it’s pan-fired which is unusual for a Japanese green.

The dry leaf is slightly curled as opposed to the flat needle shape of most Japanese greens, but the deep green color is as one would expect from a Japanese green. The scent of the dry leaf is intense BUTTER (oh yeah!). As for the flavor, it’s very good. Silky and a bit brothy as I expected it would be, with a pleasant bittersweet nature and a definite hint of citrus like the description says. Great stuff.

I returned from my trip to Boston today and I’m glad to be home. It was a cool city with a lot of interesting things, but I have to say that I am NOT a city person. Being in big cities just makes me feel so crowded in…too many people, too many huge buildings towering over me, too much noise, too much traffic. I’ll take a quiet life in a small town instead. :) Still, it was great to experience a new place. I also took a little day trip up to Maine while I was in the New England area and saw some cool beaches and lighthouses. Sadly, I never got the chance to visit the tea stores that Michelle told me about.

I’m a little late in logging this as I’m now on the fourth steeping of this, but I’ve been enjoying it very much and I really missed this one. I loved it so much when I ordered it as a sample a couple of months ago that I decided to order 100 grams of it. It’s very earthy but in a mellow and smooth way, lots of what I would call mushroom flavor with a little bit of chocolate and sweetness. It’s still going strong on the fourth steep and I can see it going for at least two more. I missed all of you guys while I was gone :).

After a six-hour car ride, I’m finally in Boston to visit some family. They had a few teas in the house, most of which weren’t loose leaf, but this is one of the ones that was and I thought it sounded like a nice calming tea after a stressful day and it certainly was. I’m turning to white teas for moments of calm more and more recently, and this blend was very good for that purpose. The subtle flavor of the white peony blends perfectly with the light floral notes of the jasmine pearls and rosebuds (of which there is just the right amount to make it a light floral accent rather than an overpowering aroma). Very nice. I’ll have to see what kinds of tea shops I can find around Boston.

My samples from Amanda came today, thanks so much to her. This is one of the ones that she gave me because she didn’t like it, and I have to say I’m glad about that because I think it’s great (though I can understand why some people might not like it). It’s definitely smokey and full bodied, with hints of chocolate and a little sweetness to round out the smokiness. I love it, thanks Amanda.

I sun brewed a big jug of this today and iced it, and let me say that plain ol’ green rooibos is a must-try for iced tea this summer. It’s crisp, light and extremely refreshing with a little bit of a natural fruity flavor. To make things even better, this stuff is CHEAP. I paid around twelve dollars for a full pound on Amazon. Great iced tea for summer.

I’m liking this one a little better tonight, I guess I just wasn’t in the mood for it last night. Smooth Chinese green tea flavor with that sweet rice flavor accompanying it, not bad. I’ll bump the rating up a little bit.

I’m in need of some new teas, is anybody feeling generous and willing to send me some samples? ;)

Drinking this as a bit of a celebration cup, I just got my scores back for the SAT’s and I scored in the 86th percentile. I’m so happy and relieved and the deep and refreshing vegetal flavor and caffeine kick of this tea are making for a very happy me.

I was surprised to see that Ito En also carries some Chinese, Indian and other teas besides just Japanese green tea. I thought this sounded interesting so I took the plunge and bought some. Smelling the dry tuocha, it reminded me of the smell of Verdant’s Cornfields Shu Tuocha which I absolutely LOVE. So I brewed up the tea, let it cool a little bit and started sipping. I’ve gotta say that I was a bit bored by this tea. I’m sure there are other people who would enjoy it because it did seem to be good quality, I’m just not sure I’m a big fan of sheng pu-erh. It tasted like a typical mellow Chinese green tea with a little bit of a salty taste to it along with the flavor of rice cakes and a little sweetness. Now that may sound good on paper, but to me it was just “meh”. Like I said, this is a quality tea and I’m sure that other people would enjoy it, it just seems a little boring to me. It’s the oatmeal of the tea world.

I bought this and four other Japanese greens from Ito En recently and this is the one I keep reaching for because it’s just so much better than the rest, it’s not even fair. Light and fresh with a subtle creaminess, bright citrus notes and a little bit of sweetness. This is a vibrant, juicy tea that induces feelings of calmness and joy. That’s just what I need right now too, because I’m currently in the midst of withdrawal from a severe nicotine dependence that I finally decided it was time to end. I’m trying to implement a lot of positive changes in my life right now, and my beloved camellia sinensis will help me every step of the way.

Man, I just love Japanese green tea. It can transport me to many different places in my mind. Through the sense of sight, its rich, deep green colored leaves evoke images of sprawling green forests untouched by the modern world and brimming with exotic wildlife and rich cultural history. Through the sense of smell, it brings me to Japanese oceanic shorelines. And through the sense of taste, I get flashbacks to buttered vegetables and Japanese sushi bars. Rich, deep and divine…you’ve just gotta love a good Japanese green.

This one has been a long time coming, I’ve missed Japanese green teas dearly. From what I’ve read, this is sort of in between a sencha and a gyokuro because it’s shade-grown for a shorter period of time than gyokuro. It’s light and of course vegetal, with notes of citrus, cream and a little bit of sweetness. Delicious.

I’ve only tried one other ti kuan yin which was from Teavivre, so going into this I expected something similar to that. I was expecting the tea to smell and taste floral, but what I got was totally different. I didn’t expect it, but this one is roasty like a wuyi oolong. But it’s not as simple as the roastiness of a wuyi, there’s some “greener” character fighting to come out. It’s like this tea has layers of toasted flavors and layers of green flavors, and I’m really liking the combination. Delicious.

This one is just alright in my opinion, definitely not one of my favorites from Verdant. I’m sure that it is a high quality tea, it’s just not really appealing to me (at least at this point). More than anything, it tastes like citrus and it is a bit creamy, but it seems a little too astringent and it’s reminding me of some bagged orange pekoe teas I’ve had. Of course I’ll keep playing around with what’s left of the ounce I bought, and I’ll come back with a rating later. Maybe my expectations are too high after the Golden Fleece and Zhu Rong black.