59 Tasting Notes

93

Made a 2nd infusion of this last night and iced it and man it held up well! It’s nice and sweet without any sugar, but not overly sweet. The ultra creamyness falls away to make way for the coconut in this batch. I don’t know if that’s because 1. I didn’t add soy milk, 2. It’s the 2nd infusion, or 3. It’s iced…..

I’d prefer a hot cup right now, but for some reason none of my travel mugs want to agree with me. Something I am NOT happy about since I start commuting via train next week. Speaking of which, gotta go buy my monthly rider pass now before the ticket booth closes at 6:30am! :)

Side note: I’m putting together a tea sampler box for my aunt today. She said she drinks “Mostly English Breakfast and Earl Gray… occasionally a dessert chai”… OHHH I’m so excited to corrupt and convert her to this wonderful world of tea! She has no idea what she’s missing!

Preparation
Iced 3 min, 30 sec

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93

My exact words when I tasted this tea just now were, “Ooh… Oh… Oh yea…” (Which, for some reason were spoken in an almost Tina Fay playing Sarah Palin accent….)

This tea is goooood! I got my 4 teas plus 6 samples from The Persimmon Tree in the mail today and based on smell alone I HAD to try this one first!

I’ve been really weary of white teas in the past, but every time I try them, I don’t know why I don’t drink them more! I think it has to do with the myth that white teas are super low in caffeine… Actually, how do you tell how much caffeine a white tea has, anyway? (Because I hear it fluctuates?)

Ok anyway, back to this tea. If you like coconut, and you like creamy, just go out and buy this tea. Seriously, stop reading this review and just go buy it. Even if you’re a white tea sissy like me. It reminds me, in a way, of the Cantaloupe and Creme tea from Butiki that is my #1 favorite tea ever. I added a bit of vanilla soy milk to this because it’s like 98* outside and I don’t care what studies say about hot tea bringing down your body temperature; it’s too hot for hot hot tea right now! I do have another mug of just hot tea over here trying to cool down, though, let me sip that…. yea, no, still too hot, the only flavor I get is burnt tongue coming through. So, for now, coconut, creme and vanilla soy milk is mmm mmmm delicious!

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Michelle

White teas with caffeine – it’s popularly stated that black teas have more caffeine and whites have very little. But then other studies say that whites actually have the most due to the lack of processing. I find it honestly depends on the tea, and it probably comes down to location, harvest date, age, etc.

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Backlog from last night.

I’m glad Brenden told me this was a calming blend, so I drank it at bedtime last night and not to get energy to do homework today!

This was a very calming, relaxing, herbal night time tea. I could taste all the herbal flavors melding together, urging me to drift off to sleep (BUT WAIT TEA, I said, I HAVE TO FINISH WATCHING BIG BROTHER!) The lemon in this tea appears more once the tea is slightly cooled.

I’m leaving off a rating since I mostly drink teas like this for their benefits, and anything with chamomile tends to remind me of sleep, so it’s not fair to compare it with other black teas that wake me up! Fair enough?

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
TeaEqualsBliss

WOW! Sounds interesting!

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99

Again, thanks to Brenden from Whispering Pines for this sample! As soon as I got it, he recommended cold brewing it for 14 hours. “14 hours?!” I thought to myself. “How will I wait 14 hours to drink my tea?!” Well, let me tell you, it’s worth it.

I have to backtrack a second and say #1 I love mint. #2 I have a stomachache this morning so I needed mint tea. Badly.

Oh why hello Blackmint that has been cold brewing in my fridge all night. Usually I start my morning off with hot tea, but since it’s already fairly warm at 7:30am, this is perfect.

I can’t say enough good things about this tea. It’s not bitter at all. It’s smooth. It’s perfectly minty. I appreciate that there are two different kinds of mint in it; I think that helps the depth of flavor. And then riiiight at the end, when you think the sip is gone, there is a touch of cinnamon. Not too much to overpower the flavors… in fact, if it wasn’t listed I don’t know if I would have noticed it, but since I was looking for it, I do. It’s doing something for the flavors, though, since it’s not JUST mint. Loving this tea! When I make it hot, I’ll let you know how it is that way, too! :)

If you haven’t already gotten your Whispering Pines samples, I suggest you do! This is a great tea company and I’m excited to have found it!

Preparation
Iced 8 min or more
TeaEqualsBliss

Blackmint? OMG! Right up my alley! YET ANOTHER I will put on my wishlist :)

Madeline Alyce

This one is good!!! Nice, smooth, oolongy mint haha :)

TeaBrat

I just ordered mine! :D

Nicole

Okay. I’ll need to try this one.

Sil

Wow this sounds wonderful!

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97

Second infusion just as good as the first! I can definitely see myself drinking this on cold winter mornings waiting for that 4:39am commuter train to pick me up!

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95

I put some of this in a cold cup in the fridge, then forgot what I had brewed. I was pleasantly surprised when I took a sip! This tea is even fantastic iced! The creamy falls away a little bit and is replaced by more lemon, but that also could be because it was my second infusion…

Alphakitty

This blend is amazing hot and iced—usually I like tea more one way or the other, but this is pretty equally delicious no matter how you make it.

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92

While I was absorbed in my Smokey Mountain Mate, my S’mores was over in my infuser, taking a nice long steeping. Brenden from Whispering Pines suggested a 20 minute steep, though mine MAY have been more like 23 by the time I made it over to pull the basket up (THIS is why I need a Breville to automatically do things for me! #firstworldproblems)

Anyway, I added a little soy milk to this cup, because… well mostly because I wanted to. As I walked back to my stool, I smelled the cup and knew it smelled AWESOME but couldn’t place the scent. Then it hit me! Smells JUST LIKE graham crackers!!! Sweet cinnamon goodness!

First sip… I don’t know if I would place this as s’mores right away, but it certainly tastes good… I definitely get the marshmallow and graham cracker right away, but the chocolate doesn’t hit me as much as I would like. Maybe it would just muddle the mix if it was more prominent, though… The cinnamon/sugar flavor of this comes through more than anything. I might just call it graham cracker tea if I didn’t know better! I’m not complaining, though, I love graham crackers :) Overall, the depth of flavor is actually impressive and I’m left with a lingering sweet marshmallow flavor. I wonder if adding sugar would bring out the flavors or just make this over the top sweet. I’m not going to mess with it, though! Thanks for the free sample, Brenden !

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more

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97

Yay! After (not so) patiently waiting for the mail all day, it finally arrived and I had my 5 samples from Whispering Pines Tea Company YES! As per *Brenden*’s suggestion, I brewed a hot cup of this tea while infusing S’mores for 20 minutes and cold brewing Blackmint overnight :)

So, Smokey Mountain Mate! I was drawn to this tea because of it’s description; individually pine smoked batches? Who WOULDN’T want to try that? And since I was unable to go camping this summer, this will have to do for now…

I don’t want to add soymilk to this, so I’ve been letting it cool longer than usual and the suspense is killing me! Let’s see if I don’t scald myself while I taste it… Nope, cup is even too hot… let me clean up my kitchen and I’ll get back to you…

Alright well I worked on tricks with my puppies instead of cleaning, but they now know sit AND lay down (though they more instantly lie down when they see the treat bag, but whatever).

Transferred tea to a NOT scalding cup and tasted… OMG YUM! Let me tell you a little story that anybody who has ever gone camping will relate to…. you know how when you go camping, you’re out by the campfire all night and you don’t really notice how you smell until you get home and shower and then pick up your clothes to put them in the wash and you’re like wow… I really smelled like campfire! THAT’S EXACTLY HOW THIS TEA TASTES. Except less gross. Because my description was a little gross. But my point is, this tea perfectly embodies camping and campfire and WOW. You can definitely tell this is actually smoked and didn’t just have smoke flavoring added to it. I don’t even want to drink it. I just want to hold it in my mouth and close my eyes and remember all my camping experiences (which makes me sad since I’ll never get to camp with my dad again :-/) Man! I was hoping this would replace camping for me, but now it makes me want to go camping even more! And take this tea and drink it by the campfire. I’m highly impressed! YUM!

Edit: It’s crazy how many emotions are unleashed through our senses. Drinking this reminds me so much of my dad and though it makes my heart ache and miss him like crazy, I welcome the experience…

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec
TeaBrat

oooh, this sounds so nice!

Madeline Alyce

I highly recommend it! The s’mores, too! That’s as far into my samples as I’ve tasted :)

TeaEqualsBliss

I’m so excited the SMores is vegan :)

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95

The dogs and I are having an odd morning today. Since next week my alarm clock is going to be set for 3:30am (haha, yea…) I’ve been trying to get up earlier, but my dogs don’t seem to want to wake up until just around now, so it’s a battle of cranky dogs for a few hours.

Anyway, you might see a lot of tea tasting notes from me today because I’ve been slacking on drinking tea and as a result have become DEHYDRATED. Which is NOT good for my weak digestive system :-/ SO, tea is on the agenda today! (Along with homework for the final few weeks of my online classes FINALLY)

So, to the tea. I didn’t smell much when this was in the bag (A sample from Amy Oh; THANK YOU!) but once it was it the cup, YUM! Smells JUST LIKE lemon dessert bars mmmmm. I’m almost afraid to taste it because I don’t want to ruin the taste… Well, here goes nothing… Sip…. Not bad! It has a lighter flavor than the smell, but it does taste almost exactly like it smells! Perfect lemony creamy flavor with just the perfect taste of green tea. Now, I’m not usually a green tea fan, but I actually really like this flavor. Must be a different type of green tea (and I’m a fan!) I think the soymilk I added helps with the creamyness, but I might actually omit it on the next cup and see if it brings out the lemon flavor a bit more. Thanks for the sample Amy Oh and for creating this wonderful tea Frank ! :)

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec
TeaBrat

I like this one tooooo, I got a second pouch to keep at work!

Madeline Alyce

Thank you for sharing it with me! :)

Mercuryhime

I’ve got some hyper active watchdogs so I get an escort to the bathroom even at 3AM. They’d be more impressive to burglars if they weren’t only 5 pounds each.
Also, this tea sounds amazing. I can’t afford to buy any now due to new financial circumstances. :(

Madeline Alyce

Well maybe the Steepster tea fairies will help some find its way to your house….. O:-)

tattooed_tea

sounds delish! I need to place an order soon

Mercuryhime

Tea fairies are awesome. :)

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88

Oh. My. Goodness. It might just be the mood I am in right now, but this tea is FANTASTIC. After dinner tonight (vegan “chicken”, vegan mac and cheese and green beans, thank you very much) I REALLY wanted something sweet, but didn’t really want to go get dessert. Then I remembered I bought some German Rock Sugar from Teavana on a whim yesterday… The wheels started to turn… Let me say first that I NEVER EVER sugar my tea (I don’t really like to eat a lot of sugar, in fact) but I was CRAVING sugar tonight. So into my infuser went some sugar, and some of this tea. Into my mug went some soymilk and 4 minutes later… pourrrrr and sipppp and…. Blisssssss. Each sip is perfectly blueberry and creamy and sweet and EXACTLY what I needed tonight. I can’t attest to how it would taste without soymilk or sugar but I can guarantee you that WITH it, I am in heaven. Now goodbye while I slip away into blueberry creme paradise….

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec
tattooed_tea

This sounds so good!

Madeline Alyce

Aw, I just sent out your tea yesterday or else I would have included some!

Della Terra Teas

Thank you Madeline!

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Vegan. Tea Drinker. Animal lover. 8th grade English teacher.

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Manteca/Palo Alto, CA

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