618 Tasting Notes

85

I am FINALLY getting around to opening this pouch. My schedule has been so off lately that I haven’t been drinking too many teas with caffeine. I really need to sip down some of my collection since it’s bursting at the moment.

The dry leaf is very pretty – golden strands mixed with black, very tightly wrapped around each other. The scent of this tea after it’s steeped weirdly reminds me of the English Breakfast tea of my childhood – thick, milky and sugary.

Sipping… mmm.. quite delicious! What I notice first is the sweetness of the cup. It’s smooth and yet only the slightest bit earthy, sharp. I detect a bit of hay, sweet potato and perhaps a bit of pepper in the aftertaste. I also love the mild milk tone that I’m getting throughout the entire cup. It’s not that the tea is creamy, but smooth with a flavor that reminds me of a glass of milk.

While I did enjoy this cup, I didn’t find the flavor notes that I was hoping to find.. vanilla, cream. I’m not sure that I would go out of my way to find this one again, but it is enjoyable!

Stephanie

I’ve never met a jin jun mei I didn’t like

Ost

Mmm! Sounds so good. Wishlisted now :P

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84

The scent of the dry blend is wonderful: beautiful oolong, buttery cashew and tart raspberry!

Sipping… this is such a tasty tea! I first taste the lovely oolong – very mellow, but with light floral notes. The raspberry blends so well with the tea base and adds such a bright sweetness. The cashew seems to blanket each sip with a heavy nutty flavor. I don’t know if I would recognize it as being exclusive to cashews, but it’s delicious. The nut flavor reminds me of Maple Pecan oolong.

Mmm! This cup is very enjoyable and so original. Lovely! I’ll have no trouble finishing the rest of this blend.

Oh, Happy Thanksgiving! I’m thankful for family, friends and delicious tea!

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5

For some reason, this season I’m really enjoying the creamy peppermint teas. This one sounded so delicious, so I picked this for my evening cup. Well, this one is definitely not for me. The first sip made me cringe! I thought to myself, “WHAT is that flavor? Licorice?” — then it finally came to me… stevia. Normally I don’t mind stevia and actually like it in certain drinks, but its presence in this tea made it beyond sweet. It contributes an awful, tongue-coating flavor and paired with the peppermint, it becomes liquid medicine. Ew.

Kittenna

Oh, gross.

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90

The scent of this blend is so delicious — mint, vanilla, chocolate. It really does smell like mint chocolate ice cream! After water has been added, it smells much more earthy, woody and minty… sharper, almost… but I can still smell the chocolate.

Sipping… the first thing I taste is mint paired with some rooibos. It almost seems like it is going to be too sharp, but it slowly changes into something smooth and creamy. The chocolate flavor itself is subtle, but the creaminess is lovely! This tea has such a nice balance of rooibos and mint. The mint isn’t too overwhelming for someone who isn’t crazy about it. This is really yummy! I would definitely repurchase this in the future.

tea-sipper

Glad you like it! … And that we split it!

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81

This is a great tea for this afternoon. It has just started snowing and it’s freezing outside! I pick up on some soft cocoa notes, something earthy like soil and a savory hint of buttered or salted fruit. The end of the sip brings out a bitter raisin flavor, too. There is a lot going on in this cup and it seems to have a little bit of everything. While it’s enjoyable, it isn’t my favorite from Whispering Pines. I’m so happy to have tried it, though. Thank you, Ost, for the sample!

hippiechick 42

Sent u a PM yesterday. :)

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77
drank Tokio by Lupicia
618 tasting notes

The scent of this tea reminds me of some fruity gummies. I’m not really sure if I could decide on a specific type or brand, but it’s definitely reminding my nose of something fruity and chewy. When I move my nose closer to the cup, the green tea becomes more prominent. From the scent alone, though, I can tell that this tea base and the flavoring are matched perfectly. Where the green tea seems to end, the fruit picks up and continues with a delicate sweetness.

Sipping… hm, I think this smells better than it tastes. It’s not awful, it’s just a bit weaker than I would like. I find that Lupicia’s fruit teas are a little muted and that I want a stronger fruit note. The green tea is a little astringent, but it works with whatever mystery fruit is in this tea. My tongue can’t really figure out what it is (mango? raspberry?), but it’s still enjoyable. Tokio isn’t a repurchase for me, but I’m glad to have tried it.

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85
drank Thé au Chocolat by Lupicia
618 tasting notes

Now that the weather is getting cooler, my tea consumption is increasing! I get cold easily and want to be drinking tea more often than usual.. which is good because my tea collection is overflowing at the moment. A chocolate tea is another sort of tea that I’m very picky about. I’ve had chocolate teas in the past that have just tasted so artificial and gross that even the tea base isn’t enough to keep me around. For me, a chocolate tea should be smooth, rich and possibly creamy on its own. It can’t have that artificial note or else down the drain it goes!

This tea smelled brilliant right from the bag. Hot chocolate! The tea base comes forward a bit after water has been added. The first sip of this tea reminds me of a bitter, unsweetened cocoa powder. The tea itself is a little astringent which adds to the darker flavor of the cocoa. As I continue to sip, however, the cup becomes sweeter and softer. The chocolate mellows and joins the black tea’s sweetness. I only wish that it could be richer and with a little more body.. but then again, I have to remind myself that it is a tea and not a real hot chocolate. Even though the tea base isn’t my favorite and is on the verge of being a little too.. earthy/stinky/there’s something about it that I don’t particularly like… this is a solid chocolate blend. I think that this cup would be even better with some milk so I’ll try that next time.

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70

I was really pleased to see this one pop back up again since I missed it when it was first blended. I love custard, pastries, maple and honeybush so this blend sounds like a dream!

Sipping… Yet again all I taste is honeybush with a very mild maple flavor and a bit of sweetness. I really don’t know where I am supposed to find the custard or long john.. but they’re definitely not in the cup. It’s not a bad cup of tea, but if I wanted plain honeybush, I’m sure that I could find it for less money.

As much as I love 52Teas blends, I really don’t think I’ll try their honeybush blends anymore since my tastebuds recognize them as plain honeybush. Disappointing.

VariaTEA

I have the same problem and it is always so frustrating because the blends sound so delicious and end up being blah.

QueenOfTarts

Totally with you, VariaTEA. :( All of them do sound delicious, but I’ve been disappointed too many times, to be honest.

VariaTEA

I stopped buying them a while back because I just didn’t want anymore 2 oz bags of honeybush lying around. Then when Frank changed the sizes I considered buying but just didn’t want to deal with the sadness

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33

This tea smells quite yummy.. it reminds me of an artificial vanilla cupcake or cookie. It’s certainly tempting, but has me worried that it might be a little too fake. I think that I might have to add milk to it even though I like trying all of my teas plain. This tea just calls for it.

Sipping… weird. This tastes almost like a scented candle. It’s like a caramel vanilla candle dunked in a weak black tea. I’m disappointed because I thought this would be rich and tasty. Yuck.. I can’t seem to sip any longer and I don’t think adding milk would bring this cup back. Down the drain it goes!

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83

You know.. I have to be in the mood for peppermint teas, but when I am.. they are so refreshing! This one is nice and I reach for this more often than I thought I would. The peppermint is tamed by the chocolate and marshmallow leaf, but is still very much the star of the cup. I’m glad that it doesn’t remind me of toothpaste or gum. The flavor is smooth and natural. The marshmallow leaf adds that savory, more herbal layer. I don’t pick up on too much chocolate, but it does come out towards the end. Overall, a refreshing, but sweet treat to have in the evening.

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Bio

~
Tea (& Coffee) lover. Bookworm.

Favorite teas: Milk Oolong, Flavored blends, Dessert teas, Creamy Teas, Rooibos, Oolong, Black, Green
Dislikes: Spices, Peppery flavors, Cloves, Cardamom, Licorice, Peppermint, Cinnamon, Mate, Puerh, Chai, Ginger

My Rather Picky Ratings
90+ – Reserved for the very best! Always in the cupboard!
80-89 – Quite good! A very pleasing cup.
70-79 – Room for improvement, but not bad.
60-69 – Mediocre.
50-59 – Bad. Will not purchase.
49 & below – Depending on the more specific rating: Undrinkable. Yuck. Will not purchase.

Note: Teas in my cupboard are all of the teas that I’ve logged, regardless of their current presence in my actual cupboard. For an updated list on what teas I have available for swap, check out the swap thread and not my cupboard! Thanks!

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