247 Tasting Notes

78
drank Caribe by Harney & Sons
247 tasting notes

This is one of the most beautifully scented teas I have come across. It smells of the tropics and lightness. It’s really pretty.

I wasn’t sure what to do with the steeping information. Should I go with black recommendations? Or should I go with green? I went with black. Boiling/2 min – Well, actually one, tasted, then dropped back in for another minute.

After steeping one minute, the scent was still there, only less tropical, more subdued. After the second minute, the scent of fruit was barely there and it smelled like black tea. Nice black tea, but not the fruity experience I’ve been searching for this morning.

The taste after one minute wasn’t very developed. I could most definitely taste a guava/papaya taste in the tea. The tea itself wasn’t very strong, which is why I tried another minute.

After two minutes, the fruitiness had mostly dissipated and I was left with an interesting tea flavor that was slightly bitter. It, surprisingly, wasn’t terrible, but as I’m looking for something else this morning, I’m not going to continue with it this morning. I’ll have to experiment more with this tea later. Temp, time… who knows what the magic combination is?

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 0 sec

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91
drank Rogue Wave by White August
247 tasting notes

I really love this tea. Everything from the scent upon opening the package… roasted coconut, yum! To the scent once brewed… roasted coconut, yum! To the taste… roasted coconut… yum! It’s all delicious! The sencha makes a fabulous base for this tea, which adds a freshness to the flavor. It’s ever so slightly bitter, but not cringingly so. I might go a tad easier on the steep time. (175/3 min) The tea company says that there’s ginger in here. Without having read that, I’d say no, but now I’m tasting and thinking, perhaps… just a tad. It’s very light and doesn’t add spiciness to the tea.

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

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49
drank Mango Away by White August
247 tasting notes

The tea in the bag smells delicious! I can clearly pick out the mango scent among the black tea.

205/3 min (The minimum recommended time.)

Okay, I’m not really able to smell the mango as much, but it’s still present. Just majorly subdued. Mostly, I can smell the black tea, very vegetal. (Oh no.)

Taste… well, the vegetal smell is there for a reason. It’s very vegetal tasting, and strong. I’m wondering why it calls for a 3-5 minute steep when clearly it’s too much for this tea. (I don’t add anything to my teas.) All I can taste is the black tea, even though I can slightly smell the mango. It was smothered by the tea and the too long steep time. The tea is okay, but nothing that really stands out. It’s slightly bitter. Not too much, but enough that it makes drinking it a bit of a chore, and that’s never a good thing.

I don’t intend to purchase this again, but if I did, I’d most certainly go with about a two minute steep time to reduce the bitterness and hopefully reclaim some of the mango flavor that was lost in the steep.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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89

Mmm… this one smells like ginger ale when you open the package. So promising! I’m not a huge fan of white teas, but I was looking for less caffeine as it’s nearing evening now.

185/3 min later… the smell is similar to the dry scent. It’s nice, fruity, but with a promise of spiciness. Then, the taste. Mmm… it’s really good. Bold for a white tea, due to the flavoring, I’m sure. It does taste like ginger ale to me, but no fizziness, thank goodness! It’s somewhat sweet, yet the spiciness picks at my tongue and throat. The tea is really mild, overcome by the flavors. It’s a nice pairing and really good tea and I’ll bet this would be delicious iced!

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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85

This morning, I decided to try Taiwan Sweet Summer Oolong for the first time. The leaves smell woodsy, kind of herbal.

I brewed it at 205 for 3 minutes. The leaves expanded tremendously! I think that surprised me the most. They completely filled the basket on the Breville.

The scent, once steeped, is slightly sweet, kind of like honey, but without the weight or heaviness one would associate with it. The taste, yes, is also sweet, but with a touch of floral notes. Like an orchid, almost. It’s a nice tea, not as strong as I thought it would be based on the previous reviews. It has a slight tinge of bitterness and doesn’t seem quite as forgiving of a longer steep than other oolongs I’ve tried. Still, it’s very good.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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87
drank Four Seasons by Samovar
247 tasting notes

This morning, I decided to try something new. I wanted to get away from the flavored teas having ingested way too many yesterday. So, I took out Samovar’s Four Seasons Oolong. I set it up in the Breville for this morning, which means that I didn’t do a rinse. Boiling/2 min 30 sec.

The scent of the dried leaves is woodsy, but not overwhelmingly so. The aroma, once brewed, is much more floral in nature. It almost has a hint of the milk oolong scent in it as well, buttery. The taste is nice. Floral, definitely. I can taste magnolias, that stiff, slightly bitter taste. The oolong tea is nice. It’s strong enough to discern among the floral notes. I do not taste any fruitiness or butter taste. It’s good, delicious even.

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 30 sec

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78

Hmm… I’m almost afraid to post this, but as a coconut lover, this tea didn’t meet my expectations. I thought that I’d be LOVING this one.

The scent is extraordinary. Coconutty, decadent, rich. I’m imagining a piña colada tea style.

Boiling/5 min – The scent is filling the room. I’m really anticipating taking a sip, and then I do. Hm. Another sip. I’m not transported to my tropical isle. Another sip. Okay, I decide to set it aside and let it cool a bit. I come back to it and sip yet again. I wasn’t mistaken; this tea isn’t meeting my hopes and dreams. It’s good, but I think it’s the honeybush that is throwing me off. I’m really, really wishing this had a green tea base, or maybe even oolong. I’m just not tasting tea and it’s leaving me feeling empty inside. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not horrible, it’s just that with all the hype, I was expecting a fantasy-achieving tea. I can taste the toasted coconut (nice), the cheesecake (a slight tartness, yum), but the tea… ((sigh)) Where is the tea?

Did I mention the beautiful aroma? Ah!! It’s like edible suntan lotion. Yum.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
threewhales

Honeybush is something I have just gotten into. But, I wondered about this blend. Have you tried 52 teas Strawberry Pie? tastes just like strawberries!
I too teach middle school, 8th grade science. It will be nice to have someone here to share stories!
Also, do you have any idea when the book club~second steep is going to kick off?

QuiltGuppy

I’ve never been a fan of rooibos and wondered how I’d feel about honeybush as I had heard there were similarities. I don’t know either well enough to compare them, but there was something about this one that felt like it was missing. I was really hoping to have found a new favorite.

Twing and I were looking through the book and thinking that maybe by this weekend. We wanted to allow enough time for everyone to get it. We’re thinking about three chapters a week with questions to discuss on the weekends. It’s just been difficult to organize in the beginning. We’ll get it going, though! :)

Ah… middle school. I love teaching it. I just wish I didn’t have so many preps. It leaves no time for relaxing and one of my classes is totally new, so I’m writing the curriculum as we progress through the trimester. I think it’s a great age, though. Lots of great kids! (And funny stories!)

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49

This tea was okay. It smelled really nice, very fruity and fresh upon opening the bag.

Boiling/2 min. – Now the smell has diminished significantly. Upon tasting the tea, it’s slightly bitter, but there is no frutiness to it anymore. I can still smell it slightly and it’s very barely there if I slurp the tea, but if I drink normally, it cannot be discerned. That’s a disappointment. So many of the black teas I’ve recently tried lose their flavoring once brewed.

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 0 sec

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88

This tea smells like toasty coconut. The funny thing is that it’s oolong tea with hazelnut and vanilla and I’m not a vanilla fan. Well, not usually.

I happen to love coconut, so I was hoping that the scent connected with the actual taste. 205/2 min later… The aroma is still there. That’s one hurdle down. Next to taste… Mmm. It does taste nutty, but the expected taste of coconut has morphed into what the tea claims to be… Hazelnut. Vanilla. Oolong. Nice.

Fortunately, the vanilla is not too overwhelming. The pairing of flavors here is nice. The oolong has an underlying strength. It’s not lost to the flavoring. Very nice.

2nd infusion – Today, I took a second infusion in a travel mug to work. It’s really good, even better than the first one. The flavoring is more muted and the rich oolong shines through. I’m very impressed and very happy.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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87

I purchased this tea from the Ann Arbor TeaHaus tonight and thought it might make a nice evening tea. (Not too much caffeine.) It has a pleasant scent, nothing very notable, just a fresh fragrance.

Steeped at 160 for 2 minutes. It’s a golden yellow color. Maize? (Any coincidence, University of Michigan?) Anyway, once brewed, it’s scent is more difficult to discern. I can’t detect any fresh lychee fruit in the aroma. In tasting it, yes, it’s there, but it’s oh so light. The white tea as well is there. It’s a delicate tea. There’s nothing robust about it, so I think it does make a nice evening cup of tea. I wouldn’t say it’s fruity or floral (there are cute little rosebuds in it); it’s just delicate and nice.

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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Profile

Bio

I’m a middle school teacher of French, Spanish, ESL and reading intervention. I’m also a mom to two young children.

I’ve always been a tea lover. When I lived in France during college, I really loved the tisanes. Over the past couple of years, I’ve branched off into loose teas. I’m not very knowledgeable about teas, but I’m really loving the learning process!

Location

Michigan

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