QuiltGuppy

This is an interesting tea. Dry leaf smelled grassy, meadowy. It’s beautiful to look at, green and long and flat. The liquor is very, very light yellow, but not much of a fragrance, well, other than a little asparagus.

At first, I didn’t like it at all. The first steep produced a very vegetal, savory tea, with just a super faint hint at sweetness. (So faint that I thought I imagined it.) It didn’t have anything really interesting, but it wasn’t horrific, so I decided to steep a second time, honestly, simply because I was thirsty and I had some hot water ready to go.

The second steep was amazing! Sweet, slightly floral, mysterious and extremely pleasant. It was like a different tea. I haven’t had this happen to me before and it’s showing me that maybe I need to give some of these teas I dislike a second steep to see if there’s a glorious cup awaiting the next infusion…

Can we say “tropical fruit explosion?” It’s really good! (If you love pineapple, that is!) I do. It smells tropical from the moment the packet is opened. It retains it’s scent even after steeping. 165/1 min – I hate getting vegetal greens with fruity flavors, so I really dropped the temp and steep times. I love this tea! It will make a wonderful summer iced tea. The green is nice and slightly grassy, the fruit flavors are blended splendidly. I’m very satisfied with it! (Phew, one less sample bag in the stash…)

Tea Note #100! And what a beautiful one it is. Although I’ve had a fairly interesting black tea from time to time, I tend to prefer flavored blacks as I’m not such a fan of traditional black teas. This tea, however, has changed my thinking. It is the most extraordinary black tea I’ve ever experienced.

These leaves, when dry, are like a huge tangled mass of extraordinarily long black fingers that cling to one another. They’re beautiful and almost a deep violet-black color. They remind me of ravens’ feathers. The scent didn’t remind me of anything other than what I’d pick up as a regular black scent. Perhaps very slightly peppery, but that could have been my imagination as I was thinking of a way to describe the color and pepper came to mind.

205/30 sec – The flavor is simply extraordinary. It is amazing! I love it. Really. It’s a rich flavor with an almost honey-like sweetness, kind of a dulce de leche flavor without the fullness. Raisins. I can taste raisins and I think that’s the flavor that fills my mouth first and most fully. There’s a very slight spiciness to it and I’m thinking that may be that pepper scent I picked up earlier. There is NO bitterness to it at all. It is slightly vegetal. It’s a really wonderful black tea. It is an expensive tea, but it’s such a wonderful treat.

My second steep of this tea will be for about five minutes, which, for me, is really going out on a limb. I detest bitter black tea, but having read the other reviews, I get the impression that this one will not let me down.

Update: I just tried the resteep at 4.5 minutes and I’m not liking it as much. I’m getting a marked astringency although no bitterness… yet. I think it makes sense as the shorter steep time pleased me so much. Samovar recommends 45 sec for the first steep, but as the Breville only works in 30 sec increments, I went with the lower time.

Tea note #99… last of the double digits! :)

I just received this package yesterday and decided it would be a nice morning tea. It smells divine in the packet… fruity and almost peppery at the same time.

205/2.5 min – It still smells fruity, although since I had it on the Breville with the timer, I forgot that it was there and it had cooled considerably. I took a sip of my cold tea and thought, hmm, this is an excellent tea for icing! So, I dropped some ice in and confirmed it. Excellent. It’s fruity, but you can still taste the black tea. It’s mellow and not at all bitter, which is lovely. I like the taste of the mango, which, while not as real tasting as some other mango black teas, is not overly sweet, either. Plus, it has my cat’s name in it (Tango), so it has to be a winner, right? (No. Okay. It’s still good on its own merit.) ;)

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Finally, yesterday, I bought a gaiwan! I had to do some shopping at the Asian grocer (Vietnamese food tonight!) and I peeked around in the tea area. I fell in love with a cute little blue and white gaiwan and snapped it up. Also, during this time, I bought some teas on TeaTrade from LiberTeas and Rachanac. (Thank you, both!) This tea is from LiberTeas.

I chose this one because of the mellow, leafy scent in the packet. I was hoping for just a nice, mellow cup this morning. So, I heated the water to 195 and took the gaiwan on it’s inaugural steep. 30 sec. I burned the heck out of my fingers when decanting it. Then, I couldn’t wait to try it and took a sip. Too hot. So, I transferred it to another cup and started the second steep while I waited for the first to cool. 45 sec. Ouch. Burned my fingers again. I decanted it and went back to the first cup, which had cooled considerably by that time. Mmm… it smells very, very light. I can taste a faint toastiness, very slightly floral (less than I had hoped.) It’s good and mellow, as I had hoped. Okay, on to steep two… I take a sip… and burn the heck out of my tongue and upper lip. (Forgot to transfer to another cooler cup.) Now, I’m hurting and irritated. My fingers are turning red and my lip isn’t far behind. (Did I mention that I need to go for passport photos today? Grr…) The second steep is better, the leaves have opened more, slightly more floral, although the taste is still really light. I think I’ll go for a full minute or two on the next steep and see if I can bump up the flavor again. My lips, tongue and fingers, however, are all screaming no more. Hrmph. Hopefully the next go won’t be so painful.

Update: I accidentally got caught up reading some tea reviews and let it steep for six minutes. It’s amazing! (And cooled down, too.) :) The floral flavor and aroma are both fully developed. I’m picking up a lilac scent and taste in my mouth. The tea feels as if it has more body to it, too, and is much less watery. Maybe I will keep this cute little gaiwan after all…

It’s getting later in the day and my Adagio order just arrived. I plucked this one from the bunch and set it up in the Breville. It smells quite a bit like citrus when dry. 175/3 min. Now, it’s not so citrusy smelling, however, it’s still pleasant. The taste is very light. It’s not overwhelming and there is definitely a citrus aspect to this tea. The white tea has taken on a vegetal taste, which, with the grapefruit flavoring, isn’t my ideal cup of tea.

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This was my morning tea. I haven’t tried too many Darjeelings, so I didn’t know what to expect. I went with 205/3 min as I dislike very strong teas. The scent is kind of pretty. It smells sweet, like the sweetness of cane sugar, but it doesn’t taste that way. I can taste a savory fruitiness, but it’s difficult to describe. It’s kind of like a full, heavy grape taste, but without the sweetness to accompany it. It’s more like a grape on its way to becoming a raisin. It’s not bitter, nor is it astringent. It’s pleasant.

When dry, the large leaves not only take up a huge amount of room, but they also smell like they just fell off of a tree in October. It’s interesting, and I’m in the mood for adventure.

165/5.5 minutes… I got caught up making Nutella covered crackers for my children and forgot about my tea steeping on the counter. Turns out to be a good mistake, I think.

I was thinking this would be a very light and delicate cup, but the color is pretty intense for a white. It’s a deep golden color. The scent is slightly vegetal and toasted now. Just a touch of autumn leaf aroma. The taste is slightly spicy with a peppery/cinnamon taste and toasty, but not a hearty toasted flavor. The tea lingers for a bit, changing to an ever so sweet flavor, but not fruity as the website’s description indicates. I’m guessing that’s because I left it steeping for three minutes longer than recommended. I really like this as it’s quite unusual and I love the idea of these teas being dried by moonlight. It adds to the mystique.

I just received my special bonus blend of Justin Bieber tea and tried it for the first time! My middle school students were so surprised to see the effects of the tea, which were almost instantaneous. My clothes became trendier, my mood cheerier and my hair scruffier. Little pink bubbles filled the room and agents were banging on the classroom door to sign me to their label. I found that as I taught the students, they were hanging on every word. Several asked me for my autograph. One swooned. This tea may be in a small package, but it’s the whole package… thanks, Frank!

Happy April Fool’s Day. :)

This was my second tea of the morning and it’s turning out to be a great day! I had purchased this a while ago as part of the Ocho Sampler at Joy’s Teaspoon. (If you don’t want to take a chance on a larger size bag, this is the way to go, and I LOVE the tiny tins that Joy’s T uses. They’re great for storing odds and ends when depleted of tea.)

I wasn’t sure what temp I should use to make this tea and I had to wing it as I didn’t have access to my computer at steeping time. (Thanks, Curious George on PBS Kids…) Anyway, I went with 205/3 min. It came out a bit strong for me, but still really good and full of promise if only I could figure out a better steep temp and time. I just made a second cup and it’s much lighter in flavor and I’m finding I love it so much more than the first. This tea is fruity and mellow. It’s really nice in that it’s not all black tea, but has the green as well. It adds another dimension to the tea and creates a very enjoyable cup of tea. If it were all black, I think it would change the focus from the fruit/tea balance. Right now, it’s pretty darn good. The fruitiness is slightly tart, slightly sweet. The tea is of medium strength and probably a really good tea to serve after dinner as I think it would appeal to many.

I love the look of green teas, from the vibrancy of their color before steeping, to the surprising ways in which they unfurl and fill the teapot. This tea really amused me this morning. It’s a beautiful, solid green, and it smells divine. It’s a peach scent, but not too sugary, as peach can sometimes be.

165/2.5 min. I dropped the recommended temp and increased the steep time as I didn’t want to cook it. It worked out well. The tea leaves practically hopped around while steeping as there was so much up and down movement in the pot. (Maybe it should be called Frankenstein Tea… it’s ALIVE!) ;) Anyway, the tea retains that peach fragrance which is so pleasant and calming, not monstrous at all. It’s not bitter. It has a bit of a grassy taste to it, which is perfect. It reminds me of a peach tree in a meadow. There is a hint of something floral in the tea, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. It’s delicate and gentle and compliments this tea. As it cools, the fruitiness increases and I’ll bet that this tea is awesome iced, too.

Mmmm…. I love this tea! (Even though, technically, it’s not a tea.) I tried it for the first time at a Korean restaurant this past weekend.

It’s in these very large teabags for making 1 liter (35 oz.) of tea. I made two and put two bags in. I don’t like to drink cold tea, so I just left if out on the counter for an hour, then pulled the teabags out. It’s wonderful! It’s very nutty tasting, toasty and rich. My husband tried it and said that it tastes a bit like burned popcorn. (I disagree with the burned part, but maybe toasted popcorn… without the butter.) It’s wonderful! (Did I already say that?) My children both tried it. They said it tastes like coffee. (I agree a bit there, too, although it’s not a strong coffee taste.) They love it. It is completely caffeine-free, and as I don’t want bouncy children all night long, I love it, too.

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When I opened the package, I was blasted with a tropical wave of fruitiness. It was amazing and promising and it delivered.

When brewed, I could still smell the tropical fruit scent of pineapple. (So happy! Most of the time, it disappears once steeped.) 165/2 min using the Breville. It tastes like a nice fruity green. The Chinese sencha is strong enough to maintain its flavor in the tea, and the tropical fruit flavor does not overpower it in any way.

This is a really nice tea for any time of the day. My only complaint is that when I went back to the website to find it, it was no longer listed.

I didn’t follow the directions for steeping. I oversteep tea so often and I only had one sample. So, it’s quite possible that I’m tasting something very different from the others.

I couldn’t smell this tea when dry. I could only smell my teacup. 160/3 min. Now, I can smell it and it smells slightly vegetal. It’s got a lot of the black tea scent to it, the taste as well. It tastes like a golden yunnan and even looks like one with the golden brown color. I’m tasting something reminiscent of honey or cane sugar. It’s a strange kind of sweetness that is not very pronounced. There is no astringency to this tea at all, nor is it bitter. It’s just a pleasant late afternoon tea.

Floating Leaves’ house green is a great everyday tea. It’s very cleanly scented (both dry and steeped) and the taste, while not life-changing, is fairly memorable. It’s one of the few greens I haven’t oversteeped. (I’m getting better!)

I noticed with this green that the fruitiness only comes out once the tea has cooled, and I can thank my children for allowing me to experience tea at all of the different temperatures. When hot, it’s quite grassy and fresh tasting. I do actually pick up just a hint of spiciness, although I’m not certain where that is coming from. It’s certainly not a flavored tea, but it would make an amazing base for a fruity addition.

The scent of the tea when dry is lovely. It’s slightly earthy smelling, but without the pu-erh smell that I dislike. Perhaps mossy is a better word.

205/2 min. Now, it smells just like the tea that I used to drink as a child with my mom. It’s taste is smooth, not bitter, not astringent, just pleasant. It’s a nice morning tea, however, I’m not tasting any natural sweetness in the tea, though, which is always a pleasant surprise.

Mmm. First, this tea smells amazingly fresh as a dry tea. It’s also stunning to look at: flat, uniform, perfect. The leaves remind me of pressed flowers that someone lovingly placed between the pages of a book. These leaves were delicately handled.

160/2.5 min The tea is the palest yellow color I’ve seen yet. It’s so pretty, one of the most aesthetically pleasing experiences I’ve yet encountered with a tea. The smell is slightly nutty, but fresh. It’s deep and rich, surprising for what I was expecting to be light and airy. I can taste a hint of grassiness and wish that it were a bit more pronounced. It’s barely there. This is a wonderful cup of tea and I’ll see how many infusions I can get out of it. I’m hoping for quite a few.

Having decided to begin my weekend with Earl Grey Windemere, I’m now sitting in front of my cup, looking at a beautiful golden brown cup of tea. As a dry tea, it does give off a strong scent of bergamot. I don’t pick up much else as it is quite strong.

195/3 min. Ooh. I definitely should have cut down on the steeping time. It’s strong. I can smell it the minute I walk into the kitchen. Bergamot. Fortunately, I love the scent as I’m certain it will be around for a while.

The taste, as expected, is pretty much bergamot, but the creamy vanilla flavor does poke through. I’d say that my three minutes were too much for this one and I’ll definitely cut it a bit shorter next time. It is astringent, which surprises me with an oolong. I think the bergamot’s changing the rules here. Still, it’s a nice cup of tea and I’ll certainly give it another (adjusted) shot.

This is my afternoon tea choice. I was hoping for something nice and light and this tea delivered.

The tea is so pretty and delicate. The leaves are quite long, mixed with some shorter ones as well. It’s all twisted together and reminds me of confetti all curled around.

165/1.5 min The first scent I’m getting is vegetal and I’m pretty much rolling my eyes as it’s what I always get. I’m hoping not to be on the verge of drinking yet another cup of asparagus tea. It is somewhat vegetal, but I’m disgusted by it. In fact, I think I’m beginning to appreciate vegetal tasting teas now because here I sit, drinking it. I do pick up a slight floral taste as indicated in the description, and yes, I can discern a macadamia nut follow, but I am not picking up any sweetness or grass. Just a tad of asparagus. (Yes, again.) I’m starting to forge a bond with asparagus.

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