2238 Tasting Notes
A sample from Shmiracles. This has got to be one of the nicer herbal/fruit blends I’ve tried in a while. It’s not ref fruit, for starters, and there’s no hibiscus — the difference! Dry, it smells delicious. Citrussy and slightly sharp — it makes me think of grapefruit. It’s equally nice to taste — spearmint and orange are the main flavours I can pick out, with gooseberry hanging around in the background. It’s a delicious combination, and very refreshing. I can only imagine how fabulous this would be iced on a hot day! This is a sample I will very much enjoy finishing, and one whose absence from my cupboard I know I’ll come to lament.
Preparation
A sample from Shmiracles. This is a very pleasant evening cup. It’s delicately flavoured, with a medium strength base. I added milk to this, which is just about stands, but I imagine it’d be just as palatable without. The flavouring here is subtle, but all of the different elements are there. Vanilla is probably the strongest flavour, followed by cherry, and then chocolate. It’s beautifully spring-like, both in flavour combination and appearance. The red and blue flowers scattered through the dry mix remind me of the foil wrapping on an easter egg. So pretty!
This is a welcome change from the more heavily flavoured teas I’ve been drinking recently. Sophisticated and satisfying! A positive first experience with Dammann Freres.
Preparation
A sample from Shmiracles. Plain genmaicha isn’t something I’d usually seek out, but it appealed to me tonight as I finally start to shake off my cold. For some reason, I was expecting this to be quite a pungent genmaicha, and I couldn’t have been more wrong. It’s actually beautifully delicate — mild, grassy green tea, with a touch of toastiness running over the top. It’s delicious, and very easy to drink. It’s one of the more well balanced genmaicha blends to look at, also, appearing to be equal parts popped rice, toasted rice, and green tea. Pretty AND tasty — a rare treat!
It’s teas like this one that make me appreciate just how pleasing a plain tea can be. There’ll always be a place in my cupboard for zany, outrageous tea in kooky flavours, but from time to time something like this is far more satisfying. Plain, straightforward, fabulous tasting TEA!
Preparation
A sample from Shmiracles. This is an interesting one. I was expecting something thoroughly minty, but that’s not this tea at all. The mint is actually the most subtle flavour, bar the green tea base. The main flavour here is a mixture of chai-like spices — drinking this actually reminds me quite strongly of 52 Teas GenmaiCHAI. My tastebuds are still a little off after my cold, but I’m pretty sure I can taste ginger, cardamon, and clove. I expected the mint to add a fresh edge to the flavour, but it actually adds a murky swampiness all its own, although probably assisted by the hojicha. This isn’t what I was expecting, but it’s uniquely pleasant. It’s probably not something I’d want on hand all the time, but I’ll enjoy finishing off this sample and trying to identify some more of the flavours. Different and intriguing!
Preparation
Sipdown! Finished off the last of this one last night. It’ll be sadly missed — the blueberry flavour here is pretty great, even if I don’t get much in the way of chocolate from it any more. The ghost sprinkles are cute, too — fortunately, they seem to melt pretty easily, so I don’t find them stuck to the bottom of my infuser. I’m pretty sure that helped it score points with me. I wouldn’t mind drinking this one again, if the opportunity arose. I’ve got 52 Teas Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish to satisfy my blueberry cravings for now, though, so I can’t be too sad.
Preparation
Second sipdown of the day! I don’t have much to add to my previous tasting note, except to say that I was surprised how much I liked this one. Chocolate and pumpkin don’t make the most natural of combinations in my head, but this tastes soooo good. Definitely one I’d look to restock next autumn.
Preparation
Sipdown! Finished off my last bag of this at work today. I didn’t have any milk, so I was initially a bit reluctant, but it turned out pretty okay black. I could taste more of the spices, and they left a pleasant warmth at the back of my (very sore) throat. First day back at work made more bearable by tea.
Preparation
Another strong flavour for a sad face sick with cold day. As far as I can determine, this one is just mint. I know what mint tastes like, so this is probably a safe one to go for when I’m not up to tasting anything really new. As might be expected, the mint flavour from this one is STRONG. It’s remarkably smooth, though, and not too toothpaste like. There’s a gentle sweetness, rather reminiscent of spearmint, and it doesn’t have too much of the coldness in the aftertaste that I often associate with mint teas. In fact, as bagged mint teas go, this is definitely one of the nicer ones I’ve tried. I don’t need plain mint tea in my life too often, but I’d not turn down a cup of this if it was offered. My dad is a mint tea fiend, and loves this one. I don’t often understand why, but today I got a glimpse of the attraction mint can hold. It’s pleasantly refreshing, and it doesn’t need any additions to taste like itself. Another pleasant cup on a blah day.
Preparation
My cold suddenly got a lot worse overnight, so this morning I went rooting desparately through my stash looking for some chai. I came up with this one first, and I’ve had two cups so far today. There’s something about chai that I find soothing when I’m ill, especially when brewed at a latte. The spiciness is nice for a sore throat, and the milkiness makes me feel comforted, somehow.
This isn’t the most outstanding chai I’ve tried, but it’s passable. Certainly it’s made me feel better today, and that’s what’s important right now. I got a very strong floral note from this initally, but that seemed to fade as I took more sips. The two main flavours here, surprisingly, were pepper and orange, followed closely by cinnamon. The cardamon and clove were pretty lost, although I know my taste buds aren’t up to much at the moment. It was a pleasant change to taste a chai with a strong hit of fruit as one of the main flavours, though. That’s not something I’ve come across very often before. This probably isn’t one I’d stock all the time, but it’ll probably flit through my cupboard occasionally. A pleasant chai blend.
