772 Tasting Notes
Okay, I’ll just plain say I didn’t like this. The base is mediocre and doesn’t add any real flavour except generic ‘tea’ flavour and I’m not even getting anything I would identify as orange from this, just vaguely fruity tasting. I have no patience with anything today so I’m not even going to finish drinking this.
Preparation
Last matcha of the work day. Back down to 2/3 tsp of matcha powder. I think that’s my sweet spot for 10 or so oz of liquid (2ish of hot water, 8 of hot milk).
Very tasty, though I’ve been reading through the other reviews (again) and now I want to try it with french vanilla (although my french vanilla isn’t very strong). Maybe next time, maybe even tomorrow! At a rate of 3 or 4 matchas at least 4 days per week, I think I’ll go through this pretty fast. It’s funny how these types of habits sneak up on you. I bought 2 half-gallons of organic skim milk for my home in preparation of making more at home too. It’s mostly a test to see how long they last. My matcha habits at home are still undefined.
So I’m trying again today. This time halfsies with Black Cherry matcha, 1/2 tsp total with about…4-5 oz water, frothed frenetically with my electric whisk and 2/3 tsp sugar. Currently cooling a bit from 175 F.
Well, once again, the cola taste just isn’t working for me. I love the smell of it, but it’s not translating to good taste. I think I know what the problem is though, I usually don’t drink a lot of ‘cola’ sodas because the taste isn’t something I’m wowed by, usually drinking Cherry Dr Pepper or Red Mt Dew. Perhaps it tastes like it’s supposed to and I just don’t like it? I’ll have to try it with some seltzer water before I make a final diagnosis, but this is what I’m beginning to suspect. The black cherry half didn’t even perk it up much. I think I’ll continue to just drink that separately.
I know I just had this yesterday, but it’s tasty! I only have 8 flavours of matcha at work to choose from, I have at least 3 matcha lattes each work day, I have to be in the mood for some of them (mint, champagne), I haven’t figured out how to make one of them well (soda), but I’m always in the mood for this one.
The electric whisk really does make it pretty frothy, though I should really start adding the sugar before I start frothing because the sugar doesn’t get into the froth otherwise and it’s therefore a somewhat more bitter froth than the rest of the latte. But for the most part, I’m enjoying this.
Just lost my entire tea log and I’m not going to type that whole thing again.
In summary: tastes good, I like it better with milk and sugar still, I will try Western style brewing next time. My taste buds are not sophisticated enough to pick up tastes like others do in each individual steep beyond things like less bitter, smoother, sweeter. My experience with a gaiwan is interesting, but not something I’m quite ready for.
I’m not going to rate this until I drink it Western style.
i hate that! on a side note, i’m with you on the gaiwan…i generally just do it when i want to take the time to sit and enjoy the tea in a different way. :)
Gong fu is the only way I can drink black without milk or sugar. . . Chronic over steeper.
For me, it depends on my mood & how much time I have to sit around. Mainly I use it for whites, greens, oolongs, & puer, especially if they come from Verdant. I’ll try a full leaf black tea in my Gaiwan to compare it to how I like it steeped in a cup, but honestly, the cup usually wins in that case!
First non-generic pu’erh! First tea using a gaiwan and those itty bitty cups! Mine are so cute! First month (free!) of Verdant’s Tea of the Month club, which I’ll probably be continuing even if I don’t like both pu’erhs that came with this month’s selection. Such cute little packages, good for just about one tasting session.
Anyway, I just poured my first steep after 2 rinses.
1st Steep (5 seconds)
Water is mostly clear and smells like black tea except…more. More earthy, more…something. More pu’erh I guess. I did manage to get water everywhere and burn my fingers again. Third time so far this morning since I burned them on both rinses too. I did not drink the rinses.
Well it’s very…bitter. And…I don’t know how to describe this flavour except I’ve only gotten it from pu’erhs. It’s probably blasphemy but I think I’m going to have to add a tiny bit of sugar to each of these infusions if I’m going to make it through this tasting.
With a tiny bit of sugar added, not enough to make it sweet, just enough to take the edge off, I’m getting less bitter and more actual flavour. Something…composty maybe? Hard to describe. I’ve always been terrible at describing flavours.
Second Steep – 10 seconds
I now understand why a sharing pitcher is necessary. I’ve decided to pour each steep into my gravity infuser before draining it into the cups, if only because I won’t splash everywhere and it’s really the only thing with a wide enough opening to work very well for what I have at my desk.
Still not tasty, quite bitter, a quite ‘sharp’ flavour on the tongue that lingers.
Steep 3 – 15 seconds
Okay it’s much better if I drink it very hot, rather than cooled down a bit, but it’s still not what I would call tasty. The taste is changing but there’s again nothing I can really identify except a sharp bitterness.
I think at this point I’m going to turn in the towel and truly give up on pu’erhs for the time being. If I can’t get through one using the right methods and as high quality as Verdant is known for, I’m obviously not going to like any of them. Thankfully I think that I already have a trade going out that I can slip the other pu’erh from this TOTM into, she likes pu’erh.
Not going to rate because that would be unfair to this tea.
Preparation
good to know! at least you tried :)
Did you try either Western-style? That’s the only way I’ve really tried pu’erh so far. With a normal (1.5 tsp) amount of leaf, and an infusion of 1-3 min or so. Definitely possible that the flavour’s just not for you, though!
I’ve tried pu’erh (not as good as this one, those were from Nature’s Tea Leaf) before Western style and I didn’t like it there either, although I don’t like it MORE with the gaiwan, if that makes sense. Western style I can doctor it up more. But I really think the flavour’s just not for me. I have some pu’erh I’ll have to find good homes for later.
Fair enough. I’m still don’t like it nearly as much as a lot of people, though I am trying. I do prefer sheng to shu, though, and learned that short, western-style infusions make for tastier tea. It’s a good thing my mom likes pu’erh, because I accumulated quite a lot from Verdant thinking I would like it much more than I do…
I’m still the only person who’s left a tasting note for this tea? Travesty. Well, I gave a lot of it up to a swap so there will be at least a couple more people who have tried this on Steepster pretty soon. As soon as it makes it’s way through Canadian Customs and such anyway.
I see I noted last time that this tea is pretty mild at 3 minutes, and that’s still true for this pot. I think I got more chamomile in this pot of tea though because that’s coming through a bit stronger. Not enough to overwhelm anything but definitely enough to give some strength to it’s presence. All in all, can’t complain.
Preparation
Ending the work day with a cup of this! 3 pots of tea (2 shared) and 4 matchas makes my stash go down just a bit further. Someday I will log all the unopened boxes in my entryway. That day is probably not today, but you never know.
