818 Tasting Notes
This is the tea that convinced me to go in on the group order. My husband and I always get mango sticky rice when we go out for Thai, which is usually at least once a week. We Love it! So, when I saw there was a tea that tasted like it, I couldn’t resist checking it out!
We just got back from Thai for lunch, and guess what we ate? ;) So let’s see how this compares! I love genmaicha, so this should be good. It smells amazing. Actually, the aroma of the steeped tea is exactly like mango sticky rice! Sweet, creamy coconut, mango, rice…it’s all there! Unfortunately, the flavor doesn’t pop in your mouth. It’s kinda blah. I noticed I was tasting it more after I drank it all, like it lingered in my mouth, but you really gotta inhale the aroma as you are sipping to really get the flavor.
Hi Tealizzy,
Thank you for the honest review of our Mango Sticky Rice tea. The dominant flavour would be that of the roasted rice & I am really glad that you waited for the finish for the creamy coconuts & slightly tart mango aromas.
Just like how Mango, sticky rice & coconut coulis are served somewhat separately in the actual rice dish. One has to allow the 3 flavours present in Mango Sticky Rice tea to interact in the palate. You have to wait for the magic!
Thank you and have a great week ahead!
Regards,
Victor, ETTE TEA
OH MY GOODNESS. So I actually had a sample of this tea from someone (I have absolutely no idea who; it was probably a secondhand sample from Sil or VariaTea), and I was crazy about it. It smelled AND tasted absolutely amazingly creamy/ripe mango-y. I definitely found that the flavour lingered in the finish.
Sorry for hijacking your post; I just know I have this written in a backlogged tasting note somewhere, and wanted to share it. I seriously steeped the one serving I had of this like, 4-5 times.
From the Sheng and Shou TTB.
Only 4g of this tea was left in the TTB when it got to me, but I’ve been wanting to try this one so bad, so I grabbed it!
Caramel shou…that’s all you really need to know. Smooth, delicious, caramel shou. Cocoa notes appeared in later steepings. Man, I wish I had more! On the wishlist it goes…wait, it’s already on there! ;)
Thanks so much to boychik for this sample!
So, 10 years old, huh? Interesting! I love my new Jian Shui pot, so all 8g went into the pot. It brews up a nice orange color and smells like dried fruit, like those dried fruit bars from Trader Joe’s my mom used to get…it’s like a more natural kind of fruit roll-up. Turns out, it tastes like them too! Like dried apricot and berries! Yum! A couple steeps in I also noticed some floral and tobacco notes. This is very nice, and mid to low range on the price-scale. I think this one is going on the wishlist.
From the Sheng and Shou TTB.
I was excited to see this one in the box, after seeing all the reviews from all the folks who received it in one of the monthly subscription boxes from white2tea. This tea took awhile to open up and I started it late in the day, so I enjoyed it over a two-day period. In the beginning it was strong, savory, buttery, a little bitter, with a fair amount of tobacco smoke. The liquor is definitely a touch darker in color than young sheng, showing the little bit of age. The second day it sweetened up nicely and still had a good buttery texture. I liked it, but I wasn’t head over heels in love with it.
i read somewhere this tea is blended with the bigger sun leaves (forget the name) which are more mellow in the caffeine department. So this could be an alright tea to drink later in the day and not be up all night.
Delicious! Tastes like raspberries and cream, with a hint of dark chocolate. So smooth. Mmm! This is the first unflavored black tea that tastes like raspberries to me. Usually fruity black teas taste like cherry or stone fruits. It’s also extremely affordable. You probably could get about 20 servings out if it for the cost of one fancy drink at Starbucks! I didn’t really notice a tea drunk effect…maybe I need to use more leaf. I’ll try that next time!
Finishing off the rest of the generous sample boychik sent me in my new Jian shui pot. :) I used more leaf this time and I got a raisin sweetness. Very yummy. I also have a whole cake of this now…came the other day! Lots of experimenting on leaf amount is in my future!
I have a cake of this but have yet to try it. I have to move it to the top of my list but I have less time for gongfu now.
Ah, Ette Tea. Had to get in on the group buy, because the flavors sounded so amazing, even though I’m not drinking flavored teas much anymore!
I started with this one because it was lighter in caffeine and I had it later in the day. Steeped it at 180F for 2 minutes. It smells amazing! Tastes sweet, light, cake-like. I can get a hint of osmanthus and cinnamon if I think about it while sipping, although I probably wouldn’t know they were there if I hadn’t read about it. It does leave some sediment in the cup. The liquor is brown in color. Overall, it’s not as complex as I was hoping, but enjoyable. The sweet cake flavors lingers in my mouth. :) I think I might try this one steeped for 3 minutes next time.
Thanks for posting this— I have been wanting to know what others taste. I steeped 3 minutes and didn’t get a sweet, light flavor at all, so I will try again for 2 min.
Thank you for the lovely review Tealizzy! Pandan Chiffon is indeed a cake dessert which is very popular in South East Asia. We were trying to make a liquid version of the cake, so we are very happy that you felt that it was taste like (assuming that you have not tried Pandan Chiffon). We totally agree that it is not too complex a blend since it was meant to be literal more than an inspiration in mimicking the original Pandan Chiffon. You should really tried it cold brewed too, we would recommend 10 grams in 1 L of distilled water, overnight in the fridge between 8 – 12 hours. We have had many thumbs-up when we did the cold brew sampling in Singapore.
I will definitely try the cold brew. Thanks for the tip, Ette! And no, I haven’t had the pleasure to try the real thing. :)
From the Sheng and Shou TTB.
This is good shou. Smooth, clean, with caramel and cocoa notes. I really liked it. If I hadn’t already found some other good shou, which I plan to buy, for half the price, I would consider getting this. As it is, the two other 357g cakes should keep me busy. ;)
I still left this one on my wishlist, even though I didn’t order it this time. ;) There’s always next time!!
I can send you a sample if you need to refresh / revisit @tealizzy
JC, would you like a sample ? I would love to send it your way
boychik – Thanks for the offer. I know I like it, but didn’t want to spend the money on that much shou this order. I’d definitely consider getting it later. I’ve been really bad lately! Btw, let me know what I can send you from my stash!!! :)
No pressure, just sometimes I need a second try . How much did you use for the session? If I use more for shou it’s richer and lasts longer. So now I like 8g for 1oo-120 ml pot. Tastes like chocolate pudding
richer, not bitter. you can increase the amount rinse/pause/ and start from flash steeps. see how you like it. increasing the time slowly. next time do 6g for 100. see how you like it