Robert Godden

One of the joys of being male is that Rasberry tea holds no fears. After all, raspberry leaves should be avoided in pregnancy as they can bring on labour.
Having established that I can drink it with impunity, the fact remains I have waited 45 years to actually do so, But whilst on a tea-stealing mission last night in my son’s cupboard, I found this and decided to give it a go.
It seems to be a good black tea, possibly a nilgiri, with raspberry leaves, obvious dried raspberries and I imagine some oils.
I had some trobled pouring it, the dried raspberries swelled up and blocked Clarence’s spout. That’s not really a negative, though.
Overall, the aroma ahead of drinking it, and the aftertaste, are better than the actual tea. It’s sweetish, and basically tastes like raspberries. There’s a hint of tea. I’m glad they used nilgiri (if indeed it is) because a lesser tea would have vanished completely.
It’s OK. I might indulge occaisionally.
I suspect it would make a great syrup. I might make up a big batch, reduce it with sugar and then pour over pancakes on the weekend.

Last time I went to the tea shop I used to own and asked for this, they told me it had never existed.
So when I found some in my son’s cupboard last night, I demanded a cup on the spot.
It’s just a lovely tea.
The cornflowers always remind me of those pink lolly cigars and musk sticks we had as children (I don’t suppose it’s legal to make a sweet that looks like a cigar any more, ones that look like cigarettes were banned thirty years ago)
So it really shouldn’t work, a good dryish black tea with something that has a rather childish taste.
But it does, it does so well. I used to make this tea up as a base for muffins and put extra cornflowers though them.
So, you have a fine edge of sickly, flowery sweeteness running through an otherwise impeccable Ceylon black.
It’s a bit of a guilty pleasure.
I purloined a little of this for home, along with a black rasperry tea I shall review next.

I’ve gone through about ten cups of this over the last week without ever reveiwing it. I think it’s because it’s a ‘social’ tea – I tend to drink it with others.
So, it’s dark, it’s malty, it has a delicious heady pure tea aroma.
It is the essence of tealiness .
And i love it!

The usual story, at a coffee shop. “Have you got any loose leaf tea?”
“Yes, we have chai, green, earl grey, english breakfast or chamomile.”? “Great”
Ok, so I can’t have the Earl Grey, beacuse I’m allergic to it. Can’t have the chai because some chais contain lemon or orange peel, that allergy again. Can’t have the chamomile because it tastes like dried dung beetles and I haven’t lst my mind. Can’t let us tea geeks down by having Englis Breakfast. So it must be green, and hope it’s not too bitter.
The waitress that served it called it Jasmine tea. I told her I’d oredred the green. She said “It’s the same thing”.
Ok
If there was any jasmine, it was obliteration by the over steeping, the over-teaing and the boiling water.
I couldn’t actually tell if it was Japanese or Chinese or perhaps grown by industrious penguins in the Arctic Circle.
I added two sugars and couldn’t make it drinkable.
The shopping centre I was at burnt down about 7 years ago. I suspect the arsonist had been served this tea. If so, a justifiable crime in my opinion.

I hate tea bags. But I was given a "Tea Lover’s Gift Pack " which comprised some biscuits and five boxes of tea bags, 8 to a box.
As it happens one of the boxes was empty, which says a lot about their quality control. Most tea merchants are across the idea of putting the stuff in the box.
After the apalling appalingness that so appalled me with their ‘apple green tea’, I was prepared for this one to score single digits too.
But actually, it’s not quite that bad.
It has the classic oolong taste, though it’s slightly stale – but then again so was some loose oolong I bought not that long ago
It’s got that sort of nutty middle taste, sandwiched between the savoury wood taste up front and the lingering almondy flavour.
If anything, as I expected so little flavour, I let it steep maybe a fraction longer than it needed.
I pulled the bag apart and the tea did not look like it was much quality.
The problem with oolongs is that they all tend to be excellent quality, so it’s hard to be too harsh on this. Also, I really try to avoid bags.
Perhaps I’ll put it this way: if you get one of these tea packs, this is the only one I wiouldn’t throw away as soon as the gift giver leaves your sight.

It’s bloody awful. Avoid at all costs.

Had to have one on Australia Day. Earhy, warm, spicy and quite unique.

So, this is my favourite tea? And it’s a white? And it’s not Indian? Hard to believe. two months ago I would have laughed at the idea!
I think that the fact that I start the day with this tea means it is the most likely to get logged – I had about 7 cups of various teas yesterday that weren’t. I just don’t get the time.
But still I love it.
I’ve had a bad night, woke up with a migraine aboround 5:30, took some Disprin Forté and awoke at 7am with the taste of salicylates and opiates in my mouth.
Uggghhh!
Restore me please, oh wonderful tea!
This is a perfectly balanced cup, even though it’s about 450ml.
The liquor firstly cleaned my tongue, before the second sip started stripping the furry feeling from the back of the roof of my mouth.
Third sip and there’s the tea in all its glory. Its slight dry mouthfeel is not quite what I need, but I’ll just have some more.
→
Now a third of the way down, and I am truly refreshed.
It’s Australia Day, so I have the day off, a wonderful sunny Adelaide Day, it’s 7:20, time to head to the deck, enjoy the early morning breeze, contemplate the leg of lamb that has been marinating for two days, and think about how truly rich my life is.

I’m getting so predicatble – drink this late at night, report it in the moning whilst sipping Pai Mu Tan.
It’s worth noting that I again oversteeped this. It’s not a typical Darj, it’s pretty strong.
Oversteeping does bring on a tobacco-y resonance, but more subtle.
It can hold up from very quickly steeped to about 5 minutes, and even though it changes a lot, it’s good all the way across the spectrum.

With the discussions going on on this forum right now, I had to have some.
I did.
It was huge; it was a large cup of a very large tea.
And it was silky, silky, smokey.
mmmmmm
You either love it, or leave it for me!

To put this in context, the little cafe that I get this from bravely stocks about thirty teas in an area where tea bags and instant coffee are considered acceptable, normal even. (I know, that’s hard to believe)
So, they try.
It’s evident that some teas sell more than others. In this case, I’d suggest the stock does not turn over very often.
Which explains why this was a little stale.
I don’t think it started life as a bad tea at all. There was still that warm oolong length of taste. A slight blossomy effect.
But it had tarred up over time. In the end, I added sugar to make it drinkable
Not recomended, I’m afraid.

OK, I decided to experiment. How far can I go?
First steep – it’s 2pm. We are preparing to go grocery shopping, just a little tea before we go. It’s a warm day.
The Pai Mu Dan helps us get into a calm place before the shopping storm. This first infusion is velvety and sparkly – I’m drinking mine unsweetened. It has some mossy, foresty undertones and a solid white/green tea taste with no bitterness whatsoever.
TIME TRAVEL→
It’s now 10:10 at night, and my better half has a headache, whereas I’m thirsty. Time for that second infusion.
The tea is doing the trick for both of us. This time, it’s woodier. The small amount of sugar I’ve added gives it almost a honey finish.
TIME TRAVEL→
It’s now 6am, and I’m up an about, and in severe need of some refreshment. I steep the leaves in almost half a litre of water. Again a small amount of sugar.
A great start to the day. really cleans the palate.
While drinking it, I’m editing a video about it. So I know fancy another cup.
LITTLE BIT OF TIME TRAVEL→
It’s 7am, and the Pai Mu Tan has run out of legs. I’ve used 2 grams, infused more than 1600ml of water through it over two days, and it’s very pale.
The taste is like a supermarket green teas bag, though without the bitterness.
It’s time for these leaves to be returned to the earth. They have given much.
Farewell, sweet tea!

Just shot a video of me making this, should be up next week. Layered in a wine glass.
I should have sweetened the milk, but nevertheless, a very rewarding ‘dessert tea’ having just consumed china jasmine, pai mu tan, assam and darjeeling whilst filming three episodes back to back.
The wild cherry is interesting, but for this, I think the plain and the quince are better flavours. The cherry is lost a bit in the milk.
I might add chocolate and make it into a black forest cake tea!

Made up a batch of this yesterday afternoon.
For those not familar with it (and since only about 5 kilos have ever been sold at a guess, that’s pretty well everyone) it’s a Russian Caravan-like blend but with a fair amount of FTGFOP 2nd flush Darjeeling.
A good approximation is to buy a good quality RC and mix 4:! with a good 2nd flush Darjeeling. Or make your own RC.
So, I sat down in the late afternoon yesterday with a cup, and with the daughter of the “Jim” who the tea was blended in honour of (who is also my wife).
It was warm, there was a breeze, and it was paradise out on the deck.
Chattering parrots in the fruit trees added to the environment.
I guess drinking anything at that time was likely to work. However, the laptop battery was flat, and I was forced to make paper notes. (Kiddies, if you can’t remember the old technology of a pen and paper, look it up on the net. It’s ingenious!)
First note: CLEAN
I’d been shovelling mulch and moving rocks. Hot and thirsty as I was, the tea cut straight through.
Second Note: Smoky
Definitely a smokiness. There’s no lapsang in this mix, but the Keemun base seems to emit a hint of smoke.
Third Note: Vitality
Your tongue sparkles. This is what the darjeeling adds to the mix
Fourth Note: AAhhhhhhhhh
The lingering taste of an excellent cuppa.
Unpretentious in the extreme, this tea. I’ve created some really exciting teas, including custom heritage blends and a freaky chai for those who take it without milk, but I’m still proud of this one.
If anyone wants to create it at home and review it; I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Ahhh yes, time for that first tea of the day.
Even though I’m sitting at my wife’s desk creating diagrams of social enterprise models, I am supposed to be outside digging up some rock-hard ground and old grass before the horror of the day (Should be about 39degC, or about 105F) really hits and then mowing the lawn.
So, for these manly pursuits, I need a manly tea. LS it is !
I made it in Cyril, my glass teapot, to better admire its leather-brown colour (OK, so not the manliest of starts there)
But the colour is that of a leather belt, or gun holster, or saddle. Very apt.
The aroma is that of a campfire, with a real pine forest feel.Camphor and campfire, saltwater and saltbush all roll through my mouth, it’s like a camping trip in a cup.
And the taste cuts through the mouth, extinguishing the sleepless night I had, and reinvigorates me in exactly the manly way I was after.
“I’m a lumberjack and I’m OK !”
I had put down MS publisher and picked up my garden tools.

Once again, I had this as my late night tea. And it was glorious!
4 minutes was about right.
The liquor – golden, sparkly
The aroma – like fresh barley straw
The – taste – liquid sunshine. Complex and subtle at the same time.
It was a great way to end the day. But it was 6 hours ago.
Now, I’m up and ready for something to kick my day into gear.

Giving this another go, though I don’t expect to enjoy is too much.
Just as well.
Tanniny.
Kenyan-y with not much else
Has the aroma of a tidal creek.
I am about to take drastic action…..
I’ve added milk and sugar. It’s now passable.
There’s plenty of other teas to choose from, next time, I’ll have something else.

Just tried this using the steam wand method but without sugar or any other sweetener.
Just doesn’t work

Second steep on my last tasting note, about 1.5 hours later,
Enjoying this tea with a peach straight from the tree.
The peach changes the character of the tea, brings out almost an almondy taste. Either that or someone is poisoning me with cyanide. Quite a nice way to go, though.

Bless me Cyril, for I have sinned. It is eight hours since my last cup of tea.
OK, so I’ve been asleep for six of those, but that’s hardly an excuse.
I’ve decided intellectually that I do not need to sweeten this tea, even the first infusion. So Let’s see if my tastebuds agree.\… they do !
The first sip or two filled the night-dried cracks inside my mouth but soon the sweet, juicy taste and delicate fragrance filled my senses.
I love the way the flavour of this tea fills your whole mouth.
I’ll start steeping the second before I finish the first. All is as it should be.

OK, made this as one of my famous layered rooibos lattes.
Layer of hot milk
Layer of vibrant red rooibos
Layer of froth
(I’ll shoot a videe of this soon, promise)
I like to take a few sips carefully to enjoy the full Rooibos falvour, then a quick stir and enjoy the milky goodness.
Sweet and invigorating

Today’s mild coffee hangover is being tackled upon waking with a China Jasmine.
I brewed it in a little ceramic pot and am drinking from a Croation cup from 1914 with gold filigree patterning. I’m trying to have as delicate and refined an experience as possible.
Maybe it was posting about Darjeeling that did it, but I’m detecting a gummy/menthol flavour that I’ve not picked up before in this tea. It’s actually clearing my head.
Whatever your problems, tea is the answer! And this one makes a fine answer. Golden ambrosia, a magical medicine in a cup.
And with reference to a discussion elsewhere on Steepster, no medical insurance required!

Another retrospective post, as I often have this tea late at night. I’m writing while something else brews.
I arrived home after teaching a four-hour barista course. Four hours in a small room, with a bunch of students, with the air gradually becoming laden with a blend named Café Noir. And of course, I was tasting all night.
I made the Darjeeling up and this time, it actually looked to be a more traditional Darjeeling colour – perhaps I’ve used a smidge too much tea on previous occasions.
Anyway, I was soon in possesion of a steaming mug of this great second flush.
It never lets me down.
Great gentle aftertaste was with me for a while, but the gum leaf quality up front is so refined that I had one and a half mugs at 11 at night.
I hoped that this would help me avoid waking with a coffee headache. (See next post to find out)

In a pensive mood after responding to someone’s troubles. It would be nice to fix everything that’s wrong with the world.
So I need a tea that might offer some optomism.
So, China Gunpowder gets a go.
It’s dark today (the tea, not the gloriously sunny day outside) and the aroma from the cup is very deep foresty. A liitle sugar to take the edge off, and mmmm the smoothnes comes through.
A little cup of sunshine, the world a little lighter.
I think “Make tea, Not War” might be today’s credo !