661 Tasting Notes
This was a tea from Christina. Thanks Christina! Sorry I am just trying it out now. I’ve been having my teas lately but only ones I’ve already reviewed. I have plenty of samples to get through but just wasn’t in the mood to try something new until now.
So I was wondering what was in this tea and had to check it out. It’s just green tea and spearment. I also was wondering if it would be like Morrocan Tea which is green tea and peppermint. The answer: Yes and no. There are similarities but it is different as well. This is a lighter brew than a Morrocan green tea. The spearmint is lighter with a slight citrus edge to it that peppermint doesn’t have. Still very minty like a Morrocan tea with the green tea base giving it body.
An enjoyable cup!
Flavors: Citrus, Mint, Spearmint
Preparation
I had this tea yesterday and found it to be a very high quality Tie Guan Yin. It was a bit buttery with good floral notes that lasted through a few infusions. Unfortunately , I can’t remember much of the details but I do remember it being really good.
It took me awhile to get my nerve up to have this tea. This came with the August monthly pkg from YS. After having the ginseng oolong which I really liked I thought I would give it a try. I brewed it up following YS directions on their webite.
This tea looks just like the picture. It looks like little broccoli florets. Dry the smell is a strong sharp scent. Can’t think of anything it’s similar tom so can’t really describe it.
Infusion one. It brews up with barely any colour. A pale pale pale yellow. Almost looks like water but there’s plenty of flavor. It was very sweet with a sharp but muted bitterness. There was also the spicy taste of the ginseng. Overall it wasn’t that bad. It was a bit strange to me but still good.
Infusion two – The bitterness got a bit stronger in this infusion. I didn’t like as much as the first. The spicy ginseng taste was stronger too. Whereas the first infusion was mostly about the sweetness, this one was more about the strong ginseng flavor and bitterness.
Infusion 3- Wow, everything was so strong on this one. Bitterness got so bad. It reminded me of Kuding tea which has a bitter/sweetness taste. I couldn’t drink the last infusion. It was way too bitter.
It would be interesting to pair a small amount of this tea with a pu-erh (as YS suggests on their website). I might try that with the small amount I have left. So far I wouldn’t be enticed to buy this tea no matter how healthy it is for me.
I think this is the best one out of the monthly package for Yunnan Sourcing. It’s pretty cheap too. Only $24US for a 250g brick.
It’s pretty smooth. I’m not getting any complex flavors but it’s how they describe it: sweet and smooth. I’m on infusion 4 and was not even thinking I would make it past the second one. I’m not a big shu fan.
I like chrysanthemum tea but this is chrysanthemum along with black and pressed into a cake. There was a bit of the flavor of the black tea coming through but the chrysanthemum tea dominated. For me, I really can’t see the point of this tea. I get the benefits of chrysanthemum tea on it’s own being herbal. For this tea, I couldn’t drink it in the evening and there’s nothing there to really make me want it during the day. This just isn’t a tea I would ever want to buy but it was still a good cup.
Had this one gong fu this morning. I’m just not a fan of dark roasted oolongs. There are very few that I really like. This one was no exception since all I could get with it was a roasted taste. I probably would have gotten more if I did more infusions ( I only did two.); but I just didn’t want anymore. I’ll maybe try it at another time when I feel I can go with more infusions.
I got my 5 for 5 sample pack in from Verdant Tea the other day. Steepster was down so couldn’t post about it but it really took me by surprise. I had forgotten all about it.
Of course the laoshan green was the first one I’ve tried . I had it yesterday and having the remainder today. It’s that good. I wasn’t expecting it to be that good. I’ve had this tea before from a travelling tea box and thought it was decent but not amazing. It probably all depends on how old the tea is and the harvest.
So anyway, this tea is so good, I’ve got to have more. Yes, it got the nuttiness and a bit of green pea taste. I’m not really good at describing what I taste. I think the chestnut flavor is really pronounced compared to some other green teas. There’s a bit of sweetness too. The way it all comes together is amazing. So I’m giving this a 95. I’d like to give a 100 but just don’t know if the next batch will be as great as this sample so holding off a bit on my rating.
I suppose a Verdant tea order is in the future for me…..
Preparation
I’ve had this tea in the past and reviewed it but it’s still a nice floral cup of tea. Jasmine is done just right and it’s not too astringent with a bit of sweetness.
Really enjoying it this morning. Haven’t been feeling too well and haven’t been enjoying my regular teas too much. This one is more like a comfort tea. Probably because I’ve been drinking Jasmine green for YEARS. At one point it was all I had for tea.
