Uniquity

Well, the name is accurate on this one. I had been referring to it as mango bubble gum but mango fruit punch works better. This is a very heavy tea that smells delicious, like something you should eat immediately. I ended up using the entire 26 gram packet for our 24 oz teapot as it was very heavy and hard to get enough to flavour up. That basically makes this 1.75 a cup. Yikes!

Steeped, it has a yellow colour and a sweet aroma. The taste matches it closely, with a POW of sweetness, some identifiable candied mango and then bubble gum/fruit punch under that. To be honest, I don’t like it. I am not keen to finish my cup and I definitely won’t buy any more. I don’t know what I expected but the smell was so amazing that I got carried away. What I would want here is to cut the sweetness and add maybe some tartness to round it out. Rare for me! I should probably have used less tea or less time, but I know how difficult it can be to get dried fruit to flavour up. Unfortunately I went the opposite direction. Not for me, but would probably be very good iced or if you’re a huge fan of sweet teas.

Another poorly stored sample, but worth a go, right? This smells tart like hibiscus but I don’t see any of the typical pink tinge. I get some sour rooibos as well, masking what I would otherwise presume to be tart blueberries. At five minutes, this tastes mainly of smoke. Like there is a fire a few kilometres away but a bit of the smoke has blown in on the wind. No tart, nor sweet, nor blueberry at all. If I could get the aroma to match the taste I would be a happy panda.

At 15 – 20 minutes I can finally get some blueberry flavour in there but it is so dominated by smoke that I am not interested in continuing. This is my fault so no rating. I wish I had drank this two years ago when it was still fresh.

Dry, this smells amazing. I am thinking of the horse barn at the exhibition but in a GOOD WAY. Sweet clean hay, damp wood, hard working animals and minimal stink. This is contrasting with the cow barn which always smelled much more of excrement. Blech. I have come to really enjoy the smell and taste of hay and damp wood in my teas, and trying to get into puerh seems like the logical next step for me and my tea journay. Black teas and roasty oolongs still make me a happy panda but puerh might offer me just a little bit more.

Because I am a puerh noob I have used a bit less leaf than I probably should have, but that’s okay. Coupled with 95 degree water, I am ready to dip my toes in. I am using my smallish gaiwan and very small double walled cups. I have also broken out my tea feet (tea pet) to get their tea on too.

First steep at 30 seconds. Because of my conservative leaf and temp, I figure I can up the ante on time. I am tasting this one, though I know typically the first steep is a rinse. Not much about this is typical though. The smell is strong and smoky, like tanned hide or salted meat. Smoked wood, tobacco. I am developing an appreciation for a smoky note so this is actually enticing. The flavour is sweeter than the smoke note led me to believe, and taste more like the initial smell – sweet hay, damp hide and a hint of salt. Perfectly drinkable though not my ideal cuppa. Much more earthy than sweet though.

Second steep at 45 seconds yields the same aroma of smoke and salt. The taste is much sweeter though, more sweet hay, less earth. Much nicer, though it tastes a bit light. This is very sippable, the contrast of the taste and the aroma is very interesting. The smoke really develops as the tea cools.

Third steep at 1 minutes results in a brew much like the second, only amplified. I am getting some floral tastes now. I didn’t get any fruit or spices before now but I hardly know what I’m doing and I’m okay with that. This is my favourite so far, the smoke is mellowing out and allowing the taste to dominate the aroma.

Will likely steep more later but taking a break to put together our corn chowder now. General impressions are that this is a nice tea, but not my favourite. Something to enjoy occasionally. Will try it more traditionally at some point (more leaf/less time) and see what I get. Might do a cup western style too.

This is an impressive tea, especially for it’s cost. For a long time, my favourite black tea was the Wild Black Yunnan from Davids Tea. For me, this one is even better. Stronger, bolder flavours with less (read: no) astringency or bitterness. It holds strong through multiple steepings but is so inexpensive that I don’t mind calling it quits at just one steep. I actually prefer it to the other Yunnans that Teavivre offers, as this one has the cocoa and earth POW that I love. I am very glad to have 100 grams on hand, and will re-stock this one rather than the Davids when the time comes. Mmmm!

The beau and I picked up 10 grams of this last March and promptly forgot about it. Though it smells appetizing, I fear the hibby is strong in this one. So many of Davids blends over the past couple years have been lackluster for me, with the notable exception of Berry Good which I adore.

Steeped, this is a coral liquor which smells very tart, like pink lemonade – that would be the hib, I assume. The taste is a shock of tart with some herby flavour in the middle and then all ginger and hibiscus at the end. I am not really liking it but it isn’t the worst herbal I’ve had. I am not getting any strawberry though, which is a definite problem. Strawberry was the selling point for me but all I have is tart ginger. I will try cold brewing the rest, I think, and see how that goes. If nothing else, the beau likes iced tea.

I got a sample of this one a long long time ago and finally had the presence of mind to steep it up today. There is enough there for two cuppas so I have half of it in a filter bag as that stuff looks too fine for my filter. I hate when floaties escape into my tea!

The aroma is fairly strong with cinnamon dominating. Cinnamon isn’t my favourite part of a chai but I do appreciate the necessity, so on we forge. I went through a mega chai phase about two years ago but really lost my taste for it somewhere since then. I am not sure what happened, though I suspect I put too much milk in it at some point and it was ruined by association. I am not a milk drinker and never have been. Blech.

Steeped, I get cinnamon in taste and burn, with some gingery/nutmeggy baking type flavours. There is a bit of heat, but I am not really getting the cardamom which sometimes balances chai out for me. The black tea base is also pretty assertive. I know it is blasphemous, but I don’t really like assams and the ilk. Their strength of flavour is interpreted by my tongue as bitterness, even with the most careful treatment. Then it needs milk, which I don’t like. Hmm, I guess I just figured out why I don’t like chai. :)

Anyway, this is a perfectly respectable chai and if you are a chai fan it will likely impress you. This might make a good latte (which interestingly I do enjoy, if it isn’t too milk heavy) but that is beyond my skills. I’ll just keep sipping.

Gave this another shot in a different way today. I forgot to clean out my Perfect Tea Mug so I put 4 or 5 pearls in a T-Sac and brewed them up for 3 – 4 minutes in a mug. I got a LOT more jasmine than previous infusions, and the black tea came through pretty nicely as well, but without any astringency. I remain a little disappointed by the quality of the base tea and prefer Teavivre’s Black Pearls for price AND taste, but these are definitely a nice change from the usual. I frequently forget how I feel about jasmine but I DO like it and these are a lovely way to get a floral hit. If that base tea were just a bit better..

Another from my box o tea from LiberTeas several years ago. Initially it smells as though it has been scent contaminated with all the rest, but when steeped 2.5 minutes it smells definitely like black tea with light citrus. More like cleaner than fresh fruit, but not unappealing. It looks and smells like a tea that will get bitter if over-steeped so I was careful with the time.

First sips yield a fairly typical black tea that starts out a bit sweet and then goes a bit astringent, with some light citrus in the background. Considering the age and storage of this sample, I am impressed that there are any flavours to distinguish at all. In the aftertaste I get a sense of bergamot but it is very light and not dusty at all the way bergamot can sometimes be.

This is a very pleasant (if mild) cuppa, and I will definitely be able to finish the sample. Yay!

Well, I couldn’t wait until I got home to try this one. The beau is not one for chocolate teas either so I doubt he’ll be bothered. The aroma of the dry leaves makes me think of a Crunch or Krackle bar – chocolate with some puffed rice. The beany malty laoshan black sits underneath all that, holding it together.

I went a bit light on the leaf but gave it extra time to balance out. I remember Laoshan Black as being strong on flavour under most circumstances so I am confident it can handle it. The liquor is a warm sunflower sort of yellow, with strong malt aroma that is tinged with cocoa at the end. I’ve always loved the idea of a genmaicha, but being a hater of green tea I have never really enjoyed it. This could be the way for me!!

First sips yield a fairly typical laoshan flavour. Heavy on malt with some cocoa and honeyed sweetness on the end of the sip. The nibs are working with the natural cocoa flavours of the tea and bringing it out even more. I love that. So far there is nothing here that screams toasted rice for me though. I will report back in a bit to see if that changes but for now this is mostly laoshan with chocolate, and I ain’t complainin’. :)

EDIT: I have had the new batch of Laoshan Black and I must say that I prefer the unadulterated Laoshan Black to this blend. I get much more cocoa from the Laoshan Black than from this one and I prefer the intensity of flavour. I think the addition of the oolong here (while nice) detracts from what I love about the Laoshan. Still yummy though!

Had some of this again last night. This is the first ‘new release’ from Davids in a few years that I have truly loved. We have used nearly 50 g in the last few months which actually is a lot for us. Typically we have different teas all the time but we return to this one frequently.

The first steep always delivers a strong strawberry taste with some earthy tartness in the background from the pu. There is no fishiness – I can barely even tell the pu is there actually. It also delivers a solid second steep though you do lose some strawberry flavour so it isn’t as good, but still worth steeping. This is the tea that has helped me to think I might be able to learn to love pu-erh.

I fully intend to go get a tin of this once our pouch is empty. Yum!

Way to go, Uniquity. This is another tea that I have been hoarding/savouring since ordering it from Verdant. 1.5 years ago. I have another order dreamed up and am just waiting to see if a co-worker wants in so I am really feeling compelled to finally drink up the beautiful teas I got last time. Despite it’s age this has been stored well (score!) and maintains a lovely sweet yunnan smell. I’m thinking more hay than pepper or cocoa. I am likely in a better position now to appreciate this tea than I was when I bought it, so this is for the best, right? :)

Steeped for 3.5 minutes, the beau and I shared a pot while he finishes Silent Hill Downpour. He’s been finishing it for days, but who am I to judge? I’m the “just one more page/chapter/book” girl. After pouring the tea, I even gave a bit to my tea pet (also from Verdant way back when). Aren’t I generous? Steeped, this almost puts me in mind of chocolate cake. It smells rich, sweet and decadent. Sweet hay remains a strong aroma.

First sips are clean and sweet, not as bold as other yunnans but very tasty. I get some light cocoa, and the sweet hay continues to dominate. For now I am going to sit back and enjoy it. Then maybe steep it again. Mmmmm. I think this is one of those teas that would be impossible to over-steep. I feel confident that I could steep this the whole time I drank it and it would only get stronger without ever going bitter. Lovely!

All the talk about maple teas on the discussion boards had me wanting to try this one which I just brought to work last week. I haven’t tried it before but it does have an appetizing maple smell – it’s a bit more Aunt Jemima than maple syrup (if you’re Canadian you will probably understand) but it is definitely appealing.

Steeped, the liquor is quite brown, and has a smell that puts me in mind of boxed pancakes and Aunt Jemima. Again, yummy but not quite the real deal. There is some sweetness that comes off as maple syrup and the tea is very prominent beneath that. They are pretty well balanced with each other but the tea does have a hint of bitterness. I wonder what the base tea is, cuz I think I steeped this appropriately but the bitterness is a bit disappointing.

I would like a smidge more maple in here but it is a very old sample so I may have just lost some flavour over time. A drop of syrup or honey in here would do wonders (if I had any here at work). All in all, very nice.

EDIT to add – this reminds me of a couple Monk’s Blends that I have had. Interesting!

The beau brought a silken satchet of this home from his work for me to try. While I’m not the biggest rooibos fan anymore I do love him so try it I shall. The aroma reminds me of Ruby Red from Joy’s Teaspoon – some sweetness, tropical fruit of some sort and some rooibos. Nothing objectionable, but not too snazzy either. A quick comment on the satchet though – I love it! For a rooibos, it had plenty of room for spreading out and getting fully steeped. Actual tea might have needed a bit more room, but this was great for a non-expanding tea. It was also fine enough to keep the rooibos in which is important for me. I hate small floaties.

First sips are nice enough. It echoes the smell with some undistinguishable fruit flavouring and sweetness. There is almost a hint of bubble gum but it doesn’t quite go there (luckily). Still reminds me of Ruby Red, which I have 4 or 5 ounces of at home. One of the better rooibos teas I have had lately. Generic but good. :)

Oy. Another from SimplyJenW that I drank but did not review. I recall a lot of people saying that Paris is similar to Tower of London (which I love) but for some reason I always think of it as heavy on bergamot. At the moment, that doesn’t seem to be true. Actually, I am starting to think that Paris is the mystery tea that scent contaminated all the rest of my samples. Either that or it is fairly heavy contaminated. Can’t be sure anymore.

The smell is sweet and light, I am not getting much by way of bergamot. Actually, I do get some sweet stone fruit that DOES remind me of ToL. Perhaps I have had false memories of this tea all along. First sips are light and sweet, much like the aroma but with a bit more of a honey note. I am not picking up on any citrus or bergamot but I am really liking the honey/stone fruit notes. Why has this sat neglected for so long? This is a nice little sippable tea. I am glad to introduce it to my work stash, I’m sure it won’t last very long now. :)

Wow, another I didn’t review. Whoops. SimplyJenW sent this my way probably a year and a half or two years ago. This is a prime example of why I almost never do swaps, I never seem to get around to drinking the things I get in return. I have had most of this one though, so I’m not sure how I managed to miss reviewing it.

I am not much of an English breakfast drinker as they tend to be bitter assams and other bold teas I don’t drink a lot of. They are nice for a treat though, and I will add a bit of sugar or honey if necessary. This one got the kid gloves treatment of a 3 minute steep so it should be good on it’s own. I get a lot of malt in the aroma, and it has a smell that frequently translates into bitterness. I’m not sure how to describe it, but it’s easy to recognize.

First sips are a bit lighter than I expected, and with a surprising level of sweetness. This tastes more like Chinese blacks than Indian. Wait a minute, I’ve finally read the description. This is a Keemun? Win! I get some sweetness that is almost lightly floral, not much of a smoke note like I sometimes get. This is a nice keemun and extremely affordable. I don’t see why they don’t just label it as a Kemmun, but whatever works. :)

Another very old sample from my box of goodies from LiberTeas – thank you! This is one that made it to the bottom of the basket otherwise I would have drank it all down in the first place. I am not a huge fan of the old 52Teas base and I don’t really enjoy Earl Grey but I DO love cheesecake! I am thinking that the improper storage will have hurt this one though, I don’t get any earl or cheesecake aroma from the dry leaf. Everything in that basket of samples took on a weird aroma which I STILL haven’t identified but really don’t enjoy. Let this be a lesson to all of Steepster: store your samples properly and use them quickly!

Steeped, I get that funky smell (I think it was a mix of Pancake Breakfast and Buttered Popcorn, neither of which I really enjoyed) and a hit of something that puts me in mind of coconut. Bad sign. Da*n you Uniquity-from-the-past for your carelessness!

Unfortunately, the taste is about what I expected. Some astringency, no bergamot or cheesecake. I’ll just toss the rest of this and move on to something else. I bet it would have been wonderful if I had tried it a year ago, heh.

Well I am finally logging a note on this one. I have had it for ages and am not entirely positive that I ever tried it. It seems to be a roasted oolong which is a good start but a lot of the flavours are diminished, probably because I have had it for so long. I do get a note that I could call melon but I am not picking up on fig or any of the other ingredients. Not bad but I’ll be okay when it’s gone.

Okay. A coworker gave me some of this to try a month or two ago but I have been so afraid of it that I held off trying until today. I used a scant teaspoon in my perfect tea mug for 3 or 4 minutes and am rewarded with a golden amber brew that smells like a campfire. This is feeling a bit more like a punishment than a reward, but maybe I’ll like it.

Over the past few years I have come to enjoy and even embrace a light smoke note in tea. Note the word light. This is POW. This might have my coworkers wondering if the office is on fire. Oy. Initially, I get a sweet taste that morphs into smoked ham. Then I am left with a mouth full of ashtray. Hm. The ashtray thing isn’t actually as bad as it sounds, but it isn’t good either. I’m clinging to the sweetness of the tea under all the smoke as if it were a lifeboat. I can drink this, but I really don’t think I want to. I do really want some smoked ham now…

Well, after seeing so many posts from people ordering and loving Red Leaf Tea’s matcha, I decided to do some more experimentation with the flavours I have. I got the caramel and loved it, but the other three (strawberry, cheesecake and cookies and cream) have all tasted TERRIBLE to me. I don’t know what makes my taste buds so different but I just do not like RLT’s flavoured matcha.

Anyway, I took some of my (admittedly old) matchas and mixed them in cold water today. I went with cold to avoid potential bitterness as a lot of people have recommended it to me as an alternative to hot matcha. I used about 1/2 tsp of cheesecake as I found it to be very light and 1/4 tsp of strawberry as that is a roundhouse kick to the face.

I tried to build a froth but that doesn’t really work with old matcha and cold water so I gave in and started sipping. It smells like fake strawberry soap and bubble bath which is the issue I’ve had with strawberry all along. The taste is yummy for about 1.5 seconds and then it is all strawberry bubble bath. There is no way I am finishing this. I think the beau needs to use up the remains of our matchas and I need to accept that I just don’t like it. Ugh.

Trying this again today with much more leaf (the rest of my sample – 1.5, nearly two TSP). I am getting much more aroma during infusion than last time, likely because of the volume of leaf. I think this is overkill actually. It definitely wasn’t enough for two cups but too much for one. I just can’t win with this tea!

The liquor is deep brown and almost muddy – again a result of over-infusion. The aroma doesn’t yield any bitterness which is impressive. First sips are rich and slightly malty with no bitterness at all. This is very smooth but not yielding a variety of complex flavours like I expected. This is much better than my first try but still not a favourite. I don’t know why this one isn’t rocking my world like everyone else, but at least I gave it the old college try. Enjoying but not remarkable. Sipdown!

Here is another from the box o’teas from LiberTeas from way back when. This is one of the samples that had some smell contamination but as it is an unflavoured tea I don’t imagine it will be as much an issue as it was for the flavoured teas.

I actually don’t know anything about pouchongs, and was a little wary when I read that they are a mix of green tea and green oolongs. Those are my two least favourite kinds of tea, both prompting queasy stomache on occasion which leads me to stay away from them.

This is beautiful though, long twisted leaves that open up to be very full and have a very sweet smell without any of that vegetal aroma I dislike so much. The liquor is a golden yellow and smells almost of mild cinnamon sugar. The first sips echo these smells and are really quite nice. I get a sense of creaminess, and it is a very full flavour, much more than I expected by the aroma.

Despite my dislike of green tea and green oolongs, this is really nice. I am very impressed, and look forward to enjoying the rest of the sample. I’m not sure if this is an authentic tasting of this pouching, but man is it yummy. There is hope for me yet!

Edit to add: This is tasting note 600. Yippee!

I was re-steeping yesterdays leaves and forgot about them. For twenty minutes. While I am amazed that this tea can handle a twenty minute steep without becoming undrinkable tar, I am equally amazed that it STILL doesn’t have very much flavour! It’s only slightly more flavourful than yesterday and still doesn’t wow me. Perhaps it’s too subtle for my tastes, but I definitely am not picking up on any of the flavours that other tasters have mentioned. I am glad that I don’t get any sweet potato though as I can’t stand the things. Blech!

I’m positive I’ve had this tea before now but apparently I have yet to log it. It’s good timing as I am considering another Teavivre order and was really impressed with the regular Yun Nan Dian Hong but wondered if the next level up was superior enough to justify buying that instead. This one costs approximately three times the price of the regular dian hong, so I am hoping for a remarkable experience. This has a remarkable quantity of golden leaves, I wuld say it is at least 3/4 golden tips. Very beautiful, and left lots of little tea leaf fuzz in the bag.

I am at work so I steeped this in a T-Sac rather than a brew basket or gaiwan. There is lots of room in it for expansion though, so I’m not too fussed. Three minutes in I have a lovely golden orange liquor and an appetizing aroma. Sweet cocoa, a sense of astringency but it’s not fully developed. It smells rich and almost has some aromas that remind me of bread. I can’t quite explain those so I’ll just enjoy.

First sips yield sweetness but surprisingly little flavour. I expected a POW of cocoa and tea, instead I get a whisper of each. I had some carrots as a snack earlier and I actually taste them more than the tea. Maybe this one requires more steep time? As I continue to sip the flavour builds on the tongue, but still doesn’t reach the level I expect of Teavivre’s teas, especially at this price range ($18.90/100 grams).

I will be fair and admit that this is an old sample (give or take a year) so it may have lost flavour in storage but it was stored well, in a double sealed bag. I will definitely try again, but this just didn’t have the punch I was looking for. A very nice tea but not the flavour I expect for the price and the quality of the leaves. I feel a little let down, but at the same time am buoyed as I can guiltlessly pick up the cheaper Yun Nan in my next order!

Finishing up my sample, apparently I haven’t done a tasting note yet. Out of the bag the aroma is very sweet, far more than I would prefer. It almost has a licorice smell which is not appealing to me at all. I get sickenly sweet icing from the aroma rather than red velvet cake. With some trepidation I steeped it for about three minutes. The steeped aroma is nearly as sweet as the dry and not really my cup of tea. I would like to be pleasantly surprised by this one but my expectations are not very high.

The tea steeps up a dusty rose and smells of buttercream icing, rich and sweet. I don’t like icing at the best of timea so smelling it in my tea is actually bad news. First sips yield moee white chocolate than icing and for this I am grateful. It is still quite sweet bur not as much as the smell suggests. I can taste the bkack tea occasionally but it is easily overwhelmed by the additives. Much too sweet for my taastes but woukd be good for someone craving a strong dessert tea.