Morgana Send Message

570 Followers / 390 Following

__Morgana__ drank Great White by Tavalon Tea

2036 tasting notes

Sipdown no. 154 of the year 2014.

Honestly, I don’t care enough about this tea to try to perfect steeping parameters for it. It was decent, but not special when I tried in the gaiwan, and I tried it several times. I dumped what was left (about 6 grams) into the Breville and made it according to Tavalon’s instructions—180 degrees, 4 minutes.

This didn’t make it any more or less remarkable than it was in the gaiwan using a lower temperature. Fortunately, it isn’t planty, so I give it higher than usual white peony marks for that, and this time a slight floral note is coming out high above some slight woodiness.

But I strongly suspect white peony and I simply aren’t meant to be unless it is operating as the base for a nicely flavored white tea.

Preparation

180 °F / 82 °C 4 min, 0 sec 6 g 17 OZ / 500 ML

I Like This

18 likes

3 comments

@ligongsf
Delete

so I guess you find it too banal?

@ligongsf
Delete

what time of day do you usually drink tea?

__Morgana__
Delete

inspiregong, I drink different types of tea at different times of day. Usually black in the morning and early afternoon, then white or green in the mid-afternoon, then if I have oolong on a particular day I usually drink it in the afternoon, and herbals/decafs at night.

I don’t know if banal is the right word. By comparison to other white peonies, this one isn’t bad and there’s nothing offensive about it. I just don’t seem to find white peony in general very flavorful and though I have a fair amount of it in my stash and will keep trying, once that’s done I’m not sure it’s something I’ll be restocking in my personal stash.

People who liked this

Comments

@ligongsf
Delete

so I guess you find it too banal?

@ligongsf
Delete

what time of day do you usually drink tea?

__Morgana__
Delete

Profile

Bio

I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes