Amy oh

1/4 of the Upton tea Assam sampler I got yesterday in the mail. Because I really need MORE tea, right?

Anyway I love drinking assams in the morning which is why I went for this sampler. Normally I would put soymilk and sugar in an assam right away but I wanted to at least try a sip of this plain first.

I like it plain which is a good sign, it’s very smooth, malty and has a touch of chocolate. I only steeped mine for 3 minutes and I noticed a lot of the other tasters went for 4 minutes, still I like it at 3. It’s good with a splash of soymilk and at this point doesn’t need sugar in my opinion, although you could certainly add some.

There is a slight tobacco or something in the finish although nothing bothersome. I am enjoying it, a good basic assam.

Tea of the mid-morning here, it’s a bit odd mixing tulsi with black tea and I don’t really drink this for the flavor of it, I just like the way tulsi makes me feel nice and relaxed. Imagine black tea mixed with a muddy, unwashed mint and you get the idea.

Anyway I am having a great Monday but I spent all day yesterday relaxing, doing meditation, yoga, walking and drinking tea. A great way to start off the week!

I decided to get a sample of this tea from Harney and Sons with my last order and it wasn’t in the database yet so I added it this morning.

I confess the only other Bohea I have tried is the Bohea Imperial from Upton Tea which I loved. I was expecting the same love from this as well. :P

The dry leaf smells incredible, I am getting chocolate covered cherries. I steeped this for 4 minutes per H & S suggestion.

This is a very elegant tea, in terms of flavor it is very reminiscent of a wuyi oolong and I adore most of those. It has a definite cherry/plum flavor with a bit of malt and buckwheat. As the cup cools and the flavors become more prominent I am reminded a bit of a red wine. Unfortunately as the cup cools I am getting some bitterness that I’m not really enjoying.

I confess I liked the Upton version better because of the smoky quality… I’m not getting much smoke in this particular Bohea, but I wonder if someone else might perceive it differently? I’d like to try steeping the remainder of the sample I have using the gong fu method. The picture of the tea on their website looks lighter than what I have in my cup so I may have needed to adjust my leaf to water ratio.

I don’t think I will be buying a full size of this but in any case, I look forward to the reviews of others as they come in.

It’s kind of strange that I’m drinking this tea in May but oh well… it’s a decaf so it’s good for the night time. I had a cup of coffee at 4 pm, so I’ll be amazed if I get any sleep tonight.

I was surprised that this was so good with soymilk added to it. I had never tried that before and it really helped to bring out the vanilla flavor. Still, this is one of the strongest mint teas I have ever had, aside from drinking plain old peppermint tea. Next time I make this I should steep it with an extra bag of decaf green tea.

Made my own custom blend combining this, spearmint and lemon verbena then poured over ice. It’s pretty good this way!

Sipdown!
Oh my.. this tea has been written about extensively on Steepster and for good reason. Chocolatey, malty goodness. As I was steeping this in the gaiwan I thought I smelled someone baking in my building but it must be the tea. I am sure I need more of this. This tea has been a staple in my cupboard ever since I discovered it.

Well, I bought this almost a year ago and mostly forgot about it until I found it in the refrigerator this morning. This still tastes fine to me, although obviously it is not at the peak of freshness anymore. Just a very light, sweet and vegetal green tea. See previous notes if interested.

Sipdown!
Sunday morning and I’m just finishing off the 1 oz. I got of this, decided to brew up a whole pot in the beehouse teapot. Assams are one of my favorite things to drink in the morning time and I have definitely enjoyed this.

May all beings be happy. ;)

After lunch tea — I thought I’d revisit this since I had a HUGE vegetarian burrito for lunch and maybe something with ginger would be good. This still tastes like a huge bunch of fake peach with hardly any ginger detectable. I’m still not a big fan as you may be able to ascertain.

Backlog…
I had this tea last night along with Samovar’s Japanese tea service. That included brown rice, tempeh, beets, seaweed salad and kale with a cup of butternut squash soup. This is a bit reminiscent of Den’s Super Green genmaicha because the color is just such a bright vivid green. Definitely has a kelpy/savory flavor with the warm flavor of toasted rice. That seaweedy flavor does not bother me, but I love japanese green teas. It went great with my food too. I could see wanting to have some of this around to make tea soup with or just to have I thought about buying some of this but I have a few genmaichas already that I should focus on drinking first. So much tea, so little time.

I have no idea how they prepared this so I’m just guessing… Their nishi sencha 1st flush is definitely worth checking out too.

I received this tea as part of the chocolate tea samples from Della Terra months ago but never got around to trying this one for some strange reason. I’m not a huge fan of most chocolate teas because I just find them to be lacking a bit so I guess you can take this review with a grain of salt…

The aroma smells really nice and authentic like a big cup of cocoa. Typical of most chocolate teas I’ve tried I just find the flavor to be a bit thin and I’m wondering what the point is. I did find the flavor was helped along a bit by the addition of soymilk and some rock sugar because I felt like it needed something. I don’t think I have any reason to buy this as long as I have a huge tin of “Florence” still sitting around.

My favorite in the Della Terra chocolate line has to be the “chocolate covered strawberry” but they are currently out of it. I would like to get more of that someday. ;)

One last cup of tea before going to the SF Zen Center tonight. This is pretty good with soymilk, I feel like I’m drinking a latte. I might want to get a milk frothing device one of these days…

see previous notes for more details

I’m just finishing off this sample today, I’ve definitely enjoyed this green darjeeling (see previous notes for more details).

Thank you to Stacy for including this is my last order. I was craving a dessert tea this afternoon, so I had a feeling this would hit the spot.

For an assam this is a bit on the mild side and not pungent like some I’ve had. The caramel/vanilla flavor is delicate and sweet, and this is an easy tea to sip on plain. I had mine with soymilk and sugar just because I needed an extra boost. The aroma is so nice just sitting here wafting up from my cup. I enjoyed trying this and hopefully it will kill my after lunch sugar cravings.

Thanks again Stacy!

Yet another sample from Rare Tea Republic that I am attempting to purge from my cupboard… like Azzrian at first I was under the impression that this was a black tea and I also had to look up where Bihar is (Northern India – it borders on Nepal).

I tried to follow the RtR steeping parameters which said 5 minutes at 205 F.

I definitely am getting a butternut squash/pumpkin sort of flavor here in the aroma as well as the flavor of this tea, which is a clear light orange. This is a nice mellow brew, pleasantly sweet, and yes I’m getting some apricot as well.

Very enjoyable although it wouldn’t be a “must have” item for me, which is probably just as well since RTR is no longer around.

I purchased this yesterday at Walgreens on a whim. Part of my plan to wean myself off caffeine in the afternoon time.

For a decaf tea this is okay. Lemongrass and ginger are both healthy herbals but I can’t help but wonder how much better this would be without the green tea which imparts kind of a bitter taste. I may need to adjust my steeping parameters or try cold brewing this, I left it sitting way too long. It might be better with a little sugar.

It’s a solid “meh” for me I will probably finish off the box.

Another sample gone…

I won’t miss this too much. It’s pretty good for a second flush darjeeling which do not tend to be my favorites. This does have a very nice grape flavor and aroma and a very “soft” flavor. See previous notes for more details.

R.I.P. Rare Tea Republic…

I brought a bunch of their samples from last year to work to see if I could focus on finishing them off this week. I really don’t think I can justify buying any more FF darjeeling until I finish off last year’s supply, of which I have PLENTY. Well, maybe just a few samples when Upton Tea comes out with theirs. :)

This tea steeps up to be a light amber/yellowish color and has an intense floral/nutty aroma. It still seems wonderful to me – the plucking date was April 11, 2012 according to the bag they gave me. I am picking up notes of tropical fruit with a slight palette cleansing astringency in the finish. Still seems really fresh and flavorful, just like springtime. These ff darjeelings can be a total sensory experience!

Backlog – I drank this yesterday at the office. I thought I was “over” bagged teas but there is something about the convenience of them at work that is definitely appealing.

I’ve had a box of this tea forever and I believe I drank the last bag yesterday. As an experiment I decided to pour this over ice and it was really good that way. the ginger is very strong but I like that because it seems to be good for digestion as well as allergies. Not for the faint of heart. I might need to get some more of this someday for those afternoons/evenings when I’m looking for no caffeine.

Tea of the morning here… a slightly decadent choice for morning time but that’s okay. I feel like I’m eating an almond croissant. This is one of my favorite teas from Simpson and Vail so far. It takes soymilk very well and doesn’t need sugar at all. So good! See previous notes for more details…

I hope I am not tempting fate by trying this tea in the evening time (it’s 7:23 here) but I wanted to stay awake to do laundry and some other things. Keep your fingers crossed for me….

This is a lovely hand rolled tea that is visually nice to look at. I decided to go for the 3 minute steep at approximately 180F (my guesstimate).

Flavorwise, this reminds me a lot of a Chinese green tea with savory, vegetal artichoke type flavors, like a chun mee or something of that nature. There is a definite sweetness in the finish too which is really nice. Their website says “grassy” which I am not really getting at all. Something about this seems very relaxing and I can definitely see how this would be a good everyday drinking type of tea (if not for the price).

I will definitely consider buying a large size of this at some point to keep around – on the shopping list it goes. So far everything from NTT has been good in my opinion.

This is such a delicious oolong. I had the first peach of the season this morning that I got from Whole Foods last night. Delightful. I love all the summer fruit.

Yesterday before I left the office I cold brewed a teabag of this and am drinking it with my lunch as an iced tea. It’s pretty good this way. Only a few more days of our current heatwave before it’s back to rain and overcast weather, I’m enjoying the sun!

Tea of the morning here. a slightly odd choice for breakfast time, but then again, why not have a strawberry cupcake for breakfast?

This is a pretty good dessert tea, I’m not sure I would get anymore but will certainly finish off what I have. Lots of strawberry flavor present and there IS something about this that reminds me of cake. See previous notes for more details.

TGIF, Steepster!

My teas arrived today from Butiki and I wanted to try at least one of them even though it’s been freakishly hot weather for San Francisco.

I steeped this for 4 minutes and I’m sure I added at least two teaspoons of tea. I love banana flavored things but was a bit disappointed in this. I wonder if I got a cup that had fewer banana chips because I feel like the flavor is just incredibly light. It smells very much like a dessert and I get the walnut flavor. It’s okay but given the description I just wanted something with more banana flavor. I will retry another time and let the Steepster world know if my impressions change… adding a tiny bit of sugar did make a difference with this.

On an unrelated note I am SO looking forward to the weekend and some fun time with this really cute guy I know! ;-)