2816 Tasting Notes
Thanks so much for Tamm for sharing some of this with me!
So I store all of my tea swap samples in the same box, and I just noticed recently that all of them smell like Hu Kwa (the smoky tea from Mark Wendell). Evidently the Hu Kwa is so potent that it needs it’s own humidor or something.
So this morning when I went to go try this out I swear I can taste some smokiness in this tea but I don’t know if it is my imagination or what. As others have noted the cinnamon flavor is very subdued here so this isn’t a choice if you wanted something that was going to taste like cinnamon gummy bears. It really is more of an herbal-y cinnamon and I also like that you can really taste the flavor of the tea underneath (a Chinese black – perhaps a Keemun?)
I did enjoy this, but I’m not going to bother rating it due to my fears of inadvertently getting the Lapsang Souchong aroma in there… we shall see what happens with the other samples.
I debated on whether or not I needed to get this for a few days, and finally succumbed to the siren call of 52teas unique blends and free shipping… I was wondering if it would really taste like scotch (the drink) but ultimately figured it was meant to be more of a dessert tea.
It arrived today and opening up the package I have to say: Nom! The aroma of this blend is totally intoxicating. Totally sweet and butterscotchy , just a tad bit boozy and delectable…
I was so excited (like the total tea dork that I am) to try this!
I steeped my cuppa for about 3 minutes at 208 F. This is not a tea I would drink plain so I added some soymilk and then upon tasting, felt that it needed a bit of turbinado sugar to really bring the flavor forward. This is a lot more subtle than I thought it would be. By the way the steeped tea smells yummy. I might try a resteep at a slightly lower temp to see what that does to the flavor. I also might be tempted to toss a shot of bourbon in here… hee hee.
If you’re looking for a tea you can drink plain this might not be it, but I’m already wondering if I should grab more before this is gone. :)
Preparation
It’s the after lunch pu-erh. :) If you like shus you should check these out someday. I love the flavor but the brick is a mess when you try to pry it apart. A small sacrifice, I say! See previous notes if interested.
The bricks certainly do make a mess when you break them. I have to make sure I have some cling film wrap around to catch the crumbs :) Pu-erh is very lovely to drink, such a beautiful fragrant taste.
Cling wrap! What a great idea, I need to try that with this brick…
What do you use to break it apart?? an ice pick??
I’ve been using a cheese knife, that works fairly well
This is a beautiful green tea in terms of the hand rolled craftsmanship to form these individual nettles. I steeped 3 of them today and am really enjoying the unique flavor, a bit artichoke, a bit marine and a wee bit of an orange spice type of flavor. Delicious. see previous notes if interested. :)
This is another sample I’m trying today from the Persimmon Tree…
I liked this, it’s a black blend of nilgiri and assam, there’s a bit of red rooibos in here as well but I can’t taste it. The peach and apple flavor is very mild and I was somewhat surprised by that, I was expecting it to be stronger. I think perhaps this needs a resteep at a lower temp? It’s nice right now but I am not totally impressed. Will update this if my impressions change…
Preparation
This one is definitely a bit on the brisk side for yours truly but it is still enjoyable with (soy)milk and perhaps some sugar… see my previous notes if interested. :)
Preparation
Afternoon cuppa….
I really like this genmaicha! The color is very green due to the matcha & it’s a bit sweet, with the toasted rice. It’s a nice counterpart to the rice pu-erh I had this morning but this tea seems a bit relaxing to me right now. see previous notes if interested. :)
These are so yummy. I think I like the smell almost better than the taste. I did let one of mine steep for quite a while by accident and it got a bit sour. I’m also getting quite a caffeine boost from that. Good morning, world!
Preparation
I did try cold brewing this and the result was excellent. That really brings out a lot of floral and slightly vegetal sweet elements in this tea. I think green oolongs are one of my favorite things to cold brew, white teas are good also… see previous notes if interested. :)
You may already know this Amy-some Keemuns are smokey, so hopefully it is from the tea itself, and not the humidor tea. ;-))
You may already know this Amy-some Keemuns are smokey, so hopefully it is from the tea itself, and not the humidor tea. ;-))
well I really don’t know if this is a Keemun or I am just picking up the smokiness from the Hu Kwa