217 Tasting Notes
Not My Cup Of Tea #5
So the last week or so has been insane and the TTB has been sitting in the corner of my kitchen being ignored and therefore mistreated and now I’m on an epic mission to drink the rest of the teas that interest me in the next 2-3 days so I can get it back out and on the road.
This was a brand new, unopened bag in the box which filled me with a little bit of excitement… new tea!! Opening the bag, I was immediately greeted by an amazing scent of kiwi and a touch of cake which made me even more excited!! Sipping this tea I’m actually pretty impressed, the kiwi, biscuit and creaminess are all present and since I grew up eating kiwi and am partial to the taste this reminded me a little bit of eating kiwi pavlova!! Yum!!
Surprisingly delicious! I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when this tea arrived as part of my most recent London Tea Club monthly box but it definitely peaked my interest with the huge amount of lusciously fresh looking dried lemongrass, the bright orange pieces of safflower and chunks of what looks like a weird apple but is actually the bael fruit floating around together in the test tube.
Scent and taste wise I really can’t put my finger on this tea but there is a serious savory taste with a slight saltiness and a tiny touch of bitterness, I almost feel like I’m drinking soup stock but in a really really good way!! I have absolutely no idea how to describe this tea but I’m really enjoying it!!!
Not My Cup Of Tea #4
I’m not sure if I understeeped this or if its just not that strong of a tea but I’m really not getting too much flavor out of this tea and I’m definitely not getting any champagne notes! There is a slight touch of chocolate or cocoa and a hint of woodiness or earthiness which is nice, I just wish it was a little stronger… Not going to rate as I’m pretty sure the lack of flavor was human error only my behalf…
So this weekend went nothing like we’d planned… Does anyone else ever have a weekend like that? We started The weekend off with big plans… Cirque Du Solei is in town and we had tickets, Good Friday and Passover fell on the same day for the first time in a long time which meant some series food prep … There aren’t many good Friday meals that also pass as Seder friendy or vice versa and we had plans to backcountry camp Saturday in the Sierra…. Well, the only thing that actually worked the the way we planned was our cirque tickets and I feel like we’ve acomplished nothing this weekend!!
Sigh!
So I’m sitting outside enjoying some calm before the rest of the household wakes up and I’m watching a cheeky little squirrel balance on our fence and stick his head into an orange on our tree to devour it’s insides which is quite funny because hes going to town on it and I’m drinking this tea because I know this can’t go pear shaped on me. Raising my rating as this is something I have fnd myself reaching for quite a bit over the last few weeks… I’m sad to see it go but happy to have another sip down under my belt!
Happy Easter and Passover to all those who celebrate!
Not my cup Of Tea TTB #3
Keemun’s are generally my cup of tea so I was excited to try this offering! In the packet it had a little bit of smoke and some cocoa notes so I decided to amp up the flavor a little by adding some full fat milk for creaminess… Not bad… I added in some maple syrup for a little more punch which definately brings out more of the smoke flavor but I don’t want to have to add milk and maple every time to feel like I’m tasting something… Decent but a little too subtle on taste for me to want to revisit.
Not My Cup Of Tea TTB #2
This sounded really interesting this morning, I’ve had good luck with a number of 52 Teas in the past but haven’t made an order in the last six months or so due to starting to focus more on straight teas and my handful of favorite blends… Brewed up I get a slight artificial taste which is strange since the tea contains real cherry and vanilla bean pieces and the end of the sip has a bitter edge to it… Maybe I oversteeped? I remember 52 teas can be a little ‘temperamental’ if not treated exactly right… The tea does have a cola/ slight sarsaparilla taste which is pleasant enough but I’m not getting any of the cherry or vanilla…Back into the box you go for someone else to enjoy… This one isn’t my cup O’Tea either but I know I’ll find a winner for my tastebuds soon!
Not My Cup Of Tea #1
So I thought that this would be a good place to start on the monster tea box, I mean, I love coconut, I love caramel, I’m partial to a bit of sea salt,… So I brewed this up during lunch and stuck it in my timolino to drink at work for afternoon tea… Unfortunately I took one sip and ended up pouring the rest down the drain… it was a little too chemically for my taste buds…and upon review of the ingredients it has the usual suspects you would generally expect to find in this sort of tea…. and red bell pepper…. that’s a little strange… Afraid this is not my cup O’Tea either but I’m sure someone will enjoy!!
It’s one of those super rare indulgent lazy Sundays today in my house! 11am and the hubby is still fast asleep and I’m still in bed, in my pjs, reading a book and drinking tea…. A relaxing, super enjoyable morning calls for an amazing favorite tea and without even needing to think I pulled GO out of my cupboard! I’m almost at the end of this bag and so my cup is full of those little black specs that I love so much but are bittersweet because it means I’m back to waiting again for the next release of this blend. One of my absolute favorite teas of all time!!
So my lastest order which included this tea took 18 days to get to me from order to arrival on my doorstep (and shipping was only 5 days of this timeframe!) which seems like a VERY LONG time, I mean, a box from Taiwan which was ordered on the same day as this arrived a week ago and it had a much longer journey to make!! I understand this tea is hand blended in small batches but I’m seriously impatient for tasty tea.
Unsurprisingly the wait was worth it! In the bag, this tea smells and looks like many of the other WP blends and it’s not until you take your first sips that you realize the difference… This has some powerful maple notes! The maltiness is very present as is a touch of cocoa and vanilla and it almost reminds me of Golden Orchid except for that intense woody maple flavor that really hits me front and center. It won’t replace Golden Orchid or Cocoa Amore in my cupboard (two of my favorite teas ever) but it has a welcome place as something I can grab when I feel something comforting but a little different.
