676 Tasting Notes
Thank you Dhart 1214 for this Sample Tea!
Last night I was getting ready to meet up with my daughter’s big van for the 50 mile trek to St. Luke in Erie for Vesper’s with Bishop Basil. (It’s the eve of the beginning of the New Year on the Orthodox liturgical calendar which is celebrated with the Vespers and a picnic today.)
It can be a long drive with lots of grandkids bumping along calling requests from the back of the van to the front (although last night there were only 2 toddlers, 2 little boys, 2 teenagers and 2 mom/grandma’s).
I planned well, brewing a double tall insulated mug of this Chocolate Delight Tea. It would be my grandmother medicinal that could calm my nerves come what may. I would be prepared to sit in my seat and sip away, off in my own tea world while havoc reigned behind me.
For five minutes or so I tried to have a civil conversation with my daughter about how little sleep she was getting with the 18 month waking up at 3am ready to play.
Soon, a little voice over my left ear kept saying
“Is it pretty my precious?”, and other creepy phrases like that.
“Oh, I remarked, The Hobbit?” Ah yes.
The rest of the journey was quiet on my part, with little voices over my left ear and a big mug of tea to sip.
The tea was…PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE!
I picked the right tea for the right occasion. (Pat on back)
There had been no fooling around when I brewed the tea.
I didn’t taste the hot tea when I ran out the door…but I had sweetened it, steeped it a little long and added cream.
I’m so glad that I added both because it was soooo goood!
The chocolate flavor wasn’t sour or fake tasting but rich and deep like a chocolate Sacher Torte.
The barley adds a warm fullness to the tea and the apples are something I usually don’t like, but here I think they add sweetness without being detected as apple flavor. The cocoa flakes and beans…no complaints! Ha! The more the merrier!
(I especially love the barley in the tea…such a good move!)
I couldn’t resist giving my daughter a sip (and I’m a germ-a-phobe…I don’t share cups!!!) and she said she would buy this tea too because of the barley with the chocolate!
Very nice.
Thanks Ashmanra for this sample tea!
My experience with Harney & Son’s Tea is almost ‘0’. I think the only one I’ve had is Paris and that’s it. (Maybe one other that was a teabag…can’t remember.)
When Ashmanra wanted to send me some tea in exchange for the Lapsang Souchong (and some other tea’s) I was sending her, I took advantage of the Harney’s in her cupboard. “Now’s my chance!”, I said to myself!
In the beginning (tea bible), I drank lots of flavored tea’s, mostly from Davids and a few other brands. That was so much fun even though I had to wait for the shipments to arrive from Canada.
Then, I looked at the top of the Tea list on Steepster and noticed several companies that were repeatedly mentioned for quality and began trying them out. Pretty soon, I had more unflavored tea than flavored. What a switch!
This morning, instead of a Black tea or Assam or Pu-erh to charge me for the day, I picked up a flavored tea (something I haven’t done for awhile).
I was kind of excited about trying Tower of London, which seemed like having dessert for breakfast!
I didn’t even taste the tea without sweetening it first. Bah! I know what I like!
My first taste was creamy smooth and a bit like an Earl Grey, somewhat reminiscent of Paris with a splash of vanilla. The flavor was like French Pastry and I liked it.
I carefully added some cream which gave the tea an even more intense pastry aire.
What a lovely way to begin the day with the end of Summer just ahead. We’ll soon be putting away our whites and pastels until next year.
I had my light, sweet dessert tea along with a baguette, butter and some berries in a bowl. All perfect for beginning my day with a smile!
Oh Dear, come to think of it, one of my ancestors was locked up in the Tower of London I believe. Poor Mary Stuart!
Just saw a piece on Mary on PBS, cant’t remember what series it was from though.
Glad you liked it!
Wow, I actually visited the tower in June, and heard all about the post-Henry VIII drama. It’s kinda neat that you can trace your family back like that, and actually have interesting historical figure in your family tree.
Well, it’s only because when they came from Scotland they stayed put for a little while. One group to Nova Scotia in 1802 then 1903 to San Francisco the other to another part of Canada then 1898 San Francisco, and one directly to San Francisco early 1800’s. The Stuart link went to Minneapolis (looking for Verdant Tea I guess) then to San Francisco 1901. This made it easy to trace. My children are half African American and I’ve tried to get as much information as possible about their family background. I love my culturally diverse family, Hispanic, Greek, Asian, Native American, African American, Scots.
A bunch of Scot’s who went WEST and survived the 1906 Earthquake in San Francisco too.
Thanks mrmopar for this Pu-erh sample
It was late afternoon and one of those cloudy warm days where you know there will soon be drops of rain falling.
I was busy doing bills and received my first phone call on the newly installed phone line from the local emergency callback service, informing me that trucks will be spraying for West Nile on my street tonight. Really? We haven’t had rain in ever so long. West Nile?! (In about 8 weeks those critters will freeze to death!)
My second call was an invite to a political luncheon at the home of a local candidate. For free. (Well, in my case they’re not getting any money anyway because I have none).
Oh I do love life in Smallville!
End of Summer is celebrated with an all dog,all human swim at Central Park Lake. (Pretty neat!)
The railroad tracks that run parallel with the main street carries two LONG trains each day that halt traffic straight through downtown. (I’m talking about trains with over 100 cars on them and all you can do is sit in traffic and wait.)
The good people of Fort Collins decided to make use of those train tracks and redesigned the roadway around them, closing the streets downtown (causing a huge detour) for the past few months so that a Trolly Train will be able to run back and forth the whole length of Fort Collins during NON-COMMERCIAL-TRAIN hours. (this is beginning to look more and more like Disneyland. First,the Main Street was modeled after our town and now we’re getting this little train going back and forth…?!)
My oh my?! I needed a Pu-erh latte today!
(Sorry mrmopar, no disrespecting of the Pu!)
30 second steeping of this Pu-erh is plenty of time for a rich dark broth. I drank a 4oz first steep to test the sweetness and salt(which was perfect for my plan).
The second and third steeps I poured together for a big mug of dark
pu-erh which was earthy with no nasty flavor. This was nice and smooth. Like I said, perfect for my plan!
I added CREAM (not milk) and Sweetening and I became “Happy Bonnie”!
I don’t keep ice cream and cake and all those sorts of dangerous to my figure goodies in my house…ha…and I don’t need to with all the tea I’ve accumulated!
But, when I want the richness that comes close to a candy bar, my favorite Black chocolaty tea’s, a sensuous Chai, or caramel Pu-erh Latte satisfies my dessert craving! This did the trick!
http://youtu.be/KlmU6fXSwfk If you like trains, here it is.
My old friend is conductor on this old trolly that runs from town to Central Park…watch it fly! http://youtu.be/gEl2ZDuZQy8
I adore trains! If I ever become a multi gadzillionaire I am going to buy my own train – tracks too! I want a five car luxury train with a pet car for my pets with grass so they can “go”, a dining car, entertainment car, of course sleeper car, and a car for sitting and enjoying the ride with GIANT windows!
Yes this is my fantasy so it CAN happen – I don’t want my own jet plane I want my own train! :)
Years ago, I took a train with my young family from Oakland, to D.C. However, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of West Virginia the we derailed along the New River. The train turned on it’s side towards the river. I heard an old preacher wake up and pray like he had done every morning which woke me up too. Then the shaking began. I put out my hand as the violent bumping started…preventing my daughter from falling and called for my husband to catch our son. No one was harmed. It was a misty morning in that narrow valley and everything seemed surreal as we climbed up and down trying to get off the train. The conductor said if we had all stood at once we would have tipped into the river since the other passenger cars had been removed in Cleveland. After many hours, a Railcar came and then a Caboose which took us to a small town with a coffee shop. We were fed, then we walked across a bridge to a bus and whisked off. Took us non-stop…to Washington D.C. (they did stop, opened the doors and threw trays of fast foods onto the bus not letting us get off to stretch).
After vacation back to California we went by train again. I’m not interested in train rides across the U.S. anymore.
oh Bonnie I am a wee bit jealous, I love trolleys! and a pu’ latte… YUMMMM
You can make it…they are so good aren’t they?! Do you have a trolly where you live?
nope, we have streetcars though. Not the same but close enough!
Ugh deleted my comment instead of edited it. I’ve got a question about puer, but I’ll wait until I get home so I can use the computer instead of my phone :)
ok…I’ll be in and out, PM me if you want and I’ll get back to you.
This is the second time I’ve had this tea from Butiki only the last time it was a Sample and now I own 2 whole ounces all to myself!
I remember the first time being so surprised the first time at how good the flavor was that I even cooked some apples in this tea…so yummy!
I made a full pot for my morning sit down with Steepster!
The news today in Fort Collins is almost right out my window.
The President is speaking at the University today at the other end of my street ( W Elizabeth is interrupted by the University then on the other side E Elizabeth continues on). The parking for the event is at the Stadium with shuttles going down my street…right past my house. I’m not going anywhere!!! I have a ticket but I’m staying away from the crowds because it’s HOT! Besides, I’ve seen Presidents and lived in Washington, D.C. so let the young people go!
I’m sittin’ and sippin’ my Guranse! Boy is this tea GOOD!
It reminds me of those old fashioned sassafras candy cane sticks
you can get at old fashioned candy stores. If it was a bit more tangy I would say horehound. The color is brilliant mahogany.
So syrupy sweet and yummy!
I’ve been invited to Happy Lucky’s at 5pm to taste a Green Tea Cake by a baker lady who is on Steepster! I’ll give a report tomorrow!
Everyone have a happy day…I’m so glad to have you all as my friends!
awesome! sounds fun, enjoy the cake!
Enjoy your cake! :)
Sounds like fun, hope you have a good time.
I did go have the cake and it was very moist and good made with matcha and cream filled! Yum!
Hope you enjoyed it! :)
It was good. I had no idea that the young lady that made it is moving to New York so I said goodbye and wished her well. I also learned that my tea server had toured the world as a professional dancer and loves the Lindy Hop! He served me some new Yunnan Ji (Pressed Cake) which was unlike any tea brick I’ve had before. More like a darjeeling or black tea.
I’ll have to give Butiki a try
Thanks to Dhart1214 for this sweet sample tea!
Happy new old car to me!
Well, I sold my baby, my Silver Rav4 and now, I have a new, old,
Grandma car! Hooray for me, sigh! (I really am grateful though)
Don’t you think the best way to celebrate would be with some White Bubbly Berry Tea?!
I am now driving an older Mini-Van. It’s in perfect condition with new tires and low mileage (116,000) for a (gulp) 1995.
The poor grandma who owned it has MS. Her name is…Bonnie. No lie! Not a rattle or scratch on the car. (Weird her name is Bonnie,huh)
So, here I am driving an old lady car and learning again that the things I have don’t matter. (The turn indicators go click, click which my granddaughters like…they think it’s retro! Heck, I’m retro!)
BUT, THE TEA I DRINK DOES MATTER! HUH! (Got that right!)
I’m celebrating with a sweet bubbly berry tea and I like it!
The wet leaves smelled like raspberry green peas and I giggled.
How cool? I wondered what the tea would taste like.
I would have slurped down a sweet pea raspberry tea, but the sweet pea wasn’t there. Arh.
Instead, there was a soft, floral raspberry flavor which made my mouth tingle. The tea was smooth with fire around the edges of my tongue and sweet enough not to need a thing added to it.
I added some sweetening to it anyway.
I spent the whole morning getting a smog check, and at the Larimer County Building doing the car registrations.
If you don’t think I needed something sweet after that, then you probably haven’t done this task in awhile!
I loved kicking back with my sweet bubbly berry tea! I’ll enjoy this again and again! (She sent me an ounce…goodie!!!)
Thank you so much for the White Berry Bubbly!
Am I the only person who never saw this funny/cute Japanese/Thai Tea commercial with the little dad and son worms? http://youtu.be/TgPmaNMReKQ
Pimp out your Van with a licence plate that says TEABAGS or ERLGRY or PU-ERH
If I was brave I’d just put Pu- but it would attract an element I don’t want to attract.
(and maybe dogs that can read)
That was the first time I saw the commercial too! so cute!
TEA*LISH, EQUL*TEA, CHAR*TEA, NOVL*TEA, INFN*TEA, MORL*TEA, CRAF*TEA, ANTQ*TEA, LOVE*TEA, LOVE*SHU
If there were enough letters mine would have been Stupidi*tea
Congrats on your new transport! Who cares if it’s old, a car is only meant to take you from A to B! or maybe in this case, from A to «TEA»!
Ha Ha…such a cute idea! A nice blog name!
Oh I think you’re on to something… Your blog publicity would say: Embark on a tea journey with Bonnie, she’ll take you from A to Tea!
My blog name is already done though…more me…Tea and Incense and almost ready. Maybe you need the blog name TeaFairy!
Can’t wait to read your blog, nice name! As for me, a time will come maybe…
Congrats!!! A New Old Car sounds super exciting! :)
Congrats!!
Yay for new car!
Thank you Stacy for this Sample!
I’ve received my new tea’s from Butiki (dance, dance, dance)!
As always, Stacy lovingly places just the right little packets of samples in my order (and will in yours also).
It never fails to make me smile with excitement when I discover what she has tucked in my box as my free samples!
I have tasted the previous Butiki Assam, but this is a newer one…
a Premium Taiwanese Assam.
My experience with Assam’s has been average.
The one’s I’ve tasted have been of medium body, slightly smoky and a little malty. Good breakfast Assam’s that can hold up to milk in the morning and have mild astringency. Not overly complex tea’s.
What now?
Stacy is always hunting down the best tea’s she can find. Like a sly fox, she scours the tea markets improving the line-up of tea’s she carries, always looking for unique flavors and blends. This is one of the things I love about her and Butiki Tea!
Flavor
Well, this was not like any Assam I’d ever tasted before!
There was a yam, potato flavor right away though not a lot (if any) malt.
I didn’t pick up any smokiness and the astringency didn’t even arrive until the tea was quite cool.
Speaking of cool…
The spicy heat in this tea was followed by a characteristic that I associate with Taiwanese Tea’s…that menthol/minty cool feeling in the mouth.
This was such a great mouth-feel (if you’ve never experienced it before) but subtle.
I was looking for a raisin chocolate taste (which I found), and along the way got distracted by how soft the finish was.
Like a mist the tea evaporated at the end. All the flavors seemed to be up front with a spice-cool shift in the center and then poof, gone.
This was before I added anything to my tea!
You can’t imagine how sweet and nectar-like my tea was when I added
just a little sweetening. (Stacy would say “Add a little natural raw sugar crystals to bring out the flavor”)
Very tasty and delicious for breakfast or anytime!
Lovely Assam!
Stacey! You Sly-Fox, you! :)
teehee
So glad you are enjoying this one. :) Its one of my favorite breakfast treats, though I do tend to add a lot of leave and let it sit until its nice and malty and very astringent.
A Taiwanese Assam? Oh my goodness, I’m intrigued!
Stacy, I’d try that if I had more on hand, but I would have missed the cool mint/menthol feel possibly for the tasting.
LiberTEAS-Here is what I wrote about Taiwanese Assams in my tasting note: As the name suggest, this is an Assam that comes from Taiwan. In the 1920’s, under Japanese rule, Assamica tea bushes were brought to the Sun Moon Lake area of Taiwan. At the time, the Japanese wanted to compete with the British in the black tea market. Since then this Assam has been refined by the Taiwan Research and Extension Station.
Bonnie-I’m terrible with my black teas, I so abuse them by intentionally over-steeping them. I just love that really astringent taste. Well, I do that to all except the Mi Xian which is really naturally sweet.
NEW HARVEST! ZHU RONG!
Thank you Verdant for this sample of the latest Zhu Rong!
I had some of the first season Zhu Rong left in my cupboard, so I was excited to compare the New Harvest with what I already had side by side.
2 small Gaiwans, 2 glass cups and I was ready.
The scent of the dry leaf was different right off. The newer leaves were sweeter smelling. Wet and dry, the color on the first release was brown, and on the new harvest brownish-green.
The wet leaves smelled different also. The new release tea aroma was perfumy, spicy and cocoa molasses smelling.
I was scratching my head. What was that floral perfumey aroma floating around every time I enhaled? Coriander seed? Hibiscus flowers?
The first Zhu Rong had a definite molasses chocolate scent with an after aroma of sweet tomato. (The newer version had no tomato scent.)
The color for the New Harvest Zhu Rong was darker golden caramel.
Taste!
What’s not to love about the original Zhu Rong?
I love it and bought myself a hefty amount to enjoy!
That rich bitter-sweet chocolate molasses, cinnamon, yammy goodness was so irrisistable (and still is).
The New Harvest isn’t ‘better’ than the previous version but ‘different’.
(You can’t have the same exact flavor from a different harvest anyway!)
This tea is spicier with a bite on the tongue that is a teaser!
Such a creamy, dark chocolate and a smooth tea with that floral scent still puzzling me. Some molasses and spice moves about in the shadows, popping out now and then with a ‘ha gotcha’ splash of flavor. So many layers of flavor to sit and enjoy!
Somehow, I felt as though I was at a fancy European Chocolate Shop with the first Zhu Rong and then for the second Zhu Rong had traveled to the Middle East with glittering flavors from Exotic Spice Markets. There was even a fountain with fragrant flowers releasing their aroma circling around my head. This is what was so hypnotic!
New Harvest Zhu Rong is EXCITING! Even richer and more complex than the original! (I was going to say SEXY! instead of EXCITING! But I didn’t did I!)
Here’s some music, grab a scarf and dance!
http://youtu.be/Gff_5BA4QYM Sting
http://youtu.be/Hc3Jxx6dbJo
It seems that I’m going to be the first one to review this tea!
(An earthquake and rattle of chains!)
Ha! Not to worry! I liked this tea!
Here’s why!
Right up front Whispering Pines comes out and says “There’s a hint of Lapsang Souchong in this cozy cabin fire Black Tea!” and that’s exactly what you get.
More like a Woodsman with the skill and restraint of a Fairy Godmother’s Wand… dusted this tea with Lapsang Souchong, I’m thinking.
The flavor was pretty smooth and mild, even bright like a light Assam at first. Not bakery bread or malty tasting and not the slightest bit astringent.
I added sweetening and later cream. To my taste, the sweetening was best and went with the smokiness which had become stronger as the tea cooled.
By far, this was my favorite of the Whispering Pines Black Tea blends and would be easy to drink through the coming Fall and Winter months especially with a little toast and jam to go along with the smoky brew!
HA! I knew you’d like this! :) Totally love that – “More like a Woodsman with the skill and restraint of a Fairy Godmother’s Wand… dusted this tea with Lapsang Souchong, I’m thinking.” :D
And surprisingly, nobody else has gotten this yet! You are the third person in the world to to taste this tea :)
Whispering Pines…What? you don’t see yourself as a Woodsman or as the Fairy Godmother with a wand? I’m #3 COOL!
I am ABSOLUTELY a woodsman AND a fairy godmother with a wand! :D
Kool!
Saturday morning I either make a habit of a big Western Style pot of tea to linger over…taking my time to sip and enjoy without a care in the world. No hurry to run out the door to do anything.
Uh, wait a minute…I’m retired! (Screech of brakes)
I never run out the door anymore anyway! Life is grand!
I tell my grandsons all the time how great it is to be old! So what if I look scruffy! No more hauling off to the job or sitting 4 hours in traffic like I used to. (30 years of stress almost killed me!)
Now I can watch TV late and stay in my jammies in the morning!
Life is grand!
I love the name of this tea! ‘Blackburnian’ (some Scotsman in a kilt should surely have served me tea this morning I think).
Just the look of the chocolate Black Tea leaves mixed with chunkier bits of Oolong and I was so ready for a kick start of caffeine.
The wet leaves plumped up into a mahogany fine bark with a little fruit malty scent. The liquor was honey, medium dark brown.
Taking a big gulpy, slurpy sip, my first conversational comment to myself was, “Wow, this is light. It’s sweet enough and not smoky (got to remember that because this company isn’t afraid of smoke) and this is really light and smooth for a black tea.”
I thought about what the Oolong was bringing to the blend. It had to be sweetness and smoothness.
I could feel some astringency but in such a small amount that it hardly counts.
I know some people really HATE Black Tea. (I don’t ‘get’ that at all)
Blackburnian would be ‘the’ tea for those who are sensitive to strong flavors and want a more muted Black cup. No sugar is needed either, it’s sweet enough left alone.
I experimented with sweetening my tea and adding cream which thankfully worked. There is enough body in the tea to hold additions without bogging down into a watery mess or tasting only like the cream.
Again, this is a VERY light Black/Oolong tea blend but Smooth.
Here’s a little bagpipe stuff from Estes Park,CO about an hour away. In 2 weeks I’m going to the opening Tattoo and 1st day of the Highland Games at over 7000ft in the Rocky’s. This might give some idea. This is the largest they say in North America (I used to go to the ones in Santa Rosa just like my Great Grandfather Duncan Cameron).
http://youtu.be/vzelfQ6KbWg
(sorry if this double posts, Steepster was being wonky)
We have Highland Games here that I mean to go check out someday. I always forget it’s coming up and plan something else on whatever weekend they have it here. Hopefully I’ll get synced up to go at least once!
Amen to jammies celebration with kilted Scottish Knights! (sweet dreams Bonnie, LOL)
This was a nice sample included with my recent order and a nice evening dessert for me.
I’m a chocolate lover for sure (anyone else?!)!
I brewed a little pot Western Style and steeped the suggested time
of 5 minutes. Tic Toc….
The wet leaves smelled like raisins and sour bready black tea.
(No chocolate or malt)
I took a big drink of tea, looking forward to the chocolate…my love!
There wasn’t any chocolate flavor, but a medium bodied black tea taste without any malt or cocoa. It’s a nice enough, slightly acidic black tea with tiny hints of smoke (most of Whispering Pines Tea’s I’ve tasted so far have had a some bit of smoke…and I like smokiness).
I added some sweetening and then I added some cream. (These would possibly bring out a cocoa or malty chocolate flavor if there was
some in the tea, I thought.)
But alas, even though the tea was good tasting black tea, I couldn’t taste chocolate let alone Black Chocolate.
Steepsters, I’m not picking on Whispering Pines. I’m rarely critical in my comments about tea and everyone knows this. Maybe when the tea was created the chocolate flavor was stronger and later faded. Possibly a maltier tea would have been better with the nibs.
I have to compliment the creative energy Whispering Pines is putting into their tea’s and the many unique blends. They are listening to their customers also which is what I appreciate when I purchase tea!
Interesting…I specifically taste-tested that one before sending out — definitely chocolate to me. You truly couldn’t smell or taste the cocoa? Very interesting…I’m going to go brew a cup of it now to see if perhaps I’m imagining it. Thanks for the feedback! :)
You know what, you’re totally right! Very strange…this is the first cup I’ve brewed of this blend that has this sour bready smell to it. The dry leaf, however, is like being punched in the face with cocoa to me. Wondering what happened here…back to the drawing board tomorrow!
Lets see what others think but I have pretty sensitive taste buds. I can’t try it again since it was a little sample but maybe I’ll try it again next time. I always like to give second chances.
I love when I can see people take constructive criticism well. And when people give it in a way that isn’t hurtful. I am going to check out Whispering Pines’ tea and put a couple on my shopping list for later.
Thanks Skulleigh!
Skulleigh — when the customer is the most important thing, ya gotta take that into high consideration :) I appreciate any feedback. Even if Bonnie WAS picking on me, it would help achieve a better product :)
I LOVE this one! I gave some to a friend and she went home and ordered two bags!
Haha Bonnie I don’t like to share cups either. Lovely review!
Happy new-year, «my precious» :-)