Simple Loose Leaf

A nice tea to finish off the weekend. And with it, I present the newest installment of my Sunday Tea and Books reviews!

This is a caffeine-free blend with rooibos, rosehips, hibiscus, lemongrass, and orange peel. Going in, I knew it was going to be very tart because of the hibiscus and rosehips – even when I opened the bag, I smelled a hit of tart scent that had to be the hibiscus, with the lemongrass giving it a note of citrus. I normally am not a fan of hibiscus, so this gave me some pause.

However, brewed up, the tartness and citrus flavours actually work well with the woody flavours from the rooibos. I was surprised to taste any rooibos at all, in fact, since I could barely see any in the dry leaf. There’s a really good mix of sour and herbal flavours here, and the tea brews up to be a beautiful ruby red. I’m glad that I iced, this, though, since I think it would have been too mouth-puckeringly sour if drunk hot.

The instructions on the package they sent me said to steep it with boiling water for 3-5 minutes. Because I made it iced, I used 6 tsp for 3 cups, steeped it for 5 minutes, and then added the ice cubes. I also added a big spoonful of honey to the tea before I iced it.

Which literary character did it remind me of, though? You’ll have to check the post to find out: http://christinavasilevski.com/2014/05/sunday-tea-books-citrus-hibiscus-herbal-simple-loose-leaf/

This tea was good but I didn’t find it particularly memorable. It possessed the earthy tones of a classic pu’erh, although quite mild in my opinion. The fruit naturally sweetened the cup but I didn’t get a good sense of the tropical flavors that give this tea the name Pu’erh Tahiti.

Another one from the $1 trial I was very thankful I was able to try. I’d definitely subscribe if I had the money to spare. (It’s rare that I don’t like a type of tea, so since they have a tea from each type every month, it would definitely be something for me.) To the tea: This is nice! I used a teaspoon and a half or two. I was hoping to see peach piece in the blend, but not in those two teaspoons. There is peach flavor on the leaves themselves, sometimes that is a bad thing, but this is definitely a tolerable peach flavor – a sweet, ripe peach. Not too much to detract from the perfectly-paired with bai mu dan base. I like it!
Steep #1 // 25 min after boiling // 2-3 min

I feel all this pressure because this is the first review of this tea and I don’t know what to say. I underleafed it. The first infusion was okay but not great. Definitely not enough leaf. Then on the second infusion the water was too hot. I completely ruined this.

An Ode to Tea challenge #2– J

Let’s go with the seven year old sencha here.  Surprisingly very tasty!  In a blind taste test, I would probably say this was a straight cup of matcha… which I don’t think I usually have that experience with sencha.  I don’t mind!  I’m glad I steeped this one up and it’s still GOOD.  

Thanks so much for the $1 box, Simple Loose Leaf! This is a very thin cut dark grass texture. Not clippings from the lawn yet! just good tea. The 32 minutes cooling might have a bit too long, but I was worried it would get bitter at a hotter temp. This is tasty but light because of the long cool – buttery, sweet, nutty, sugary somehow. When it cools it starts tasting like tomato soup again! What is going on with my tastebuds? The second steep was nice too – seemed to have hints of citrus, though I’m not sure how.
Steep #1 // 32 minutes after boiling // 2 min
Steep #2 // 22 minutes after boiling // 2-3 min

I chose this as my sample for next month’s Simple Loose Leaf selections because it sounded interesting, but puerh’s make me a little nervous because when I don’t like them, I really don’t like them. Why not find out for sure?

And now that I’ve had some, I think I’ll select this one after all!
It definitely has that smooth earthy taste you would expect from a puerh, but it’s also bright and tropical! I can taste the creamy coconut, and fruity papaya. It’s not a blend I would have thought of, but it works!

So far I’m off to a good start with my subscription!

Thanks again, Simple Loose Leaf! I wanted to try this one with the same parameters I used yesterday on a Darjeeling. I think I’ll stick with it for most of my Darjeelings to try them out… unless a tea company knows what they’re talking about when it comes to parameters, like Butiki. The leaves of this Darj are similar to the Zen Darj I tried yesterday. This one tastes similar but it does have more of a lemon note somehow, rather than the stone fruits. I do love the stone fruits in my Darjeeling, but this one isn’t bad. It also has some nuttiness, especially on the stronger second steep. I think Darjeelings are still going over my head when it comes to picking out flavors though. I’m still an amateur!
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 tsp // 20 min after boiling // 3 min
Steep #2 // 10 min after boiling // 5 min // half a mug

Note to self: Stop boiling Darjeelings just because the package says to! I’ve ruined two Darjeelings this week by using boiling water. Maybe it’s just me that prefers the flavor at a lower temp. I’ll try this one again soon with 185-190 degrees.

Caffeine Free Tea Box

A decent tea to keep on hand for when I’m in the mood for something plain.

Backlog:

A lovely Ti Kuan Yin. Sweet apple notes! Earliest infusions offered notes of apple, vanilla, orchid and creamy butter. Later infusions brought forth notes of vegetation and softened the floral tones. The apple notes come forward with subsequent infusions.

Really nice and deliciously creamy. Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/03/29/ti-kuan-yin-oolong-tea-simple-loose-leaf/

MMm, I do love creme brulee! However, the last 2 weeks I’ve done a big diet overhaul with calorie counting madness. With that said, I need to keep my desserts in check even more. WIth this tea, the main flavor is the black base, with a light burnt sugar taste with a creamy texture.
For a black tea drinker wanting a little sweet hit, this is the tea. I was hoping / expecting something closer to DavidsTea Creme brulee, which has a much stronger flavor.

I was excited to try one month of Simple Loose Leaf for a dollar! I went with the five samples instead of picking two. I’m actually kind of surprised at how big the samples were. I might not be able to subscribe to Simple Loose Leaf right now, but at least I learned that the sample sizes are bigger than I expected. I used two teaspoons of leaves – not sure if I should have, but I think I’ve had another Formosa Oolong that recommended two teaspoons. The dry leaves are dark and flakey, not like the little green bundles an oolong usually consists of.

Steep #1 // 2 min after boiling // 3 1/2 min steep
It’s always difficult to say what a Formosa Oolong tastes like. It’s autumn leafy. A bit of charcoal.. but not to the amount I usually dislike. Maybe hints of cherry, a bit smoky. It seems like two teaspoons was the right call because it doesn’t seem overdone. It’s such a different flavor than other teas. I like it, but I think the discontinued Whispering Pines Formosa was slightly better.

Steep #2 // just boiled //5 min
This cup was less spectacular, the leaves had that oversteeped taste (not sure if anyone understands what I mean when I say this – not astringent, but the cup has had a slightly leafy/bark taste). It’s probably my fault though, and the not the fault of the tea. I enjoyed it anyway, as that flavor was mostly at the top of the cup. When it the cooled, it tasted like cucumber or some sort of melon.

I am a little disappointed with this tea. I picked it as the sample that accompanied my May subscription choices. I thought I could never go wrong with a Chinese black!

Perhaps I didn’t steep it right? 2.5 minutes @ 205? Either way, I got a very dark brew that tastes quite bitter but at the same time does not have much of a body. It feels like it’s weak, and yet it’s bitter. Odd. It is also pretty tasteless. The note I detect is… generic tea note. I know it sounds stupid, but there’s just not much more to it.

I am really curious how this will taste to others. It is not a horrible tea. I can easily finish the cup… I don’t think I will go for a resteep though. It is just so… uneventful.

Perhaps I just got spoiled with teas like Yezi’s Jin Pin or Damn Fine Tea blends from Cavocorax ;)

Backlog:

The day that my box from Simple Loose Leaf arrives in the mail is always a happy mail day. I mention this because my May teas arrived yesterday, and I can’t wait to get started on them. This one is from my March box. (I’m still a wee bit behind, but I’ll get caught up. I will. Sil will tell you that I won’t, but don’t listen to that. I will get caught up even though Sil’s betting against me.)

This is one of the nicer “white” chai teas that I’ve encountered. I love the addition of the coconut and vanilla, because they add a nice creamy note without adding milk to make a “latte” – because milk in white tea? No.

Gentle spices, nothing that overpowers the delicate base, but it does have a nice peppery kick to it. The lemongrass adds a little lift to the flavor without throwing off the balance that’s been created. The spices are well balanced. A really nicely crafted chai.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/03/24/winter-white-chai-simple-loose-leaf/

I’m not sure how I feel about this tea. I may have had the water too hot today (I’m at work, and just guesstimating) as it just tastes a little off and I don’t remember it being like this last time. It’s more bitter than I remember, that’s for sure. This was the end of what I have, so I have no idea.

It does smell heavenly, though.

I had this tea this afternoon. Unfortunately, I don’t really remember it. I remember that I thought it was nice, and I liked the way the leaves smelled after they were steeped. I was just really busy and distracted while drinking this, and I don’t remember it at all.

I received my Simple Loose Leaf May box today and the first tea I opened was this one. I opened it up and gave it a whif. It smells lightly sweet and citrusy. I wanted to try it first at just a 3 min steep. It’s not very strong at 3 minutes. I get a little bit of citrus flavor with underlying black tea bitterness. I might have to make more at 5 minutes after I finish this one.

Backlog from yesterday. I actually went back to my old tasting note to see what I thought of it last time because it has been quite a while since I last had this tea. Apparently, I cold brewed it. I had a similar idea yesterday for iced tea, but this time I steeped it strong and hot, then poured over ice. I could still get that peachy taste, but the white tea flavor was also pretty strong when I prepared it this way. I’m not usually much of a fan of white teas because of their floral, hay-like flavors, but it somehow worked in the iced tea to help make the tea refreshing. So maybe I just don’t like white teas as hot teas? There’s still so much to discover!

Hmm, first tasting note on this tea, that’s kinda scary! Anyway, I got my first Simple Loose Leaf box in the mail yesterday. When I smelled the dry leaf, it was so wonderfully peachy that I knew I had to cold brew it. I put a couple of teaspoons into a water bottle into the fridge for about half a day (I always forget to take them out in a timely manner). It has a very nice juicy peach flavor that is not too artificial, and the white tea base really helps give it a clean taste to me. It’s quite refreshing as a cold brew! I can’t wait to try it out hot and see how it compares as well. It’ll be interesting to see if the white tea base shows up a bit more when hot.

This is from a couple of nights ago. I forgot to add my tasting notes to it, but I don’t want to not add them because it’s an update from my previous tasting.

This tea absolutely needs to be sweetened. Without sugar, it’s overly tart and just blechy. With sugar, this tisane is really nice and balanced.

From last night.

I got this in my May subscription box. It was much more hibiscus than I hoped it would be and less citrusy. I will try this one cold to see if I like it better that way.

Plus, I think I overleafed it. I didn’t measure, just guesstimated, and looking back, I think I had more in the infuser than I should have. That probably didn’t help. I will leave off the rating until I try it again.

I’m not a big fan of the “Breakfast” teas. I did enjoy this tea and liked the mix of black flavors. It’s a nice bold taste and was a good wake up tea. Nothing particularly different from many other “Breakfast” teas but still enjoyable.

Still drinking this one. I need to bring more teas into the office for sure.

I like it. It’s a good thing because I’ve still got a pretty decent amount of it left, especially when one considers I got the “try all five” option this month.

I’m just drinking all these teas that I can get multiple infusions out of lately, and my mug is soooo big. This is my biggest tea problem of the day. If that’s my tea problem, I’m a lucky girl, I guess.

I’m calling it a day at work. I’ve decided not to go to CrossFit because the WOD is ALL SNATCHES except for the sprinting. I love snatches, but since I jacked my wrist up last fall, I’ve been really struggling, and today it’s actually really achy. Not sure why, but I figure snatches is not the brightest idea with a really achy wrist. I’ll go home, go for a run, and drink some tea.

It’s all good.