Wegmans

Somewhat decent green tea…not particularly complex and a slight oily taste. I think I’ll keep looking for my dream green tea.

I previously tried Wegmans loose-leaf ginger orange puerh and hated it, but this time I think I’ve found a puerh winner! No strong fishy taste or smell at all. Most of the nose/taste is roasted barley with slight undertones of hey and vegetal. No “sweet” taste at all. Overall, a delicious and comforting cup, but with subtle nuances that make it a delight.

I will try subsequent steeps to see how the flavors evolve.

This is a beautiful looking dry tea. Vibrant green leaves accented with soft pink cherry blossom petals. I was expecting something an equally vibrant cup, but that didn’t happen. Maybe I should have steeped longer to draw out more flavor, but there was virtually no flavor in the cup except for some very mild green tea notes. Bland and blah overall.

First Infusion (I will try numerous): On the nose, a very distinct “barnyard” and “sea water” scent with hints of fruit. The taste is lighter and fruitier with ginger mildly in the background. I bought only .02lb worth, and right now I’m not sure I’d buy more.

UPDATE: After subsequent steeps, the aroma and flavor remained the same. And I have decided that the mixture of wet hay and fishiness is just not appetizing to me. I’ll try some other pu-erh, but this was not a winner for me.

Ew. Maybe I just don’t like green tea or maybe I haven’t found the right one. Couldn’t really pick up any of what the sakura was supposed to add, just vegetal/grassy/something that I didn’t care for.

Wegmans teas are very hit or miss and I think this is a miss. I have a bit left still, so I will give it a second chance with a hot brew though.

Sweet Pu-erh Tea is a delightful tea from Yunnan Province in China. Fermented after drying and rolling, they are often (and traditionally) sold compressed bricks. The kind I got to try was a Tuocha Bowl, molded into the shape of a bowl and thought to have originated along the Tuo River trade routes. The color is similar to that of an Oolong tea but the taste is closer to that of a Green Tea. It reminded me of a very rich Genmai Cha. The type I had is a raw Pu-erh, meaning it has a sweet and earthy aftertaste from the fermentation. I would not rate this as one of my favorite teas, but it is a really unusual one

Lapsang Souchong Black Tea, an unusual and bold tea from the Fujian province of China. Smoked over pine fires in bamboo baskets this tea captures the taste of the fire. It is a perfect tea for cold winter nights…the taste reminded me of warm fires, high mountains, and clear cold skies. You can taste the full spectrum of tea with this type…the warmth from the sun, the aging leaf, and the smoke from the fire in every swallow. It is one of the most intense tea flavors I have come across. Tastes good black and sweetened, but tastes like stale ashes if left to cool too long

This was my first time trying genmaicha tea, and I must say that I quite enjoyed it. At first, I was a little put off by it, it was just so unfamiliar and new to me and I thought it was a little strange at first. But I didn’t give up on it and as I kept sipping and familiarizing myself with the unique flavor, I grew to really enjoy it. I have no previous experience with any kind of genmaicha so I’m sure I’m not a good judge of what a “good” matcha iri genmaicha should be, and I’m sure there are much better choices out there than Wegmans, but I found it very comforting on this cold winter’s night.

Picked some of this up when I saw it at Wegman’s today. They don’t identify the brand on the label, but I’ve been told that most of the bulk green teas Wegman’s carries are from Ito En. Well, this is my first ever sakura sencha and it was extremely bland and disappointing. To me, it just tasted like what the third or fourth steeping of a normal sencha would taste like. Very bland and watery. I didn’t taste any of the sakura blossoms, and the tea itself had very little flavor to speak of. I’m glad I only bought about two dollars worth of this stuff, stay away.

This came from the bulk bins of my local Wegmans. Wegmans has a GREAT tea selection for a grocery store. They have everything from lower end brands to lose leaf bulk tea you can measure out yourself. I will be adding Wegmans Northboro to the Places tab shortly.

This tea is one of their seasonal offerings. This is a good mix of cinnamon and black tea base. The cinnamon is more subtle then in some other teas that I have sampled. Not to astringent or bitter. This is a great tea for anyone who wants to try a cinnamon tea but does not want to feel like they are drinking cinnamon candy!

I am enjoying this tea. It’s just an honest, reliable tea that gives me the kick I need to get myself going. I have a definite caffeine buzz after two cups, and on a Monday morning that’s a good thing.

My morning pot of tea. I have avoided Irish Breakfast teas to this point because I thought I would find them too strong. For this blend at least I was definitely wrong. The tea is strong, but not bitter. There is a noticeable smokey taste at the end that I rather enjoyed, but also a smoothness. Highly enjoyable.

I like Earl Grey, but I am not a fan of the tea when the Bergamot is over the top. This tea is well balanced for me. I smelled the Bergamot right away as it was steeping, and the citrus flavor was there at the first sip. It did not, however, overpower the black tea. As the tea cooled the citrus flavor began to fade. This might bother some people, but I did not mind. Over all, a decent cup.

A slightly smoother variant on the supermarket chain’s standard bagged Earl Grey tea. Respectable and perfectly drinkable, but not entirely worth the premium price for the organic label.

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea.

A nice silver needle – grassy with overtures of hay-like flavor and a very pleasant sweetness. Very good, a relaxing tea to calm the nerves!

LOVE! I’m almost out of this, and last time I made it up to Wegman’s in MD, they didn’t have it..:-( It makes an incredibly good iced latte.. There’s just something about the coconut that makes it better than any other chai.. :-)

I usually avoid jasmine but after drinking this tea I can totally see its appeal. This is a perfect proportional blend of flavor notes. I prefer the plain silver needle version of this tea, but this jasmine variation is no slouch. The fragrance is like that blissful inhale of a good green tie guan yin, though more pronounced, and the flavor carries it through all the way. Drinking this on an overcast day might fool you into thinking the sun is out.

Tastes natural, smooth, almost delightful. Holds its flavor well for multiple steeps.

This leans toward the darker side of tie guan yins rather than the brighter, loftier toned versions. The first steep is smokey and even somewhat musty, but with a little focus I picked up the familiar tie guan yin flavor profile lying underneath. The second steep was delicious, floral front and smooth. The third steep suffered a sharp dropoff in flavor, but certainly was still drinkable. Three steeps, three surprises.

Not a big fan of flavored teas but this is a nice change of pace. Looking to avoid ag chemicals it caught my eye plus being sold in bulk I could try just a few cups’ worth so no commitment issues.

Inhaling the steam is a peachy wake-up. Flavor is smooth and clean, with well-rounded notes for a fruity tea. The tangerine is a little greeting on the finish. I’d recommend this to those who want to add something with fruit to their cupboard. It’s not subtle, but it’s not overstated, either.

I imagine it’d be delicious iced… not too frank a fruit tea and nice balanced flavor. This would be just fine without any sweetener, it’s nice as it is. Could probably take on some sprigs of fresh mint. Ooh, or even a little splash of sparkling white, like a bellini. I might have to pick up some more for the summer.

A light puerh that has a fragrance and taste of roasted hazelnuts. A little smokey. Amber liquor. Very drinkable but without the depth of typical puerh. Since Wegmans gets some of its teas from ItoEn it’s possible that this is actually the tea listed here; although mine does not say green, it is definitely not your usual dark puerh:
http://steepster.com/teas/ito-en/4617-sweet-green-tuocha-pu-erh

Think woody campfire smoke, inhaled, then consumed as a liquid. Doesn’t make you cough, but otherwise this is pretty much my experience of this tea. Can be pleasant or not depending on your taste and your emotional associations with campfires. I could easily close my eyes and be transported back to some great times with this imagination-inducing tea. Drinking it straight would be an acquired taste, but I’ll blend this with other teas to add a bit of smokey depth.

This is my first silver needle, and it’s a standout among teas… maybe simply because it’s silver needle or maybe just this particular silver needle is this good, don’t know yet… but now that I’m in the door, I’m going to solve this mini-mystery. It is light, refreshing and sweet in the most natural, unassuming way. It tastes like a more sophisticated version of Juicy Fruit gum. Fragrance is a heavenly soft floral.