987 Tasting Notes
Sipdown! I drank the last of this tea yesterday under the belief that I’d be able to restock it from Capital Tea at the tea festival. However, they’re out of stock of this tea, and might not have it for a month!
I have many other jasmine teas in my cupboard, and even some non pearl tea from Capital, but still. However, I must stay strong!
He’s not that far away, Richmond Hill! :P
Well, I just bought 2 puerh cakes from the festival and have some samples from Angel/Teavivre on the way. That, plus the fact that I’m still trying to raise my freelance income, means that I should probably just be on a tea buying hiatus for a bit.
Haha yep, I am always on hiatus. But I keep finding exceptions… like Stacy closing etc :/
Backlog from whenever:
I got past my inhibitions and brewed this using Western parameters rather than those on the label. The result: a surprisingly good tea! I think I got hints of cocoa and perhaps even rose – I prefer it this way, rather than using the recommended steeping parameters on the label and getting a bunch of sweet potato.
Preparation
Sipdown!
I quite liked this despite the comments that it’s too cinnamon-heavy. Sometimes, that’s just what you need.
Also, the rooibos tonight was a bit fruity rather than woody, which is how I like it.
One less tea in the cupboard! (I need to make room for new Teavivre samples and the Toronto Tea Festival, which are both imminent.)
Backlog from last week, and sipdown!
Many thanks to VariaTEA for sending me part of her dwindling supply of this tea. The buckwheat grains were much darker and larger than those of the other buckwheat teas I’ve tried. I think I might have used a mug that was too large for the sample that VariaTEA sent, but that’s okay.
It was roasty and nutty, but since H&S doesn’t do free shipping to Canada and since I have a whole bunch of sobacha from Yunomi, this was really just a chance to hear what the fuss was about.
One less tea in the cupboard!
Backlog from a few nights ago.
Many thanks to LiberTEAS for hosting a giveaway of this tea on her blog! I was one of the winners, and I was astonished by the size of the prize pack I got from Klio. Two bags of tea plus a beautiful Bodum mug.
Now, I may love tea, but even 150g of tea in one go (especially one so fluffy) is a lot for me. And I have a lot of travel mugs. So I’m keeping one bag of this tea for myself and giving the other bag plus the mug to my sister as a birthday present. Her birthday is one month from today, so it’s perfect timing!
As for the tea itself? I’ve had Mountain Tea before – it’s a common drink in Macedonia, where my parents are from, as well as Greece. However, the mountain tea we have in the house is several years old and somewhat stale. In comparison, this is fresh, fresh fresh!
When you open the bag, it smells beautiful. There’s a green sharpness underneath that reminds me of fresh cut grass, but there’s also the brightness of lemon and the earthiness of chamomile. I’m not a big chamomile fan, but I don’t mind the hint here.
When I brewed this a few nights ago I oversteeped it, but it wasn’t that bitter. I will definitely be holding onto this.
Flavors: Grass, Lemon, Sage
Preparation
Mmmm Sounds yummy.
Apparently this company will also be releasing mountain-grown lemon verbena tea. I can’t wait to try that.
I enjoyed this too! I didn’t think I would when I opened the pouch and saw what looked like bits of sagebrush from my backyard when I was young and living out in the middle of nowhere in Nevada. But I was very pleased with the flavor.
I know this is heresy, but I’m finding that while Teavivre’s black teas are or high quality, they’re just not ringing my bell. It turns out I’m not a huge fan of the sweet potato note found in teas like this – and while this one does smell and taste somewhat chocolaty, I really want something a bit smoky (but not LS smoky). Hmm….
Backlog from whenever.
Ahh, this tea is turning out to be more finicky than I expected. First I underleafed it so it was weak. Then I overleafed it and made it too astringent. How will I steep this just so I can get that eucalyptus note I liked so much? Bumping the rating down into the mid 70s.
I’ve had this a few times, but it just does’t have the same warm comfort I remember from Simple Loose Leaf’s Kenilworth tea. Glad I only have 50g of this – I bought 100g and gave my aunt half of it in a special tin for Xmas.
However, it is a good no-fuss tea for the mornings when you’re not sure what you want.
Backlog from whenever.
Thanks very much to VariaTEA for sending me a sample of this in our swap! Oh my god, it’s so vanilla-y. I had this with a bit of agave and that was nice. I also noticed that the sprinkles dissolved into the drink even with the use of the paper filter, and gave the tea a bit of sparkle. Interesting!
