166 Tasting Notes

96
drank Organic Guranse by Butiki Teas
166 tasting notes

I think previous reviewers have covered all the bases on this Organic Nepalese Guranse. I’m not sure what I can add, except to say this is yet another excellent black tea from Butiki. It is late afternoon, and this bright and crisp, yet milder tea is just right for this time of day. It reminds me of a good Darjeeling.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
TheTeaFairy

This on the list for my next Butiki order… I’m having her Darjeeling Moonlight right now and it is so good :-)

Donna A

TeaFairy, I am having Glenburn Estate Darjeeling, a sample Stacy sent. It is wonderful, so now, I’ll need to make sure and get Darjeeling Moonlight!

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A few months back I reviewed this and said I was going to try to have the willpower to save the last 5 grams to see how it would age in a year or two. Well, I have tons of tea, but I wasn’t up this am when my husband was looking for a morning cup, and which one did he find of all the teas in my pantry? You guessed it—this one. He doesn’t know too much about tea and it was the first thing he found. He figured this was as good as the next. Oh well-I just had to laugh at that point. I should have hidden it away! In the future, I will have to mark anything really special “Do not touch”. At least this pu’er, like most, provides multiple steepings and he had only done 2, so I proceeded to do several more for the two of us this evening. It is a really wonderful Pu’er, but alas, it is out of stock and I will never know how it would have aged.

TheTeaFairy

Oh nooo! It had to the one of course! Definitely have to hide the «precious» :-)

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100
drank Mi Xian Black by Butiki Teas
166 tasting notes

I am compelled to add another note, because I am enjoying this so much today! To me, this is very different from the Assams and Dian Hongs that I often drink, but is equally worth keeping in my cabinet to drink on a regular basis. I think I’ll use the coupon I was so excited to win from the recent contest to get some more and to also try one or 2 of Butiki’s other blacks.

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86

I have spent the morning with Malachi McCormick, the last of the black tea samples from Harney and Sons. This is described by the company as a simple and unpretentious blend of black teas. Before tasting it, I wondered if it would therefore be boring and blah. I must say no, emphatically no! It is a very flavorful cup of tea-smooth and sweet with a grainy/toasty aroma. That being said, I like black teas in general and as long as a black tea is decent, I’m probably going to like it a lot and rate it at least in the 80’s. This goes in the very good category for me, if not outstanding.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
Terri HarpLady

With a name like that, I’d be expecting a scottish/irish breakfast type, and of course, in my mind Malachi would resemble Colin Farrell, who I was in a habit of having tea with awhile back (Until I ran out of Irish Breakfast).
Note to self: Get some more Irish breakfast blend, and invite Colin for tea (in my head).

Claire

I love this blend!

Donna A

Terri, it would be fun to read the book “A Decent Cup of Tea” which is available on Amazon for a penny. The author of the book, for which the tea is named, is Irish.

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88

I’m zipping a long through my Harney tea samples, having finished my first cup of Panyang Congou, a black tea blend from the Fujian province-a delicious tea that I would re-order. Now, I’m on to a completely different black, from the Mangalam Tea Plantation in the middle of Assam in India. It is labeled Or. 644 2011. This has a lot of golden tips and the dry leaf has an appealing aroma. It is brisk in a good way, and has a more mellow honeyed flavor than some other Assams I’ve had, along with the maltiness you would expect. It does not require milk and has no bitterness whatsoever. It is still strong enough to make a good morning cup. So far, I’ve been pleased with my Harney selections. They have free shipping ending tonight. Hmmm.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 30 sec

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97
drank Panyang Congou by Harney & Sons
166 tasting notes

Another delicious black tea from the Northern Fujian Province. The dry leaf has dark colored leaves with some golden tips and a nice aroma a bit like raisins. The drink is a little honeyed, a little fruity, and smooth, with medium body. It is easy going with zero bitterness and low astringency. 2 1/2 grams was perfect for an 8 oz cup. I would order this again-it is something I could drink every day, and I suspect it would be great cold as well.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
gmathis

I’m discovering that I love anything with Fujian in its name or background info.

Donna A

Gmathis, same here. And this tea is quite affordable.

Angrboda

95% of all my favourite unflavoured black teas are out of Fujian. Fujian tea growers can do no wrong in my book. :)

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97

Finally getting around to doing some notes on this outstanding Yunnan black-I was waiting until I had time to try it iced, as recommended by Verdant, but too many teas and not enough time, so never have had it iced. Unlike Laoshan Black, I prefer this Western style for a stronger cup, rather than Gong Fu. I measured out 4 gms for 8 oz water with my precise scale, since it is hard to measure this type leaf with a teaspoon. No bitterness whatsoever. Good flavor for several infusions. Really nice refined Yunnan black-I can pick up a little sweet potato, but I will leave the more detailed descriptions of flavor nuances to others more talented. Let’s just say, I like this a lot.

Preparation
Boiling 1 min, 30 sec
Donna A

Now, later in the day, after putting up our outdoor Christmas decorations, I’m drinking this cold, and yes, I recommend this as a go to black tea for cold as well as hot. A nice tea to drink on a beautiful, mid 60’s sunny day here in Atlanta.

Donna A

Hi Paul. I’ll be looking at your posts for ideas too. I’m discovering so many very good blacks out there it’s almost overwhelming. Verdant has had some excellent ones. I’ve had success with Butiki, Teavivre and Harney&Sons to name a few more.

Donna A

Just love this tea! It is so good.

Terri HarpLady

Yup! I love it!
BTW, where you been Donna? I feel like I haven’t seen you in months! :)

Donna A

Terry, life has been keeping me very busy. My mother-in-law passed away this month after a 7 month illness, and my mom had brain surgery this summer, and besides that there were a lot of other things going on. You’re right, I haven’t been around much, but things are quieter now and I am going to try to check in more frequently. I really enjoy Steepster and I especially love reading your posts. Not just about the teas, but your life as a harpist!

Terri HarpLady

Oh wow! I’m so sorry to hear about all of that, Donna. Sending a big hug your way!

Donna A

Thanks Terri!

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51

Thanks for the sample Azzrian. I like vanilla quite a bit in foods, but I don’t tend to favor it in teas unless it’s part of a more complex tea, such as vanilla caramel. So, for my taste, this is nothing special. I was a little put off by the dry leaf smell. For most teas, other than chais, I don’t add dairy, but based on other’s tasting notes, I added some cream and stevia which made it acceptable, but nothing I’d go out of my way to have again. For those that like vanilla teas, this may hit the spot nicely.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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99

In a word, this tea is superb. I adore this tea. I ordered it loose, and the fact that it comes in a beautiful 4 oz tin is icing on the cake. Everyone has a different opinion on the ideal Earl Grey, but I’ve been testing a lot of them lately, and this is my favorite so far. I made it exactly as recommended, 5 min. steeping with boiling water. I used 1 tsp in 8 oz. Not the least bit bitter-just the right amount of bergamot. Excellent hot or cold. Perfection. I can’t wait to try the other 7 selections from Harney & Sons, my first experience with this company.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
Claire

I love this earl grey too, Donna. Harney has some great black tea blends.

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drank Butterbeer by 52teas
166 tasting notes

I was very excited to get my box from Azzrian, and I’m pretty adventurous, so I’ll try any kind of loose tea. However I confess I was skeptical on this one-that is, I prepared myself not to like it. I like rootbeer, but licorice and chicory? Not too sure about that. Even the name butterbeer (and I know it’s from Harry Potter and all that), but butterbeer doesn’t sound appetizing to me. So with my sights set pretty low, I brewed this up (steeped 3 minutes), took a sip, and then as always, added some sweetener-wow, how about that! Pretty good stuff. Then a little milk, since others suggested that. Well, I like it both ways, and once it got to room temp I saw it’s potential as a cold tea too. It was fine unsweetened, but you don’t get the full rootbeer effect without sweetening it. I could see ordering it if it were available again, because it’s quite a novelty. It tastes just like rootbeer to me, and I think the college kids in my family and their friends would get a kick out of it too. As long as you like rootbeer, I think you’ll like this. Oh, and I got 2 steepings. So once again, thanks to Azzrian. Without that box she sent, I would never have tried this, and I have some more left to share with my kids when they are home.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Azzrian

:) it isn’t all that bad is it? I was not expecting to like it either. I won’t say I LOVE it but its pretty tasty.

Donna A

Azzrian, that’s how I feel too. I just love the taste of actual tea so much, that it tends to win out over a lot of the flavored ones, unless the underlying tea flavor is still prevalent. With Butterbeer, I really couldn’t taste the tea, but I’m not sure I have the most discerning taste buds! I’m glad I tried it and I think my kids will find it to be a fun one to try.

Fjellrev

The chicory is what ultimately scared me away from this one.

Donna A

Incendiare, I have no experience with chicory by itself, but I couldn’t taste anything in this but rootbeer. It wasn’t bitter like I think chicory would be.

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Profile

Bio

Tea became a passion for me a year or so ago. I fell into it almost by accident, but now I would say it has captured me. Tea is more than something tasty to sip on, it is an experience-it helps create a mood and is quite interesting to read about and study. I discovered loose tea at the tea store at my mall. I was looking for alternatives to Coke Zero and white wine. Say what you will about that mall chain, but I’m sure it has raised awareness about tea where I live, in the land of bagged mass produced black tea prepared with lots of sugar, Atlanta, Georgia. That’s what happened with me, and then I started perusing the internet and found Steepster.

When I take on an interest or a hobby, I go into it full force and become a little obsessive about it in the beginning. I have always been adventurous when it comes to trying new foods, and once I discovered there was so much more out there than the Lipton tea I saw my mom drinking when I was growing up, I started trying many different varieties of loose tea. I have discovered I like all kinds of tea. I I veer a lot toward straight teas, especially blacks, but occasionally drink flavored also, especially Earl Grey. I like flavored Matcha lattes too. I’ve completely given up diet cola, which was becoming too much of a habit. I think tea is a lot healthier. When I rate a tea, it’s just my personal taste, so I don’t tend to post on things I don’t care for. Also, I tend to sweeten my tea with natural stevia (a no no for some!) I am a married Registered Nurse, with two kids in college and one in medical school. My husband is not hooked like I am, but he often enjoys a cup with me. I enjoy many other interests, including reading, gardening, and the arts. I’ve taken up hiking in the past year too. Anytime I can include tea in these pursuits, I do! It has become a bit of an obsession for me.

Location

Atlanta, GA

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