64 Tasting Notes
I should have brewed this a bit stronger, using two sachets instead of the one, since my mug is bigger. I do like that this tea has a brightness to it, and I do get the cranberry, with it’s little bit of zing. But I can’t help wishing the black tea would come through a bit more, and I never really taste the orange, so every time I make this, it seems a little on the watered down side, even when it isn’t.
I keep trying to really like this, because it’s peach, and peach is one of my favorite flavors in the world. But it’s not quite peach enough. It reminds me more of a fruit salad. Maybe it’s the hibiscus, or maybe it’s whatever the “cobbler” part is. It’s okay, and is drinkable, but it’s never going to be a go-to peach tea for me.
This is the second try on this one. I found both the English Breakfast and Scottish Breakfast sachets at the grocery store and figured I’d give it a try as a cheap desk drawer offering for those days I need tea but don’t have the time to make a more quality mug up. I do like their Yorkshire Gold on occasion as a cheap tea option, so I figured I didn’t have much to lose trying these.
The first go of it, around a month ago, I found pretty lacking. Not much flavor. No real distinction. No real impression made. I didn’t steep it long, knowing that Yorkshire Gold goes bitter on a dime.
For today’s second round, I steeped an English Breakfast bag and a Scottish Breakfast bag together in my big mug, and I steeped it for about six minutes. It didn’t get bitter, but the longer steep didn’t pull out any more flavor, either. I’m still not impressed. The best word I think I can use to describe it is “muddy”. There just isn’t any nuance to this tea at all that I can discern.
I think I might “donate” it to the cupboard down in the lounge at work and stick to Twinings Irish Breakfast as my go-to desk tea for when I have no real time to do things up right.
Just a cooler, rainy day here.
Ergo my fibro is flaring a bit. I can hear my achy shoulders and the back of my head screaming. They are screaming for a big mug of nice, hot tea. Who am I not to heed them and oblige? If I give them what they scream for an appease them, then they just might settle down some.
Aching calls for a black tea, but I wanted something different, so I went for this Panyang Congou. I probably might have been a bit more content with something sturdier, but the more gentle, less malty punch of this one is seeming to suffice. I’m getting a little more toastiness than last time, and I think this tea might be growing on me a bit more. I got it a bit stronger this time. I do like that there isn’t any bitterness after letting it go a couple of extra minutes on the steep. That is encouraging.
It will never usurp the Queen, though.
This is easily and consistently my favorite tea of all that I have. It actually put in an appearance twice over the past weekend. The first big mugful was for pure comfort reasons following big-ugly-brute-of-a-cyst removal. The second mug was last night, for unwinding after scrambling to get papers shuffled/organized and calendars mapped out for the week. Both mugs were divine, as always.
This is my third time brewing this tea. The first two times I tried it hot, and this time I made a flash-brewed iced tea in my Takeya pitcher.
I’m still not sure just what I think of this one. I do like that it’s not astringent, but I wish it were a little more heft. Perhaps that’s because most of the maltier teas I’ve had are much more robust than this one is, and I expect an explosion of oomph that doesn’t come. This just seems a bit mellow for a black tea.
I originally picked this tea because it was described as having a nutty undercurrent. I have yet to pick up a nutty flavor. Mostly I’m getting hay and malt. It’s not unpleasant, but it’s just not what I expected. The maltiness when it’s a tiny bit warm (before the ice cooled it fully) actually reminds me of the foam on a wheat ale (like Blue Moon), only gentler. I’m tasting less of that the cooler it gets.
I do like this tea, but it’s just not oomphy enough to become an everyday favorite, I don’t think.
I’m rather liking this, which is a good thing, since I ordered the 8 oz. tin and they accidently shipped me a whole pound. This strikes me as a great choice for those days when I stand in front of my tea mountain and I can’t for the life of me figure out what kind of tea profile I want to revel in. On first sip I’m getting the malty Assam, but then it breaks away into the subtle smoky, chocolaty keemun. I understand from other posters that this can go bitter in a hurry if it’s not watched, so I stuck with four minutes for the steep, and I’m glad I didn’t go over that. My initial impression is that this is a good, sturdy start-to-the day tea without being overly malty. This morning I’m drinking it hot. This afternoon I might make some iced in my Takeya pitcher, and perhaps stick a mason jar of cold brew in the fridge. Might as well try it all kinds of ways. It’s not like I’ve got a shortage!
