2900 Tasting Notes
The level of this one is getting distressingly low. I have whined before about being the Black Hole of Flavors. As soon as I develop an I-want-a-pound-of-this affinity with something, it disappears off the face of the planet. (Same applies to Bath and Body Works and Yankee Candle scents.)
This is a lovely little melange of green tea, lemongrass, and lemon rind. Citrusy without being painfully tart. Inexpensive, too; everything you’d want in a humble little tea … except available, to the best of my knowledge. Sigh.
A sunny Sunday afternoon sipdown. A much needed dose of “yes, spring will come” both outside and inside.
You know how when you get to the dregs of a sample—enough for one cup, not enough for two—you just say, “aw, shucks” and dump the whole thing in. Wasn’t the wisest move in the world; turned the green tea base a little bitter on the back of the tongue. But the strawberry/vanilla was still sweet and pleasant at the front of each sip.
I fixed it, though…treat yourself to a big slab of cherry dump cake and you won’t notice the bitter at all :)
I know exactly what you’re talking about! I tend to go for “more tea, less time”, in an effort to avoid bitterness.
I like strawberry as a tea ingredient so much it’d have to be pretty lousy for me not to like it.
Now I want dump cake!
Dump cake! Aw, man. Shades of Girl Scout camp and cooking in box ovens.
Sprinkle slivered almonds on top and it looks like you really fussed :)
I’m overdue trying this one from Nicole, and I’ve been dreaming about being anywhere warm, sunny, and away for days, so why not?
Based on reviews I’ve read, I already had the preconception that Della Terra is a whiz at flavored teas. So I was expecting nothing but excellent…and got it.
Got the pineapple, got the coconut, got enough black tea that this would pass for a morning blend. An 8 oz. mug of micro-vacation. Pass the sunscreen.
Phooey. Lost a whole rambly note on this one.
In short, it’s so light in color, even after 4-5 minutes, you wonder if there’s been mal-steep-function.
Conclusion: this is just supposed to be delicate. I don’t think I have a delicate or refined bone in my body; which may be why it puzzles me. (I expect black teas to wear ten-pound Doc Martens.)
LOL – I expect the same from my blacks. :)
Me, too.
I like black teas that kick me with the Doc Martens.
@ Claire: hahahaha! A good Assam, then?
A good Assam, any Irish or Scottish breakfast that deserves the name. ;)
Heh heh.
So far, I haven’t met a Scottish breakfast tea that was strong enough to suit me. Which is a surprise..you’d expect it to be the stoutest of the English/Irish/Scottish clan.
I’ve heard Harney’s Scottish Morn is strong enough to wake the dead…I need to try it one of these days!
Me, too.
I’ve got a packet of Unilever’s Scottish Blend (sent from a friend in Scotland), and, while I quite like it, it was milder than I was expecting. I’ve tasted some really good English Breakfast blends — my favourites seem to have Keemun in them — but the Irish blends seem to smack me the hardest. They’re often heavy on the Assam. The Unilever Scottish Blend seemed to be mostly Kenyan, to me.
H&S Scottish was pretty strong, I thought. Though IIRC, it is rotovaned so easy so steep super strong in minimal time.
Not much new or notable to say about this; it’s just such a happy little evening tea. Pick a dessert, any dessert, and it’s a lovely little go-with. Tonight we’re going with Pillsbury Apple Turnovers.
Wish I’d thought of it before the season was over; I should see if there’s any left at Food 4 Less.
I stuck my nose up at this when I saw it in stores around the holidays but have regretted it ever since. It sounds really neat. Next year (hopefully)!
Sometimes holiday blends are a little over-the-top to be enjoyable for more than a short time. This one’s a keeper, I think.
Seems to me, and I’ve logged this before, that tulsi, with its lemony personality, is a perfect match for blueberry. (Though I did a quick search and haven’t found any commercial blenders who agree with me enough to package the combo.)
Tonight was no exception; I had a bitty-bit of aging Blueberry Cocktail from SpecialTeas, half-and-halved it with plain no-name tulsi from my local import grocery, and it was just lovely. A good nightcap for a brain that’s already flipped to TV test pattern listening to Lyle Lovett & Co. on Pandora. You couldn’t even get a blip if you hooked me up to a brain scan.
Uh-oh. We’re down to skimpy-ration level. This is definitely going on the wish list, underscored in red.
The package recommends a 2-3 minute steep. Followed that recommendation this morning, and while it’s still lovely good, I believe I prefer it my way: dark and rich, more toward the 4-5 minute mark.
This is a sweet and gentle little dragonwell; safe to drink in the evening.
(Just sniffled my way through Downton Abbey Season 3 Episode 4. I wonder what kind of tea Carson serves when…well, you know…happens.)
(Late to see it because weather messed up PBS reception last night and we got the dreaded NO SIGNAL signal. Put me in a vile mood all day until I could get my fix online. That’s just kind of pathetic, huh?)
Sobbed harder than I have in a long time while watching it last night.
…and I had even seen spoilers and knew what was coming.
I’m surprised I missed spoilers. I had no clue. It felt like a personal loss to me.
I’ve been crying for 24 hours now. I can’t even think about it.
I missed the spoilers somehow, too. I was shocked and wanted to stop watching, but I couldn’t. And I cried. Good grief did I cry!
So I read this review about an hour ago while “working on homework.” I then realized that it was a perfect time to watch Episode 4, and now I’m pretty sure that I will never be able to finish me homework! I am far too emotionally compromised!
…so I let the leaves dry overnight and did one more 2-minute-ish steep (the third one) this morning. Strange things happening…
First, this is getting darker with every steep. It’s almost ebony in color instead of letting up.
Second, I’m sitting peacefully in my happy chair enjoying a quiet house with the heater not running for a change and I hear this funny ringing sound coming from the end table. Specifically, from my tea mug. Warily, I pick it up. Yep, my cup is fizzing. High pitched snap, crackle, pop. Does pu-erh do that?
OK, even if it’s wrong, who doesn’t want to taste-test magical-colored ebony fizzing tea? Maybe it was the “bubbly” notion influencing my taste buds, but … yep … cola flavor.
This wins my prize for most humorously bizarre tea tasting experience. Honorable mention, anyway.
Darker for overnight left over puerh is not unusual(unless you made some many steeps that there not much left in the tea anymore). When you leave it over night it was ‘steeping’ in the humidity that was left, so even if it dried up there’s a ‘concentrated’ steep waiting there. Don’t know about the sound… maybe just re-hydration of the tea?
..which makes absolute sense. It was still pretty tasty! As for tea that talks, to confirm I hadn’t completely lost it, I stuck it in my husband’s ear. He heard it too :)
good thing you still have some :)
Rationing v-e-r-y parsimoniously!
Ooo parsimoniously. Good word!!
big word!