Claire

Sipping a cup of this hot tonight. I’ve had it cold and hot now – cold is definitely better. When it’s cold steeped it’s like drinking sweet and juicy mangoes and peaches. Hot I can still taste the fruit but it’s understated, a little subtle. The fruit is there but not hogging the show.

I just finished grading 22 papers and I feel exhausted. There’s something about assigning points to a real and important subject matter that’s just draining. I feel like commenting, this matters to someone in real life. If I do badly on a Shakespeare paper, it doesn’t mess up Shakespeare’s life, after all.

Lately I feel very grateful for all the amazing things I have going on in my life, and deeply sad that so many wonderful people are having a hard time right now.

No notes yet.

Today I’m getting a lot more sweetness out of this sheng. It may be because I decided to wash it a bit more – 2 washes, 1st was 5 seconds, 2nd close to 10 seconds. Before I was really just getting smoky flavor out of this tea but on my 2nd kept steep I can actually taste some apricot and a little bit of cream. Of course, I discover this as I’m running out of this tea!

Oh my gosh. Is this a genius level tea blend? My taste buds are saying yes. They are also mourning the fact that this is not permanently buy-able somewhere. This tea feels like it could wipe out the coldest day and make you feel toasty and snug and safe inside, parked in front of a crackling fire. I am also now asking myself why did I not open this sooner? Why?! I could have been enjoying it for the past two weeks!

The ingredients are perfectly blended, each one standing out on its own but not overpowering anything else. There’s a beautiful undertone of smoky gunpowder, a touch of clove and cinnamon, and then on top a bit of sweet and tart cherry.

I have a sudden urge to be like Oprah and just give this tea to everyone while going TEA FOR EVERYBODY!!! And you get one and you get one!

How has it been a week since I’ve posted a tasting note? I confess, my tea habits have been rather repetitive of late. I’ve been drinking Mandala Phatty cake, the last of my Fuhai ‘07 sheng from Verdant, David’s Orange Pekoe, and this breakfast. Okay, repetitive but satisfying!

This has a lovely toasty flavor and a spicy bite, a little bit of maltyness and very little astringency. Perfectly good without milk. Between the two black teas I picked up from David’s, I definitely prefer this to the Orange Pekoe but it’s still not a re-buy for me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good breakfast tea but not so delicious to me that I’d want it 5 days a week!

I’ve been drinking a lot of regular ole’ black tea lately and decided to pick up an ounce of this on my way out of the mall (after I snatched up a Lupicia happy bag). My favorite for awhile now has been Harney’s Malachi McCormick, to the point where I’m thinking about just owning up to my love for that tea and getting a pound of it.

This is nice and unfussy, like basic black teabag tea but just not ground up and put in the teabag (which is probably exactly what this is). It’s got a nice astringency to it without being overpowering. This is not a kapow malt monster (which I like) but there’s a wee bit of malt to this as well. It’s good, but not something I’d drink on a daily basis for the price.

In other news, my boss offered me extra hours at the library this month until school starts again, and I’ll have TA work starting the 7th grading 25 papers a week until late March. It’s a nice start after the towing bill!

First person to review this tea, woo! I picked up a sample of this from Upton along with a bunch of cheap green tea to make iced tea for the housemate (iced green is his new favorite).

This is really reminiscent of a darjeeling, just a hint of muscatel and lightly sweet. Slightly nutty and astringent. Still looking for more things like David’s Nepal Black but this is good!

Hello Steepsters! It’s been a long time since I’ve had a chance to post (or read Steepster) and it’s good to be back. I survived finals and 6 days in Utah (oh the nose bleeds). The day we flew out I found out my car had been towed. Apparently if you park in the same spot for three days the city can tow you, even though there are no signs posted indicating this law (anywhere). Since we rarely drive, the car was in impound for 5 days before we realized it was gone, and the grand total to get it out was $968. Christmas almost didn’t happen but thankfully we have some amazing family and friends and just made our flight. Now it’s time to sell the car. ;)

I’ve had this and been drinking it for awhile, but I haven’t posted yet because I feel like I don’t have much to say about this puerh! It’s pleasantly smoky to me and a bit nutty, and definitely a high energy tea. I also get the back of the throat scratchy feeling with this one.

How was everyone’s holiday?

Drinking phatty cake today while I agonize over finals. This morning shortly after breakfast my right eye started to twitch; this has happened to me before around finals times, and it means I am way too stressed! I figured that meant it was a good day to drink some good and calming puerh. Monday I have a 9-10 page paper due for my Shakespeare class, and I’m writing on devils and exorcism in Twelfth Night and King Lear. After writing five pages of that today I felt like I was ready for an exorcism myself. ;)

Who’s awesome? RAYN IS AWESOME!!!

Today Rayn gets home from work and says, “some strange boxes came for you at my work today”.
I respond with “that is odd, I’m not expecting anything right now”.
He opens up his wheelie suitcase and starts piling small boxes on the floor while saying “yeah, all this tea came for you for some reason”.
I stand there slack-jawed for a minute before I realize that they are Samovar boxes. And then it dawns on me that Rayn has brought home the Samovar celebration kit, and I didn’t ask for it. He just decided to randomly surprise me with about 2 pounds of tea from a local retailer that I love (insert excited exclamation points here). Do I have the best partner or what?

Another random tea moment happened on Saturday that made me realize how lucky I am. We were at his company’s holiday party, and around dessert time Rayn decided to get another drink, and asked me if I would like anything. I said a cup of tea would be nice. He asked “what kind?” I said black tea. He asked again, “what kind?” At this point I realized he’s learned enough about tea to know that “tea” is not specific enough, and neither is “black tea”. And while he does drink tea a few times a week, it’s always because I made him some.

Now onto this tea! I love blood oranges, and I’m learning to love puerh. I like the combination of both! I am smelling a vaguely fishy scent, but I can’t tell right now if that’s the tea or because I made prawn stir fry for dinner. I have to try this another night (a fair, non prawn dinner night) and see if I still smell it.
I LOVE the blood orange flavor in this. It’s not even remotely artificial, and really specifically blood orange and not regular orange. It’s slightly creamy and spicy, and the ginger and grapefruit in this really pops. I can’t taste much of the puerh when it’s hot, but as it cools I get a bit of damp earthyness.

Oh yeah, and here’s Rayn’s review: frowny face…“not my thing”. Guess you can’t please everyone. ;)

Wow, Steepsters. Just wow. Garret very kindly sent me a sample of this, and I am completely floored. This is a 2012?! I’m not getting any bitterness from this, even at 205f. I’m certainly not a puerh expert, in fact I think I barely qualify as a “newb”, but I would be very excited to try this tea again in 5 years (and 10, and 15…). It’s subtly sweet, smoky, and almost creamy. Slightly reminiscent of a vegetal green but the smoky element really sets this apart.

Another little sample I had this morning in my to go mug, and I quite liked it! I really love Golden Monkey, but it’s not a tea I get often since it’s pricey, and I can drink all of it really fast when I do.

This was nice and robust thanks to the Assam, but not too strong to be drank by itself, sans milk and sugar. There was also a spicy note in this that I don’t typically associate with Assam or Golden Monkey, but it was nice. Just kind of like, interesting spicy flavor…I don’t recognize this…but not bad! I don’t think this is a blend I’ll get for every day, but I am continually impressed by the quality of Harney’s black tea blends for the price. The Malachi McCormick remains my favorite, and let’s be honest, it’s probably because Rayn is a McCormick. ;)

Just a short note for this one! This is a good blend, but there’s not much complexity to talk about (well, not that I can pick up).

I had a little sample of this today – like the Malachi McCormick, this is quite decent! It’s got plenty of malty body thanks to the Assam, with just a hint of Darjeeling to brighten it up. This does get really astringent as it cools, though.

I’m in the home stretch! Only 3 weeks until winter break, and then Rayn and I head to Utah for 6 days to see the in-laws.

We love peppermint tea in this house. Right now I’m sipping on a combination of Peppermint from Adagio (good all by itself) and catnip from an herb shop here in SF (not that kind, tsk tsk, I mean HERBS). I read that catnip is calming and can also be good for tummies. I’m happy to report that unlike when my cats have some catnip, I am not attempting to travel as far as possible simply by rolling, nor have I slapped or bit Rayn yet. ;) This is a pretty nice bedtime/happy stomach tisane.

And if you want a quick laugh, here’s a short video of my kitties hopped up on the ’nip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrpFPPf3MMo&feature=plcp

Garret kindly sent me a sample of this in my Mandala Tea order!

I don’t have much experience with sheng, but this shows signs of good aging, I think. The liquid is slightly sweet and grassy, with the tiniest hint of sour. I’m picking up a bit of a floral note in here as well, like a subdued oolong. I tend to get this interesting back of the throat scratchy feeling with some puerhs too, and while it feels a bit odd, I’ve come to associate it with good puerhs since it’s occurred with most good ones that I’ve had. I’m getting the throat feeling with this one! I also have lots of energy right now after 2 cups (about 8oz).

Thanks again for the sample Garret, and I’m hoping I have the funds to pick up one of these cakes up in the future! :)

This is my first shipment from Handmade Tea, and it’s delicious!

I’ve tried this a couple of different ways now: first, given Caleb’s suggestion of a 4 min steep. The rose and jasmine are really strong with that method and it reminded me a lot of Lupicia’s Yume blend. What made it stand out compared to Yume was the hint of lemon in the background.
The second way I’ve tried this (and my favorite) is with short subsequent steeps, starting around 15 seconds. The smell is lightly chocolate-like and floral, and the lemon balm really pops with the short steeps!

I got the mini subscription to Handmade Tea, and this arrived in two small tins. I gave one to my brother-in-law and he wrote the other day to say he loves this too!

Can’t wait to see what comes in the mail in December. :)

It feels like a long time since I’ve logged a tasting note. This past week I’ve mostly been drinking Phatty Cake from Mandala and this fantastic Tieguanyin from Verdant!

The orchid notes in this are very strong and the sweetness lingers for a long time after every sip. The mouthful is incredible on this tieguanyin, creamy and thick.

One of the things that’s fascinated me the most about this harvest is the color of the liquid. It’s a really vivid yellow, even with short steeps (15 seconds). Almost an unbelievable shade of lemon, as if it can’t be natural (but is).

This is a fantastic little fat cake. I’m on the 8th or 9th steep now (I lost count) and it’s STILL going. And on top of that, it’s still going with short steeps, like 15-20 seconds.

This is the kind of shu that I just love. Deliciously earthy and mushroom-like, no fishy sneaking in there, slightly spicy and reminiscent of hanging out on some pine needles with giant redwoods. I know there are some puerh purists out there who would snark at this description, but that’s just what it does for me!

I had some really mellow and euphoric feelings with this shu as well, especially in the first few steeps. Ever since then I have been AWAKE. Of course now it’s (checks time) 11:30 and very soon I need to be asleep…

I drank this from the time I got home from work until now, when I need to crawl into bed. Such a good (cute, it’s cute darn it) little cake.

I got this little sample along with my tasting cup.

I have had tea EXACTLY like this before. This tastes just like bagged yamamotoyama oolong. In fact, a lot of the leaves in this sample are crushed enough that I think it might literally be the exact same tea!

This is my second time trying a Korean green tea, and what can I say except that I really like the taste of seaweed. This is similar to the Daejak I had from Upton, but the flavor is much stronger from what I remember. It’s brothy and salty. I got about 5 small steeps out of this, and past steep three it starts becoming unremarkable, tasting like a generic green tea. That second steep though – mmm, just like seaweed salad!

My 100th tasting note on Steepster! Thanks to everyone for making this community what it is: a friendly and fantastic hangout for tea fanatics. I visit this place at least a couple times a day (usually more) because it’s just a great place to be!

This was a sample I got with my last Verdant order, and I tried it gongfuish style in my tasting cup, with subsequent short steeps. Like the Laoshan black, the little curly dry leaves gradually unfold into full tea leaves. On my first sip I was immediately hit with asparagus! Thankfully I love asparagus. Next there were green beans. On the second steep the beans were still there but also a bit of toast flavor. Third steeps and after it got really creamy and buttery, almost like the bi luo chun I had a few months back but the sesame oil flavor was not quite as strong. Unfortunately I didn’t try the summer harvest while it was available, but this is a really delicious and well-made green. What can I say? The He family just makes fantastic tea.

Warning: this ended up really long!
I’ve been swirling something around inside my brain for awhile now on the nature of snobbery as it relates to tea and literature, and I think I will finally share it. Without going into too many details, awhile back someone came on the Steepster forums and said something about a much loved tea company that was not nice (or true), and it was pretty snobby too. It got me thinking.
At the time I was working on a paper comparing Shakespeare’s “Titus Andronicus” to Thomas Kyd’s “The Spanish Tragedy”. I had a couple of thoughts on how I think of snobbery, and I think Shakespeare serves as a good example for both of them. First, that sometimes people make things highbrow or “fancy” when the original creator did not intend for it to be highbrow or fancy. Second, that being able to appreciate what is “fancy” does not necessarily take away from one’s enjoyment of things that are not. (Can you tell I just put on my academic writing hat?)
To tackle the first issue, let’s think about Shakespeare and “Titus Anddronicus”. Our society absolutely views Shakespeare as highbrow entertainment. In part, this is an issue of language; the English language has evolved quite a bit since the Renaissance. However I think Shakespeare is largely thought of as highbrow because academia has made him so. How many times have we heard Shakespeare referred to as the greatest author that ever lived? And yet, Shakespeare was far from highbrow in his own time. In later years his troupe performed for royalty on occasions, but if you were a Londoner in Shakespeare’s day you could see one of his plays for a penny. You could also see a bear-baiting for a penny, in fact those took place right down the street. Shakespeare wrote from popular demand; playwrights had to keep up with popular opinion if they did not want to lose a sale to bear-baiting. “Titus Andronicus” is a prime example of this; it’s full of revenge, spectacle, and dead bodies. Revenge tragedies were very popular when he wrote it. People wanted to see revenge and dead bodies, so Shakespeare gave it to them. It’s only now that we make it highbrow entertainment. Likewise, I do not imagine that all tea makers think of making tea as a “highbrow” beverage, but how often do people make it so?
Secondly, I understand that as we enjoy better tea, our tastes change. As I have learned more about literature, I’ve gained a better appreciation of certain authors and books. Five years ago I would not have written a six page paper based off of four lines in a Shakespeare play. However, this knowledge has not made me only happy to read Shakespeare or classic authors. In fact, many of the books I read for enjoyment are new and popular books. I may not feel they are as complex as Shakespeare, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like them. However, there are limits to this; there are some massively popular books out there that without naming titles, I just think are bad. Likewise, there are many teas I might have enjoyed years ago that I now think are bad. What I hope is that I continue to find a balance. I want to be able to appreciate very fine teas as well as the ones that are decent, or middle of the road. I hope that I also always appreciate fine literature, as well as the books that are just decent. I think sometimes we can like things that are not “highbrow”, and things that are fancy don’t have to be fancy.

And if you’re still with me after all that, I award you five gold star stickers.

I won this in Teaves October giveaway, and they sent me a really big sample! I brewed up a cup this afternoon while Rayn and I watched some Avatar episodes and we both liked it. The flavor is right on the nose a big, juicy, ripe peach! I also tasted a little hint of lemon in the background. I think this would make a fantastic iced tea – in fact, I think I’ll do that.

This has a light smoky flavor, almost barely noticeable, and as others have noted this seems to have Darjeeling and Keemun in it. I can taste a little bit of cocoa and a slight sweetness bordering on fruity. I steeped this one for four minutes and it’s still very mellow. I was hoping for something strong before essay writing but this seems to scream afternoon or evening tea!

My tiny tasting cup finally came! I’ve had this sample from Verdant for awhile now but I wanted to wait to try it until I could give it attention and lots of steeps. This is my first tasting note logging multiple infusions! I don’t have very sophisticated taste buds but I still felt like I got a lot of this tea (Rayn contributed a bit too).

I started out by giving this tea two quick rinses.

1st steep – about 4 seconds
Smells like hay and dirt, has a reddish brown color. The flavor reminds me of earth, mushrooms, hay, and the woods.

2nd steep – 5 seconds
Liquid is dark in the infuser but pours out a darker brown tinged with red. I still smell hay and dirt and barnyard. Tastes slightly mineraly?

3rd steep – 10 seconds
Sparkling taste is getting more prominent and it feels kind of cooling on the inside of my mouth. Still smells really earthy. Slight scratchy feeling near the back of my throat.

4th steep – 15 seconds
Scent is warm and almost spicy. More sparkly and sweet, this is the first time it’s tasted sweet. Wiggles, my cat, was very interested in this steep and spent a long time sniffing it!

5th steep – 20 seconds
Pu’erh is very sweet on this steep. Kind of juicy and fruity. I must have really liked this one because I drank it fast.

6th steep – 25 seconds
Clear and sweet. Rayn comments that this one “tastes like mineral water”. Didn’t get much before it got cold since he got home from work :)

7th steep – 30 seconds
Rayn’s note: “sweet and spicy”. Color is getting lighter again, I taste a bit of the spiciness Rayn mentioned, and it seems to be getting earthy again to me. As it cools more sweet mineral water flavor.

8th steep – 40 seconds
Light amber liquid. Flavor is bright, mineraly and this reminds me of pine or cedar.

9th steep – 1 minute
Light red color. Very sweet with a hint of saltiness.

I ended up steeping this three more times but didn’t write the last few down, they were really similar to the 9th steep.