592 Tasting Notes
So I received some samples from Yezi Tea through their free sample deal, and this one was accidentally sent to me instead of White Peony Master Grade Bai Mu Dan. For whatever reason, I decided to try this one first! The dry leaves almost remind me of dried anchovies for some reason. The tea itself, though, smells and tastes very grassy. I’m not really picking up any of the “peach and plum” as the description of the tea says, but it does seem slightly sweet. Anyway, I’m liking the nice clean taste. I accidentally let half the cup go cold, but I actually think I prefer it cold than hot. Interesting.
Backlogging from yesterday. So the power in my apartment went out yesterday, so I sought refuge and internet at the nearest place I could – Starbucks. The black tea is not exactly superb, but it’ll do in a pinch. Especially when it makes me feel less guilty for taking up a seat for more than an hour.
This tea perfectly suited my mood for the day. Today there was a sudden heat wave, ick, but my classrooms were very heavily air conditioned and chilly. This tea is fruity and floral like summer, but the warmth of it kept me thawed during lectures. I realize that I keep logging the same teas over and over, but I think I’ll save the newer ones for the weekend when I’m feeling more adventurous.
Thanks to Courtney for this sample! I’ve been trying to find some good herbal/non-caffeinated teas because I am super sensitive to caffeine. Once I foolishly drank a whole pot of some black tea at dinner and stayed awake til the sun came up (eek!). Anyway, I’m kinda liking this one. When I first opened the bag, it smelled strongly of lemongrass and rooibos to me. I don’t exactly care for the smell of rooibos, so I was a bit hesitant. However, after steeping, I found that rooibos is only present as a small aftertaste. The main taste I get from this tea is a sweet chamomile. I am disappointed that the banana flavor is not as prominent as the name suggests, but I’m enjoying it all the same.
This was my first taste of DavidsTea, but I’m hoping to change that soon by visiting the store sometime this upcoming week/weekend. And so my transformation into a tea addict continues…
Hm, I thought I had rated this tea before, but I guess not? Anyway, I slept in today and brewed some of this as soon as I woke up. I was actually late to a picnic because I didn’t want to rush through the rest of my cup and burn myself. Oh how my priorities have changed.. I like my straight black teas on the weak side, so I think I’ll get a lot more out of this sampler than my other flavored blacks, hooray! While I love my flavored teas, it’s nice to have that nice, dark, clean taste of black tea every once in a while. This tea definitely fits the bill. Clean, smooth, and definitely on my list for reorder.
The weather has suddenly gone from muggy-hot to a little chilly with a crispness to the wind in a matter of two days. Interesting. Anyway, the sudden change prompted me to brew up a warm cup of this delicious tea. The first cup had a strong (for me) black tea body followed by a jasmine taste that lingered afterward. When I steeped it for a second time, the black tea was definitely fading, but the floral tastes grew stronger, which I liked.
I’m also always amazed at how the tea leaves expand and really make themselves at home after being all scrunched up in tea storage. Oh, and my mouth is feeling kinda dry after drinking this. Does this happen to people? I never paid attention to it before, but now I’ll try.
First day of school and I had morning classes, eek. As a non-morning person, I made sure to bring some of this tea on the go in my handy new Aladdin travel mug. I have found that the little basket in my mug tends to droop, leading to some unintended extra steeping time. However, unlike Precious White Peach (Teavana), this tea was a lot more forgiving in terms of bitterness. Of course, the other tea is a white peach tea, so I don’t know how that factors in. I just know I love peachy teas. Anyway, I have some down time between classes, so I’m going to go hunting for some hot water to resteep!
Thanks to Josie Jade for sending me a few bags of this tea to try out! The dry tea bag smells like vanilla and reminds me of coffee (full disclosure, I’m not a coffee drinker, so you may disagree). After brewing, I can definitely smell more of the nuttiness coming through. It also is very dark like coffee (again, not a coffee drinker, bear with me). The tea tastes like vanilla at first and finishes with a nutty aftertaste. The black tea base seems weak but I’m not sure if that’s because it’s decaf. I think it would taste great with some milk added, but as I am still unpacking, I don’t want to swim through my stuff to go get some. I’m super sensitive to caffeine, so I’ve been on the hunt (sorta) for some good decafs and herbals. Next time I will try this with milk to determine whether to add this more permanently to my stash (haha, Stash, get it?).
I’m all about convenience these past few days, so I’ve been grabbing a bunch of these tea bags. They’re forgiving if I leave them hanging out in my mug for a long time. I especially like drinking this with really spicy or perhaps even sweet foods because it has a grounding, almost palate-cleansing effect with the brown rice.
Backlogging this from yesterday. I have been in the process of moving across the country, but I finally took a break from all the boxes of stuff I forgot I had to have some tea. I usually don’t really like unflavored teas. That being said, I like this tea because while it is flavored with apple, the black tea is the main star of this one. So it almost feels like I’m drinking a straight black tea but I still get the benefit of the flavor. Anyway, it was a nice tea to re-energize me and get me back up on my feet and unpacking!