JoonSusanna

This is one of the few flavored teas that the boyfriend will drink, so I tend to make it at night for the both of us as he doesn’t drink tea in the morning.

This also marks the end to a fabulous day – I’m officially done with my classes for the semester, grades are in and I did well, and the 12 teas of Christmas starts tomorrow – I can’t wait!

Just one last test and I am DONE for the semester.

I’m almost out of this tisane. It is quite palatable with sugar, but I prefer 52 teas chocomate to this so I’m thinking I won’t be rebuying it when I run out. (Well, that and I’d preferably like to spend money at shops other than Teavana, if I can help it).

Anyway, back to studying!

Backlogging a cup from this morning – it was just the calm start to the day that I needed.

4 tsp. to 500 ml. water, at the below parameters in my Breville. Taken without additives.

Today when I prepared this the leaves smelled slightly spicy – cinnamon-esque with some cocoa, too. It retained that aroma once steeped, and the dark brown liquor tasted exactly as it smelled. The mouthfeel was starchy and chewy – with light astringency at the finish.

I love this – it’s going to go on my shopping list, as will samples of the other Yunnan black teas offered by Teavivre.

Second infusion from last nights’ leaves, 8 minute steep.

The scent of the leaves is surprisingly floral, and less grassy this time. The creamy mouthfeel is diminished this time around, leaving a green, grassy and lightly floral tea that I had (and really enjoyed) with my breakfast this morning. It does well when paired with food – better as a background tea than as the main focus, if that makes any sense. Not something I’ll be buying but I would not refuse a cup, if it were offered to me again.

This is a very light, clean tea – I used the entire sample (which ended up being about 10 grams) of the tightly rolled green leaves in about 18 oz. of water at below parameters.

What I got was a pale yellow liquor with a creamy texture, and a spinachy taste and smell. Considering the amount of leaf used I can only imagine how light it would be if I used the 1-2 grams of leaf per cup that was recommended.

While it was a nice gentle tea – it was very straightforward in both taste and smell. I’m not really sensing any difference (besides the texture, I guess) between this and green teas. Is there something I’m missing?

I made this as a tea infused hot cocoa since it worked so well on the Teavana almond biscotti yesterday. My hypothesis was that this tea + hot cocoa would taste like an Almond Joy in liquid form. I’m super happy to report that it actually kind of did!

I already knew that this was one of my favorite flavored teas, but if I could, I would raise it up above 100 because of how well it’s playing with the hot cocoa.

Seriously, this is a tea that can do no wrong.

I used the entire sample provided by thepuriTea in 500 ml. water in my Breville.

The scent and initial taste of the dry leaf was very strongly reminiscent of an earthy black tea, but it turns into more of a roasted green (genmaicha-ish) in scent and taste once steeped. I’m not really getting any other nuances in this infusion, but the boyfriend likes it enough to go another round so we’ll see what develops.

As it stands, this is a nice solid tea that would pair well with savory foods.

ETA: As the first steep cooled, there was a distinct nutty taste in the liquor – I was hoping that it would show up more in the second steep, but it did not. The second steep (at five minutes) was much like the first, with the exception of it being a little lighter in taste and texture. Overall I think that it wasn’t a bad tea, just not an overly complex one.

My 200th tasting note!

Before bed last night I did a quick 2nd steep of the leaves (at 8 minutes, doubling the length of time for the first steep) and set it in the fridge to enjoy with lunch today.

The flavor of this steeping is lighter (as is the liquor) and more floral, but the apricot/fruit taste is also more prominent throughout the sip, instead of just in the after taste. Despite such a long steeping time, there was no bitterness whatsoever. In fact, it’s quite refreshing like this – I would love having it iced in the summer, for sure.

I love this oolong, hands down, and definitely want to try more Dan Cong varietals. Does anyone have any recommendations?

I get a weekly newsletter from Golden Moon tea (their sampler is on my list of things to buy once I clear out my cabinet a little more) and yesterday the topic was making tea infused hot cocoa (!!).

I died a little, and then pulled up my cupboard on Steepster to assess which tea would pair the best. I settled on almond biscotti because I felt like a nutty hot chocolate would be a great flavor combination.

Anyway, so – recipe!

2 tbsp. cocoa powder
2 tbsp. sugar (he recommended 3.5 but I’m not a fan of the super sweet, so I scaled back)
1 cup milk (I used whole, but 2% could work)
1 cup of prepared tea

Then you combine the milk, sugar, and cocoa powder until warm, add the tea until it simmers, whisk, pour into a cup, and serve.

This is AMAZING. Dark chocolate with nutty accents, just like I wanted it to be. I could see this working well with a coconut tea (mmmm, liquid almond joy) or even Hot cinnamon spice (for a spicy hot chocolate). And I will ration the remaining bit of this tea to be used in hot cocoa only – YUM!

This is another of the samples that I ordered from thepuriTea. Steeped the entire sample in 500 ml. of water in my Breville at the below parameters.

The smell of this in the bag reminded me of the salt in the air by the ocean (grew up near the coast so this was actually very pleasantly nostalgic), combined with the sweetness of honey. The leaves were black, thin and spindly – much different from the rolled oolongs I’ve been seeing.

Once steeped, the smell of the tea is distinctly seaweedy and green, but as it cools, the honey shows back up in the scent. The taste is sort of green and vegetal, too. But the after taste is what sets the tea apart – a fruity, sweet note reminiscent of apricot. Its complexity is absolutely wonderful!

I think this is definitely up there with the milk oolong as far as my favorites from thepuriTea. If I should come into some Christmas money this is definitely on my shopping list!

500 ml. water, 3 tsp. leaf, at below parameters.

I’ve learned my lesson with this tea, and only drink it with sugar and milk. And it’s perfect that way – buttery pancakes with maple syrup, no astringency whatsoever. I love that I have conquered this tea – it was worth the many attempts at perfection to have finally gotten there!

Entire sample steeped in 500 ml. of water in the Breville at below parameters.

This was a free sample that thePuritea included with my last order. I really liked the smell of this until the boyfriend mentioned it smelled like hamster food and then that was all I smelled, grrr. Once steeped the smell still lingers, but there is an additional hay-ish note in the taste. This is quite a brothy and savory tea.

It’s not necessarily minty, but its’ after taste is. By that I mean the mouth-cooling you get when you inhale after having mint is there, but the taste of mint is not. I can see why this is the base for Moroccan Mint – it exaggerates the cooling effects of the spearmint.

Honestly, I’m not too much of a fan of the tricks being played on my palate. It probably doesn’t help matters that I’m not the biggest fan of mint, either. It was nice to try, but I won’t be ordering more of it.

3 tsp. leaf to 500 ml. water in my Breville at below parameters.

I tried a sip of this plain and got a very heavy vanilla (yum) and very astringent (not so yum) tea base. So, milk and sugar were added to make this my afternoon study snack.

This really comes alive with additives! It actually reminds me of coffee (probably the french vanilla flavor), which I haven’t had in a very long time since I’m particularly sensitive to the caffeine in it. Anyway, this tea is a very welcome drink as I sit and listen to the wind whipping around outside the house.

P.S. One week until the 12 teas of Christmas! I cannot wait!!!

I got this sample when thePuritea was having their Cyber Monday sale. I’ve had it before, but I knew that this would be a new, fresh batch and I wanted to try it in the 2 cup samples so I would definitely get the amount of leaf right. Steeped the entire sample in 500 ml. of water at the below parameters in my Breville.

The liquor was a very light yellow once steeped, like I remember it being, but the smell is VERY different. I smelled grassy oolong, yes, but also strawberries and cream this time. The taste mirrors this – grassy and also lightly sweet, spun strawberry sugar or cotton candy-ish. Boyfriend gets popcorn – there is a nutty accent in the taste as well, so this could be what he’s picking up on. So very many nuances in this tea!

I understand why this is so popular – this has to be the closest thing to nature’s version of candy (besides sugar itself, of course!).

Second infusion. The steeped liquor is the same greenish brown color as the first steep, but is clear rather than opaque like the first steep.

I much prefer the first brewing to this one; I think it’s because the honey note is gone and the floral-ness of the TGY overtakes that wonderful roasted buttery flavor.

Second cup of first infusion.

Luckily I was wrong about any honey sinking to the bottom of the cup and making the last few sips cloyingly sweet. The honey essence stays consistent throughout and really does compliment the TGY flavor nicely. I really, really like this!

This generous sample provided to me by Teavivre.

This is the best Monday ever, followed up by the longest weekend ever – I had clinicals of two 12 hours shifts that resulted in me having to get up at 5:30 AM both days. The wake up was the worst part by far – I suspect I would not have minded so much if I could have just done nights instead of days. As it was, I had no time for anything except sleep and shoveling in food that I can’t even really remember the taste of. Certainly it was not a weekend to brew tea.

But on this Monday (the best Monday ever since I have a day all to myself to relax), I can finally sit down and have a minute to myself. I had picked this tea ahead of time as the first brew of the day – I’ve never tried an oolong with any degree of sweetener and this piqued my curiosity.

The balls of TGY were stuck together with honey, as I assumed they would be, but it’s not as messy as you might think – they were stuck to a waxy paper insert and easily peeled off into my Breville basket. I could smell both the honey and the TGY on the dry leaf, and it was fantastic. The two enclosed vaccuum packed samples were brewed in my Breville in 500 ml. of water at the below temperatures.

This brewed up a cloudy greenish brown due to the honey, I suspect. First taste is surprisingly not very sweet – I still taste honey, but not the sweetness of it, if that makes any sense. I was worried about brewing the TGY at that high of a temperature but it is not bitter and astringent in the slightest. I get more of a roasted buttery flavor than floral from this particular TGY, which I like. The other TGY I tried from Teavivre was heavier on the floral and less so on the butter, so maybe it is the temperature difference?

Anyway, I really like this one. It is such a cleansing tea to be drinking as I appreciate the calm and quiet. I haven’t gotten to the 2nd cup in my Breville yet, but I’m wondering if the honey sweetness might be waiting for me there – I will update when I get there, and when I do a second steep. But for right now – it has been just what I needed today.

This was another generous sample from Teavivre!

Preparation notes: I used 4 tsp. of this (about 1.5 of the enclosed red packages) to 500 ml. water and steeped at the below parameters in my Breville.

The smell of the dry leaf is malty and rich – it smells kind of bready, too. It’s a characteristic black tea smell for me and I love it! The scent carries over into the steeped leaves, with the addition of a slightly smoky note. The steeped liquor turned a mahogany brown.

At first the taste is mildly smoky – not my favorite. But there’s a lot of complexity to it as well – a cocoa kind of smoky. Once it cools down a bit more the smoky taste goes away and just the malty, cocoa taste remains. The mouthfeel is quite thick and chewy in this, too, an added bonus and a quality I love in black teas. I’m enjoying this without sweetener, but I think this would lend itself well to honey over sugar if you must add something – I think because there’s a light honey accent in the steeped tea.

This is a very good complex tea with alot of layers, and despite the smoke I will have no problem polishing off the 2 cups. I think it is the more tolerable of smoky teas I’ve tried, and it is definitely worth drinking through til it cools to get some of the chewy cocoa flavors.

Second infusion done this morning (I left the leaves overnight).

Okay, so I drastically increased the steep time in order to really extract everything out of the leaves and see if I could get the flavor better. I’m happy to say that while it didn’t seem much different when I had it hot, as it cooled the roasted notes came out a lot more.

It’s still not my favorite, but I’m glad I was able to taste some of what was supposed to be there!

I took advantage of thePuritea’s Cyber Monday deal and got a whole bunch of oolong samples to explore the different types. The shipping was super quick, which was a very happy surprise, as I’m literally on the other side of the country from them and got this 2 days later!

I wanted a darker oolong to try first, so I picked this based on the name. The smell of this dry leaf was wonderful – toasted, earthy and grassy simultaneously. The smell of the brewed tea was similar – which was very comforting and cozy on a chilly night.

The main reason that I chose to try as many oolongs as I could was because I just am not familiar with them. Perhaps it is because of this lack of familiarity that I failed to get a lot of the expected flavors out of this tea. I’m putting it down to steep time (that has been the culprit a lot recently, I think), and thinking I should have pushed it up to four minutes for the first infusion. When I do a second I will really do a long steep just to see if I can improve on the texture and taste.

So mostly, the first time around I just got a grassy, sweet green with the roasted aroma teasing me. I hope that the next time around the roasty-ness will seep into the liquor too. Oh, and some of those honeyesque, vanilla, or nutty flavors – they can feel free to join in. I promise I won’t mind! :)

Perfect as always, it helped me with some last minute relaxation and studying before one of my big finals.

I’m running through this a lot faster than I thought I would…

2 heaping tsp. leaf to 500ml. in my Breville.

Last time I had this I steeped it at 3:30 and thought that the taste could be developed a bit more. So tonight I went with an extra 30 seconds, taking it up to 4 minutes, which is my usual steep time for black teas.

I think that this time the flavor of the tea came through even when hot – with the trade-off being that there was more astringency too.

Bottom line: I think it’s a more of an everyday black tea – the taste and smell are wonderful but there’s nothing overly complex about it.

3 level tsp., 500 ml. water, in my Breville.

I haven’t had a flavored tea in a while. Mostly it’s because my boyfriend is a purist (with the exception of his beloved Moroccan Mint – which even that isn’t all that crazy) and at night when I make tea he usually wants some. I accept that his palate is different than mine, most of the time.

But it is REALLY HARD to accept his rigidity when I have something like this tea. This tea that is coconutty and creamy and blends so well with a black base. I add milk and sugar to make this pop, and I either like having it as a dessert tea by itself, or a breakfast tea when I’ll have time in the morning to savor it.

And savor it I am, as I start seriously attacking studying for my final tomorrow. (Which means you will definitely be seeing a late night mate tasting note from me, as is customary around exam time). :)