Kittenna

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Kittenna drank Kitchen Sink Green Tea by 52teas

Sooooo my trusty meat thermometer that I use for measuring water temperature requires a new battery. Sigh. It was only a matter of time. Of course, as I type this, it occurs to me that I have a second thermometer somewhere, that was also working recently… Either way, this one was steeped at some temperature below boiling, but I haven’t the faintest idea what it might have been. Kept the infusion time low to hopefully counteract a possible temperature misjudgment.

I was kind of excited to get this tea in my grab bag, as it’s something I was interested in trying, but wouldn’t have purchased myself. The smell of the dry tea is vaguely fruity, and I think I saw a piece of marshmallow root??

I’m happy to say that I’m experiencing zero bitterness, and zero astringency, so I didn’t mess up the infusion! Initially, I’m not tasting too much beyond the green tea (a bit seaweedy, yum) and a vague fruitiness, but I swear there’s an aftertaste of what seems to initially be peach, then more strongly apricot. Yup, this is confirmed with sip #2. Definitely apricot. In fact, the most strong apricot I have ever tasted in a tea blend! Frank – make another apricot blend, because this flavouring is seriously yummy! I will admit that it’s only in the aftertaste, and not particularly strong, but it tastes like yummy dried apricot (I don’t remember seeing a chunk in my infuser, but there could be one). I will cherish my one delicious apricotty cup, since I know the rest are unlikely to be the same. SIGH.

Also, I used a generous 1.5tsp of tea for an 8oz. cup, as I usually find 1 tsp not to be enough.

Anyways, this kitchen sink thing is a super cool idea. I’d be down for trying a kitchen sink black or white too… Giving this a high rating because a) it’s good (one of the better flavoured greens I’ve tried!), and b) it’s a novel idea!

2012-07-29 03:41:36 -0400

2 min 0 sec

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tigress_al 2012-07-29 04:36:54 -0400

I got this is my grab bag too and am looking forward to trying it. It will be really neat to see how every Cup of this tea will be different.

Alphakitty 2012-07-30 15:53:47 -0400

Ooh, a kitchen sink black with all the dessert-y flavors would be amazing~

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I have always been a tea fan (primarily herbals and Japanese greens/oolongs) but in the last year or so, tea has become increasingly more appealing as not only a delicious, calming drink, but as a relatively cheap, healthy reward or treat to give myself when I deserve something. I should clarify that, however; the reward is expanding my tea cupboard, not drinking tea – I place no restrictions on myself in terms of drinking anything from my cupboard as that would defeat my many goals!

My DavidsTea addiction was born in late 2011, despite having spent nearly a year intentionally avoiding their local mall location (but apparently it was just avoiding the inevitable!). I seem to have some desire to try every tea they’ve ever had, so much of my stash is from there, although I’ve recently branched out and ordered from numerous other companies.

I like to try and drink all my teas unaltered, as one of the main reasons I’m drinking tea other than for the flavour is to be healthy and increase my water intake without adding too many calories! I’ve found that the trick in this regard is to be very careful about steeping time, as most teas are quite pleasant to drink straight as long as they haven’t been oversteeped. However, I tend to be forgetful (particularly at work) when I don’t set a timer, resulting in a few horrors (The Earl’s Garden is not so pleasant after, say, 7+ minutes of steeping).

I’m currently trying to figure out which types of teas are my favourites. Herbals are no longer at the top; oolongs have thoroughly taken over that spot, with greens a reasonably close second. My preference is for straight versions of both, but I do love a good flavoured oolong (flavoured greens are really hit or miss for me). Herbals I do love iced/cold-brewed, but I drink few routinely (Mulberry Magic from DavidsTea being a notable exception). I’m learning to like straight black teas thanks to the chocolatey, malty, delicious Laoshan Black from Verdant Tea, and malty, caramelly flavoured blacks work for me, but I’m pretty picky about anything with astringency. Lately I’ve found red rooibos to be rather medicinal, which I dislike, but green rooibos and honeybush blends are tolerable. I haven’t explored pu’erh, mate, or guayasa a great deal (although I have a few options in my cupboard).

I’ve decided to institute a rating system so my ratings will be more consistent. Following the smiley/frowny faces Steepster gives us:

100: This tea is amazing and I will go out of my way to keep it in stock.

85-99: My core collection (or a tea that would be, if I was allowing myself to restock everything!) Teas I get cravings for, and drink often.

75-84: Good but not amazing; I might keep these in stock sparingly depending on current preferences.

67-74: Not bad, I’ll happily finish what I have but probably won’t ever buy it again as there’s likely something rated more highly that I prefer.

51-66: Drinkable and maybe has some aspect that I like, but not really worth picking up again.

34-50: Not for me, but I can see why others might like it. I’ll make it through the cup and maybe experiment with the rest to get rid of it.

0-33: It’s a struggle to get through the cup, if I do at all. I will not willingly consume this one again, and will attempt to get rid of the rest of the tea if I have any left.