Kittenna

Bleh. So, I’m torn as to whether my issue is with the genmaicha, or 52teas’ cacao nibs/chocolate flavouring, which must have changed, because I’ve never previously had problems. This packet had the same “off” smell as Browncoat Genmaicha and Marshmallow Treat, although it was definitely more similar to BG. It’s almost a chloriney aroma, and it’s really offputting to me (and I don’t quite get how nobody else is picking up on such things :/)

So, brewed up, yeah, this one still has the off aroma. And the flavour? Bleh, I’m actually really not much enjoying this. I can’t breathe in while the cup is near my nose, otherwise I gag a bit, and there’s a bitterness in the flavour that’s not working for me (and my brewing parameters should be just fine). I can taste the chocolate… ish… but there’s a chemically flavour, and I can’t taste the genmaicha, or any lapsang souchong whatsoever. I am honestly completely confused as to why I seem to be the only person disliking these blends, when I know I love Marshmallow Treat, and I previously have tried Cherry Cheesecake Genmaicha, which was also delicious. I have Chocolate Malt Honeybush on standby as well, because it also has a really off aroma (which is why I’m uncertain as to whether it’s the cacao nibs/chocolate flavouring or the genmaicha… or both).

So, this is better than Browncoat Genmaicha, but… I really do not like it, which really, really sucks. I guess I’ll try it again later…. and then maybe swap it away to all you Steepsters who seem to enjoy it.

ETA: Opened up my package today to let it air out a bit, as was recommended. I am no longer smelling the chloriney smell (although I am sick, so take that with a grain of salt), and therefore it does smell somewhat appetizing to me. I will leave it to sit open overnight and perhaps give it a shot tomorrow. I need to dig out my package of Browncoat Genmaicha and try the same thing, because it was definitely worse. (Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha and Chocolate Malt HB will be getting the same treatment).

So as soon as this was reblended, I immediately snagged three pouches (though not all for me), and this past weekend, I was finally united with them! Upon opening one of the packages to split it up between the girls and I, I noticed a funky aroma. It did not smell like the Marshmallow Treat that I was used to… something was off. This has been the case with both of 52teas’ genmaicha blends that I’ve tried recently – something is just off. Browncoat Genmaicha was undrinkable because of it, and the Banana Cheesecake one was not great either. Anyhow, Sil was kind enough to let me have the remainder of her bag (from the previous reblend) in exchange for the new reblend, so in case my picky tastebuds didn’t like it, at least I had some of the “good” version to drink.

So yes. I was left with a single full packet of this new reblend, and with much apprehension, I decided to brew it up tonight. There was a similar odd flavour from the packet, but with some “airing out”, it seemed to dissipate a bit, and I brewed up a cup. Thankfully, I get to report that this tea, although not quite the same as my other packet of MT, is okay. The vanilla is stronger (possibly because this is quite freshly blended), and I’m getting a teensy bit of bitterness from the toasted rice (doesn’t happen with the other blend), but other than that, it tastes fairly similar, and I can breathe a sigh of relief. This will likely be the packet I take from for my travel mug, and I’ll leave the others for evening cups. I am wondering, though, if the genmaicha base was changed, because there’s definitely something different about all these teas. I have S’mores Genmaicha “on deck”, and am hoping that I like it, as I have an entire pouch of it as well.

Thanks to Sil for a sample of this one (via Azzrian, I see!)

Opening up the tin, I got a whiff of something rather floral, yet still fruity. Not really plum, to me, but I figured I’d try it anyways. So I wasn’t expecting too much of the tea, which was probably for the best! I have yet to have a tea that really comes off to me as “plum”, and although this is probably the closest I’ve tasted, it still falls much more into the realm of “generic fruit” than plum. Thankfully, though, it isn’t particularly floral, and as well, it is quite smooth, so even though it doesn’t taste like plums, it’s actually quite a pleasant tea to drink! I might try overleafing a bit next time to see if I can coax out a bit more flavour (although I’m a bit worried about making it bitter by doing that).

ETA: Tasty re-steep with similar flavour profile.

NOM NOM NOM. Iced this this morning, and had a sip a little while ago. Sooooooo good. The cherry really pops. I will admit that I used like 12g for 2 cups, which is totally unsustainable and really expensive, but oh well. It’s yummy.

(Oh, and this was a kinda sorta sipdown, in that I finished off one bag. Still have another 50g though :) )

Cold-brewed some of this last night (I’m a hot cup away from a sipdown now! Hurrah!) but I fear that my batch has gone “off”. My tastebuds don’t quite remember how this one used to taste, but the aroma from my tin (yes, it’s one of the very few I actually have in a tin!) is quite pungent and sharp… in a lemony sort of way. So it didn’t smell bad, but didn’t smell as I remembered either. Same deal with the flavour – it’s very tart and lemony, like the lemongrass is taking over or something. I have probably had this stuff for about a year, so it’s entirely possible that something has happened to it. I’ll pick up some more eventually! And… I’m totally still going to drink it. I just may need to make a sugar syrup or something…

I’m making fabulous progress on cold-brewing teas! I think my previous problem used to be the hassle of filtering everything, and then it would no longer be cold but lukewarm, etc. etc. And now with my bombilla, I get to drink icy cold deliciousness straight from the fridge whenever I want it! I’m actually just leaving my bombilla in a cup in there so I can have a sip whenever I want. Such a great purchase.

Anyways! Cold-brewed this one strong a couple nights ago, drank it last night/this morning. Quite tasty. A bit sweet, a bit tart, and kind of melony. I’d consider restocking it for iced tea in the future, although of course I have way too many other cold-brewing options to really pick up more.

Ok, so I bought way more of this than I needed… I picked it up to cold brew, and think I only did that once last summer! Anyhow, I’m on a mission to drink up the 200+ grams I purchased. So, I decided to cold brew some last night! I heavily leafed a 2-cup glass (perhaps 10g+?) and filled it with water.

Although it’s not hot here, I was crazy thirsty when I got home from sorting food at the local food bank (just for a short bit though), so pulled this out, popped my bombilla in, and it was perfect. I have sensitive teeth, so enjoy drinking cold beverages with a straw, so it was perfect! I sucked back the whole thing in about a minute :D I did put a bit of water with the remains to see if I could get any more flavour, but I doubt it.

Anyways, it was quite tasty. Pineappley, coconutty, a bit tart, and generally fruity. There is a “flavouring” aftertaste that I don’t care for though, so I’m going to lower my rating a bit, but I do still quite like it. Time to get back into cold-brewing!

So, pretty much Sil (and Stacy!) are awesome, because I get to try “Sil’s version” of this tea, which is just chocolate orange assam.

This tea pretty much smells like a dark chocolate Terry’s Chocolate Orange. Absolutely perfect. However, teas don’t always taste as they smell, and chocolate orange seems to be a particularly difficult flavour. This one though?? OMG OMG OMG!!! This is by FAR the best chocolate orange tea I’ve had. It tastes like a liquid chocolate orange. There is even sweetness in this… not that it’s a sweet tea, but there is a sweetness to it. Ahh. It’s like orange hot chocolate minus the calories.

I kind of regret drinking this without my boyfriend around – maybe this tea he would have liked?

Anyways… I really think that this should become a new tea on the website… this is amazing. It would be getting a rating of 95+ from me, but I can’t do that here because my rating here is for the real version of this tea, which has a different base, and marshmallow. This is my perfect Orange Chocolate tea, no question. Thanks so much for sharing, Sil!

ETA: Second infusion is less chocolatey, but still has delicious orange flavour. I’m getting serious raisin notes in the aftertaste though, which kind of doesn’t go with the whole chocolate orange theme (but I love the flavour, so don’t care!) I didn’t get them in the first infusion, so they were likely masked by the flavouring then (and it’s only in the aftertaste that they are appearing now).

Sipdown! Finishing off the last of this custom blend from Missy and Dylan. I’m fairly sure that it has lost some flavour since the last time I drank it, but it’s really not too bad. Chamomile and mint, along with a bit of fruity tartness is about all that I’m picking up on right now. Actually, checking the blend ingredients – I’m pretty sure that it’s the lemongrass I’m picking up on. Really not tasting much strawberry at all here, so either that flavour wasn’t particularly strong to begin with, or it has sadly dissipated.

Either way, this is tasty… although perhaps I should have let it sit until I actually was intending to go to bed. I kind of slept all day today… I’m on a terrible sleeping schedule right now…

Sipdown! And… blech. This is clearly one of the bigger busts from DT in recent memory. Just a whole bunch of ick. But, I sucked it up and brewed up the last of my sample tonight, because I feel guilty throwing anything out… and because I had notions of attempting it as a sort of latte to see if I could improve it at all.

A sip of the pre-doctored brew came up murky and cinnamon-y, a type of cinnamon flavour I don’t care for. There’s maybe some creaminess, some chocolate, but the fact that the water is ridiculously cloudy kind of ruins it for me too (is that cocoa, perhaps? It happens with Cocoa Canela as well, IIRC).

Anyways! As I was getting the milk out of the fridge to attempt to make this drinkable, my eye wandered over to the carton of Dark Chocolate Silk Soy Milk that I picked up last week. Guess which one ended up going into my drink :D Anyhow, with a good dose of chocolate soy milk, which contributes sweetness, chocolate, AND creaminess… this blend is made drinkable. Kind of like a mexican hot chocolate, as DaisyChubb described, but not as good as I would picture such a thing (also, not spicy).

Either way, this is tasty enough that I I won’t dump it down the drain, however I seriously doubt I’ll re-infuse the leaves. Oh, also – I used a Finum basket in the hopes of preventing cloudiness, but no such luck, so I suppose it probably is something like cocoa getting through. Not a big fan of that, in spite of loving hot chocolate…

Urgh. Last tea sipdown for the evening (very early morning??) I can feel my bladder protesting strongly already… (Protesting me even sampling this tea, not this being my last one for the evening!)

I had forgotten that this tea was less like Ever Green and more like… I dunno, ickiness, until I opened the bag. And then, I smelled spices and cinnamon which made my nose wrinkle. And then I read momo’s tasting note and remembered the anise. Nuts. Oh well, at least this will be the last cup I’ll have of it! (Well, maybe I will re-steep…)

The aroma is clovey vanilla-licorice….. bleh. The flavour, thankfully, is not quite so heavy on cloves, focusing more on cinnamon and anise, which actually isn’t too bad. I can’t really distinguish the cranberries here, though, even though I’m pretty sure there was at least one in the infuser. It also does taste kind of creamy, and I don’t think I noticed this before, but something in here has a bit of peppery spiciness! Like, a touch of cayenne or something, biting at the back of my throat after sipping. It’s possible that it could be cinnamon or something, I suppose.

Anyhow, this actually isn’t all that bad. My rating seems to indicate that I thought the same last time I drank it as well. Certainly nothing I’d seek out again, but I have certainly had worse. Classic DT though – you would never know that this was a green tea and not a herbal…

Thanks to Indigobloom for passing along a sample of this one yesterday! Also, sipdown!

I’ve had a lapacho orange (without vanilla) before, and don’t recall being terribly enamoured with it, but after giving her pouch of this a sniff, I felt it was necessary to try this. The orange flavour here is quite strong, and combined with a lovely creamy aroma (vanilla), which came off as almost a yogurt-type smell when I poured the leaf into my infuser.

Flavourwise, this is actually rather good. Very orangey, in kind of a cross between orange pop and fresh orange sort of way (but thankfully not orange peel!), which is tempered by a creaminess. (I really seem to like citrus cream teas, though I don’t much care for citrus in tea by itself despite loving lemons/limes!) The lapacho isn’t even really causing “scratchy throat syndrome” too much (maybe a little), which it usually does for me.

I don’t think this would be a tea I’m too likely to purchase for myself, only because I’m wary of lapacho for a few reasons, and don’t like that it makes my throat feel scratchy, but the flavouring is pretty great here. If the base was honeybush or something, and the tea tasted the same, I’d probably knock my rating up to about 90, but given that it’s not a tea base I favour, it does lose a few points. I’m curious, however, how this one would be iced and/or made with milk and frozen into popsicles… (it tastes like a creamsicle, and how awesome would it be to have healthier creamsicles…)

ETA: Re-steep in half the water still has flavour, but I’m not in love with it.

Given the description of this tea, I’m honestly surprised that I thought it wasn’t too bad. Lavender? Jasmine? Earl grey? Sounds like something perhaps Dinosara or Alphakitty would love, but not me! However, this blend was actually quite well-done, and the floralness was tamed to a level that I actually didn’t mind. The flavours I was picking up from the black tea blend were also quite pleasant. The biggest problem with this tea was that it was astringent after my 2.5 minute infusion. I didn’t grab any to give it another shot, but if I could tame the astringency, I could perhaps enjoy drinking this straight. I imagine, however, that it would be best (and quite tasty!) with milk and sugar.

Thanks for letting me sample this one, Sil!

Thanks to Lala via Sil for letting me try out another pear tea! Unfortunately, although this blend is quite pleasant, it fails to hit the “pear” mark. I wonder if that’s because prickly pear is actually cactus, not pear! (Probably.) That said, I’ve been dying to try cactus teas as well, so it worked for me!

Anyhow, I didn’t make great notes on this as I drank it at our meet up, but it was a lightly flavoured green, very smooth and sweet. It didn’t taste like a typical flavoured sencha, which I am not fond of, so that was appreciated. I’ve only had prickly pears a couple times previously, but the quality of exotic fruits obtained in Canada is usually questionable at best, so even if I could remember how they tasted, I’d be skeptical as to whether that was what they really tasted like. So, about the best I can do is say that it was fruity and I enjoyed it. I do have enough for another cup, so hopefully at that time I can better articulate it! I also noticed that other people mentioned strange flavours – I didn’t taste any of those :)

Thanks again to the both of you!

Shared a pot of this with the girls at Sil’s house yesterday! I brought home some to try via my usual mug method as well, but I will say that this is a tasty blend. I’m loving the base tea, and the actual crust flavour I’m picking up here. The strawberry is nice but a touch weak, and I’m not really picking up any sense of rhubarb. However, I can’t wait to try my normal method and see if it makes a difference!

Thanks for letting us try this one, Sil!

Travel mug #3. Almost gone :( I wish I could justify picking up more of this one, because it’s one of my favourite strawberry teas. Hopefully they’ll bring it back one day. I’m probably going to hoard my last cup until it is flavourless D: Perfect strawberry crisp flavour. Never really did pick up the rhubarb, but also never really cared.

ETA: So glad this one resists a second-infusion oversteep. Mmmm.

Travel mug tea #2! This tastes much like other teas of the same name that I have tried. A touch of artificialness at the end of the sip, and it tastes like it might be a bit lighter than other versions (but I could be imagining both things). Either way, it’s a suitable replacement for the DT version, at least for the time being!

Tea #1 that came along to my tea meetup with Sil, Indigobloom and Raritea! We seriously spent about 6 hours just doling out teas. Not even kidding. All in all, a super fun day! I should definitely be asleep now.

This one was tasty in the thermos, as I expected. Once lukewarm, it tasted a bit thin though, which I wasn’t particularly fond of, although the flavour remained delicious.

I’ll have to write a proper tasting note later, but I brewed this up yesterday and drank some – although it’s drinkable straight (as in, not too harshly smoky), I was disappointed at the lack of maple flavour. Drinking it the next day, it’s a bit sweeter; definitely different from a straight lapsang, but not quite what I was hoping for. Fingers crossed I can coax a bit more flavour out of it next time! Currently withholding a rating (I think I’d give it about a 60 right now, because if I just want smokiness, there are other teas I’d prefer).

Quick note! Smells deliciously like crisp, fresh green apple skin. Unfortunately, flavour does not follow. I’m finding it kind of bitter (maybe not enough water?)

ETA: This was the bagged version of this tea from Lupicia (if there is an unbagged version), a sample from our 2012/2013 Happy Bag. Split a cup with Sil because we both wanted to try this tea. As I said, the aroma was divine! But the flavour was bitter, and I don’t think I oversteeped. I did try adding more water as well, and that didn’t help a great deal. The green base wasn’t really the issue here; I think the flavouring was what was coming off as bitter to me. The base was actually pleasant. I do so wish the tea had tasted like crisp, fresh, tart apple skin, because that would have been my perfect apple tea :(

Another new tea. Bad bad, I need to be sipping down more things!

Anyhow, I love EG creams, and hadn’t tried a white one (other than perhaps The Earl of Lemon from DavidsTea). Hence, I picked this up! The aroma is exactly as advertised, bergamot with a hint of cream. And the flavour is actually quite true as well! The bergamot is light, as is the cream… but that means that you can actually taste the base tea (which I can’t identify for you as I am teh suck at that sort of thing). So it’s like a white tea with cream and bergamot, instead of cream and bergamot floating out in the middle of nowhere. Right.

So yes. Pretty happy with this purchase, although it certainly pales after my strongly-flavoured cup of Coco Lemon Thai! Probably would be best savoured a bit more by itself.

Yep…. broke my tea buying ban for this and a couple other new ones from DT yesterday (although they were sold out of Pom Tango…. noooooo!)

I have been dying to try this one ever since it was released. Coconutty? Thai? YES!

And it doesn’t disappoint! I will admit that I think I overleafed, and am getting some bitterness as a result, but oh the flavours in here are divine! This has gotta be amazing iced, and possibly with some milk and sweetener. I can taste delicious lemongrass (it works really well here), enough coconut, and kind of a yogurt creaminess. This is really good, minus the overleafing bitterness. I hate that I’m kind of falling in love with this! I think I have enough for another 2 cups or so, so I should be able to make up my mind before then.

The only downside? This is supposedly a white tea blend… I didn’t check the price when I bought my sample, but it’s therefore probably way overpriced. But if I do love it, I will still buy it… sigh…!

ETA: Ginger! There we go! I knew there was something else in there but couldn’t come up with it myself. That explains the pepperiness and the fruitiness. Yum.

ETA again: Oops, neglected the steeping time on the second cup, however it’s pretty tasty. Not as good though; much more lemon (lemongrass?) than anything else. My roommate and I were contemplating making Coco Lemon Thai-infused meringues if we could figure out how to… just sounds like a yummy combo (probably because this tea is reminiscent of lemon meringue pie/coconut cream pie, as someone mentioned).

Sipdown! Yep, gotta agree with Indigobloom – this one lost some flavour. Although… it has been nearly a year (omg… it does not feel like that far away at ALL). Anyways, this tastes much like slightly tart strawberry jam. I think the yogurtty creaminess is tempering the tartness a bit, which is good. Overall, I really don’t think this one’s too bad of a herbal! Probably the most authentically strawberry-flavoured herbal I’ve tried.

ETA: Yum, got a good second infusion from this one… though it was about 1/4 of the initial water volume. Tart and raisiny, with vague fruitiness were the identifiable flavours – I’m too lazy to check, but if this blend contains hibiscus, then it’s actually done well, as the tartness was perfect. I suspect, though, that something else may have been the tartness contributor. Just didn’t make me think hibiscus (and no purple colour).

Thanks to Laurent at Nina’s Paris for sending a sample of this tea!

I read ashmanra’s tasting note about it earlier, which spurred me to try my sample of it sooner rather than later. While the tea was brewing, I noticed a bit of a metallic aroma that screamed “oversteeped! astringent! blech!” to me… and the infuser had only been in the cup for about 15 seconds. Not good. I figured I’d keep at it and just hope for the best.

Good thing, because although that aroma didn’t really dissipate, it was joined by a delicious aroma of candied pineapple, and just a hint of coconut. Mmm.

I didn’t manage to drink any of this before it cooled completely (familiar story), but am drinking it now, and enjoying it more than I thought I would. The predominant flavour is a sweet sort of pineapple, which is really quite pleasant. It’s joined by a touch of creamy coconut, and some green tea notes… and unfortunately, a dose of astringency. It’s not all that bad, but given my careful infusion, I definitely hoped for less.

Now, I haven’t had a cup of DavidsTea’s Toasted Walnut in ages (bad bad bad, I probably have about 90g of it left!), but that’s what this cup reminds me of. I don’t think the pineapple is quite as prevalent in DT’s version, and the base, though finicky, isn’t quite as bad… but they’re pretty similar IMO. Perhaps I’ll have a cup of TW tomorrow or something to check.