6106 Tasting Notes
Handoff from Sil, originally from Jump62359. Thanks, both!
After brewing (and sampling), it was clear that this was a black/green blend, and I’d steeped it incorrectly. Sad. Overly hot water on the green tea didn’t do well for it, so it was astringent and unremarkable. The resteep was somewhat better, which gives me hope for round 2 with 180F water.
Had a sealed packet of this from ages ago… in fact, it was from LiberTEAS, when I purchased a box of tea samples! Like, 7 years ago. Luckily, it seemed to be just fine! Perhaps even better than fine – it made quite a nice latte! One of the smoothest matchas I’ve had, and great flavour, not overly bitter. I’m not good at reviewing matchas and their subtleties, but I’d definitely have it again. I sweetened it with maple syrup, but then also popped in some leftover coconut cream I had in the fridge (it was already brewed up in regular milk). While I do like coconut cream, I think I went a tad overboard – it was reaaaallly rich. Lesson learned, but I did still drink it. Will use the rest of the packet for a non- coconut latte.
Sipdown! 68/365
Sad sipdown, but this last cup was perfect. Spicy, chocolatey, and with that delightful sweetness that I believe I remarked upon the first time. Drank a handful of cups of this at work, where it was much enjoyed. Going to miss this one for sure.
Couldn’t recall why I hadn’t liked this tea (espresso flavouring + smoky tea, which is what I thought it was, sounds ok). Then I saw it was pu’erh, and remembered. Haha. The tea tastes like a blend of earthy pu’erh and smoky tea. No coffee flavouring at all.
Going to pop some maple syrup and cream into the last of it to see if I can improve it.
Not a fan, but this probably wasn’t intended for me. I do wish there was some espresso flavouring present, though. Now that I’m revisiting it, I recall missing that the first time around too.
Despite being old, this green tea brewed up fairly well (greens, in my experience, turn metallic and gross when too old, which ruins any flavouring that might be left). No astringency or anything here, just a lightly flavoured, creamy cup. The pear is quite weak – I’m not even entirely sure I’d identify it as pear anymore – but it’s smooth and generally fruity, so still fairly pleasant to drink.
Sipdown! 67/365
This is a sample sipdown; I believe I have a partial packet elsewhere as well. Both, I believe, are from the Frank era (uncertain if this has ever been reblended by Anne).
Anyhow, this is pretty light in flavour. I admittedly just ate a biscotti so probably don’t have the freshest mouth for tasting subtle flavours, but there’s really not much there, if anything. My recollection is that I could never get out of this tea quite what others did, although I’d have to review my tasting note(s), as it could just be that my more recent experiences have been bland, and it was much better previously. Oh well, bye to this sample for now; the writing on the baggie is familiar but I can’t place who it was actually from, so hopefully I thanked them previously.
ETA: Hilarious. I reviewed this one 3 months ago (that would have been from the original packet I have floating around somewhere), and said the same thing about being uncertain if it had been reblended. Anne responded to say that it had not been. Also, sounds like this tea maybe just didn’t hold up too well with age, since both the sample and original are pretty bland.
