6105 Tasting Notes
Another “repeat” from the travel mugs. I just didn’t have the time to grab different teas :(
Anyways, nothing really to be sad about, as this one’s still quite enjoyable. So much like actual coffeecake, it’s crazy. I don’t think I’d buy this again (merely due to cupboard space issues) but would more than happily drink it if offered!
Preparation
Another mad grab from this morning. Not too bad of a choice; a reasonably tasty coconut black. It’s a tad soapy-ish, but I really think that coconut going off turns into a soapy flavour; luckily it’s not too bothersome here.
Anyways, tasty enough for me to drink down! Out of 5 mugs this morning, I still have 4 on the go, although at least one is nearly empty. Mmmm, tea. Hopefully I can try some sample sizes of things tonight, and perhaps get in a sipdown or two…
Preparation
Threw this in a travel mug this morning; it’s ok, but not amazing. I probably underleafed and/or brewed it incorrectly. It was a last-minute grab, when I couldn’t find a straight black that I wanted (didn’t want to use up a whole packet of Anxi Fo Shou black or something, couldn’t find Laoshan Black…. urgh my room is a tea disaster).
Preparation
I really have to start setting out the morning’s teas prior to going to bed, because it took me waaayyyy too long to pick things this morning, and there are a bunch of “repeats”, i.e. teas I’ve had more than once recently. Anyways, made this one up, apparently didn’t use enough leaf, tried to fix it by steeping MORE leaf in a tiny cup and adding it, used too much water…. anyways, it seemed to develop a bit of extra flavour by the time I finished it off, which was good.
Preparation
There’s been enough talk about this one lately that I figured I should pull mine out and have another cup of it, since I remember liking it but that’s about it.
I went for brewing western-style, but only gave it 3 instead of the recommended 4 minutes. The result is a lovely, caramelly, light oolong. I wish the flavour was stronger, but it’s quite nice as is. I see that last time I overleafed a bit more, as well as gave it the full four minutes, so I probably should have done the same this time. Oh well, it’s still quite enjoyable!
Preparation
I need to try at some point to sort out the various subtleties of straight black teas, so this is one step in the right direction, with a sample courtesy of Stacy at Butiki. Can’t say I’ve tried very many straight keemuns… just one, I think. And I honestly don’t much remember what I thought of it! So hopefully this one’s tasty.
The aroma is a bit fruity and…. play-doughy. The latter is usually a flavour associated with flavoured teas, so I can’t say why I’m getting it here, but it isn’t offputting.
Flavourwise… I don’t know what I was expecting, but I think this is exceeding my expectations! I’m getting a honey sweetness, and fruitiness… kind of like the Premium Taiwanese Assam in that respect, but not really any chocolate. These two tasty notes are backed by a malty black tea flavour which is fairly standard, according to my palate. There is some astringency, which I’m not fond of, so perhaps dropping the infusion time by 30s would be useful.
Overall, this is pretty good and makes me interested in trying more keemuns, but the astringency would be a bit of a problem for me, since I like to drink my tea straight and dislike when teas even hint at it. Thanks for the sample, Stacy!
Preparation
Ok, so I’m one of those people whose ears perked up when they heard complaints that this tea tasted smoky…. because I like smoky tea! And what did I purchase in one of my post-Christmas Della Terra orders? A Try Me pack of this tea!! :D
Upon opening the packet of tea, it definitely smells smoky. Of course, my tastebuds started watering…
Awwwww yeeaaaah! This is great! Guys, if you have a sample of this and don’t like it…. waves This is delicious! Like a smoky cream earl grey. Nuts, I would have probably picked up more of this had I known (or maybe I did… Steepster is down right now so I can’t check the tea description, so perhaps it’s even listed as a smoky EGC. Either way, yeah, this is really lovely. The smoke isn’t harsh, probably tempered by the cream, and the bergamot is subtle enough that I think even a bergamot-hater like Sil might find this enjoyable. :P Either way, I’m really dying to read all the other reviews on this and see if I’m the first person to write a positive review… because I can see anyone who likes smoky flavours enjoying this tea!
[Hmmm… I see that there’s supposed to be chocolate here? And no mention of smoke? How very odd.]
Preparation
bahhh I have an ounce I haven’t opened and I didn’t realize the complaints about it were about smoke.
Okay, I guess I just don’t like smoky teas, but also, I hate it when expectations aren’t met, and they didn’t say anything about it being smoky! Anyway, I was going to see if a coworker liked it. If not, I’d be up for a swap!
Mine is really smoky too, and no chocolate—but honestly, I really like smokey teas I was kind of happy about it!
momo – if you try yours and it’s smoky (I’m not sure if it’s a batch issue or something, as I definitely saw reviews that didn’t mention smokiness, and to me if was blatantly obvious in my batch), I’m probably a willing recipient of it.
Tealizzy – give it a shot with your coworker (I love milk & sugar with my smoky teas, though I found this one didn’t need it), and if that’s a bust, let me know :)
Thanks to Boxermama I get to give this one a second shot! I was worried that my first sample had sat too long and lost flavour, and felt I was perhaps being unfair to the tea. (This is the same thing that I think happened with Pistachio Ice Cream, so I figured it was worth another shot.)
Turns out, I do think my sample had lost flavour. Although the flavour is not strong here (I also may have underleafed), I can taste hints of spices and pumpkin (like, actual squashy pumpkin) and creaminess. It’s growing on me the more I sip it, which unfortunately means it’s also almost gone :( I’ll have to use the rest of my sample in a teensy mug to see if I can amp up the flavour, but I’m certainly more impressed than I was the first time. However, I don’t think that this tea is what most people seeking a pumpkin spice-flavoured tea would be looking for – it’s tasty, but the flavours are too light (although deliciously complex), and I highly doubt it would hold up to sitting in a travel mug all day. For those occasions, Della Terra and/or DavidsTea would be better options, but for a nice mug to savour, I’d certainly choose this above some more robust options!
Thanks again Boxermama! Hopefully I’ll get to more of your samples (which are nearly all Butiki teas, super excited!) later this week :D
Preparation
Threw some of this in a travel mug yesterday because I was in a hurry and wanted a tasty flavoured black, but didn’t want to finish off anything (and I had enough of this left to still leave a cup’s worth). I don’t honestly remember thinking too much about it as I drank it, but I finished it, and it was good. Tasted much like the chocolate base of many of Della Terra’s teas, minus any of the additional ingredients that make them extra delicious.
Do you need to let it age and meld for a couple of weeks perhaps? Sometimes that makes a big diff with these custom blended small batches.
Sadly, this blend has been around for quite a while, so if anything, it’s more that it’s losing flavour :( But it’s been like this ever since I opened the package.