Kittenna

Too lazy to bother with aromas and whatnot because I have been doing quite a lot of that lately… did I mention I’m taking part in a cheese-tasting panel? As in, doing sensory analysis on cheeses? An hour a day for something like 6 weeks. We’re currently in the training stage, which involves tasting different concentrations of saline, bitter, umami solutions and ranking them by concentration, and identifying said flavours in cheese samples, etc. etc. Working up to a comparison of reduced salt cheddars. It’s really neat!

Wow. This one tastes fabulous! Not gingerale, but a fabulous creamy, citrusy (bergamot)-y white tea. Yes, definitely tastes like a white earl grey. Kind of like DavidsTea’s Earl of Lemon, now that I’m thinking about it. I’m really not getting any ginger though, which is kind of sad :(

Definitely kicking myself for not ordering this one as a freebie, since it’s turns out neither Peach Fuzz Chai nor Black Currant Bai Mu Dan was really a hit with me. Oh well! I think I have two cups’ worth left of this, so will just have to savour it (and compare to Earl of Lemon!)

Thanks so much for passing a bit of this on, Dylan & Missy! I know how much you liked it so I appreciate your willingness to part with a bit!

ETA: Second cup is delicious, although a bit oversteeped, I think. Also probably hurts it that the tea sat out for a few days. My bad.

Steeped, the smell is definitely somewhat like dark chocolate, with undertones of a wealth of other aromas.

The taste is chocolatey and… rather tasty! Hmmm… I am tasting the lingering sweetness that indicates licorice. Blah. That means I won’t pick this one up again, as I’d always struggle to drink it.

I’m to lazy to really analyze this one tonight, but on top of the dark chocolate there are light fruity flavours and the licorice. That’s about all I can taste (and the licorice is really only an aftertaste thing). Glad to have tried it; another sample I’ll be looking to offload though.

Not quite what I expected, but should be good iced. Definitely melony (but I want more!!!) Full review later.

Couldn’t resist picking up the new teas tonight, so swung by DavidsTea 20 minutes before close and picked up 8 new teas, 1 old tea, and one of their adorable little glass “gung fu” teapots that I’ve been eyeing up for a while now.

This one smells. Like. Pina Colada. Exactly like it! Reminds me of the Fusion Tea Room version, which also smelled right, although didn’t taste close enough for me.

I guess Tropicalia was being sampled as the tea of the day, so I got to try a cup of it iced as my samples were being packaged up, and although it was a bit weak for me, it actually tasted like pina colada! Did someone actually finally get it right?! I was told that making it into a latte was a fabulous idea…

I’m having it hot now (only because I’m too lazy to wait for it to cool)… the smell of the steeped liquor is delicious. Creamy and like a pina colada. Heavier on the pineapple than coconut, which is perfectly fine.

The taste is pretty friggin’ good. Pineappley with a lingering coconutty creaminess. Actually, the more I drink, the more I’m falling in love. This could possibly replace pina coladas for me!

Seriously, if you love pina coladas, try this tea! None of the other three I’ve tried have come close enough for me to consider them as a replacement. There is a bit of apple flavour showing up in this one, but it’s not taking over and just is adding a bit of sweetness/tartness/body.

I’m going to cold-steep some of this tonight and see how it fares. I have high hopes for it and Luscious Watermelon!

Still on the quest for a great pear tea. This one has possibility, although hard to know if it qualifies since it’s a tisane…

Anyways!

Steeped, the smell is quite sweet and candy-like. Familiar, maybe like a sweet ripe pear. A bit different from what I was expecting.

Oh wow. This is tart. Definitely wasn’t prepared for that. Is there hibiscus?? Hmm. It doesn’t taste (or look) like hibiscus. There’s also a perfumey sweet pear flavour alongside the tartness, which altogether fade into a very pear-like lingering aftertaste (it’s really too bad the tea itself didn’t have this flavour, as it’s actually pretty good).

Not bad, but this won’t be my perfect pear tea. I’m glad I only bought 10g, so I can get on with enjoying other teas. I will probably cold brew the rest of my sample and see how it fares that way!

The dry tea smells quite interesting for this one. Like mango juice, but with a chili pepper overtone which borders a touch too closely on sweet pepper for me.

Steeped, I mostly smell mango with a small, almost imperceptible, hit of chili.

Ooh! Different! Mango with a definite chili kick. Not overpowering to me personally, but quite balanced, actually. Like Indigobloom however, I can’t really taste the green tea. I have to assume it’s there, because I put quite a bit of it in, and maybe I’m tasting a bit of lingering green tea flavour, but this does come off as a bit more of a tisane, for sure.

Unfortunately, the chili flavour is edging a bit too much towards sweet peppers (as I previously mentioned), and given my intense dislike of sweet peppers, that pretty much means I won’t be buying this one again. I may in fact try to hand off the rest of my packet. I definitely appreciate this tea for what it is though!

Mmmmm, roasty toasty goodness.

Unfortunately I just contaminated my tastebuds quite severely by having some teriyaki sauce (aka lime/soy sauce/ginger/copious garlic), so a review at this time would be entirely unfair. I also think I should directly compare the three genmaichas I have in my cupboard. So I’ll do that next time!

Thanks for the sample of this one, Missy & Dylan!

Thank you Missy and Dylan for this surprise sample! Right up my alley!

Dry and steeped, this smells overwhelmingly like coconut. A similar sort of aroma to that I got from both Golden Moon’s Coconut Pouchong, and Spice & Tea Exchange’s Coconut Oolong. Yum.

The taste is coconutty. And then more coconut. With a second helping of delicious, nutty coconut. The only thing I’m missing is a bit more of the black tea base, but as I’m being super cautious lately and not steeping blacks for longer than 3 minutes, perhaps that was my error. I’m not sure – I kept myself from reading everyone else’s tasting notes this time!

Anyhow, while this tea is coconutty, it unfortunately isn’t much else. I guess I’m not a person with simple tastes? (Haha.) I think I would prefer Coconut Cream Pie over this one if given the choice, but I imagine it would be fabulous to blend with for that strong coconut flavour!

(Is it wrong to wonder what Verdant Tea’s Laoshan Black might taste like with this sort of coconut flavour?!)

Anyways, thanks for the sample guys! Definitely loving the coconut :D

ETA: Second infusion was intensely and wonderfully coconutty too!! Awesome.

Ok, so does this have roasted mate in it?! Or malt flavouring? Because I’m getting a strong association to the super tasty Malted ChocoMate. In fact, that’s why I chose this sample from the awesome package sent to me by Missy & Dylan! Thanks you guys :)

So yes. This smells much like a minty Malted ChocoMate. Interesting.

Sadly, once steeped, I’m smelling the dreaded peppermint :( There’s something about mixing mint with hot water than I’m just not fond of. Apprehensive of tasting now but hey, I’m pretty sure I requested this one from them, so I had better do it.

Umm….. wow. This is much, much better than I had anticipated. I’m not really getting too much chocolate, but I’d chalk that up moreso to an inability to differentiate flavours than to a lack of chocolate in the blend (or cocoa nibs, in this case). The mint somehow blends wonderfully with the maltiness that I’m familiar with from Malted ChocoMate, and is rather lovely. Odd – I just thought about how this is a similar combination to Verdant Tea’s Chocolate Chamomile Curiousity Brew. Although that one smelled like cinnamon toast. I think they may have tasted somewhat similar…

I seem to be getting a bit of a scratchy throat from this one (or maybe I’m only just noticing it now), so that’s the only downside.

I’m still not fond of mint in teas, but this blend works really well. Thanks for the sample, Missy & Dylan! I used it all up in one generously-leafed cup (I think that’s what I requested?) which makes me happy as I get to tick off another tea as ‘sampled’ yet add nothing to my cupboard! This tea didn’t even make it out of the kitchen :D

Hmmm, my tea definitely doesn’t look like the picture here – there were bits in it! I didn’t look too closely, bits of fruit, perhaps?

Last tea of the evening. Have been half asleep for a while now. Thinking the caffeine in this one will do diddly-squat because I’m just so exhausted.

The aroma is sweet, smoky, and fruity. Mmmmm. Loving these lapsang souchong blends.

Flavourwise I’m definitely getting all three as well. It’s a touch on the weak side though – I was worried about the 5 minute infusion instructions so went with four, perhaps a mistake. Too tired to review further.

I kinda like this :) Definitely want to keep trying more LS blends. Thanks Azzrian!

Super excited about my upcoming Butiki order! Turns out that shipping to Canada is quite reasonable, after all! I need some retail therapy (lies, I just need therapy, but spending money always feels good).

Can’t say I’ve had pistachio ice cream, but I have had pistachio pudding? You know, the green stuff… that I’m totally craving now that I’m thinking about it…. hello shopping list.

I neglected to sniff the dry tea enough to write about it, and it’s way over there gestures to foot region sooooo later. Later.

Steeped, the smell is creamy and… nutmeggy? Interesting.

Sipping it, I’m getting something familiar from this, although not pistachio ice cream. Is it reminding me a touch of 52teas Cherry Cheesecake Genmaicha? Hmm. I can taste the green tea lurking in the background, tastes like sencha to me.

Uh… I’ve finished the cup, so can’t write anymore. I think this one has promise, but i think I need to use more tea or less water. Or steep it longer. It was just a bit too much on the light side.

Thanks to Azzrian for this sample, and hooking me on Butiki Teas :)

ETA: Second infusion, about 175F for a… while. And in less water. Doesn’t taste like much. I’ll have to try again as described above.

Chanced across a mention of this tea this evening and instantly wanted some.

Decided to only use a little less than 1.5 tsp today, and I think it needed more. Boo. Not enough body, not enough spice. Perhaps I also should have shaken up the packet for a bit more cayenne. The almond milk is probably also not helping. Sigh!

Ok, with 2 tsp sugar and putting the infuser basket back in for another minute or so, it’s much better. Still think I need to use more tea though. This could get expensive.

Wow. Dry this smells.. like a fizzy candy. A sweet fizzy candy. Is there ginger? I can’t tell. It’s rather overwhelming, actually.

Steeped (in my sweet new double-walled glass mug) I’m not getting much flavour. That could be because I just burnt my nostrils sniffing the dry tea.

The flavour is definitely interesting. I would swear there’s a bit of ginger in here. Combined with fruity candy. So it’s a bit sweet, but there’s almost a fizziness to it (tell me there’s ginger, guys. I’m not kidding….)

I’m totally undecided as to how I feel about this one. The taste is really candy-like and fake, to be honest, and although I kind of like that, I do wish it was more authentically strawberry-kiwi. Oh – there’s some real strawberry and white tea, right at the end of sip 5.

Ok, I think I do like this one, but it’s not quite what I was expecting. Another one to try iced, based on the other reviews!

ETA: OHH!!!! Lime!!! Yes, definitely lime. Read the tea description right after I posted this, and yes, I am definitely tasting lime. I might have misinterpreted that for ginger. I like it though.

ETA again: Second infusion (3min/175F) was tasty but didn’t taste much like the first. Kind of fruity. Definitely good though.

Finally getting around to trying this one. I see that everyone seems to like it iced, so I’ll have to try it that way later.

I’m a bit concerned after opening the package that the tea is rather broken up. Hopefully that doesn’t affect the flavour.

As it’s steeping, I’m smelling such a nice lemony aroma, mixed with a hint of fruit. Mmm, promising!

Ooh, interesting. I can taste the lemony flavour, and a bit of fruitiness, and some white tea taste. A bit too hot still though… (Ok seriously, like three minutes later and the most interesting and tasty flavour is lingering in my mouth!!)

A bit cooler now (ok, a lot), and this is quite pleasant! And oooh, the aftertaste is lovely! I’m having trouble placing flavours here, but an unsweetened strawberry lemonade would probably fit what I’m tasting. The flavours of the white tea are blending seamlessly with the fruitiness and gentle lemon flavours. This is really good! I definitely want to try it iced. I’m feeling a bit like the fruitiness I’m tasting is less authentic strawberry and moreso a berry sort of flavour, but I’m really liking it regardless. I also am not sure if I actually got any strawberry chunks in this cup, so that could be influencing the flavour as well.

I wonder what this would taste like with a twist of lemon and a touch of sugar? Not tonight though, it is much too tasty unaltered right now :)

Another hit from 52teas! Yay :) Next up, Strawberry Kiwi Margarita??

ETA: The lemon myrtle really came out in the second infusion (3 min/175F), and it tasted much like plain lemonade. Probably needed a big chunk of strawberry in the infuser (which it didn’t have). Still good though :)

Iced this one over the last day or so, a little too tart for me right now. Probably won’t refill this one again when it’s gone; I think there are better teas for icing out there.

Ooh, just caught Amanda’s post out of the corner of my eye, where she adds some honey… time for some agave. That might perk it up a bit tonight.

Ah, better. There’s some bitterness though, which is kind of unpleasant, but I can definitely finish the cup now :)

Second sample, also from Indigobloom! I was feeling bad for not trying many of the samples she gave me, so I’m making an effort today :)

Eep. The dry teabag had a hint of soapy smell to it. Not a good sign! (Although now that it’s in the water, I’m smelling just oolong. Much better.)

Uh oh! Minus points – I just tried to remove the teabag and the string came off!! An extra minute of steeping followed. Hopefully it can take it. I have to note that the little pyramid teabag is like a poofy pillow with the expansion of the tea leaves! Kind of neat :)

The steeped tea smells mostly of oolong. That’s actually quite promising, because a lot of tea blends are short on tea flavour. I don’t smell pomegranate at all though.

Hmm, ok. The oolong is a bit buttery, but there’s also a bit of astringency. If I try really hard, I can taste the pomegranate weakly in the background. Ok, didn’t even taste it at all that time.

Well, that’s kind of disappointing. The base here was actually pretty promising, but the pomegranate flavour is horribly lacking :( Maybe it’ll show up more when I try the other teabag? As an straight oolong, this is rather mediocre, so the rating will reflect that.

Oh well. Thanks for the sample, Indigobloom!

So, I’m now the proud owner of not one, but TWO new infusers. Yaaaay. One’s a collapsible infuser basket (gimmicky, but whatever) – it’s stainless steel and the holes are a bit bigger than I wanted, but it sits nicely overtop a cup, and I used it to filter this iced tea today. The other’s a cup/infuser set from Bodum – a nice glass double-walled cup (like I needed more cups) with a fine plastic strainer. I wish it was metal, but I can’t seem to find such things anywhere but on Amazon.com (grrr.)

Anyways, tried this cold-brewed for the first time. It’s not bad, a bit on the tart side (but I can handle that especially in an iced tea), but it isn’t melony enough. I think I prefer this one hot and cooled to room temperature.

Either way, I have super high hopes for DavidsTea’s Luscious Watermelon, coming back this Wednesday with the summer collection!

Finally, it seems my tastebuds are open to flavoured teas again. So time to start attacking that sample pile!

First up is a sample from the lovely Indigobloom!

This one smells so similar to DavidsTea’s Forever Nuts, but it almost seems sweeter, with a gentler cinnamon. I like Forever Nuts (but have none on hand atm), and would have liked to compare the two, but that involved too much effort.

Steeped, it smells like warm cinnamon with a touch of apple. Like a cinnamon apple streudel, or something of the sort. Perhaps a big sticky cinnamon bun. I’m getting hungry…

Ok, this tastes like warm, sweet cinnamon in a cup, with a touch of apple. It’s nice. It’s a little weak, which is funny because I used up my entire sample from Indigobloom (which was at least 2 tsp in my average-sized mug. Maybe I should have steeped it for longer. I seem to recall Forever Nuts being a touch more potent. Either way, it is nice. I’m going to let it cool a bit more now; I liked Forever Nuts cool as well.

Yum, it’s good cooled down to probably 30ish degrees. Still weaker than I’d like, but a very pleasant cup. I’m likely to stick with Forever Nuts because it’s way easier for me to acquire, but I think they’d be pretty good substitutes for one another.

(Oh, and although I can taste some almond, I’d hardly call this one Candied Almond, which makes me think moreso of a caramelly nut flavour.)

ETA: Second infusion (for forever, i.e. probably as much as two hours) has much more flavour and is quite delicious, even cold. Quite sweet, cinnamony, nutty goodness. No sourness as Indigobloom described. Love.

Verdant green tea #3 for the evening.

First infusion:
Hmm, my nose isn’t detecting any aroma. Maybe it’s tired. Mmmm, this is clearly different from the other two. I almost got the sort of tea flavour one gets from a black tea, which is interesting. It’s sweet as well, but much different from the dragonwell as there’s more body to it. I was strangely just reminded of an earl grey… yep, still getting that weird association. (It just occurred to me that I may be interpreting the citrusy note from my earlier review as the bergamot from an earl grey, but I can’t be certain).

Huh – I just went back to my first tasting note, and it totally isn’t meshing with what I’m tasting here, but I think I used a fair bit more leaf previously, given that I only steeped it for 1 minute that time. Also… wondering a touch if my teaball still had traces of Coconut Cream Pie lingering in it. Please don’t rag on me about the teaball – I know it’s less than optimal, but I only have two “open-water” infusers. Maybe I should have strained it instead. Actually, I had contemplated that earlier… I guess I forgot.

Anyways, this one probably is a poor comparison, in retrospect. I’m really thrown by how it’s tasting a bit like a black tea. Ah well. I know it was great the first time around. Might try a second infusion later, but I’ve kind of lost the will to bother at this point.

I think I should also compare these three in a more gong-fu sort of style (although I doubt I have patience for 3-second infusions, I could do 15 or 30 second ones). A fun experiment another night.

Verdant green tea #2 for the evening.

First infusion:
The liquor is unbelievably pale. So much so that I would be sure it was understeeped, but I highly doubt that. The aroma is the lightest, sweetest, vegetal aroma.

I cannot believe the sweetness of this tea. I really can’t. Like the first time I drank it, it’s rock sugar goodness, with a hint of vegetal. It is just SO sweet! No astringency/no bitterness. I think my decision to use more leaf this time was a good one. It’s still light, but not the verging-on-hot-water-flavour sort of light. Just amazing. Up with the rating.

Second infusion (2min/175F):
Still so pale. I have to sniff awfully hard to smell any aroma, and since I don’t want to inhale tea, I’ll just say that there is none. This time there’s a bit more flavour, in a sense. There’s still sweetness, but less so, and there are still vegetal hints underneath. There’s a touch of astringency (probably because I fiddled with parameters again), but it’s not bothersome. I think I actually could have reduced the amount of water I used and gotten a better cup out of it.

I think this dragonwell would be a tea for times when I want something sweet and delicate. I still feel like I would like to try using a bit more leaf to get just a bit more flavour out, but it is lovely as is. The smoothness of the cup also makes it perfect for times when astringency is completely unappealing (during which I usually would select a white or herbal).

ETA: Third infusion (175F/2min) definitely loses some of the magic. Astringency now present (bleh), although the aftertaste is still deliciously green tea. This may have been better had I steeped the third infusion last night (it seems green tea leaf doesn’t hold up well to sitting overnight). I think three is it for this one.

Time to compare the three green teas I have from Verdant, so I can work towards identifying favourites.

I brewed each of the teas more or less according to the parameters on Verdant’s website for western brewing, although I used more than 1tsp of leaf. For this one, I think I used a generous two 1/2 tsps, so probably 1.5 tsps with 250ml water.

First infusion:
The smell of the dry leaf is very… dry leafy. What can I say? It smells like rolling around in autumn leaves. Not an uncommon smell. I’m getting a bit of a hint of seaweed, which is interesting…. no, actually a strong seaweed smell. Makes me crave sushi, even though I was at an all-you-can-eat on Friday evening.

The aroma emanating from the steeped cup is gentle and kind of brothy/seaweedy.

Oh, yum. The sip first tastes sweet, followed by delicate, sweet seaweed flavours. The aftertaste is so sweet, and creamy. I’m getting… caramel? Holy. Yes, definitely caramel. Delicious, delicious caramel. There is definitely astringency present, and though I don’t always like it, it just goes with the whole flavour profile here. I feel like perhaps if I had used just a single teaspoon of dry tea, it may not have appeared. No bitterness though. Oops, I just about finished the cup – I meant to save some for directly comparing to the other two teas!

Second infusion (2.5min/175F):
The aroma is sweet and vegetal. Oh… I think I messed this one up. Too much astringency for me :( This will teach me to play around with Verdant’s parameters. I can definitely still taste the caramel aftertaste though. This would have been an excellent cup had I paid attention to the instructions.

To me, this is definitely more like a green tea to me than the others, but that caramel aftertaste really sets it apart from other greens I’ve tried. If I’m looking for flavour with a lingering candy-like sweetness, this one would be my choice.

ETA: I cannot get over this aftertaste! Definitely want to try again to make sure I can get it a second time, but wow.

No notes yet.

No notes yet.

Hmm, I think I do like Forest Berry Silver Needle better, even though it’s cotton candy sweet and this one is more white tea-flavoured. Feel like I should have used filtered water today.