Nope, still not whelmed by this one. I tried double the leaf and I’m still thinking that it is lacking something. Glad that this was my last of the tea. Farewell Yun Cui.
442 Tasting Notes
Morning cuppa as I try to finish this one up. Nothing new to report, but so much better without milk.
I don’t mind teas with hibiscus. Sometimes it adds that little note that makes a tea into perfection. Here? It’s the bully that demands the entire playground. Dry, this tea smells absolutely amazing, like Christmas and birthdays and homemade apple pie all rolled up into one magic bag of tea. But once it is brewed you get . . . hibiscus. There are undercurrents of the other flavours but it is like they’re very tiny children trying to peek out from behind an elephant and a hippopotamus. Dear David, please please please lay off the hibiscus in your blends for a bit. I’ve been very uninspired lately, and it scares me that all of these uninspiring flavours are becoming permanent wall tins.
Aha, we found the lemon! Second time is a charm? This time when I tried the tea was much better than the first. It is a light tea, almost too light. The earl notes are prominent, although there is definitely a side of perfumey here. Upping rating slightly this time but I won’t be restocking.
Was running behind this morning so snagged one of these so I could tea at work. So glad I did, it was the only thing that got me through the morning. Made it in an extra large mug today, so it was less strong than usual and extra milky, but still delicious.
They talk about leisurely sipping in this tea’s description, and tonight I proved how apt that is. I sat here and leisurely sipped it to an empty cup without once acknowledging or consciously registering the flavour. Oops?
Second tasting note for this one, and this time I’m doing it without any sweetener. There’s a definite tartness here, offset by the sweetness of the bamboo but still very apparent. The colour of the brew is beautiful, as is the scent of the dry leaves (and the steeped, actually). I can totally see the appeal of this iced on a hot summer’s day on a beach. But hot and in January I’m still not sold.
{backlogged review}
More banana, David? Really? Can’t we have some new fruits for a change? I promise there’s a world of raspberry and blueberry and so many other amazing flavours out there! And this one wasn’t even a great banana. Sorry David, wasn’t sold on this one. The notes didn’t blend well for me at all, and it left me with a cup of rotten nuts. Which left me saying “Nuts”!
Wait, there’s mint in this? Maybe I got a bum bag or something, because I didn’t get a single trace of anything other than a slightly spiced black tea. No mint at all. I ended up mixing it with pure spearmint and it still managed to bury most of that with a 50/50 blend!
{backlogged review}
This was the tea that finally convinced me that I’m still not at the point where I enjoy overly strong teas. I tried this one a couple times and still, no luck. All I could taste was what seemed like overly strong black. I didn’t get any other notes. :( Not rating it since it isn’t fair to the tea.
Sipping this one tonight along with some leftover pad thai. Culture clash perhaps, but delicious together! This sencha is just strong enough to have the flavour peep through the spices in my meal. Grassy and delicious.
Once my meal was done and I was getting the pure tea flavour, some toastiness crept in, making it even more lovely. I may actually be restocking this one!
(Also, spell check? You really should recognize the word Sencha on a tea site!)
Mmmm. I’ve fallen in love with this one this winter. Not because it is chili or chai flavoured though, if anything I get neither of either of these two flavours. I get a lovely chocolate flavour, instead. And a chocolate tea that actually tastes like chocolate is always a good thing for me.
Tonight’s cup was my first attempt for this one as a latte. I have to say it stood up well. As I was sipping I was very chocolate happy, but now as I’m sitting here I’m realizing that it is chili notes and not chocolate left in my mouth. My latte finally found the chili in the tea!
Last time I had this one I was curious what it would be like milked, so that’s what I did this morning with my wakeup cup.
Guys? Don’t add milk to this one. It sucked out most of the notes and made it a very bland generic tea without much flavour at all. Next time I’m going back to black for this one!
Lowering the rating just a tad since I prefer my morning cuppa with some milk in it.
As a straight tea, this one was good but not memorable. OMG as a latte? This is pure heaven in a cup. Especially if you heat cinnamon in the milk before you froth it. I’m not sold on there being a lot of chocolate here, but it is a delicious sweetish chai, and one that I am loving as I sip here reading a book before bed. I’m sad I’m almost out, now!
I’m beginning to wonder if this tea needs to age or something, since I enjoy each cup a bit more. Tonight’s was sipped while enjoying some thai food, and it was delightful (unlike the food, which was slightly burnt). I definitely tasted the pomegranate tonight, although there wasn’t much actual tea flavour. Not changing rating just yet, going to see what the next cup brings!
Just had two more cups of this one. Still very enjoyable. Both times this time I added milk and sugar, and I found that this way I can taste the notes in the tea here that make it stand out from other blacks. It is dryer, and a tad malty. I definitely do like it, however I prefer some of the other blacks I’ve tried
Trying this one today mixed with Orange Blossom. Surprisingly the Buttercream is dominating the cup, I’m not getting any hints of the orange other than in the scent. Buttercream remains a totally mysterious tea to me. Just it, I can’t stand it. It doesn’t taste like any cream I’ve ever had, and just really isn’t something I enjoy. But blended, it changes. I’ve used an entire package up blending with various teas, and I still can’t find it blends better with than Forever Nuts. That’s where I find the cream that I was looking for, with added delicious spices. I think from here on it, that’s going to be how I drink it.
First brew of this one, straight, it was a bland, light, slightly blueberry white tea. So okay, next time I decide to do a pot and brew it with a little blueberry flavoured agave to bring out the blueberry flavour a bit.
Instead I got a pot of agave flavoured water. You’d think I had used half the bottle instead of the equivalent of enough to sweeten one cup. It just buried all tea flavour and left . . . something gross.
I won’t be re-buying this one.
Final sipdown of this one. Still enjoying it after three cups.
Had this one again and really regretted having it just after my dinner. It took half the cup before my mouth was able to get the full flavours of the tea so that I could truly appreciate it. Strange since dinner was just a veggie sandwich, but at least I know for next time to have this one well after a meal.
Finishing up the small bit I got of this and I’m realizing what it makes me think of. It really reminds me of a quality Genmaicha only without the toasted notes. Not my favourite green, but a lovely one for people just getting into straight teas, or who don’t want an overpowering flavour in their greens.
Sipping this one again now to drink what I have left and my second cup was unmemorable. Not bad, just slightly weak and leaving me wanting something more.
Tried it as a latte tonight, and it wasn’t bad. Better straight, though, and still not my favourite. Back to my Pumpkin Chai from Davids for me!
Finishing this one up as a latte tonight. Definitely better as a latte when I cinnamon up the milk. Bumping up the rating just a tad as a result.
