206 Tasting Notes

70

This is a little bitter hot; I recommend it iced.
The iced version brings out the sweetness in the strawberry and dials back the bitter note of the rhubarb (?). The yogurt lingers on the tongue and is tasty. It’s a little too sharp to be my go-to, but I do really enjoy it.
Two friends tried this with me. One liked it hot AND iced. The other straight-up hated it. Thankfully, the friend who likes it best is the one who owns it.
This tea reminds me of the type of person who is generally great but sometimes feels the need to “tell it to you straight.” And you aren’t sure you wanted that friend to tell you that you looked fat in those particular jeans. Or that your your partner needs a haircut. Or that your dog barks too much. Like, they’re RIGHT, but I’M NOT READY TO HEAR THAT. Dial back on the SASS.

Flavors: Bitter, Fruity, Strawberry, Yogurt

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I tried to make this as an iced tea.
It was a poor choice.
Don’t ever do this thing, guys.
In my head, the orange flavor of this would turn it into an orange-juice-tea. But the chocolate or something in the base strongly objected to the ice process.

Mookit

Lol… Firefly tea? That’s a thing? Speaking of which, I was considering re-watching it recently, but couldn’t make it through the 2 hour long first episode!

Super Starling!

@Mookit — The show gets really good. The first like 20 minutes of the first episode is really boring, though. It’s them losing an attempted revolution. A part of the show is this giant, overarching totalitarian government that controls everything. They’re outlaws that lost. It’s important backstory, but the battle itself is dull and probably lost a lot of viewers that were like “what am I watching? Ugh.” It probably could’ve been a quick, 1-minute flashback partway through the episode.
Oh, and Adagio has an area of the site where people can make their own mixes. You can save your mixes. They don’t have to be fandom-based, but people seem to be using it for that purpose.

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95

I had to go back and read my old review of this, because I don’t recall having written that it was creamy.
I did not.
This is wonderfully creamy. It’s so nice and thick and sweet for a green tea. This is far and away my favorite green.
There’s a scene in Jurassic World where the unstoppable BD Wong has a beautiful clear teapot full of yellow-looking (probably green) tea on his desk. This tea reminds me of that moment. I like to think that he drinks tea like this while developing super-dinosaurs for the military. Perhaps this tea will make me smarter and I will make some sort of world-shattering typographical breakthrough.
[EDIT] The Internet tells me it’s this teapot. I obviously want it. https://www.amazon.com/BonJour-Handblown-Stainless-Infuser-42-Ounce/dp/B000FX4WTM

Flavors: Creamy, Nutty, Sweet

Mookit

You should try Walnut Green by Aromatica Fine Teas. It’s the best walnut + green tea blend I’ve had, and I liked it a lot better than David’s Toasted Walnut!

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80

My friend ordered this and realized, upon its arrival, that she hated it. She thought it tasted like potpourri. She tried adding oodles of honey and letting it cool a LOT to get it to taste better, but nothing worked.
I rescued her cup and the bag to my desk.
Because it’s been altered by honey and not as hot as I’d normally drink it, I’ll have to give this a more in-depth review another time.
But for now, I think this is a really nice chai. It’s got a bunch of cinnamon and ginger, plus a surprise note of coconut.
I get the “potpourri” thing, but, well, I guess I’m just the kind of person who will drink potpourri.
It’s good to know this about oneself.

Flavors: Cinnamon, Coconut, Spices

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I was really hype about eating a peanut butter sandwich in a tea, but this didn’t quite land. It’s more of a “raspberry and nut tea.” Which is tasty, but not a sandwich. Maybe it could have gone with something to add a “bread” taste, or a few more morsels to make the “jelly” stronger?
I’m going to try this again in a few days and steep it much longer. It’s possible I got a less-than-balanced spoonful or didn’t leave it in long enough to get the flavors.
Because there’s a part of me that NEEDS this tea to work.
I want, more than anything, is to go back to kindergarten. I want to nap on my hand-crocheted pastel green blanket with the bear on it. I want to draw and swing on the swingset. All day long.
I didn’t know how good I had it at the time. I wish I could talk to Little Me. “Why are you such a weird, morose kid? Do you have ANY IDEA how good you have it? Savor that sandwich before calories begin to count for something, little skipper.”

Flavors: Nutty, Raspberry

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100

The first time I gave this tea a review, I gave it a 95, because I’m like that fussy teacher that doesn’t give out A+ ratings ON PRINCIPLE. Surely there’s SOMETHING wrong with this tea, I reasoned.
Wrong.
There is nothing wrong with this tea. This is the tea I have been waiting for. This is my tea.
This tea is like if the Bearenstain Bears were real, and adopted you, and gave you warm hugs and words of homey wisdom. You could hang out with Mama Bear and Papa Bear and Sister Bear and Brother Bear every day as their cherished Human Bear.
This tea is my Grail.
I am going to be depressed when they inevitably discontinue it without warning.

I would apologise for the quality of this review (I am slowly wilting from exhaustion today), but actually, it’s about on par with the reviews I usually write. I am either a trailblazer of tea review imagery and humor — or a complete idiot.
No comments unless they’re compliments, y’all.

mtchyg

Annnnd there is the award for most favorite review of all time. Berenstein Bears for life.

Super Starling!

It’s BerenstAin bears. I always thought they were Jewish, too. There’s an entire conspiracy theory about it:
http://www.woodbetween.world/2012/08/the-berenstein-bears-we-are-living-in.html

mtchyg

Hahaha good call. I’m lucky I remembered that it is “bere” and not bear

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83

I am basically dead on my feet today. I couldn’t get comfortable last night (too hot). My dreams, when they finally showed up, were vivid, full-length science fiction movies about a government surveillance state that encouraged baseball doping.
This tea is juuuust right for such a morning. It’s non-aggressive and straightforward.
You know right where you stand with this tea — in a kitchen, next to a giant plate of gingersnaps.
Maybe your grandma or someone else’s grandma is standing next to you, telling you that you’re too thin. Eat a gingersnap. Put some meat on those bones.
Thanks, Grandma. I feel pretty. And this tea is tasty.
PS, I am tired. Very tired. This review may not be my very best work.

Flavors: Cinnamon, Cookie, Ginger, Spices, Sugar

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70

This is a really weird flavor. Nutty, bright, bold, sweet. Something about the aftertaste reminds me of icing on high-end wedding cakes.
Usually I don’t understand how these flavors correspond to their characters, but this one IS CHEWBACCA.
It’s BIG. It’s sweet. It’s fun. It’s brown in color.
And, like an alien race, it’s really bizarre.
I like it, but I don’t quite know what to do with it. I’m not sure where this brew fits into my life. It honestly doesn’t taste quite like any tea I’ve ever had. This is such a peculiar blend. I think it’s closest to a chai because it has some cinnamon/spice in it.
I really want to find someone else who drinks tea, shove it in their face, and be like “WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO MAKE OF THIS THING?! I THINK I LIKE IT. DO YOU? IS THIS REAL LIFE?”
I need an adult. Or the Force.

Flavors: Chocolate, Cinnamon, Nuts

Mookit

Haha, loved your description!

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80
drank Cashew Turtle by 52teas
206 tasting notes

The “cashew” part of this is a TOTAL LIE.
They’re actually, due to food allergies, sunflower seeds. I suppose this is an acceptable alternative to keep people from dying. I GUESS. WHILE YOU’RE AT IT, GO HUG A TREE, HIPPIES.*
(*I can’t taste the difference whatsoever.)

On to the taste.
I’d rank the flavors in the following order of strength:
1) nuts
2) black tea
3) chocolate
This is a really solid, tasty blend.
It’s like dating a lumberjack who gets along with your mom AND your grandma. You might not marry him, but he helps out around the house and generally improves everyone’s day.

Flavors: Chocolate, Nuts, Nutty

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Kittenna

Haha, I like your lumberjack analogy!

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90

While driving into work, I actively craved this tea. It’s a rich, robust little number.
Upon arrival, it totally hits the spot on this murky, ambivalent morning. The weather isn’t tough enough to commit to rain, wind, or sun. It’s just an overcast with a ruffly, apathetic breeze. So frustrating.
But the tea is DEFINITELY the liquid equivalent of a dark chocolate orange break-apart ball from Easter. That much is certain.

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Profile

Bio

I’m a graphic designer, illustrator, crafter, geek, and recent tea convert. I love teas that are sweet, zippy (caffeinated), and hopeful. In concrete terms, that’s usually black or maté tea, with some chocolate/vanilla/berry/nut in there somewhere. If it gives me the dessert experience without the calories, my heart soars.

I’m not a big fan of mint, grass (“yogi farts”), sours, or bitterness.

I’m into the idea of trading to try new things. If you think our flavor profiles coordinate, let me know, and we can swap boxes!

Location

Pennsylvania, USA

Website

http://www.leahlucci.com/star...

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