Nicole

No notes yet.

Hm. Can’t find a website for The Crumpet Shop in Pike Place Market, Seattle. Can’t find this tea by this name anywhere else in a quick search. The best I can find is that Tiger Hill is the highest spot in the Darjeeling district as well as one of the better tea estates in the region. I see it listed as a Nilgiri in a couple of places.

Maybe this was an old batch that wasn’t stored well. I get nothing out of this besides dusty tea. This cup I am reviewing is my 5th attempt at getting a good cup. I’ve tried different temperature water, rinsing the leaves before steeping, different steep times… This one is drinkable but nothing special. It still tastes somewhat dusty and old. I think I can discern some faint muscatel notes underneath… It’s always possible that my tastebuds just have no idea what they have here, too. Maybe this is a very high quality Darjeeling (though it was a medium price) and I just don’t know it. Maybe other, more discerning palates will find this more appealing than I do.

It’s definitely better cold than it is hot, even though when cold some bitterness comes out. I’ll keep it for a cold tea, but chances are good it may be rehomed to try and find a better taster for it than I am. :)

This was a newly arrived tea at Granville Island Tea Co. when I visited them. It was a tad pricey for my pocketbook but the vendor was nice enough to throw in a sample with my other purchases!

Unfortunately, this just confirms further that I have a taste for the expensive darjeelings.

This was amazing. So smooth. So mellow. Not a bit of bitter. Characteristically a tad dry and heavy muscatel notes in the background. I will share this with another darjeeling fiend I know and then I will be very sad when it is gone. This is by far the best 2nd flush I have tasted yet. I feel very lucky to have had 2 exceptional darjeelings close together.

This is the only Lady Londonderry I’ve tried so I can’t compare to others, but this is pretty good.

Definitely taste the lemon and strawberry. The lemon seems to intensify when this cools. It is a tart tea even when hot, though. Not sure I’ll try to keep this in the cupboard but it’s tasty.

I, like the other reviewers here, have forgotten what teas the vendor told me were in this blend. I remember Assam and strawberry and at least 2 other blacks.

The leaves are very small, some may be CTC but there are others that are a bit larger. It infuses quickly. Most definitely smells and tastes of fresh strawberry – enough so that I picked out strawberry from the smell before I remembered the vendor telling me it was in there. A hint of astringency in the last of the swallow makes me wonder if maybe a darjeeling is in the blend. The liquor is a deep mahogany color. I’m going to hazard a guess that it could border on the bitter if let go too long.

This is tasty.

Added a picture here that my husband took after my purchases at Granville Island Tea. :)

http://s1165.beta.photobucket.com/user/dagony/media/Q02A3541.jpg.html

Again, thanks to the generosity of Liberteas I get to try another wonderful tea! This is a light oolong that reminds me a lot of a darjeeling, though not astringent at all. Very smooth and lightly woodsy.

Thanks to a generous sample pack from Liberteas I get to try this great Assam! Very, very nice. Not at all bitter, slight hints of sweetness in the background. A smooth cup of tea.

I had this with lunch at Save On Meats in Vancouver last week. It was a tea bag of fannings. It was very light and very floral. I’m pretty sure the water was not at boiling. I left it in the cup all through lunch, steeping 3 cups off of it. It didn’t change much in character over the steepings. Not excellent, but better than expected for a restaurant.

I grabbed a pouch of this after my morning tea at the Queen Mary Tea room in Seattle. (I have also reviewed the tea room itself in Places) They blend some of their teas and some they buy blended already. I’m not sure which this is.

I like it. It seems to be a light oolong. Medium nuttiness with a decent coconut taste. Some might find it a bit fakey, but I actually find it mellow and fairly pleasant. A bit of sweetness in the background.

I’m not sure I’ve had a golden yunnan before. I’ve had tippy yunnan from Harney, perhaps that is the same thing.

I picked this up while waiting for the ferry to go from Edmonds, Washington to Kingston, on the way to Olympic National Park. The size I got said there were 2 teabags in it, but when I pulled out the bag to avoid oversteeping, there was only one. It was not the round bag I associate with the Republic of Tea cans. This was a square bag with a fold over top, like I use sometimes for some of my loose teas. I wonder if they use loose leaf behind the counter. What was out for sale were the tins with the bags.

Regardless, this definitely hit the spot on a cold and misty day. It was strong and malty (I’m also noticing a preference that I have for malty teas…) and a lovely deep chestnut color. It was delicious while hot. It then sat for a few hours in the car and it was equally good when cold. Really surprisingly good. I don’t expect much from tea when I travel, especially not from coffee shops but this one means I need to try more golden yunnan. :)

This has a good apricot flavor. There is a background flavor of vanilla as well. A nice base that goes well with the flavor.

There is something a bit “off” about this, though. I really can’t place what it is. I’m glad Teajo is offering samples now – and their customer service and shipping speed just rock.

Glad I tried this and I will share it around but I think I probably don’t need a whole package of it. So far Harney has my favorite apricot.

I notice the caramel right off. No distinct apple taste to me, but there is a slight hint of sweet that might come from the apple. The bergamot is very light in this, almost to the point that I’m not sure I’d call this a “grey.” It’s very nice, though. One of the better caramel teas I’ve had.

The brew is a lovely deep mahogany color but be careful not to let it steep too long and in fact, you might want to go on the short side. This does get bitter quickly.

Slight hint of sweet, possibly from the apples.

I think I may be in love. Darjeelings are my favorite tea. This may be at least a temporary end to trying to choose a favorite among them. This beats even my beloved Sungma.

All the hallmarks of a second flush, smooth and with a lovely amber yellow color. Hints of malt in the background, maybe. Definitely a muscatel note. The steeped leaves are everything I love about Darjeelings – medium sized leaves with a beautiful mix of brown and green colors.

I do wish that Kally Tea offered more information on the origin, however. I’d like to know what estate this came from or if it is a blend of estates.

I can foresee regretting that I didn’t order more…

Going to have to try this one again. For now, though I don’t notice any spices or honey. Smells of cinnamon when steeping, though. And there is a kind of bubble gum sweet smell to the dry leaves.

This is again, a very mild black tea (to my palate anyway) and it is nicely fruity and sweet. Nothing jarring or bitter about this. Mellow and smooth. Given my tastes in tea and my (admittedly limited) previous experiences with Mariage Freres I did use more than a teaspoon for this cup.

I’m very glad I got to try this. Thanks, Ysaurella!

EDIT: I tried this again out here on vacation. I definitely get notes of cinnamon, vanilla and what tastes to me like almond. A very complex and interesting tea! This steep I used boiling water but still steeped for about 5 minutes.

And this reminds me of why 2nd flushes are my favorite. Full of flavor and distinctively darjeeling. This was my tea of Halloween night. Smooth and luxurious, with several steeps for this cup. A hint of astringency, which I do associate with darjeelings, which is all good.

I have had tea previously which was labeled as darjeeling mim. I’m now no longer sure if it really was. I didn’t care much for it and I love this.

Though I couldn’t drink it with my makeup on from the day:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25072757@N04/8146183259/in/photostream

Lovely, lovely tea. Malty indeed. Not a bit of bitter. A hint of astringency at the end, but it does seem to build over the cup and about halfway through, the astringency makes my mouth a bit dry.

I can see that this would stand up to milk and sugar very nicely. I also suspect it makes a nice cold tea.

Tea Club at work has been doing chai in the afternoons a lot and mention was made of trying to find one with heat in it. This seemed like it would fit the bill nicely.

Well, while the logo of ManTeas was greatly appreciated by the guys in Tea Club, the overall reviews were not stunning.

None of us really picked up any chocolate at all. The spices either blended well together or were muddled, depending on the reviewer. I didn’t really taste the tea at all. The heat was there, but as an afterburn more than up front heat. It was all drank (drunk? Both of those look strange to me) but the overall verdict was that it was not a reorder.

We made it with half skim milk and half water, adding about 1/3 cup sugar for 4 servings.

Received a sample of this in a swap with Ysaurella. A very smooth tea. Not a bit of bitterness. Bergamot is present but very light. When cooled, this has a much more pronounced sweetness to it, almost fruity. I’d say this is a medium body tea. Mellow and calming. Very nice, indeed.

Smells wonderful. Tastes fruity but nonspecific citrus at first. Beragmot is not an overpowering note. A smooth blend. Mom tasted florals but I just get mainly fruit. Lemon and orange, yes. Smooth hints of bergamot in the aftertaste. Nice hot, very nice cold. Thanks so much to Ysaurella I can try this lovely blend! This definitely goes on the shopping list!

Just had to add this note. This was the tea I drank all day at work today. The smoothness of this still amazes me. I guess it is from being an oxidized white tea?

Anyway, I wanted to add that I steeped this 5 times today, using about 10 oz of water per steep to 1/2 tablespoon of leaves. I steeped the last time for 5 minutes, but it still had a very nice floral tone. The 5th steep was not as strong as the first, but it was still very good and nicely flavorful.

I can’t believe I’ve been through 2 ounces of this and haven’t logged it yet!

This is hands down my favorite chai at this point. I taste all the spices and they blend together well, but I also taste the tea. I make it with nonfat half-and-half at a ratio of 2:1 cream to water and about 1/4 cup sugar for 3 cups of liquid. When I feel especially wicked, I use regular half-and-half! And then sit around groaning about my full tummy after guzzling an entire pot. :)

Another pot of this today while making Smoky Chicken Chowder for dinner tonight. :)

Made this with 2 cups water, 1 cup non-fat half-and-half cream (since I had it for the soup anyway…) and a scant 1/4 cup of sugar.

I do like this blend because I can taste the tea as well as the spices, milk and sugar. That said, however, since I have been having more and more chais lately, I can’t say that this is on the top of the list. Right now that spot is held by Butiki’s chai blend. But this is definitely a strong second place.

Now this, I like. I have never had any other East Frisian so I can’t compare the quality of this to other companies.

I didn’t do it quite like the traditional method. I skipped the sugar but I did add the cream, though not in the same manner. First I tasted before adding cream. A nice malty tea but nothing super special. Add the cream and – Wow! What a change! Just a little bit of cream and this becomes excellent. Now I’ll have to go back and do it with the sugar just to see if it becomes even better!

Oh, and I should mention that this was a nice surprise sample included with my order. Whoever did the choosing did good. This was right up my alley. :)

Smells of peppermint. A pretty blend. The red and green does indeed look holiday-ey.

I don’t get any vanilla, though. Thankfully, I also get no rooibos. :) I was a bit nervous about ordering this because of the rooibos inclusion. While I like this, it won’t be a reorder. If I could taste the vanilla and peppermint both, I might. This is a decent black tea base.