1220 Tasting Notes

drank Golden Fleece by Verdant Tea
1220 tasting notes

This is probably super rambly but I’ve been drinking this for almost an entire day now.

I finally did it. I opened my sample. Now or never, what good is the super special tea you can’t afford sample unless you brew it?

There’s a lot of hype around this one, that’s for sure. You just say Golden Fleece and I think people faint thinking about it.

I decided to go with the gaiwan in a basket hybrid steep because I absolutely suck at being able to pour water in the gaiwan and then pour out the tea within 3 seconds. I barely have put down the kettle at 3 seconds. Maybe I just need two more arms.

So 4g in a basket with one of my glass cups where the basket reaches the bottom just right works perfectly. With the glass being 8 oz it’s pretty easy to guess 4 oz.

At first I was not impressed. All the hype. Then…it started to taste just like vanilla ice cream and that coarse decorating sugar. Not fair.

As I’ve steeped it over the past 20 hours, its’ gotten a bit earthy which I don’t really care for. I am not a fan of mushrooms at all and that’s precisely what it tastes like.

I am not really blown away by it but if I could just have those first 1-3 steeps over and over…

I will say that the scent of this tea no matter what just …I want to bottle it up and wear it.

Ok I almost gave up on it, but it’s gone back to being sweet as whipped cream. I don’t even know how many times I have steeped it at this point. A dozen?

I’ll be steeping it until my boyfriend comes to get me so I can leave my car at my apartment complex hopefully in about 2 hours…and at that point I might stick it in my travel mug and cold brew it for the car ride to Clearwater tomorrow.

cold brew update: I think this did not really work because my stupid travel mug lid would not get rid of the cinnamon from the previous, DAYS ago tea…it was far more subtle than it was brewed hot, but it still had that amazing lingering taste at the end, so I did drink it after all.

Really want to make another tea now and sit on the balcony out facing the water. But I am in a food coma and I also strained a muscle in my neck/shoulder sleeping last night and just want to lay here.

mrs.stenhouse12

I have a sample of this too that I’ve been scared to try because it’s just so legendary..maybe this weekend! :D

Alphakitty

You have made me want to bust out the sample I have been hoarding! If I don’t drink it soon I definitely won’t get the full effect

Bonnie

I think that people expect the flavor to be what the hype is about but there’s more to this tea than flavor. The scent is haunting as you pointed out,and there is a lingering that becomes a longing for more.(I’m sounding like an addict!)

Sil

I prefer laoshan black to this, though I did enjoy this one :)

Terri HarpLady

If I could only choose 1 tea, it would be Laoshan black, but I can choose as many teas as I want, so this is one of them. It always feels like a luxury.

Fjellrev

A dozen steeps is impressive.

TheTeaFairy

Your Gaiwan skills made me laugh, a 4 arms woman, now that’s a vision! I used to hold on to those super special samples for so long, they got tired and were no longer potent by the time I decided to brew them… So no more special occasion to try special teas!

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drank Golden Imperial Lotus by Teavana
1220 tasting notes

Sebastian is acting like a fool this morning, I have no idea what his deal is but he was even chirping like a crazy bird before I uncovered his cage. Now he’s quiet. Whatever bird.

I did not realize how big these rosettes are. They look like sea anemones. I dropped one into an infuser basket and let it infuse for 3 minutes on the first steep, four minutes on the second.

It’s a pretty smooth, malty tea. Kind of sweet like honey.

I don’t really find it remarkable, it’s just like pretty simple, nothing really super flavorful about it. I prefer other black teas. I think this might be more suitable for me in the morning, but it clearly has the ability to be resteeped without really changing its flavor.

I’ve got a little tin full thanks to Autumn Hearth so maybe when I have time to just sit around all morning with a tea (week of the 17th? :D) I can just have it all morning.

Ramvling

Birds will be birds.

MegWesley

This has a special place in my heart because it got me started on yunnan black teas.

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I kept enough of this to make myself another cup and decided to do so today. I gave it a rinse to try to wake up the juniper berries first.

It definitely worked! So much pine still though. I feel weird saying that because I have been all about pine/juniper notes in IPAs lately.

It’s not bad but I just like the non-winter blend so much more. This one does have a bit more of a savoriness to it that feels more like winter…like the weather today.

I figured I had to finish this one up because I hope today is the last wintery feeling day until far later in the year.

Ze_Teamaker

This reminds me that I need to finish mine too!

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Ok I started writing this last night but got distracted by hockey failures.

Thank you to Starfevre for the sample of this, I had been thinking about getting it previously so a sample really really helps!

I am especially glad because I don’t like this very much. The rooibos chai is way too dominant of a flavor. When I first saw this blend I was like, ooh chocolate spice cake?? But it’s more spice. And that’s it.

I still keep forgetting to finish this but really I need to try this again in some other way so there’s more to it than the chai!

graceatblb

I can definitely identify with hockey failures. My team is in a hellish slump.

I find that Adagio’s chocolate blend is very light on the chocolate. It would probably be lovely with a base like Laoshan Black.

momo

I really shouldn’t complain because they’re still first in the east but it was the Islanders

graceatblb

Habs fan? They’re my backup East team now that Gomez is gone and I love Gionta. My team has lost to the whole bottom of the Eastern Conference in the last month and went from 1st place to “Why me?”

momo

yes. I think I can figure out you are a Devils fan from this, right? haha I thought they were going to be unstoppable too. Now it’s just Chicago with a ridiculous point streak…we had half of one.

I expect it to end soon for the blackhawks now that ESPN is paying attention to them, it would only figure that when they start showing up they ruin everything. I’m also bitter.

graceatblb

Yep. Big time Devils fan. When Marty goes down, they don’t seem to know what to do with themselves. You don’t realize how important he is till he’s not there. I’m currently on Lemaire watch. He usually shows up when the Devils look like this.

The minute I saw the NHL on ESPN’s news feed, I expected the Blackhawks to lose to someone I hate—like the Wild. I don’t particularly like anyone calling hockey for NBC aside from Doc but I hated hearing Melrose jibber jabber about the Devils and the trap all the time. And they ruined my team’s last Cup win with Chris Berman.

I’m sorry I’m polluting your tea note with hockey :)

momo

I was so expecting them to lose last night when I saw something about Sportscenter actually going to the game.

Unless the Habs are on TV here on a weekend, I always watch an RDS feed so I don’t have to listen to anyone. I know the key “le but” and I don’t have to listen to anyone be obnoxious. Though I guess in this case, I wouldn’t mind but I know they get obnoxious about wooo Quebec born players.

But I can’t fully understand so I don’t care hahahaha.

At least with NBC they know Columbus has a team (maybe) and that there aren’t ties anymore.

There is no such thing as hockey pollution for me unless this space was being filled with the bruins!

graceatblb

Sportscenter should just stick to sports they understand like golf and football…and professional bowling and leave hockey to literally anyone else. I like NBC aside from the fact that they employ Pierre McGuire and Mike Milbury. Milbury should be banned from all NHL anything because of how he destroyed the Islanders.

I have Gamecenter so I watch the local broadcasts on mute more often than not. I love watching the game but some of those commentators…are so bad. I’m including the Devils’ guys in that.

Haha! I completely agree only add the Rangers, Sabres, Wild and Kings to that :)

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drank Hojicha by Yamamotoyama
1220 tasting notes

This is only my second time having hojicha, it reminds me a lot of genmaicha but less intense. Roasty toasty!

There’s just really nothing special about hojicha to me. If I wanted this taste, I’d more likely go for genmaicha.

Kasumi no Chajin

I love both, interesting that I find genmai less intense :)

Kasumi no Chajin

I also just got in Den’s Houji-Genmaicha :D

charab

I love both of them, need to write on genmaicha soonish…I’m a sucker for roasted and smoky ones. Sigh. Tough life. But yeah, hojicha is more plain when compared to genmaicha, but then again it makes a very good companion tea for other flavors which one can enjoy in pastries and whatnot. Or a good tea for a good whiskey on the side. Whichever comes first.

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drank Kanpe Tea by DAVIDsTEA
1220 tasting notes

I went to Target in hopes of getting flip flops, but they only had those flimsy thin fabric bottom ones, and they wanted $15!! for a pair, pfffffft. Thankfully the trip was not a total bust because I found a pretty cool 34 oz carafe, and since at the time it was 64 degrees out, I decided to make iced tea in it.

I have been meaning to try this forever. I didn’t really realize it was so hibiscus based, but it was actually kind of hard to tell. I don’t know which of the other ingredients made it taste so much like cherry.

I can’t really make out any other fruits in there, it just has that fruitiness to it but it’s predominately cherry to me, with just the right hint of cinnamon.

And I am still saving the rest of the carafe to go with my eventual pizza in an hour or so to go along with hockey. And then because just the sound of the wind outside is making me feel cold inside, it’s back to hot tea!

Alphakitty

I go to Old Navy for flip-flops: every color under the sun and $5. Can’t beat that!

Mercuryhime

I love the phrase “eventual pizza”.

momo

I ended up going to Old Navy later, but I was taken in by the ones that are 2 for $10 because they had sparkly straps. Oops.

Eventual pizza should be in my microeconomics class since pizza is always a good in our little fake economy. eventual pizza – a pizza you will have, but do not have yet.

Isaila

64 degrees sounds nice (It’s snowing right now here)

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drank Cream Earl Grey White by Culinary Teas
1220 tasting notes

From tea box B.

Last night my mom suggested I try to see if Sebastian would play with these plastic balls with bells in them. The first parakeet I ever had, Beaky, started playing with us when my mom and I rolled ping pong balls on the floor.

I took Sebastian over to my bed so I could kneel on the floor and hopefully that’d make him feel more comfortable. I set him on the bed. I start shaking one of the balls near him, and he just jumps on that hand. Soooo…guess not. But hey, he likes my hand! He then eventually flipped out and this ended with him climbing through my hair. I thought he was lost in there briefly.

I have had only one white EG, but I thought this sounded intriguing so it’s my first tea today, another day where I am too irritated to go anywhere. I don’t know what my problem is and it’s driving me crazy. All the tea I drank yesterday didn’t help.

I am experimenting with white tea steep times now, since I liked a tea at just one minute the other day, I tried it with this one. It works, I quite like it better than going for 3+.

At first I wasn’t sure about this, the way the hay notes of the white tea blended with the vanilla was kind of weird. But after letting it cool just a tad bit more, I quite enjoyed it. It’s really light on the bergamot, though it mixes nicely with the white tea.

I would actually like the bergamot to be a bit stronger but since I’m sure the other notes on this steeped it longer than me, it doesn’t seem like that can be brought out with a longer steep. No problem though, that’s just how this one is!

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 1 min, 0 sec

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drank Cherry Almond Gunpowder by 52teas
1220 tasting notes

This was a pleasant surprise! I didn’t get this when it came out since I was certain there was no way I’d like this being almond flavored. Amy oh sent some to me in our last swap and today I decided I’d give it a shot.

It was actually really good! I don’t like those fake super sweet almond flavors and this actually tastes more like almonds than a flavoring. The cherry isn’t bad either, not medicinal at all. Definitely a really cool mix to go with a gunpowder green. All the flavors meld together beautifully, and it makes for a pretty tasty cup.

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1
drank Professor Grey by Della Terra Teas
1220 tasting notes

I don’t understand what went wrong with this tea. I bought it expecting a chocolate and cream Earl Grey. Instead it tastes like a slightly sweet lapsang.

The other disappointing thing is that listed on the bag is black tea, bergamot oil, and chocolate. There’s also a ton of sprinkles of various types in here but they aren’t listed. There’s also some weird dried small flower I guess? There is chocolate in the form of very small chocolate chips.

And it does taste smoky. I don’t like it. And it isn’t what I ordered. No chocolate, not really any bergamot either.

Just wanted to edit this to note that Della Terra brought it back according to their FB page and properly marked it this time. It DOES contain lapsang souchong, and I’m pretty disappointed that they didn’t feel the need to say anything about that anywhere in the description? Black tea is one thing, lapsang is like, another thing entirely if you’re a person like me who can’t stand it.

I’ve properly labeled my bag now and I’ve stuck it in traveling tea box A so if it gets to Sil with it still in there, hopefully it can find its way then to Kittenna LOL or if anyone else gets it along the way it has two warnings of containing lapsang souchong.

Emily M

This one sounds ew. Sorry you had a disappointing cuppa.

Fjellrev

Did you end up getting a response from DTT? I don’t like complaining, but damn, I don’t know how I’m going to get through my 1 oz. bag.

momo

Not yet, completely forgot about it until I saw your note

Della Terra Teas

Momo. Sorry! We didn’t get a message from you concerning the tea. :( I did make sure on Facebook to explain the issue. A miscommunication between the blender and the webmaster. Our mistake and we will make sure anyone that ordered the tea before we fixed the mistake will get a credit to their account if they would like. Make sure you send us an email to sales@dellaterrateas with your first and last name so we can do that for you! Thanks. :)

Kittenna

Wooo, sounds great to me, momo! If someone beats me to it, that’s totally ok, but whatever’s left will be removed when it makes it to Sil :) Since I only picked up a Try Me of this one, and did like it, I’m fine with vacuuming up other people’s leftovers, haha.

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drank Candy Cane by 52teas
1220 tasting notes

For the age of what this one probably is, it wasn’t bad. Something was just off for me in the way I think the candy cane combined with the black tea. It just made a weird aftertaste I guess. I think I am having a candy in tea off day.

I prefer the Adagio one that I have a giant bag of, so this one will also continue on its traveling tea box journey.

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