1220 Tasting Notes
I picked this out with the intention of drinking it cold, but I was very curious to try one of these bamboo herbal blends hot.
It is very hard to measure this tea out because everything is big. Big leaves, big chunks of apple and carrot, big bits of lemongrass and other herbs. I feel like I’m making soup!
The lemongrass is a very strong scent, so this is not for the faint of heart when it comes to that flavor. Funny story, I know I have said before lemongrass reminds me of Fruit Loops. I don’t know how many of you watch Top Chef (or at least did before it got kind of lame) or are familiar with Richard Blais, but his burger restaurant has amazing milkshakes and one is always a cereal flavor. Right now it is Fruit Loops, and it is topped with lemongrass foam. I knew I wasn’t crazy.
That is really what this tea tastes like, fruit loops. It’s not entirely coming from the lemongrass, because you can definitely taste apple, lime, and carrot too.
Bamboo is so interesting, it’s cooling right? So even though this is a hot tea, I get the sensation that my mouth is entirely cooled after each sip.
Overall, it’s an interesting tea. Kind of like a fruit tea, but not too tart, because it has a nice hint of spice from ginger. I wouldn’t have known it was ginger if I hadn’t looked it up, but ginger combines so well with lemongrass I just like to picture them always together anyway.
I will have to give this a try iced also. I think the tropical fruit flavor of it will be good iced, it’s got a similar profile to Bamboozled, which I love iced.
Getting back to my Zen Tea samples…this one I’ve been thinking about since I got it, for some reason I just never wanted it. Totally kicking myself over that.
There are plenty of coconut oolongs out there, but even after just one cup, I feel like this one is my favorite. I like that it is really reminiscent of coconut milk and cake. Can you imagine a tres leches cake made with coconut milk? Coconut milk, cream of coconut, and idk what else, maybe you’d be set for life with just dos leches cake with coconut. That’s what I think of this.
It’s sweet, buttery, creamy, cakey, and most importantly it tastes like coconut milk. It’s not super coconut tasting, which I like because the oolong still shines through.
This is another I will definitely have to give a try cold brewed, because it’ll probably be amazing.
I’m not sure about this one. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t amazing. I guess it was pretty average, despite the fact this was probably the tea I was second most excited about in my sampler.
I did not get spices AT ALL, so it’s really weird to look through everyone else’s notes and see cinnamon and cloves. I wonder if they come out at a lower temperature, because I used boiling water. I’ve had zero problems using boiling water for all my Kusmi blacks. I’m basically steeping them like I do Darjeelings now that I think about it, boiling and 3 min.
Instead I got a very strong grapefruit flavor, just a little bergamot and lemon, and a creamy finish. It’s very subtle compared to some of their other teas.
I let it cool off entirely and it lost all its flavors really and was just a nice black tea. This one is odd.
Anastasia is still tops to me.
Amanda (for me you’re still Amanda ;)) try at 90°C, it is the temperature I use with Prince Wladimir and I get the spices (strong cinnamon and strong cloves). Like you my favorite Kusmi is Anastasia but Prince Wladimir is really a nice blend, just give it another try.
I am definitely still Amanda, I will probably change it back very soon :D I will definitely try it again to get the spices. I did like how it tasted but it did taste like something was missing.
I went a little crazy and used coconut milk creamer instead of regular milk. After the fact I realize it was silly but it was going to go to waste. I think it covered a lot of the flavor of the tea.
I made a big mug full. When I was straining, the smell of peppermint was nice and strong.
My method resulted in a pretty creamy cup so I can’t say too much, but I did drink it all anyway. Just a little spice, could still taste some black tea, but the peppermint was definitely there.
Next time…the stuff that is considered milk instead, haha.
Last night I was opening some teabags and dumping the leaves into my big bag of dried, used leaves. It was disturbing.
So for some reason I decided to do the oatmeal thing again but with one of these teabags. I can actually taste how terrible it is through what should be delicious honey and cinnamon cereal. It’s not like it went bitter from then being cooked in grains for 90 seconds…it tastes like dirt.
Guess its partner is going to meet the bag of dried leaves too cause I am not drinking this. Poor Darjeeling.
I think it was a one off when I liked this the first time. I couldn’t stand it this time. I still have like 3/4 a tsp but there is no way I’m using it, unless someone can help me think of something good to add it to. I was thinking a chai.
Of course I probably should have done what I did last time and added milk + sugar, but instead I decided to see if I’d like it better iced, and indeed I did not. Almond, why can’t we be friends?
Thank you so much for the generous samples of these teas, Azzrian! Though I already bought the riesling one because I was sent a free shipping code for leaving it sitting in my cart. So much for the no more buying thing.
Out of the 6 wines Vintage TeaWorks used as inspiration, Cabernet is my favorite. Out of the 6 teas Vintage TeaWorks used in these blends, puerh is my least favorite for flavored tea.
It smells really good…rich and spicy.
And the taste? It’s quite the hybrid between tea and the flavor of wine. And my problem has always been that it seems like low quality puerh ends up in blends, and then brings out fishiness and whatever else that doesn’t match. Not here. I can barely even taste it. There’s a slight earthiness still present but it blends in with everything else beautifully.
The flavor is mostly blackberry and cherry, with a hint of vanilla, cinnamon, and clove. Pretty much just like an awesome cabernet, but far more mellow.
Definitely going for a second steep as soon as I finish this one, this is fantastic.
Second steep just slightly different from the first. It kind of loses the berry. Still, it’s not bad, just more obviously tea and more subtle in the wine flavor.
I bought a sample of this, and must have thought there was chocolate too. Thin Mint would clearly be chocolate + peppermint.
But it is only peppermint. Disappoint.
I’m not sure how I feel about hojicha and peppermint. It’s not terrible but it’s not my favorite combination of flavors.
I’m glad I only got a sample of this. I just wish it had chocolate!
Okay seriously, naming anything after a Tennessee Williams drama, especially a tea, is a bad idea.
Last night was a good night, I recreated this smoked sausage and vegetable dish my grandma used to always make me when I was a kid. Today is her birthday, so even better timing.
Also pleased I do not have to go to Canada just yet so I can continue having healthcare till I’m 26. Hahaha it’s the month after that that’s the problem next year though. Guess that’s why I’m doing job search work in a class right?? And also we can get to the real issues now like making sure the Formula 1 world championship is decided in this country and goes to my favorite driver.
So I am not actually drinking this tea. I steeped it double strength and then put it in my chocolate oatmeal. I couldn’t decide what to actually use, but I figured all these ETS samples I got would be good, and adding chai of some sort would be perfect.
While obviously it’s hard to taste if the chocolate is really there when you start off with something very chocolatey, the spices are really tasty with chocolate. And I didn’t realize this was an Assam, so there’s definitely a bolder flavor all around in the oatmeal.
I rarely ever eat breakfast when on my own, so this is awesome. My boyfriend always gets me something in the morning but he is in love with Dunkin Donuts and I just feel disgusting eating donuts. So maybe I’ll just start making myself oatmeal with tea already in it.
I still have half the cup but I made a cup of something else in a mug so I’m not sure if I want to try it yet. I think to actually drink it, I’d rather make it on the stovetop in milk and water. Although it is a definite winner for just oatmeal, I have to say.
I gave in to a stupid Groupon for this that I probably shouldn’t have. I got this and their normal matcha, which was kind of the reason I bought it. This is one of those gross pre-sweetened matchas where the first ingredient is a sugar of some sort (in this case coconut nectar) followed by matcha. It is actually lucuma spice, and not pumpkin spice. According to wikipedia, lucumas taste like maple and sweet potato, and so then I’d call this more like sweet potato pie sweetened matcha.
I mixed a tablespoon of this mix with water and coconut milk. I did sift it before preparing, hoping to cut out the chances of grittiness as mentioned by the only other reviewer of this stuff, but the sugar crystals did not go through. The spices are really nice though.
More than anything there’s just a weird aftertaste from some flavor in here. I don’t think it’s the matcha, unless it really can’t even handle the combination of 180 degree water, cooled down with 35 degree coconut milk.
At first I didn’t have any problem with grittiness but now I can feel it, no matter how much I stir it up again and again.
I think I’ll find a way to cook with this instead of drinking it, it would be perfect for baking I think. After about half of it, I just can’t take it anymore because that grittiness is actually getting caught in my throat. Gross.
Why don’t you use it for smoothies or something. I’ve been making mixed hot drinks using bottled ginger chai from 3rd street chai and boxed squash soup for lately that I really like. Just thinking of how to cover the bad taste and use what you’ve got.
I thought about smoothies but I think it’d be pretty good in shortbread or maybe if I make pumpkin cheesecake bars, to put it in the crust. I want to make pumpkin black bean soup soon, so I might throw it in there. But I can’t imagine it in a smoothie. Maybe banana and orange, but I prefer berry ones.
The ceremonial matcha that I also got is straight matcha, but their flavored ones are presweetened.
This sounds like the result of a Breville and a Vitamix being naughty. (It also sounds really good!)