Featured & Popular Tasting Notes

Whoa! Hello jalapeno! Usually I find teas with these spicy ingredients tend to disappoint when it comes to the spice department but it is present here. Yet, the tomato, or salsa, also registers giving the whole thing some sweetness. I think there may be strawberry along with the tomato but it’s hard to tell once the jalapeno kicks in. Definitely an interesting blend and worth a try but this is also not something I would reach for often.

Just got my first order from Liquid Proust Teas in and wanted to try this first. This is a tasty tea with a nice berry note to it. It also has a slightly burnt note to it. All popped rice teas seem to taste like that to me. Maybe with a shorter steep time that burnt note won’t come through. Still, it was good. I will also have to try this cold brewed and see how it is iced.

I brewed this one time in a 16oz Teavana Glass Perfect Tea Maker/Gravity Steeper with 3 tsp leaf in 175 degree water for 3 min.

No.2: Lancang/Jingmai

Really enjoyed this one, it is less straight-up-fruity than the Menghai, more milky & savoury & bitter. Firstly giving off a wonderful complex almost-floral aroma. The first two steeps were so nice! Then a bitter note crept in throughout the middle of the session.

Quite bitterleaf tasting but with interesting colourful huigan (pink & green, yo). The green from the leaf & with something complex & shiny & aromatic (weird floral) over the top. But this with a milky body that I love in shengs.

Towards the end of the sesh I was left with more milky water (another thing I like in long lasting shengs) & this interesting leaf taste.

I am definitely interested in other teas from around Lancang & Jingmai if this complex floral aroma & huigan is something prevalent in them, the leaf taste was still a bit of an acquired taste but that interesting note kept me entertained. Those two first steeps though, If I can brew this one to keep in that ballpark I will seriously grow to love this one, possible 90+ score. I did use a lot of leaf, perhaps less next time.

Also nice is that the Menghai tasted ‘basic’ and this one didnt, at all, to me.

I was saving this tea for hot summer days (as iced, cold tea), but they didn’t come this year. Okay, a few hot days were there, but otherwise it was pretty much okay and I didn’t wanted to drink any iced teas.

It was a very nice tea, indeed. Quite sweet, bold and refreshing. I couldn’t notice much of jasmine in particular, but it was some generic floral. Not bad!

Citrusy note was a bit muted today — maybe the age, or just I wasn’t noticing it today. The base was brisk and nice, so a winner for the morning.

I was just given a shock by running water. Sigh. Today has just been one of those days. I deserve an early tea break.

Takgoti was lovely enough to send this to me so I’m very excited I get to try it because I? Was totally not on the ball and ordered no Series 4. The dry leaf smells lovely – earthy but fresh. The leaves are pretty cute, too – short and brown but with fuzzy gold bits popping through everywhere. I kind of want to coo at them. (Please note, it is only just past noon but it has been a long day.)

The color of the tea matches the dark parts of my desk which the office supply place says is a cherry finish but it’s not really because if it was, part of it wouldn’t have peeled up when I got tape stuck to it. But anyway, the tea matches my desk nicely (though I imagine that it would react differently to tape). Oh and the smell is so nice. Rich and fuzzy and stout and sweet like figs and brown sugar.

Wow this tastes good. Sweet with a little coffee-like edge of sort-of-acidity. Not so much that it isn’t smooth (because it is), but just enough to make it energetic. It’s not quite chewy but definitely closer to chewy than it is to light-bodied thinness. I could see perhaps putting a splash of milk in it to make even richer but it’s sweet enough with the raisin/fig/brown sugar taste that I think adding sugar would be overkill (that’s not to say I still won’t give it a shot though).

This is a good tea for me today. Bracing enough to help me make it through the rest of the day but with an edge of sweetness to show that it is a nice tea and really just doing what is best for me by standing me up, dusting me off and sending me back into the fray. Good kitty.

ETA: 2nd steep @ 5mins. Oooh, smooth. The tiger is calm and purring as he sits beside me. Lovely. Very similar flavor as the first steep but without the not-quite-acidic edge to it.
3.1g/8oz

Oh my, I’m trying this as an iced latte for the first time and it’s wonderful. Chocolate coconut truffle with 2% milk. Swoon.

My first note on this, and it is a sipdown!

This wasn’t bad and I see nearly everyone else loved it. I don’t hate it, but it was the least favorite among the 3 Leaf Teas I have on hand. The reason is butyric acid. Sometimes I can smell it so strongly. It doesn’t come through in the taste. I used this almost exclusively in smoothies so it could blend in with the fruit there.

Butyric acid smells like vomit, and it is in a lot of “natural” flavoring because it occurs naturally in these food in small amounts. I smell it in Lupicia’s Strawberry Black and Fraisier, but not in Carol or Merci Milles Fois. There are other examples, can’t think of them right now, but that aroma was in this tea for me.

Don’t be afraid of this, though. It tastes good, even though the smell made me throw away the first latte I made with it thinking the milk was spoiled!

Strange VariaTEA TTB #33

I mostly get the anise from this one, but the vanilla and sarsaparilla come through in the aftertaste, leaving me with a lingering impression of root beer. This probably isn’t something I’d normally gravitate toward, but the licorice root is soothing my throat this morning and I’m enjoying it.

only 2 more cups of this left. i really hope it comes back.

Warmed leaf notes of linalool oxide, baby powder, mango. A little wet dog/fur.

I just barely got 5g in my 5oz pot before reading the 3g recommendation. But I feel okay about it; 7g is my default, and there is a LOT of room between these leaves. Some of them are absolutely monstrous. And beautiful! So many colors in the dry leaves — greens, browns, yellows, blacks, and reds.

I let the first steep go to 30 seconds, as the whites I’ve been enjoying lately seem to do really well with a heavy-handed opener. It’s also where Nathan started the white we drank in-house.

Smell coming off the first steep, best I can describe, is like a very light Moo Goo Gai Pan sauce. Light soy, white mushrooms, stock, sesame. Herbs, linalool oxide, a whiff of jasmine. Rice.

Cooling in the mouth. More linalool (this flavor is slowly growing on me). Smooth and slick mouthfeel. Second steep brought some hay and barnyard on the nose, umami. A bit of astringency in the back of the throat, with further notes of pine, mint, light potato.

The leaves in the pot now smell quite herbaceous, with olive oil and white florals (reminds me of women’s perfumes)… like mom is making chimichurri down in there.

Scents off the pour are dissipating with the third steep, with fleeting tobacco; the cooling linalool is still there, astringency is moving forward in the mouth, a little potato and maybe some olive. It kept pouring with strong color and good mouthfeel, but no more flavor revelations. I didn’t really get citrus or tropical, which is what I was expecting. No bother.

I will likely stick to 5g brews, so I have 2 more. I’m probably not a repeat buyer at this price point — but this tea is lovely and from an unexpected place (I believe the Callisto folks told me Eva has a black coming soon, as well). I’m grateful I got to have some.

I’m still working my way through the Sheng Olympics teas.

I was fully prepared to dislike this tea. It didn’t help that I’m drinking it the morning after a session with 2014 Last Thoughts, which is one of the best teas I’ve ever had. However, this tea stands up to the comparison.

I started out a bit disappointed. The dry leaves consist of fairly tightly compressed small chunks. Not the whole leaves I’ve come to expect from premium teas. The first steep was light in color, with a mild aroma reminiscent of butter. The taste was light and viscous, with an incredible feel in the mouth. As I sipped that first cup the tea just grew on me. Every sip seemed a bit better than the last. I’m sure this was in part due to the extremely powerful cha qi, which started in my chest and arms and is now a whole-body experience, on a par with the Last Thoughts.

The flavors are mild, reminding me of some green-style oolongs I’ve had in the past: butter, straw, and hints of flowers. Strong, long finish, which is probably part of the reason why each sip seemed to improve.

Third steep is a bit darker: medium straw. Nose is still modest, but now is spice rather than butter. The taste is completely different: strong spice character, with the older, buttery flavor barely visible underneath. I like this flavor almost as much as the first, and give the tea credit for added complexity. The viscosity is still there but there is a bit of sharp bite riding on top, and a subtle bitterness underneath, which extends into the finish. I’m not a fan of bitter teas, but this is just a hint, adding interest. The fourth steep had the same characteristics as the third, but more integrated.

I don’t recall the exact price this tea sold for, but recall it was reasonable. I suspect that purchasers got fair value despite the marketing hype. If it hadn’t sold out I’d be buying some.

Picked this one up at the Toronto tea festival this past weekend and i’m happy that i did. As Kittenna pointed out, i have an obsession with all teas that are creamsicle like in nature. I have to say that this one is pretty decent. As a herbal, it’s nice to drink something that isn’t all about being “berry like” (al la red berry variety) while there is a citrus component to it, it just enhances the orange flavour. The vanilla brings out a little of the sweetness and turns it in to a creamy delight. My only complaint is that i wish it was a little more intense. That aside, super happy i decided to try this based on the smell and that it didn’t disappoint. Of course, now i wish i’d picked up more! haha

Final Count: 114

I have been going through my CLT samples, thinking whether I should get any of the cakes, and I realized I never wrote a review for this one. It is among the better semi-aged teas I’ve tried, but the price reflects that as well.

The highlights of the tea for me are its flavour complexity and the cha qi. It also steeps for a long time. Even though I don’t find it quite as appealing taste & texture wise, I might get the cake with the current sale. I’ve been generally disappointed by CLT’s house productions, so I may not add anything else to the order. If you have any strong suggestions, let me know please :)

The aroma is deep and sweet with notes of rainforest, plum, fermented fruits, copper, thyme, honey, and a touch of lavender and nettle. Taste has a lot going on too. It is bittersweet, crisp and tannic overall with a good astringency. Over the course of the session I noted flavours of eucalyptus, autumn leaf pile, anise, grape skin, kombucha, chamomile, bread crust, walnut bread, rice paper, and red grape juice. Aftertaste continues with the impressive display of flavours, ranging from kale, to apricot and macadamia nuts. It is pungent and mineral, with a fairly long-lasting huigan and a camphor-like throat cooling quality.

Body is light to medium with a drying, bubbly mouthfeel that becomes a bit more milky mid session and silky at the end. The cha qi is noticeable and fast to appear. In my older notes, I described it as a full-body experience, but I am not sure I am getting that this session quite as much. I do get some slightly numbing sensations in my legs, but it seems mostly just very calming today.

From Shae.
This is better than I expected, and I like it more than Adagio’s Kentucky Bourbon. It certainly tastes like bourbon, not a whole lot of caramel or vanilla notes, but has a bit of a harshness to the finish. But then most bourbons have a bit of a harsh finish. There are some fruity notes to the aftertaste. I am enjoying this tea, but am thinking it would be better with a less harsh base black tea. The second steep is certainly weaker, but the harshness is gone as well. Its bourbon on the rocks with too much ice.

Likely a different harvest than the tea Martin first shared with me 2 or 3 years ago: https://steepster.com/derk/posts/400663

No point in being stingy with my personal rating. This is probably the most refined yet accessible and flavorful black teas I’ve tried. An email to Dobrá is in order — please consider selling this on the US website!

Yesterday, after long, long time I have received a package from lovely ashmanra! I hope mine will arrive soon. And today, I checked the Steepster and saw all the tastin notes that were hidden from my eyes and 150 notices! Oh, how glad I am that Steepster is back, at least in that what was left working.

So, let’s read all the tasting notes I missed; write (at least) one myself.

Unfortunately I wasn’t that much impressed of this one . I haven’t noticed any cherry notes, only nice green tea notes. I steeped it for around 3 or 4 minutes. Nevermind, it was gift (exchange, right), and hopefully there will be other which will be better. Noticed minty, or some cooling aspect drinking this tea.

So, thank you ashmanra for the tea, thank you all being patient, thank you Michael in background working on our favorite website! It was long 10 days, but hopefully it won’t return.

Sipdown! (18 | 339)

Someday I’ll finish off all of these Vahdam advent leftovers, heh heh… Let’s hope it’s before this advent season! XD

Anyway, I actually quite like this one. It’s a light and fragrant black tea, and the dry leaf has a deliciously honeyed aroma. The rose isn’t overpowering (luckily for me) and melds well with the citrusy cardamom. I also get a strong saffron flavor here, which I assume is also the source of what I’m detecting as honey. I suppose it could also be from the nuts, but that seems less likely to me.

Anyway, I find the combination very enchanting. This might be the only one from Vahdam so far that I would consider ordering, just because it’s quite unique. It would make for a lovely afternoon tea break with some small cakes…

Every Friday after acupuncture, I ask myself if I should go to Chinatown for a Hong Kong style milk tea and the answer always seems to be yes. I am guessing that this pattern will continue for the next two weeks or so until my usual schedule is upended by the holiday season.

My trip is always full of small adventures.

It was a frigid Friday with the first wee bit of snow and a wicked wind. Still, the guy on the sidewalk at the main intersection of Chinatown was out there with his red drum kit pounding out mesmerizing rhythms to the shoppers, walkers, and vendors.

I stopped into a mall to take a look at a dim sum restaurant and its menu. Not my usual dim sum place, but maybe a change would be good when and if I am ready to dine in. This place is on the top floor overlooking the street action below: maybe that would be a nice view to enjoy with a meal.

A stranger engaged me as I was waiting for the lift. Why you no bring your husband for dim sum? Eat. EAT. My explanation got swallowed up by the wind as we reached street level.

My usual seat at the bakery was taken, so I sat near the matcha cake display case with my most excellent Hong Kong style milk tea and rice bowl. The tea was so good that I ended up having another. That one was a winner too.

Ah, I so look forward to my Fridays.

While the notes of this tea are already accurate, I’d like to weigh in as I have drank this 3x at work in the morning.

The term bitter and chocolate does apply, but not in the sense of a bittersweet dark chocolate. This is more like the astringency of an Assam tea but a chocolate taste you would get from some leftover chocolate powder used in a mixture that happened to be on your fingertips. Not that strong, quite dry, but noticeable. I prefer my golden needle dianhong to this due to the bitterness that makes it hard to enjoy fruits right away in the morning.

I seriously haven’t written a note on this one yet? Fail.

Anyway, it’s hands down one of the best Assams I’ve had. The caramelized brown sugar note really does me in, and I cannot pin down the rest of the top of my head other than being fairly fruity, and well, Assam like and sweet like dark chocolate or cocoa nibs. I feel like I have to check my bloodsugar with it. It does have the rounded raisin-malt taste of a good Assam, but it barely becomes astringent keeps a unique sweetness that few teas have. Now, the tea can become bitter or astringent if I mess around to much, but for the most part, it’s a forgiving tea with less leaves. It’s been my go to breakfast tea so far. Deserves the praise indeed.

I think this teas covered in detail, but since I have a decent amount of it, I’ll probably write about it pretty often. I’ve stayed towards a western style in a french press as of late, but even then, I easily get 4-6 cups out of it. Very, very good. I do like the Wild Mountain a little more, but I drink this one more often. I am excited to see how the Guan Yin turns out when people write about it. It’s a shame I’m over budget for tea.

#adventageddon Day Sixteen – 2/6

Really excited to see this in the advent. Like, really excited!! It’s one of few teas that I’ve given the coveted 100/100 rating to and it’s well deserved – probably goes without saying that I was among the people who voted for this tea in this year’s sampler!

The reblend is excellent – very fresh and effervescent with those perfect crisp and sweet cranberry notes and a lovely supporting lemon-line flavour. I’m not entirely sure how Anne does it, but she really does make this tea taste like a Cranberry Sprite or 7-Up in that effervescent soda-y sweetness, but without it tasting sugary. Very happy tea day!!

(PS. Anne, if this is one that there’s extras of then I’d be very interested in ordering them…)

This is really good cold, but I’m finding that with a lot of white tea blends recently. I went with my standard preparation method – 2 tbsp in 2 litres of cold water, into the fridge for around 10 hours overnight. The flavour of the orange is more prominent that it is in the hot cup, the cinnamon less so. Running right through the middle of the whole thing is the sweet, slightly thick, frangipane-esque taste of almonds. Delicious!

Spur of the moment review! Hongcha is evocative of autumn for me. I decided to celebrate the equinox with this one! Merry Mabon to those who celebrate the Wheel of the Year! (sorry, S.G. Sanders, I backed down from shou because it’s sooooo warm today)

I gongfu’d 3g in my new 60ml gaiwan. The dry leaf’s presentation against a white background is just beautiful:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKqqT4WBbHj/

I last wrote a review six months ago (the numerical rating is from the first review). What particularly sticks out this session is that I identify different flavors. Sweet potatoes and orange zest particularly stick out, and then the almonds and cashews when I really concentrate. Not so much malt and no brownies this time – could be the difference in harvest year.

So smoooooooth. The mouth becomes dry after I swallow, but quickly fills again with saliva. Very nutty aftertaste. Returning notes of almonds.

I can’t help but keep sticking my nose into the gaiwan and savoring the wet leaf aroma. It simply won’t let up! Cocoa and caramel, grains and raisins.

There’s no place like hongcha, there’s no place like hongcha, there’s no place like hongcha.

Shae! Thank you so much for the sample! The hotel ran out of hot water in the breakfast area. I didn’t feel like waiting so I just put cold water in. Even cold steeped the notes come out fairly quickly. Chocolate notes, baked vegetal notes, squash, slight woodsy notes. This very much reminds me of the New Zealand black. The aroma of the wet leaf PEPPER! Sorry. I smelled it a second time just now and it reminded me of raw orange and yellow peppers. Also a mic of earth, wet twigs, and something herbacous I can’t quite put my finger on… Can’t wait to see how this one unfolds when it’s hot.