Featured & Popular Tasting Notes

drank 2005 Naka by white2tea
107 tasting notes

Earlier today I spent two hours in a dentist chair enduring the replacement of four fillings and a new crown. The numbness encompassing the right side of my head has worn off, and the 600mg of Motrin might as well have been a handful of Skittles. Two hours in that chair I sat, listening to the drill, feeling my head rattle, smelling the smoke, and straining to keep my jaw open for way more time than the human jaw is meant to stay open. Not unlike Patrick “The Hooligan” Holohan after an epic beatdown, my mind was set on one thing and one thing only:

https://vine.co/v/eVQu72KVZ0M

Now that I can finally drink without dribbling the contents of my cup down my chin, I have chosen to enjoy an inaugural steep of White2Tea’s 2005 Naka. I know that because of the issues going on with my mouth that I’ll have to drink this tea again to get a true sense of it, but because I’m still feeling that post dental appointment crappiness, I suspect this tea will hit the spot once I get going.

Tobacco is the predominant aroma I’m getting from the wet leaf. It’s incredibly smooth and not what I consider to be bitter, but I am getting a fair amount of mouth puckering astringency. Lots of pipe tobacco in the flavor too. I bet a pipe smoker would love this tea.

http://roflnlol.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/for-tobacco-use-only.gif

By the third steep I am starting to feel funny. Like my head is floating above my body like a balloon. I’m over ten steeps now I think (once again I suck at keeping track of that). I feel pretty warm and mellow at this point. Like I’m wrapped in a fleece blanket. All I need are those little hotdogs, like maybe 25 or 30 of them. No no no no no. Not hotdogs. I’m going to have stop this review right now and head out to the Dank Burrito for some pork belly tacos. Later!

boychik

you are funny. i dont drink anything special when i go to the dentist. the taste of medicine in my mouth makes me even nauseous.

jschergen

I’ve sessioned this a bunch.

Interesting to hear about it being so smoky. I get a slight amount but perhaps I’m more immune to it. I’ve also heard others saying similar things about it.. There’s a little bit of roughness (at least compared to those YQH cakes) that it still has left to sort out but I do enjoy this tea a lot in most of my sitdowns with it.

curlygc

@jschergen: To my palate, tobacco flavor is different from smoke. To me the aroma and flavor is like unlit pipe tobacco or an unlit cigar. It isn’t smokey at all really. I know, I’m weird.

keychange

Oh my goodness, your pour mouth/jaw!

Cwyn

Nothing like the ’05 Naka to take the edge off the dentist enough to ruin the dental work with munchies!

bef

Regarding tobacco/smoke: I used to consider this tea somkey, but now I realize that it’s closer to an ash taste. But I still taste some smoke in there.

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78
drank Raspberry Mojito by DAVIDsTEA
15019 tasting notes

farewell tea. thankfully this was a one cup sipdown that was left so that i can make my sipdown goal for the month. next month may prove a little harder as i know i have a few teas inbound that will increase my numbers. Still trending downwards with weight though, so keeping up with that. While i enjoy this one, it’s not my favourite. I like the raspberry flavour and the mint but it’s not as refreshing as i want it to be. Still enjoyable, especially as a cold brew or hot brewed, drunk cooled..but i’ll keep this in my back pocket as an option if i run out of fruit teams this summer….i think it’s going to be a hot one.

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96

Nothing like a good tea to blow everything else away. I was feeling annoyed. Okay, really annoyed. My FB profile was disabled. I posted something to sell in a garage sale group (marketplace and a few other groups) and for some reason, this group reported the post. After 30 days I received no review of the request I made and now I can’t get in…

Tightly rolled balls, with most still attached to the twigs. A darker shade, greenish brown. That first sip blew my mind. I should have written down more of what I was tasting but my mind kinda felt like it went blank. Superb. That clear, pale, golden liquor. That roasty, toasty, slightly butterscotchy, sweet, aroma. That flavor!! Good heavens. Each cup has produced different flavor profiles, one building on the next. Minerality and a smooth mouthfeel to begin. This third one is a bit more mineral with the light roast notes coming on stronger. The fourth cup is stronger on the roast notes. Charcoal. A bit of burnt toast. On the edges. Still edible. Slather it with butter. Dip it in your tea. Just kidding. Don’t do that. Especially not a tea like this one. A bit of burnt popcorn too. You used the popcorn button, didn’t you? I actually always use that button and have only burnt it once. That was only one steeping! One gong fu of water!!

gmathis

Welcome to FB jail ;) I got locked out about a year ago on a technicality (it WAS me logging in; I told them twelve times it was ME; and then got mad and gave up when they demanded photo ID). Took a while, but I don’t miss it much now!

gmathis

(I’d rather talk to you people anyway ;)

Skysamurai

I originally got off because I gave it up for lent. I wanted to see if it really was affecting me or if it was something else going on and some of the …withdraw? lol I experienced was strange. I don’t mind not being on it but what really gets me is that I can’t at least get to my photos and videos _

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drank Koala Tea by Casting Whimsy
1711 tasting notes

Advent Day 18
I was super busy yesterday and didn’t even have time to drink my cup! Took a few sips, liked it and left if out for today. It’s cold now, but it’s still interesting. It has very bright notes to it with an underlying taste that I can only describe as light tobacco, but not. It’s probably the yaupon and I noticed we don’t have a category for yaupon in the Steepster choices for categorizing new teas. The lemon and eucalyptus are the strongest flavors. It also has clove and ginger, but they are playing perfect supporting roles to the others that it’s hard to pick them out in the sip, but they shine through a little more in the finish. I kinda like this one. Maybe not enough to buy more at this point, but if I came across another chance to drink it I’d take it.

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88

How have I not rated this yet?

Anyway, I love the Laoshan Black/Oolong tea from Verdant very much. I think I’ve shared that thought many times. But this tea, it adds so much more to already superior teas. The base really comes forward in the cup, but the added ingredients make these two teas work stupendously well together.

The cocoa nibs add a little more of that chocolate note to the base. The rice gives it a slight nutty flavor, which progresses after a while. Unfortunately, I’ve stopped drinking the tea alone after the fourth cup, since, after all, it IS Memorial Day, and there was food going around after the first few cups, so I had a lot of other flavors going on with it (I’ll most likely write a second review later on).

I will note here, though, that if you’re looking for a solid tea for the morning, this is one I’d grab. It’d make a great afternoon pick-me-up, too. And as far as Liquid Proust’s teas go, anything made by this guy is quality—even my wife is starting to drink tea (or least try it). So, with that said, go get ya’ll-selves some!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGCaEw_A-4R/?taken-by=s.g_sanders1

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGCad5yA-5O/?taken-by=s.g_sanders1

Oh yeah, I’d totally go out and buy a large amount of the Laoshan Black, but it’s incredibly expensive, so it wouldn’t be the ideal ‘daily drinker.’ However, it’s on the long wishlist of “These will be the ‘guests only’ drinkers; that, or, ‘holidays only’ tea.”

https://www.etsy.com/listing/288562613/laoshan-chocolate-genmaicha?ref=shop_home_active_3

Flavors: Chocolate, Cocoa, Nuts

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85

I wish I had a cherry flavoured black. That’s just exactly what I’m in the mood for right now. As it happens, however, I do not currently possess a cherry flavoured anything.

So I searched through the black teas in the collection, looking for something that would fill the same sort of criteria. Fruity and black. My first thought was a strawberry black. Which I also don’t have. Second thought was either black currant or blackberry, both of which I have and both of which are really nice, but I’ve just had those recently. Not again already.

Passion fruit then. Very un-cherry-like, but still fruity and I see that it has been rated consistently high by others. I think this one came from QuiltGuppy, which reminds me that my lack of received samples, swaps and gifts organisation is soon to be a thing of the past. See the whole story in the brackets below.

Apart from this sudden onset of fruity black craving, I’ve actually been eyeing this one for a couple of days now, especially when preparing that morning pot. I just don’t think it’s very suitable for that particular purpose. Not the first cup of the morning, and not a shared one when I’m fairly certain that the boyfriend prefers something unflavoured at that point. He does now and then request something flavoured when I bother asking about preferences and sometimes when I don’t bother and just tell him what I intend to make and would he like some, he also agrees. It just never came to pass with this one yet. It’s an ample sample, though, (Ample sample! TEEHEE!) so he’ll probably be subjected to it sooner rather than later anyway.

The dry leaf smelled absolutely wonderful. It was all tropical fruity and even slightly yogurt-y and cake-like. The yogurt-y, cake-y notes are gone in the steeped cup, but the fruit is still strong, and it smells more genuinely passion fruit-y than it did in the dry leaf. There seems to be a touch of vanilla to it as well although this may just be the sweetness of the fruit playing tricks on me.

The flavour is strong and again very fruity. My problems with teas flavoured with passion fruit and mango and papaya so far have been that they all strike me as very similar flavours, and in some cases it’s quite synthetic in flavour as well. Consequently my interest in tropically flavoured teas have been rather low, as are my expectations when trying them out. This one, I’m pleased to inform, have none of those issues. It’s very clearly passion fruit rather than some generic tropical flavour and it tastes real. If I were to say anything negative about it, it would probably be that the flavouring was just a smidgeon too strong and slightly overwhelming. I should have liked a touch of subtlety here.

The tea base is also coming through nicely, in spite of the heavy flavouring. I can tell that it’s tea and that it’s black, but I can’t say anything else about it for certain. It’s a fairly strong bodied one and I’m thinking possibly something Ceylon-y. There’s something dark about it, a dark brownish red flavour that I would immediately associate with that flavour. A sort of polished cherry wood colour. I need to make up a plain Ceylon later and pay attention to whether that one provokes a colour association and whether that too is a dark brownish red.

All in all, I’m very pleasantly surprised by this one. In spite of previously mentioned reservations towards the tropical flavours family, I actually had some pretty high expectations of it, and I’m glad to say I was not let down.

(The boyfriend has bought me a plastic storage box of a suitable size and everything that was kicking about in the Sample Basket is now in the box, sorted according to type.

I’m going to need another box for pouches such as the ones from 52teas and Chi of Tea and suchlike. They don’t really belong in the Sample Box, even if a couple of them were gifts, but they don’t look very attractive on the shelves either with the tins. Now if I had one more shelf… but there’s no room for that unless we stretch to reach the new top one. I don’t think we’re very interested in that.

Anyway, the original plan was that each group of samples should be sorted according to where they came from, but that didn’t really seem to work out too well in the box. Partly because I can’t remember where I got all my current ones from, so I can’t sort them for certain and also partly because I’m not really likely to stand there and think, ‘Oh, I think I’ll want something from QG today.’ I’m more likely to decide I want something black or green.

I shall instead device a numbering system. I need a small notebook and some small labels, and then I’ll just number the lot according to who the gifter was. The boyfriend says I’m being highly OCD about it, but he did seem to agree that the current non-system of being unable to remember who to thank is a little rude of me. If OCD is the solution then so be it. :) )

Ashley Bain

1. Someone should create a Black Cherry Black blend.
2. “(Ample sample! TEEHEE!)” That made me giggle. I was in need of a giggle.
3. I need a system of organization like you have come up with.

Angrboda

I tried looking for a cherry black, just to see if any of the shops available to me might have one, but it seems like it’s either cherry blossoms or cherry + other things.

Organisation of received samples didn’t use to be a problem, but then I received some three or four large sendings within a short period of time and it just went wrong. Haven’t been able to keep track since.

teawing

I second that Black Cherry Black motion!

LiberTEAS

I was just writing a review of Ovation Teas’ Chocolate Orange Bliss and I noticed this tea (and thought of this post): http://www.ovationteas.com/flavored-teas/flavored-black-tea/cherry-black-tea-loose-leaf.html

Indigobloom

You inspire me to organize! I need some shelves… :D
OMG Cherry tea… maybe we can get Frank to make one up??? I would SO buy me some of that.

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Reviews have been sparse the past couple weeks, primarily because I’ve been imbibing the same cadre of favorites for days. This one has moved near the top of the list, to the point that I asked hubby to run back to the store and grab the remaining stock. It’s just a good, solid, morning-strength rye and wheaty blend that requires no pampering. Recommended for heavy-duty unflavored unleaded fans…there are some of you out there, yes?

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72

Homemade Advent Calendar from Arby: Day 2

I really enjoy violet as a flavor but I rarely remember to dig out the one or two violet teas in my stash, so I was pleased when this one emerged as my random selection today. And I was equally as pleased once I steeped it up! It was straight-up violet at first, but as it cooled, a bit of creaminess emerged to round it out. I only got a hint or two of chocolate, but I think I’m OK with that. All in all, I enjoyed this one!

Flavors: Chocolate, Creamy, Violet

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72

A sipdown! (M: 1, Y: 9)!
Well, it’s 3 years old and I had a little left only. However it was more than I have thought. I used all 8, nearly 9 grams for gongfu steeping, however the last gram was mostly the dust (still better looking than some Czech loose leaf tea); and I did a rinse which made all the dust flow away. Or majority of it.

I just remembered about this tea saying that gongfu suited it better than western brewing method, however not even today I have been too impressed about this one.

It has got nice chocolate, rye bread, malt notes; however they were in total some kind of flat and not much complex tasting.

Happy about sipdown though :)

Preparation
8 g 4 OZ / 125 ML

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Are we at the point where there are too many high-end, farm to cup tea purveyors? It’s very easy to be seduced by the burgeoning websites touting personal relationships with family farms in China or Estates in India. How much variety is too much? How often is the Chinese black tea from X an upgrade from the one you’ve been enjoying for a while? Maybe the answer is a resounding, “Variety is the spice of life!” But it’s a question I ask myself as I find fewer and fewer of my forays into the offerings of new (to me) sellers end up replacing the teas I’ve come to love and drink regularly.

Now, this is not meant as a criticism of Joseph Wesley’s teas which I’m trying for the first time. I really enjoyed his high end Qimen (not reviewed yet) and this Bai Lin is certainly pleasant. But is the Qimen better than the ones I’ve had from Upton, a place I’ve been ordering from for years and from whom I can order a whole variety of excellent teas? Hard to say. When I go to the store, I can choose between 20 different kinds of olive oil or yogurt but the myriad of choices just makes me anxious (or maybe it’s just the fluorescent lighting).

Anyway, back to this tea, which I’m finding hard to categorize. It’s not as chocolatey as its nose suggests it will be; it’s actually more vegetal and grainy. I think I went too heavy on the leaf the first time—when I used less, I had a better result.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 10 OZ / 295 ML
Joseph Wesley Black Tea

Hey, Doug. I’m sorry to read that you’ve reached your existential crisis with our teas. But, it sounds like you’re in a really good place with your available options of tea. I hope that we find more people like you who have taken such time and commitment to sample so many teas. Keep up the great work and keep spreading your love. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the Qimen! -Joe

Doug F

I have the same problem with books and music. But I do think your Qimen stands out from the rest and is actually a bargain to boot, so I plan on reordering. I do like your focus on black teas as I’m not a big drinker of greens or oolongs. And again, no reflection on your business or teas; if there are enough loose leaf tea drinkers to support everyone—that’s great!

Joseph Wesley Black Tea

It’s been fascinating for me to discover not only the diversity of responses to our teas but also with the reaction to my little project: Joseph Wesley Black Tea. Thank you for your openness and especially for taking time to write a review. I sincerely appreciate the feedback.

TeaBrat

lol on the existential crisis comment. it’s fun tasting new teas but I reached my peak on that about 2 years ago and am less inclined to want everything under the sun.

Doug F

Me too. I’m trying to become more of an essentialist, but it’s hard.

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I’ve already reviewed this tea and noted its clean, sweet profile but I just figured out why I’m so enamored of this tea: the wu liang is as dissimilar from green tea as a sheng is likely to get, and not being a big fan of green teas, this is a great characteristic. Very consistent, no bitterness, sweet but with a little bit of fruity bite, this is more like an oolong than most shengs. An excellent tea to drink right now.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 30 sec 7 g 4 OZ / 130 ML
JC

I’ve had this cake for a WHILE now and I haven’t tried it. But I’ve heard good things so far.

Doug F

Yeah, it’s not a “wow, this is the most amazing, complex sheng in the world” kind of tea, but it’s really nice to drink, very easy to brew and you can taste the purity of the leaves and the fact that they grew in such a remote, pristine environment.

JC

Yeah, Wu Lian is never flashy, but I’ve had really good examples of it. I’ll dig this one out this week. I did end up buying a 2015 Huang Shang cake from YS in his last discount. I hope there aren’t any other specials before the holidays, I need to buy presents before I’m Puerh tempted! lol

Doug F

I know. I just ordered a bunch of black tea and the green miracle from Scott’s US site with the 15% discount, but there are so many others I want.

JC

I started putting things on my cart and then I looked in horror, partly because the amount I had accumulated and partly because I knew I needed to start taking a few things off it. lol

Doug F

That’s what I do. Build up and shave off.

Ginkosan

Damn Scott’s Hongcha is what’s up.

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92

I had this at an earlier time, and it wasn’t as “wowing” as others made it out to be. So, I decided to let it rest for a little and revisit before doing a review, and I am so glad that I did…

The dry leaf has very little scent to it. I opened my jar and could only catch whiffs of slight fermentation and some dust; however, there was a light sweetness in the background. I placed a generous amount of these strands in my warmed gaiwan and gave it a shake. Then, the scent came forth! The strands gave off a sweet hot coco mix scent. I took in the dry cacao powder aroma. I could note a lingering milkiness behind this decadent scent. I washed the leaves once and prepared for brewing. The chocolate aroma became muddled in the steeped leaves. The outstanding tone were fruit and a mild bitterness. The chocolate tone wrapped around these fruit scents like little jam filled desserts. The taste was fantastic! The sip begins with straight dates. The flavor moves into some more raisin tones with wet tobacco. Then, there is a prominent fig note. I noted a light pleasant bitter tone in the aftertaste. The next drink brings on a sweeter atmosphere with brown sugar and light honey. I began to experience a nice head feeling with a warm stomach; The qi has commenced. This brew has a lot of complex tones. The chocolate began to show its face at the second steeping by appearing dry and slightly unsweetened. The next steeping brings on its true face by being presented as rich, dark, and heavy with some earth tones. This brew has a lot of mouth feeling and it fills the palette. The body is thick and smooth and goes down easy. The qi continues to build and is an ever rising focused feeling. I experienced plenty of mouth action and hair prickling. This is something I could drink all night. I love brews that hit you with a full body of flavors steep after steep. The brew morphs to heavy chocolate tones with some drying in the background; moreover, there is a smooth creamy texture that lubricates the mouth. This is a well developed brew, and I am glad that I awaited its recovery. However, the brew dies down dramatically at about the eight or ninth steeping. The brew grows watery, pungent, and consists of solely fermented tones. Personally, I have little appreciation for these tones, but I do know people that enjoy this. All and all, I enjoyed this session, and I will be squirreling away some. I am sad to hear that this was discontinued. I can now understand the uproar from the tea community upon hearing of this tea’s demise. Thankfully, it can live on from the other tea hoarders and I ;)

https://www.instagram.com/p/9BuJ7DzGbw/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

Flavors: Brown Sugar, Cacao, Chocolate, Cocoa, Dark Chocolate, Dates, Drying, Earth, Fig, Milk, Raisins, Smooth

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 7 g 3 OZ / 100 ML
boychik

Since some of us still hoard it we should go on a quest and find something similar.

Haveteawilltravel

A quest! #challengeaccepted

mrmopar

I await the highest bidder…

MzPriss

Very nice note. I’m glad you got to experience the magic. I love it too much.

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100
drank Salted Caramel by DAVIDsTEA
1403 tasting notes

My second craving of the day.
You know when you don’t feel like trying a new tea because you want some kind of certainty in your cup? I’ve been taking all kinds of foolish chances on unknown teas this Black Friday weekend. Ok, maybe foolish, maybe curious, maybe thrill-seeking. Maybe it’ll pay off. Whatever.
Today, I wanted something I could depend on. The moment came for flannel pajamas and this. And to hell with the world for now. And my credit rating.

Sil

haha go you!

Evol Ving Ness

I am SO excited about the teapot I ordered that I can’t stand it. I’ve been stalking it for weeks. Oh, and tea.

Sil

ooh pics when it arrives! :)

Sil

awesome. is that your first?

Evol Ving Ness

Yes, Sil. It is my first and I am devoting it to oolongs. Would you believe that I still haven’t received it yet?

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82

Another sample that came with my Bana order (thank you Linda!), the dry aroma of these leaves in a prewarmed gaiwan is of freshly cut wood, muddy forest floor, and flowers. Wet, they smell like trees, flowers, and surf, a summer storm in a cup.

The first infusion is really light. It’s vegetal with wildflowers and a woody, slightly peppery finish.

Moving right along, the second infusion is round with flavors of grass, wood, and a nectar-like sweetness. Orange flowers come to mind, which has become a rather common mental association for me with many raw Puer teas.

On the third infusion, there’s a good amount of sweetness and the flavor is more rich. I can definitely taste this tea’s age, starting to develop some very nice rounded, sweet aged notes, but still with a good amount of the peppery spice and woodiness of its youth. Subtle flavors of goji or wolfberry emerge.

Fourth infusion, I’m starting to sweat. Is that the tea or just me? Woo! The flavor is quite strong, and a pretty even blend of the sharp woody taste and the sweet nectar-like mildly floral taste.

Fifth infusion brings out more sweetness. The flavor is quite full and rich. Overall, I think round is the best word to describe this Puer. It has a good balance of contrasting elements. I personally find it to have a bit of a punch, but some more hardcore Puer drinkers may find it on the easy side. The description from Bana is accurate that it has a good huigan and yun.

Flavors: Flowers, Goji, Nectar, Pepper, Sweet, Wood

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec
mrmopar

Now I have a shopping cart with stuff in it! You make me want this one!

TeaBrat

I tried a few teas from Bana years ago. they have good stuff! I don’t understand why they’re not more popular here.

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I am enjoying this sample from Crimson Lotus Tea immensely. The dry aroma is hay and barnyard. That used to make me nervous. Now I rather expect it. I did two rinses. The first cup was at 10 seconds. It is root beer colored with a pink tint. The first thing I notice when tasting was the thick creamy feel running along side the initial bite. Kind of opposing sensations but they work together. After the bite settles, I get mild horse tack that drifts into a sweet smooth finish. Cup two was much darker, pouring ruby red. Similar in taste to the first. The difference is this introduced a cedar note at the beginning and moved the bite to later in the sip. I also caught a light smokiness when exhaling. I only noticed the smoke after ‘testing’ a hot out of the oven chocolate chip cookie made with sugar free chips. Did the cookie bring the smoke out or add it? Who knows. Both the cookie and the tea were very enjoyable. Highly recommend both.

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83

Sipped this down cold brew style the other day. My DF stash has been dwindling, but I’m glad since some are starting to show their age. Would I get more of this? No, but it was packed with yummy fruits and was good hot or cold.

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85

I think I used a little too much leaf on this one, but it was still good. It had a fairly strong bitterness in the first few steeps. It slowly turned into more of a sweet note over twelve steeps. You might even argue apricots in this case but I am uncertain. It was though a very good tea. Next time I will try it with less leaf. I just kind of used what I happened to pry off. And although I was using a big gaiwan at 160ml, 12.8g was a little too much. For that gaiwan I think 9g or so would have been better. On the other hand I’m sure with this one I could go back for five or six more steeps if I wanted to. Overall I did like this tea.

I steeped this tea twelve times in a 160ml gaiwan with 12.8g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min, and 2 min.

Preparation
Boiling 12 g 5 OZ / 160 ML

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Damn, I forgot to bring tea to Tony’s house!
All he drinks is earl grey & jubilee, but digging around I found a single (old) bag of tazo Awake & another bag of Tazo Chai, so I brewed them together in a teapot. I’m not sure that this is better than nothing, but it’s what I got. In consolation to myself, I get to count it as a double sipdown :)

looseTman

I feel your pain! To go from a 200 cupboard to so few choices is definitely roughing it! Remember, Have tea will travel.

looseTman

Or, could a “Terri stash” be kept at Tony’s house?

Terri HarpLady

Sometimes I keep a stash here, but then I get tired of drinking the same small collection every single weekend, so then I go back to selecting teas to bring with me when I come over on Friday night. I usually bring more tea than I’ll drink, because I don’t know what I’ll be in the mood for! Yesterday I went home & grabbed some things (I only live 5 minutes away).

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2023 sipdown no. 70

This tea has a very savoury scent once steeped, with hints of saltiness – almost like a Ritz cracker. There’s hints of stewed fruits with a maltiness cut through and a fascinating savoury-sweetness in this tea. It’s difficult to describe, but a lovely tea from MS.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 1 min, 0 sec

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90

Dark leaf, dark reddish orange soup, sweet raisin, sweet feel & some other natural/woodsy Yiwu notes. Not bitter, fairly refined & elegant taste. Sweet fruit aroma. The woody note shares a similarity with Wuyi Oolong, its a really easy drinking one.

Later steeps 5+ there was a gorgeous complex stonefruity/natural/menthol/woodsy flavour. It had a kaleidoscope huigan effect which stayed kept me on my toes – these steeps were really good.

By steep 10 or so, i was in the 1:20 range, the flavour huigan started subsiding but there was still something natural there, the soup was still pretty dark.

I hit this with 90c into my thermos so, 85c or so, & did 1/5/10/15/20/25/30/40/60/1:20 etc

Flavors: Fruity, Menthol, Stonefruit, Sweet, Wood

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 0 min, 15 sec

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100

Thank heavens I got a sample with my order because I missed it. This remains as one of my favorite blacks, and I am happy to sip it down.

Daylon R Thomas

Did you read the other notes? They are more specific. It has a very strong berry-dark chocolate type of profile for a black tea.

JakeB

I just got mine in the mail—thanks! Underleafed it a bit, but will give it a try again with more leaf on Monday. I swear getting tea in the mail is one of the best feelings.

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73

I mostly just taste oolong, which isn’t my preferred tea base. After refrigerating this, more fruit flavor comes out, and I like it a little more. I’m not sure it’s distinctly cranberry, but it’s close enough. I don’t really taste any chestnut. I prefer fruity teas on an herbal or green base, so this one isn’t really for me, but it’s not bad. If you go in expecting an oolong with some subtle fruitiness, you won’t be too disappointed.

52Teas

I cold brewed some of this last night and am sipping it now. I don’t generally cold brew oolong, but this one turned our pretty good.

AJRimmer

Oh good to know! I have enough left to give that a try!

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I’m not a huge Earl Grey fan, but this is decent. The bergamot is strong, but not overly metallic or cloying, and the base is also sturdy and decent.

Thanks for sending me a sample of this to try, Lala!

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drank Cookie Dough Chai by 52teas
6444 tasting notes

I am having a really off day and posted my very brief review as part of my Instagram caption. Then I got confused where my review went to I am copy/pasting from that:

I ordered syrups and am back to experimenting with sweet creams. Today I made a toasted marshmallow sweet cream and paired it with this tea. It was mostly a sweet vanilla marshmallow tea, with the spice and toasted element not coming through strongly but keeping this from being overly sweet

52Teas

How do you make the sweet creams?

VariaTEA

The one I did for this was 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup whipping cream and 3 pumps of Torani Toasted Marshmallow syrup

52Teas

Thanks! I will have to try that. is the milk whole milk – or something else? Would this also work with half & half?

VariaTEA

We have 1% so that’s what I normally use. And it might work with half and half. I need to find the recipe I used to make because it would be a sweet cream that you could whip into a cold foam

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