Featured & Popular Tasting Notes

additional notes: Thanks so much for including this in your cupboard clearout, StarFevre! I loved this one when I first tried it…. I can’t believe I tried it eight years ago. And somehow this pouch is still very very delicious! It’s in a pouch I don’t remember Butiki using though… it’s more of a resealable pouch than one of those fold top bags they always had. So maybe this was from a subscription type thing. The flavor is still so good. It looks a little crumbled now though… but I’ll still enjoy it!

This one resulted in exactly what I was hoping, at least! Full of sweet creamy lemon flavor! Just like lemon meringue. All on a light black tea base. Both steeps the same deliciousness. The flowers are a nice touch. I’m not sure how the papaya influenced the flavor, but including them is unique anyway. I think it’s a Ceylon base again, but sometimes a great flavor will make the Ceylon disappear or at least tolerable. I would definitely buy this again when my 25grams is out. DF sometimes over promises what a tea will be like, but this one is spot on.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug// 10 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep

Holy moly, this is hands down my favourite Teabento tea that I’ve tried, and I purposely left this one to try last because I had a feeling it would be my favourite.

While I was expecting some chocolate when I initially opened the packet, I didn’t expect this much. Seriously, opening it was like unwrapping a bar of dark chocolate with cacao nibs. Although I haven’t had it in ever, this totally reminds me of Endangered Species chocolate, in particular, this one:

http://www.chocolatebar.com/?portfolio=dark-chocolate-with-cacao-nibs-2

Look at that cute little bat. Just in time for Halloween too. But yeah, dark chocolate tea without the guilt. Brewed up, this has the thickest mouthfeel of all the ones I’ve tried, which is my thing. The chocolate notes are the strongest, followed by grainy sweetness. No bitterness whatsoever.

Thank you so much for the wonderful bento box full of delicious samples, Teabento! This brings me to the end of my sample bento journey, and I can definitely see myself ordering this one.

Tomorrow a funeral of my dear aunt. Still sad about it. But today a new B&B subscription came. As you can see in my cupboard, three new teas appeared. This is one of two caffeine-free teas. Rooibos with strawberries sounds interesting. And there are almonds? Whoa.

After opening the pouch, a combination of strawberries and almonds (marzipan) hit my nose. It smells really nice.

I took recommended 1 tsp of tea and as I thought there is no strawberry pieces, I dig again and get some strawberries. So, maybe 1 1/2 tsp in strainer. I do not know about steeping time, I assume about 5 minutes.

It smells like strawberry jam! I just imagined having strawberry pancakes. Yum.

In taste, it has got some woody notes from rooibos, but overall, it is quite sweet and marzipan-like with strawberry topping.

Prepraed western, 6 grams for 350-400 ml glass mug. I don’t know exact volume and somehow lazy to measure.

What to say about this tea? Well, it reminds me lavender lemonade. It is tasty, aroma strongly lavneder. But when sipped, it turns into floral notes and lemon aftertaste. As it cools down, lemon is more prominent and floral notes are weaker. It is as well somehow refreshing, easydrinking tea. Maybe bit creamy as well; rooibos base is not present in taste at all.

I wonder if it could be good iced?
And derk – I got box from you! Thank you! All already in cupboard (real as well virtual)

I remember having bi luo chun for the first time. I had a very fresh quality tea and I just loved it. After that any bi luo chun I bought just didn’t seem to meet those same expectations. Was it because it just becomes common to the taste buds? Or maybe I was buying lower quality bi luo chun? I can’t say but it’s not like any of those bi luo chuns were bad. They were all good. Just not amazing. It’s been almost 2 years since I’ve had a bi luo chun I can rave about. Well I can now.

This tea came vacuum sealed and when I opened it the fresh fragrance of the tea was heavenly! I just knew this was going to be a great cup. Brewed up it’s sweet, chestnutty, grean bean with an aroma I can’t quite pin down. It reminds me a bit of osmanthus.

Was this tea just amazing because it was vacuum sealed? I think that might play a part in it too but it was amazing! I’m so glad I got my Taiwan Tea Crafts order just on the last day before the Canadian postal workers were locked out. Can you imagine this amazing tea sitting in some hot warehouse for weeks on end in the summer???? I still didn’t get my small order from Grand Tea and they have amazing tea too. Hope that one survives the strike in good shape.

Since my recent cocoa nib awakening, I have been obsessed and, in turn, delighted with the sweet, creamy, chocolate flavors I have found that they impart.

This tea falls right in line with all of this. A puerh that is also sweet and chocolate-y? Well, yes, I would like to drink that all morning. And I have! This tea really does combine the best of both ripe (smooth, creamy, dark, earthy) and cocoa nibs (creamy, sweet, chocolate).

I am going to have to play around with my own cocoa nibs and other “plain” puerh and see what I can create. Thanks for the inspiration and great tea, Brenden!

this was my puerh for the day – working from home i try to get at least one in. We’re coming down to crunch time for my trip so i really need to get a few more sipdowns in quickly! not that i really have many, but even a focus on puerh has been good. this is quite pleasant and very enjoyable. all that aside, i need to figure out which raw puerh i want to keep in my cupboard since i generally prefer ripe. :)

This is the first morning in a while that I’ve craved hot tea — I’ve been making iced teas lately because it’s been so hot. But today it’s rainy and a bit chilly, and I’m feeling a bit under the weather, so… hot tea it is.

This was a good choice. I enjoy ginger overall, but sometimes ginger tisanes are a bit off-putting to me. So the black base here is quite welcome. I’d like to try it iced, too.

Well, this definitely isn’t the freshest matcha anymore – but it’s still ok.

Flavour wise, this still tastes like a buttery vanilla cake frosting to me, but this cup also had a sharpness to it that was like a sour grassy note – possibly from being overleafed? Possibly from age? I’m not sure what exactly caused it but it’s not something I’ve observed in this way from this matcha before. The colour was also REALLY dark blue; sort of a murky blue-y green colour that reminded me more of concentrated spirulina that the brilliant blue you usually get from butterfly pea flowers. It was good overall in terms of flavour and I’d rather this be ‘overly blue’ than not blue at all given that’s what the selling point of the tea actually is.

But the texture! Ugh, the texture! The butterfly is just so mealy – and it floats on the surface of the liquor because it’s so light and isn’t finely ground down like the matcha. Really detracts from the experience and it makes me feel like I need to strain my matcha – which is a sentence I should never have to utter for matcha.

After reading the rave reviews of this tea, I picked up 25 grams of it this summer. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 7, 9, 12, 16, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma of these huge, curly leaves is of blackberries, grapes, honey, and malt. The first steep is amazingly complex, with notes of grapes, plums, blackberries, strawberries, malt, honey, fruit leather, and baked bread. The second steep adds notes of cherry, brown sugar, and raisins. There’s no astringency and wow, this tea is good. The fruit explosion continues through the next few steeps, with lots of plum, cherry, grape, and blackberry flavours. By steep six, sweet potato, orange, baked bread, brown sugar, malt, and honey take over, with the fruit in the background. The final steeps have flavours of peanuts, sweet potatoes, malt, wood, and minerals.

Like everyone else who has reviewed this tea, I was incredibly impressed. It’s simultaneously mind-bogglingly complex and very accessible. There’s no astringency and the fruity flavours jump out at you. (Unlike Eastkyteaguy, I didn’t get any menthol.) This is definitely a special occasion tea that repays careful attention. What-Cha really knocked it out of the park with this one.

When I sniffed the packet last night, it reminded me of Easter chocolates, hence why I’m drinking it today. Very rich and chocolaty-biscuity with an almost artificial bent. I think that’s the scent of buttery pancake syrup coming through because of the fenugreek.

Great dupe for the actual Chocolate Digestives! Very chocolaty and biscuity, faint cardamom intrigues, however, if I hadn’t known it was added, I’d never guess. The Sri Lankan black tea is a little brisk and bitter (or maybe the bitterness if from the fenugreek) but the creaminess imparted by the fats in the cocoa shells binds together the tea taste and flavorings such the flavor doesn’t separate. I get some lingering heat in the back of the mouth and my tongue has been tingling for quite some time.

As the tea has cooled, it tastes more like generic flat ‘black tea’ and with that fenugreek pancake syrup smell. Definitely going to have to drink the rest of this packet piping hot.

Thanks so much, beerandbeancurd! And here’s some chemsitry for you: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sotolon Also present in candy cap mushrooms.

Here’s Hoping TTB.

This is quite good. It has a strong hibiscus-orange flavor that I definitely enjoyed. It’s on the tart side, but I certainly don’t object to that. I’ve tried several herbals from Fava Tea Co. in this box that I really liked, so I might need to put in an order with them eventually.

Cold Brew!

It’s not that I’m anti-hibiscus in general, but I do dislike when it gets thoughtless tossed into tea blends (usually for colour) where it doesn’t make sense and takes over the flavours. ‘Cause while hibby does add a beautiful colour, that comes with a very distinct tartness! That’s been my main issue with this blend – the hibiscus is too tart/sour for the delicate violet notes that are so beautiful…

Cold brewing made a big difference in terms of flavour; the cold water extracted much less acidity and sharpness from the hibiscus and so while it was still a present element of the flavour I got to taste a lot more of the violet in the infusion and it was softer/smoother overall. I wouldn’t say it was INCREDIBLE prepared this way, but it was definitely good and I think I’ll have to really keep that in mind going through the rest of this tea…

This has the same pumpkin flavoring that I dislike, but it’s decently covered up with spices. It ends up an unremarkable, but decently tasty chai. Of course, I don’t think the weird fruitiness of the pumpkin flavoring goes well here. I had it warm with milk, and it was fine, though I might just serve the remainder to guests rather than drink it myself since I’m pretty biased against the flavoring.

Ok, so I’ve given this tea a mildly good score, as it was certainly had a drinkable flavour and I’m going to finish the pack I have (because I can’t stand throwing away tea or creating waste) but it’s not special. If someone came to me asking to recommend a tea blend that contained fennel and orange, I’d probably help them research and find a new tea rather than recommend this one.

It lacks… something.

The fennel and anise are subtle and balanced but they’re not outstanding. The orange is barely detectable too. It’s a nice flavour that you can drink easily. Like drinking a glass of water, to be honest. So, why spend money on it?

I can definitely say that this herbal tea calmed me, but other than that there’s really nothing to report. I wrote up a longer review, like usual, but by the end I was struggling to think of anything to say. I researched a little into how this tea is used as part of the medical Ayurveda traditions, but that’s not why I purchased the tea, I just thought it sounded like a great flavour combination and the price was low enough that I thought “what the hell, just go for it.”

The main reason for the positive tea score is the quality of ingredients, misleading aroma (it really does smell quite delicious), the calming effects and drink-ability. It’s just missing something to make it stand out.

Of course, it’s just my opinion. I’m hoping someone else will come along and find this tea delightful.

Full review: https://www.immortalwordsmith.co.uk/ayurveda-pura-orange-fennel-bliss-tea-review/

Another of the “has coconut” teas I put over in my Sipdown Corner. Brewed a cheeky warm cup to sip on before I grab iced tea to take to work.

I am not well versed in mate, but one of the few I really like is a Vanilla Macademia Nut one from Tea Chai Te in Portland. The dry leaf had a strong nutty aroma (reminded me of pistachio) and the brewed tea smells spot on for the Tea Chai Te Vanilla Macademia Nut Mate. A strong pistachio sort of nuttiness and a roasted aroma akin to the roastiness of coffee.

It’s very tasty! The actual taste of green mate is much stronger in the Tea Chai Te blend, and those notes are more subdued here with more of the roasted mate coming through, so I like this one a bit better. There’s a strong nuttiness to the cup, with a roasted coffee vibe, and a slight creamer flavor from the sweetness/creaminess of the coconut. I’m picking up a bit of the smoky note of the mate but it blends well here, and am not tasting the typical dry grass/hay flavor.

A very nice morning cuppa!

My throats been a bit sore so I’ve been drinking this with honey because it’s caffeine free and don’t care much about being able to taste it or not. I can taste cinnamon though.

TEA!

I have been tea-deprived. I have been so busy at work that I haven’t even had the chance to quaff my favorite beverage. Every cup I’ve made has gone cold with 3/4 left in it. It’s been that crazy. So I figured, why not curl up with some nommy Samovar from my first order from them?

Okay, these leaves are adorable. They’re oh-so-tiny, and they look like olive-green ramen noodles. I’m serious. And it’s hilarious, cause when they steep up, they turn a beautiful vibrant green, very much akin to broccoli. It’s the broccoli color. The try leaves smell… green. There’s a veggie goodness hiding out in there, and it’s pretty appealing.

This is actually the lightest-looking green tea I’ve ever seen. And the grassiest Chinese green that I’ve ever had. It smells like steamed vegetables. Like the vapors from the steam after you open the basket. The taste is awesome, though. Super umami-sweet, with lots of notes of stronger veggie goodness than usually found in a lot of Japanese greens. Slightly spinach, maybe? And a bit of salty mineral at the end? But really, it’s super-veggie-sweet. Like sucking the juice out of leaves dropped with dew.

I’m curious as to how this one will hold up to multiple infusions, because this tastes deliciously like spring. Like clean meadows and bright skies and light rain showers. And after a ridiculously insane week at work, this one is truly hitting the spot.

And it’s actually making me crave Japanese green tea now.

For the sipdown prompt, “a yerba mate.” It’s been a long time since the weather wasn’t so abhorrent that I had no interest in making a hot cup of tea in the morning, so I took advantage today.

Both the dried leaf and brewed tea have a strong and appealing lime aroma. There is an underlying earthiness on the nose beneath the lime, as well. That pretty much describes the flavor, too. A heavy, citrus-tangy lime with a slightly earthy undertone… I get more roasty notes than green notes. There is a hint of cream in the aftertaste.

Tasty. The bright citrus and soft roastiness make this a nice summer-to-autumn transitional tea.

This came as one of the “golden tea pouches” Bruu offers with every episode of its monthly tea subscription. As I´m not a great fan of green teas, I sort of put it aside, to try it earlier on today. And it sure came as a nice surprise, as I fully agree to what is indicated on the discover sheet : “Our Sourenee has sappy, grassy notes, overlain with soft fruits and a deep grapey aroma.” it´s this grapey touch that I can appreciate here.

All of the info Bruu gives about this tea online :
What it is? An early second flush of roasted green tea.
Why we love it : Due to the altitudes, tricky growing conditions and limited space, the Darjeeling district only produces 1% of India’s tea, at just 8,000 tonnes each year. This makes our Sourenee extremely rare, as it’s one of only a few estates able to produce a green Darjeeling tea.
Where it’s from : The Sourenee Tea Estate, Mirik Valley, India. The estate has an elevation of 700-1300m above sea level. The soil in that region is a stiff red loam with clay.
How our drink hits the senses : These leaves never cease to give out such scrumptious scents. A real unique green tea that oozes quality.
The taste journey : Grassy notes, overlaid with soft fruits and a deep grapey aroma. The well twisted green leaf provides an earthy undertone.

Entering this here as they don’t have it listed yet on their website. This is the GFOP loose leaf single estate Assam from Chota Tingrai tea estate by Mana Organics.

Holy cats but this is some malty awesomeness. The leaves are nothing special to look at but they are amazing to smell and taste. Wow is all I am capable of at the moment. 5 grams for 12 ounces of water at 205F for 3 minutes. No bitterness, not even a hint. However, as the liquor cools, a dryness sets in. Still not bitter, but not quenching. Need to try it iced next. But hot – I need to have this around all the time for sure.

Not rating as this is on Random but I’d be giving it 100 if it were on the actual tea listing.

This is a mix between pear and floral flavors. I feel like I’d prefer it cold, but it was surprisingly pleasant warm. It was maybe a touch too floral for me, but I enjoyed the authentic pear flavor. It was nice to have something light after all the heavier foods and milky teas.

Spent the afternoon at Barnes & Noble yesterday while my car was in the shop. It’s funny, although I read almost exclusively on the Kindle these days, nothing beats the experience of browsing an actual bookstore. I’m aware that bookstores and libraries are an endangered species these days, and try to support them in some way whenever I visit. So I went to the cafe and ordered this unsweetened Teavana iced tea.

As soon as I took a sip, I instantly recognized it as the old Starbucks Tazo Zen Green Tea now rebranded as Teavana. A tea I used to be quite fond of but hadn’t tasted in years. The tea was light amber in color and very heavy on the mint. Not the fresh mint you taste in Moroccan mint tea but the dried variety in your spice jar. There is a bit of lemongrass and citrus but the dominant flavor is mint. When I’m drinking a blend, I like to be able to taste some of the base tea however this felt like I was drinking dried herbs steeped in water.

It’s interesting how your tastes evolve over time. Although i used to love this tea, I struggled to finish the entire cup. It’s palatable and was nostalgic for me, but wouldn’t recommend it unless you really love mint.