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TTBC2 #11

Okay, so I seem to be out of luck when it comes to LS. The first time I tried it was in those prehistoric times when I was still drinking bagged teas exclusively. It was Twinings’ LS and I really liked it. Then I got a sampler tin of loose leaf Lapsang from Republic of Tea and I didn’t enjoy it very much at all. It seemed weaker and less flavorful than Twinings’.

This one… is kind of reminiscent of RoT’s. Although it has this extra to it in the form of an annoying aftertaste like… a cheap cigarette bitter stale aftertaste. I liked the smoky aroma of it, though! I really do like how Lapsang smells in general. But I do seem to have a problem with how it tastes. At least in the instance of this one.

I dunno. I think I’d rather really have a cigarette. Preferably not the cheap kind though.

TTBC2 #10

Wow, it seems that other Steepsterites really liked this tea.

I, on the other hand, didn’t find it very exciting at all. There was a litle bit of promise of caramel in the aroma of loose leaf but once it was steeped, it turned out to be just a good-quality rooibos with no extra flavoring to it. I enjoyed it as my last tea of last night, but there was not much to it. A good but forgettable cup.

I can’t believe I actually had to add this one to the database! I’m sorry I didn’t put any picture up. I couldn’t figure out how to save it from GMT website since the simple “save image as…” option did not appear, probably of all the picture zooming fanciness they have going on there.

Anyway. I had a sample of it last night, and, as I had predicted, it didn’t floor me but it wasn’t unpleasant either. I even re-steeped it. The peach flavoring is mild but agreeable with no artificiality to it. The oolong base has very little character but isn’t otherwise funky.

An okay tea. Nothing to crave or die for, but decent. It probably would work a little better iced?

This tea… puzzles me.

First off, it’s a green & black blend, which is pretty unusual. How in the world do you steep it? That’s one of the many occasions when Steepster is indispensable. I steeped it according to the average preparation then.

The liquor looks clear, and the color is something like coppery brown, which is what I would expect from a green & black tea mix. Smells like caramel (seriously, I’ve been on some caramel streak recently. I swear I typed this word a million times today whe writing tea reviews), sweet popcorn and vanilla toffee. Wow.

The first few sips underwhelmed me, in a way. It tasted like a really good genmaicha with a little bit of black tea’s boldness to it. I just shrugged and continued drinking and then I noticed… these shy but charming little notes of vanilla that made me reach for the cup almost compulsedly obsessively :D It’s like… having a spell put on you.

I think it’s one of these teas that is going to grown on me more and more with time – much like this first cup unraveled for me. And it’s kind of unusual because I don’t remember a tea that felt like this to me recently.

I am still puzzled, though.

TTBC2 #9

This one was largely a miss for me. It just tasted like a bland black tea with some very vague sweetener in it. I was a little wary of it in the first place, because I am not a fan of salted sweets, but I didn’t even get any salted notes here. Or caramel notes. Or chocolate notes.

It was okay to sip without paying attention to it, but once I went “What is it I am drinking?” I didn’t feel like having any more and finishing the cup.

Backlog from last night.

I had been really curious about this houjicha, especially after I smelled it. Because it smells exactly like a milk caramel – with this sharp lactose sweetness. Kind of like Werther’s Original ;D I am always really excited about houjichas as well. They just seem so unique.

The prepared steep didn’t offer much flavor in the caramel department, however. It was sure an excellent houjicha and if you focused enough and closed your eyes, you could perhaps sense some milk caramel notes in it. But I must admit that I expected slightly more pronounced flavoring, especially that, as I was drinking it, I could have easily imagined how well houjicha would go with caramel notes.

The second steep was stronger on the roastiness and perhaps revealed an itty-bitty more of milk caramel sweetness. But then, again, maybe I was just imagining it.

It’s a very good tea, just not necessarily what it promises.

TTBC2 #8

S’mores? Where are you???

This tastes like genmaicha. I have nothing against genmaicha, I actually like it a lot. So I am sipping on it and would be fairly content except I seem to have lost my s’mores. Like… ALL of them. Where the hell could they be at this hour? Not at the bar – too early.

ANYWAY, this tea is really good if it is considered as nothing more than genmaicha. When it was warm, it smelled a lot like caramel popcorn. I let it cool down a little hoping it would start tasting like something other than green tea with roasted rice but it doesn’t.

The s’mores must have evaporated.

TTBC2 #7

I have never been a fan of rootbeer as I have always found it to taste just awfully artificial. I thought it was because it’s soda. But I guess not. I guess the rootbeer taste is just that because I noticed the same “artificial” note in this tea.

Needless to say, I wasn’t too happy with it. I was hoping for something more gingery, spicy even. But, man, this sure is freakin’ rootbeer soda. Oh, and the “float” part, which I assume should be the ice cream part? I haven’t noticed it.

It has to be said, however, that the base tea tasted really good and was just the right amount of strong. It’s just that the flavoring is not exactly up my alley. I can see someone who is a great rootbeer fan loving this tea to pieces.

TTBC2 #6

This oolong has tons of character! The curled up leaves make a bright and sunny yellow infusion. The smell promises awesomeness, especially to a person like me who is besotted with all and any green oolongs. It tastes smooth, buttery and vegetal to a point where it starts tasting a little bit citrusy. I would say it is something like a cross between a milk oolong and a green style TGY – but there’s really so much more going on here than that.

The second steep was pretty decent, too, although it missed some of the fervor of the first one. Perhaps I should have steeped it longer?

TTBC2 #5

Okay, among all the Upton’s Darjeeling FTOPFTGOPFTFOPs, I think this was the one I had.

It was pretty yummy. I don’t really have much experience with Indian black teas, and the only darjeeling I have had before was the one from thepuriTea. This one made a much better impression on me, though. It almost tasted like some of my favorite Chinese black teas, it was sweet, slightly malty, a little bit toffee-like. But then a sharp but tiny bit of bitterness, that I tend to connect with Indian teas, creeped in. It wasn’t an entirely unpleasant sensation, though. I guess it is something one can get used to and learn to enjoy.

I really have to order a whole bunch of Indian black tea samples from Upton and then compare them against each other and against Chinese ones. How scientific!