New Tasting Notes

Thanks Dhart1214 doe this ELECTION DAY in the USA sample tea!

Since I voted 2 weeks ago already, there’s nothing to do today prior to hunkering down for the results tonight with some Chai and All-American Hot Dogs. I cleaned house just in case my choice for President doesn’t win and I’m glum tomorrow. (Hope that doesn’t happen!)

Everybody in my family is voting for different people and issues. I must have raised my children right because they think for themselves and allow discussion of issues without any character attacks. One is further left, one further right and me, I suppose I’m moderately…not going to tell!

Now that I have a clean house, it’s time for tea!

Dhart1214 sent me a lot of little sample packs from The Persimmon Tree and I’m almost through the bundle.
I was in the MOOD for some Earl. The day is bright and sunny. I’ve had all the windows open, airing out my condo with a fresh Fall breeze.
Now, with a light vanilla candle lit on the kitchen counter, and a cup of Earl Grey, I can sit and relax.

This tea was sweet without adding any additional sweetening. The French Vanilla was tasty and the Bergamot oil fragrant with a pleasing citrus briskness. There wasn’t any acidity, but a smooth, creaminess that made the cup enjoyable.
Some Earl Grey’s don’t hold up to additions very well but this one does. I added half & half and additional sweetening which is the way I like my Earl Grey.

The Persimmon Tree tea’s have been hit and miss. This one is pretty good.

God Bless America!

(For you in other parts of the World, God Bless your Countries! Australia, Canada, England, Italy, China, Japan, India, Croatia, France, Ecuador, Ireland, Denmark…these are the people who follow me I think…)

Just finishing a cup! Just as good as I remember it! See previous notes…special thanks to Azzrian for a bit more of this one! YUM2daTUM!

A review of Shui Xian Wuyi Oolong by Verdant Tea

Date: 11/06/2012
Company: Verdant Tea
Tea Name: Shui Xian Wuyi Oolong
Tea Type Oolong
Region: Taiwan
Steeping Vessel/Amt. Leaf:
Plucking Season:
Liquor Color: peach with a blush
Leaf Characteristics:

1st Steeping:
Water temperature: 190 Fahrenheit
Time: 3 minutes
Note: I am finishing the remains of this Shui Xian Wuyi Oolong. I have a teaspoon of it left and so I pour the warmly boiled water over it. And the aroma as the cup steamed is like milk simmering with vanilla pods; the essence is there with that caramelizing effect towing along. The tea’s color makes me think of peaches with a blush; it is that amber color but not darken.

When I taste this oolong it is heaven. I am reminded of the Chai that I had enjoyed earlier this morning and perhaps that is why I have reached for this tea. It has many folds; there is that buttery sweet flavor left on the palette and that of fresh cinnamon…sprinkles of cinnamon over banana to be exact, but unfortunately I don’t get this.

I know this is one of the better tasting oolongs that I have had, as there have not been any that I did not like. I do remember vaguely one Apple Wuyi Oolong tea that I had purchased and I could never discern the apple, for it had no crispness, tart/sweetness at all. It was oolong tea and yet very mild and they were tea bags as opposed to loose leaf tea.

A review of Organic Masala Chai Tea by David Rio

Date: 11/06/2012
Company: David Rio
Tea Name: Organic Masala Chai
Tea Type/ Chai
Region: India
Steeping Vessel/Amt. Leaf: cup/ fine powder
Plucking Season:
Liquor Color: warm caramel
Leaf Characteristics:

1st Steeping:
Water temperature: 200 Fahrenheit
Time: 5 minutes

Note: I wanted a cup of this spice milky tea today since I was thinking for having a cup of cacao, purely. I took one teaspoon of the sweetly fine powder and add this in my mug and pour the very hot water and stir and stirred until the granules were evenly blended /disappearing in my cup.

I sip and sip this tea which is so warm and sweet. All the warm, spicy sweet flavors of traditional masala chai are in this blend that I have fixed for myself: there is the cinnamon, ginger and clove vying for attention with the cardamom seemingly in the background cloying at my taste buds.

This tea is such a delight on this very cold day and I feel somewhat secured while holding this cup of warmth in my hand. I am sorry as I finish this chai and so to passes the moment of having obtained creature comfort/ bliss even, if only for a few moments.

There will have to be another time then, since there is more of this chai in its tin.

A review of Slimming Special Herbal Tea by Triple Leaf

Date: 11/05/2012
Company: Triple Leaf Brand
Tea Name: Slimming Special Herbal Tea
Tea Type/ Herbal
Region:
Steeping Vessel/Amt. Leaf: cup/ tea bag
Plucking Season:
Liquor Color:
Leaf Characteristics:

1st Steeping:
Water temperature: 190 Fahrenheit
Time: 5 minutes

Note: I like to have this tea (all my herbal teas strongly) so infusion is longest of steeping for 5 minutes or more and this makes the tea very dark in color and smelling strongly of herbals like the Senna leaf, dandelion, licorice root and persimmon leaf making this tea a sweeter brew.

I brew this tea so strongly and that it is darken-cloudy mush in my mug and when tasted, tea is very hot and good; I like how the persimmon and licorice play nicely together; this tea is wonderful because it has no bitterness at all.

As this was my ending cup of tea for the day, it was very welcoming cup of tea.

A review of 100% Organic & Pure Tea by Organic & Pure, Inc.

Date: 11/05/2012
Company: Organic & Pure, Inc.
Tea Name: 100% Organic & Pure Tea
Tea Type/ Green
Region: China
Steeping Vessel/Amt. Leaf: cup/ tea bag
Plucking Season:
Liquor Color: very light green
Leaf Characteristics:

1st Steeping:
Water temperature: 175 Fahrenheit
Time: 3 minutes

Note: I wanted to have a quick cup of tea this morning before heading out for the day. I should have selected some special tea, but opted for this green tea. I use one tea bag and add the heated water to my cup and leave it to steep for few minutes. I remove the tea bag and add not a thing to this tea. I like it that is simply a cup of warm water, lightly green in color and smelling of tea leaves.

When I taste the tea it is a mildly fresh and astringent cup of tea at first that softens the more one drinks it finding that it has a natural sweetness to it. It is good to know that one is having something that is delicious and good for you as well. Since Green Tea is considered by many as one of the healthiest beverages on Earth.

Organic and Pure Green Tea (Camellia Sinensis) begins as young tender leaf buds, plucked fresh at the height of potency and flavor. Each leaf is simply steamed, rolled, and gently flash-dried to hold in the delicate flavor and aroma. So enjoy Organic and Pure Tea today, guaranteed to like.

Murr murr murrr.

I remember liking this one a lot, and I haven’t had it in a long time.

It needs milk and sugar. I have sugar, but no milk. The tea is overly astringent and the cream tastes fake. With sugar (well, agave), it’s just weirdly sweet.

I remember this being really good as a latte, but not all on its own.

Red Leaf Tea Emperor’s Matcha is very Earthy, green and vegetal. This matcha has a very creamy, thick mouth feel…VERY UMAMI!!!

The only way I describe the flavor profile is a creamy-spinachy taste and vegetal to the palate. The flavor stays with you after finishing your portion; with a slight hint of sweetness undertone.

The matcha whisks up into a very thick, creamy, bright almost fluorescent green crema on top of a beautiful dark Jade green liquor…VERY BEAUTIFUL, exactly what you strive for when preparing and enjoying a bowl of matcha!

Best made as KOICHA, but can add more water to taste if desired.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this matcha if you are a connoisseur or are familiar with the proper preparation of this fine beverage.

Good Stuff. I made a Tall Cup (16oz tumbler, 2 satchet) and it was slightly much, but good flavor all around.

Update: Added a bit of sugar and it lessens the stomach weight.

This is not supposed to taste good, but is rather pleasing. Taste Medicinal (Which isn’t surprising) but wasn’t hard to drink at all. Hard to tell if its helping, but we will know in time.

Oh man this is so good. I shouldn’t buy more tea for like 8 months but I need to have this around because it is a great warming up tea. It just makes you feel all warm and because it’s so hearty, it feels extra good.

Sweet, vegetal, and roasty! It does remind me of kettle corn! It’s hard to go wrong with genmaicha. I love the local flair of the MN wild rice for something different.

This was my morning cuppa.

This is such a good, sturdy staple. It was love at first sip, and I’m particularly particular about my earl grey cremes.

I fell in love with London Fogs during my first year of university. They are a terrible, tasty addiction. So not long after discovering them I bought myself a bag of loose leaf earl grey creme from a now-defunct local tea shop since I figured the flavours were similar, so maybe I could recreate my beloved London Fogs at home. But nope, it tasted like an artificial, over-the-top, in your face attempt at vanilla creme. That experience turned me off of vanilla earls for a long while. It was just SO sickly. And I’ve found that same note in EGCs from other companies too (looking at you, Adagio!)

But once again I took a leap of faith with Della Terra, and surprise surprise, they didn’t let me down! This is so smooth and creamy-sweet like it should be, but it’s also fresh and bright, and almost peppery. None of that sickly business I had come to expect from an earl grey creme. This is perfection. Simple and bold, it feels like an old friend with those familiar London Fog flavours. This is yet another one from Della Terra that I will most definitely be stocking up on.

Also—you guys! You NEED to make this soup. Like seriously, even if you’re not a soup person, even if you’re not a carrot person..just try it. It is a party of roasty sweet goodness in my mouth. Had it for dinner last night and I’m already contemplating when I can make it next. Yum!
http://www.food52.com/recipes/9743_roasted_carrot_soup

First day back in work building. There is electricity but no heat. Brrrr! Drinking lots of hot tea to keep warm!

This particular tea tastes very different from my memory but it is quite old for green tea so that may be why. The taste is still good though. Reminds me a bit of dragon well actually.

I’m on my third steep. Still going strong!

Hope the heat is back tomorrow!

Only one other coworker is here today. The others are working from the NJ office. We spent some time talking about how cold it is and then I shared some silky green tea from Bird Pick. He agreed that it seems more like an oolong. :)

Long time no see Fellow Tea drinker ! Been a busy month looking for a new job not lot of tea drinking as been made now that the job is found stress level get lower and tea come back in mind.

I was happy to see that one not enough banana thing are made but the more flavoured tea i drink the more i hate them there always seem to have weird taste in them when it’s a ingredient i know i don’t like in tea (apple or hibiscus) well that a chance i take but there is other like this one all ingredient i love but still a weird taste i can’t identify like a spice making it barely able to finish the cup.

It does taste banana but nothing near banana pie ( or chocolat or any of the other ingredient for that matter) and that weird taste i get in the background with each sip they smell so good i just want to love them but it don’t happen ! Straight tea it’s gonna be for me they rarely disappoint me.

like with the other i’m gonna finish my sample in hope my note will change but it’s never do maybe i’m just not made for flavored tea

dying from heat in the classroom, I feel like I’m melting… so I thought I better have some ginger :D I need milk so I can make it a gingersnap tea….

Enjoyed this with lunch to give me an energy boost.
Even though this was one of my older forgotten teas, it still brewed Nicely and smelled delicious.
Obviously the flavor would have been better if it had been fresh and sealed.

I think I’ve finally reached the point where I have too many tea samples. Or maybe I’m just saying that because I was gone for a week and I came back to 4 boxes of swaps and it all seems so overwhelming. Tea samples are always awesome, but now I’m wondering how I’m going to go through it all. In the meantime, I’m going to try to resist all the upcoming Christmas promotions. 

Anyway, I picked this out from the sample box I got from momo a while back. I don’t have much experience with guava, so I’m really sure what to expect. I’m not getting a LOT of guava flavor in this, I mostly just taste the white tea. It’s not bad, but I’m not picking up on all the notes that everyone else seems to be. Or maybe I’m just not familiar with guava to taste it. It’s not a bad tea at all, though. Didn’t really get a chance to cold brew this since my samples was so small, so maybe I might pick up the fruitiness a little better if it was colder. 

Had this when I got home from work to help me unwind. I really like the pineapple because it is sweet without overpowering the chamomile and made it something special. :)

It is time for the last of this sample. There was a little bit more in the bag than I would normally put in, but it wasn’t enough for two french presses, so I poured in the rest of my sample bag.

Starting at two minutes and going to keep re-steep it until I kill it. So probably six steeps worth of tea. A very good choice for an afternoon tea.

Yum. Not wow, but yum. Definitely a dark chocolate thing going on, and it smells like a combinaiton of cocoa and hot candies. I did find it a little on the dark side for my taste; I’m a milk chocolate girl, but definitely yummy. The chili isn’t over-powering (I’m a bit of a spice wimp) but it’s enough for you to notice. Reminds me of the mexican hot chocolate they serve at a local coffee shop here. I never would have bought it if they weren’t servings samples at DAVIDs, but after trying it, I picked up a small amount to bring home. Definitey gives you a warm toasty feeling inside. Not the best flavoured tea EVER, but definitely something I will keep around, especially for the holidays. :)

Prepped as below, with a splash of milk.

It’s a cloudy rainy day, but at least I’ve nowhere to be. Nowhere but on my couch, listening to Bon Iver and enjoying this cup of tea.

I couldn’t find this one in the steepster database so here we are.
Thanks Azzrian

This one is nice. It’s a mellow-vegetal flavor with a naturally-saltiness almost.