New Tasting Notes

Having a cup of this before sending the rest to Azz.
I forgot how much I enjoyed this!

The interview is over and I think it went well, so I am celebrating by having my last bag of Aged Earl. I am so glad I saved my big mug for this tea so I can get a lot out of my last bag.

I am going to savor this because I don’t know when I will be able to get any more Earl for a while.

I really like this peach tea ball. Its not expensive at about $10.00 a jar, and the flavor is smooth, there are more ornate flowing tea ball out there but its a nice starter if you are interested in learning about tea balls, or if you are just wanting something to drink.

I’m not sure why I didn’t get the flavor I normally get out of this on this steeping. Oh well. The hints were still there and it made me happy to drink it. The second steep will be fabulous.

Had this before my interview to calm and focus me.

I participated in a tea tasting with the staff at the Uptown (Victoria BC) store (I consider them to be my friends now, really), yesterday evening to try the three new teas they received. I can’t wait to try the other new ones when they come in too!!

Being an avid oolong fan, and having a great love of the Quangzhou Milk Oolong, I was extremely excited to see a new straight oolong! This is even more special as it is the first tea they’ve received from Vietnam!

We did both a gongfu and western style brew to taste it, each brew style bringing out slightly different notes of the flavour. The gongfu brew brought out more of the delicate floral notes (reminds me of orchid? Magnolia? It’s definitely more floral than piney), and the western style brew brought out a rich sweetness reminiscent of the Quangzhou.

I went home with 100g and will likely need to get more before the month is up!

This is a very flowery tea, the scent as well as the tea flavor when brewed. for the cost it packs a punch. I would recommend this for an everyday Jasmine, but you must really like the strong flavor.

As I was sipping along on this very enjoyable oolong, a new box from TeaVivre arrived-I get so excited when I get a new box of tea. Previously, I had enjoyed a sample of the unflavored version of this oolong and this is my third time drinking the flavored. I wish I had the two side by side to compare. Going from memory, I probably prefer this one, though both are very good. I have not brewed it exactly as instructed because I was afraid of going to boiling with this light oolong. I used 5 gms of tea in my Perfectea Maker, which is similar to using a Gaiwan due to the large brewing basket. I did a quick rinse, then brewed in 6 ounces water at 195. I steeped for 1 1/2 minutes to start with and added 30 seconds for each subsequent brewing. I added just a touch of sweetener. I would describe the overall taste as pleasantly floral and creamy, very nice. For today, I have steeped it 5 times so far, with great results. It just keeps on giving! Not sure I’ll try for more because I want to try Taiwan Dong Ding which came in today’s package. This is one I would order-its something a little different when you’re in the mood for a “comfort” tea.

No rating as this is my own. It’s been a DAY – glad to have a tea moment to escape. This hits the spot without making me too shaky (as in too much caffeine, I’m drinking a Diet Cherry Dr Pepper too) and too tired.

Yup! Yup! I’ll have-uh cup! Then pass the rest to my sista’s!!!
:)

I was looking for something that would taste a little like Irish breakfast tea. it has a dense smooth flavor with hints of malt. taste good with a dash of honey. its is a good tea warm up in the morning. if zen tea ever decides to produce an Irish breakfast blend it should include this tea.

Personally every time I tried to brew this one hot I got less than ideal results, so I only make this one in a Mr. Coffee Ice Tea maker. Personally I like darker oolongs to blacks when it comes to ice tea but I keep this on hand for the people that like their tea to be lighter. It is one that I do not mind drinking as ice tea but there are ones that I like a lot better. The bulk of this tea goes to making batches of ice tea for my girlfriend and my grandmother so if both of them love it a lot it can’t be that bad even if it is not my personal favorite.

I got a new puppy yesterday and I am crate training. So after a night of howling and a morning of cleaning messes, I needed a strong tea. The dry leaves look like mostly CTC with a few longer leaves, as well. Dried it smelled kind of typical malty breakfast teas. I tried it without milk and sugar first and it was strong with some astringency. Since it says it was made for milk and sugar I tried it with even though i don’t usually take my tea that way. There was no further astringency and had a berry flavor that I couldn’t detect without it. Very sneaky and very yummy.

Eh the sun is apparently out here in Albany….but from my office cave your wouldn’t know it (lots of vines + huge garage blocking view = gloom) from where I am sitting. Right now I’m trying to stay awake at work. I REALLY need a nap. So I plucked this out of my World Tea East samples I brought to work. I picked it because I wanted something familiar and comforting this afternoon as I plug through very boring things at work.

This cup brewed up a nice autumn orange/brown color. This time I’m really getting a nice mix of the sweet/spicy and I am loving it. I had forgotten about this tea all summer. But now it’s time to dig it out of the back of the tea cabinet. :)

I had held off on drinking my last bit of this, knowing that it is no longer available. Finally, I couldn’t wait anymore and I finished it off yesterday. This really is a fabulous black tea. If I had to pick just one tea to keep on hand at all times, this would be it. Unfortunately that won’t be possible. I have some other wonderful black teas, but this is the best! I’ll always be looking out for something similar to come along. (Maybe David will get some more on this trip to China!)

For anyone who read my notes yesterday about how I was searching for my CANE (I need to name her, she’s 3 years old with silver, blue and black little squiggle flowers and a black wood handle), and I’m reporting that I found her at Old Navy. She was shopping.

Usually I find my CANE having tea at Happy Lucky’s.

I went looking for her after my hair appointment.
There was an odd ad on the radio for a Viagra type product that you had to ‘qualify’ for (huh?) and the first 200 men who called would receive a free stop watch to time the effects of the product (really?!). I certainly got some good puns out of that ad.

When I got home I finished some tea from earlier and roasted some root veggies for dinner. I set some tea aside for the morning, hoping the weather would brighten so that I could take some Fall Photo’s.

This morning was what I hoped for, shimmering light and blue sky.
I’m going to Douglas Lake behind my daughter’s house to get a sweeping view of the Rocky Mountains. I’ll post later pictures from my shoot.

I had to have the tea I set aside first.

When this tea was ordered I had a long conversation with the owner of Kally Tea and enjoyed the down-to-earth friendly conversation about tea and life.
He lives in the small high desert town of Hemet, California.
In my whole life as a consumer, I can’t think of any product besides tea where you can get to know the owner of the company providing the product.
I’m 64 and unless I walk into a physical store in my town and confront an owner and get to know them, it isn’t going to happen. TEA IS DIFFERENT!
(It’s a miracle really)

The tea
The dry Oolong was loose, not tight little pebbles of leaves
that would unfurl during steeping.
They looked like Black tea leaves and smelled sweet.

I used 1.5 tsp dry to 8oz. water at 160F and steeped 3 minutes.

The liquor was light honey brown, and tasted lighter than I expected for a first steeping. (I will try a little more leaf next time.)

The flavor was soft clover honey melting away on my tongue like water. There was a roastiness so light and savory that it kept drawing me back for more.

I sipped and sipped the smooth, gentle Oolong, thinking how nice
it was to have a tea that wasn’t requiring much of me.
could just relax, not going into ecstacy over it’s wonders or
into disappointment by some flaw.

As the tea cooled, it didn’t blink. Everything stayed as it was.
“Well now, an Oolong for anytime drinking,” I thought.

This type of Oolong is harder to find and one that I’m glad to have. By the way, I think this is one that’s good pared with food.

Here’s a picture from the LAKE http://flic.kr/p/diVvp6

I hadn’t checked out my Revolution teas recently so I brought them to work all last week. This one is most definitely still my favorite! It’s so light and refreshing, probably one of my favorite white teas I own.

Enjoyed this one at lunch today. This time it smelled and tasted pretty piney which is a new one for me with this tea. But I liked it! Nice and strong…just what I needed to help mw stay awake this afternoon.

I LOVED this tea. Its basically the White Peony ‘with more silver buds’. I feel like maybe this should be the regular white Peony and the other one a lower quality. From trying other brands I found that the ratio of buds to leaves is not that special.

It is still a pretty good tea as long as the packaged is working properly. This has been my worst problem with adagio. many of the bags don’t really seal close after the first time opened. I did solve it with their containers but I feel like if you spend $30-50 in a bag of tea it should seal closed at least a few times.

1.5 tsp for 250mL water @90C, steeped 4 minutes, drunk bare.

I was hoping for a that high note, almost a fruitiness, but this Tung Ting tribute is more of a buttery oolong with a distsnt whiff of tart plum. And that’s fine. Sweet and steady but definitely buttery.