New Tasting Notes

Thank you TeaFairy for this sweet sample!

I’ve been waiting for my granddaughter Schey to come over for some tea tasting! I have 5 different types of tea for her to try…but she’s late. It’s for a good reason though. Mom and dad are picking up a little foster boy who may be my next grandson! He’s had visits already and the other children have been in agreement on this little one. Me too,child #7!

Also, last night very late, my daughter Annalisa cut off all of Schey’s hair. She’s bald. Her Godmother has pancreatic cancer which is inoperable. I am so proud of the mother my daughter is this Mother’s Day! She’s raising great children!

While I waited, this Cherry Blossom Tea seemed a light enough choice.
I steeped the tea 3.5 minutes and drank in the sweet smelling cherry scent. Ummmm! Very fragrant indeed! The first large sip reminded me of Ludens Cherry Cough Drops in a wonderful way. I liked it when my dad slipped one to me in Church as a little girl. They were intense Cherry and warm going down my throat. Then I wondered if I could make the tea taste like the creamy Swirl Cherry Life Savers? (I’ve gone off my rocker!)
I added sweetening and some cream (no soy or other gunk…Cream). Yup, it tasted like the Swirl Cherry Life Savers! Hey! (Did a little dance here)
This is tasty and the bai mudan that usually makes my mouth feel like a furry cat is crouching in the back of my throat was ok because of the mix of green tea! (So a cat in the grass is alright (stupid I know!)).
In all, a nice and flavorful very Cherry tea!

Very clean taste. Tiny, tiny leaves – I used a cloth filter instead of my normal infuser, having learned my lesson from a Pakistani tea that was equally tiny. Also from that tea I didn’t oversteep this one. It would be easy to do so, though. After it cools a bit I catch a tiny hint of astringency. This would stand up well to milk and would make a good breakfast tea.

Aside from the gas money spent on a 100 mile round trip to the store where I found it, it’s a very reasonably priced tea. I also won’t use as many leaves so the purchase will last longer so all in all, probably a good purchase. I’d keep it around if I could come by it easily. It’s probably pretty decent iced, as well.

Adagio is an odd company—they’re so inconsistent! Some of their teas are great, some are downright icky, others are middle of the road. Usually companies are consistent in terms of the actual quality and I just have different opinions on the taste according to personal preference, but with Adagio it’s like a surprise in every bag. The second I opened this, though, I knew I was in tea-love.

Thai Chai is a winner for me for sure—I only got it in sample size and am already regretting that decision. I thought mixing H&S’s Bangkok and a base chai would yield similar results but this is definitely a different thing all together. I brewed this my usual chai way—extra strong and mixed with a ton of milk & sugar. It’s less fragrant than Bangkok for sure, and has a more earthy flavor as well as a less prominent lemongrass/coconut flavor and a more even amount of ginger. (disclaimer: Bangkok is my all-time favorite tea so I really do like the more prominent coconut/lemongrass flavors) But the spices are mixed very well here, with that signature “chai” taste in the background.

This is definitely a milder chai, not that spicy but still with the “spiced” flavor you’d want. I think it would be a great bedtime chai because of how creamy it is (even before milk—I’d assume that’s the coconut), though personally tea caffeine doesn’t make me that awake so it’s probably more of personal preference.

I think the rooibos over powers all the other flavours in this tea. If you can get past the rooibos, you can taste a hit of strawberry & a slight amount of cream. I find even the dry notes smell mostly of rooibos as oppose to strawberry.

I love the month of May, and today was such a beautiful day. Warm and sunny, and a good day to get a haircut. :)) There are lots of family Birthdays in May too.

My cousin and his twin niece and nephew celebrate on the 5th. We took in four kitties last year born on the 10th (Blackie didn’t make it :(( ). My Mom’s sister’s is the 11th, my special Beagle, Cookie was born on the 12th-she was born on Mother’s Day! My Dad’s is the 13th, his sister’s is the 14th. Then there’s [EH-HEM], Yours Truly, on the 15th. :)) A dear friend of mine is one day younger than me -the 16th. My Grandma’s was the 17th, & I miss her sweet, loving soul. I’m sure there’s a few others as well.

So yes, I love the month of May. Cookie was a black/white Beagle & Cocker mix; although, I didn’t notice much Spaniel in her. Everyone wanted me to call her Oreo, but I refused to think of a brand name every time I called her name. She was such a loving girl, and really special to me! She LOVED WALKS….WE loved walks, and we spent many happy hours together! :)) She always slept in my room with me like Lotis does now. He’s snoring at my feet right now.

It’s always so fun to celebrate my Birthday with Dad, as it was with Cookie. I wanted to remember her today by wearing my black Pittsburgh Steelers hat, a white T-shirt, and drinking a special tea. On with the review my friends.

When I opened the bad I noticed a stunning dark brown and furry (tippy) beige leaf- very tippy, the colors are intertwined. The aroma….SNIFFFF!! MMMMMMM….MMMMMMM…OMG!! That was my first reaction. The dry leaves smelled like a malted milk shake! Seriously….I was sniffing, until at some point I realized I had to stop and drink the tea. :))

I steeped per instructions using 2.5 -3 teaspoons of leaf. When the leaves hit my warmed glass press, the aroma intensified. Definitely malt milkshake aromas. The cup was a medium brown hue. In the cup, I smelled lighter choco-maltiness, with a light brown sugar sweetness (not dark). The wet tea leaves smelled chocolatey, toasty, with a medium (more mild) roasted marshmallow aroma. The cup flavors were malty , with a nice light (yet full mouth feel) chocolate goodness. My tongue and palate were satisfied without being heavy. I really didn’t detect the sweetness I noticed from the wet tea leaves and cup aroma.

After dinner, I added about 2 tsp leaves to the previous leaves and steeped for 5 minutes. The wet tea leaves smelled similar, but with more of a dark brown sugar sweetness. The cup itself was also slightly darker, more malty, with similar sweetness. Then I fell asleep and woke up to a cold cup of tea. :-// Well, it was still really good and malty, with slightly more chocolate flavor. I’m convinced you cannot oversteep this tea, as it was still smooth, mild-yet full flavored, and not bitter at all! :))

I’m glad I cupped this delicious, Pre-Chingming Golden Pekoe on this beautiful day and evening. A perfect tea to remember Cookie, my sweet dog, and all my family and friends-who I love, and celebrate. ’Here’s to us all’, and to the beautiful and special month of May! :))

Cupped & Reviewed: Saturday, May 12, 2012.

Sometimes you just aren’t in a place where you can brew a soothing pot of quality tea – or it’s too freakin’ hot to be bothered with all that work. That’s when you have to turn to prepackaged tea to satisfy your craving for something delicious and refreshing. It’s been several years since I last picked up a can of Arizona’s highly sweetened tea, but I’m sure that the basic formula hasn’t changed: tea, sugar, and more sugar.

Yup, the second ingredient after ‘black tea’ is high fructose corn syrup. And boy, can you taste it. If I wanted to describe the mouthfeel of this drink, I’d definitely go with ‘sticky’. The tea flavor is barely there.

But hey, I can sure taste that mango!

As far as ‘tea’ goes, it’s a stretch to call this a tea. But if you’re just looking for a cold bottled drink under a dollar, it’s not bad at all. Tastier than soda pop, for sure!

A lovely study tea, since I can just plop it in a mug, continue pouring on more water when I drink it up without really worrying about steeping times, and stare at it every so often. Straightforward pleasures!

I got a bit of this as a sample, and have been pleasantly surprised – the lemon smell is lovely, and the ginger adds just the right amount of spice.

In deep need of a little pick-me-up (further adventures in elder care), I hit Fox Farm for a little treat. This caught my eye because it said “strawberry,” because it was cheap (50 bags for $3.99) and because it was in a happy little red-and-white box that said “cheer up, droopy drawers!”

This steeps up really strong. Can’t read a lick of the Taiwanese ingredient list, so I don’t know what base they’re using, but it’s dark ebony brown with a pretty accurate strawberry taste. Not as elegant and ethereal as the strawberry-ish twist in Marco Polo, but it tastes like fruit and not like ICEE syrup.

A couple of sips straight up were fine, but on a whim, I splashed in some half-and-half, and I have me a fine cup of berries and cream. Also have some bags cold brewing in the fridge even as we speak. I think this is going to be a great summer tea.

(WIll keep working at finding a picture to post—I did finally land on the company website, but can’t get the English version to work for me.)

Sipping a cuppa while trying to work on Dropbox’s Dropquest. Stuck on Chapter 3, and I peek at their Facebook page to see someone referencing Chapter 22. It’s not worth my whole day for a gig of space! sheesh.

Anyway, a teaspoon of sugar, milk, and whipped a bit with my frother for a latte. That frother is the best Christmas present from my hubby EVAR.

I have hubby drinking tea now. I have never drank coffee at all, so with only one person drinking it, he kind of gave it up – it wasn’t worth brewing a pot full just for him, in his opinion. Started him on loose EG from Twinings, and then eased him over to this when I make a pot for me. I even have him liking Keemun Rhapsody. Converting him slowly! :D

Thank you Kristaleyn for this sample! what a deeelish tea :)
I have to agree, the black tea part comes out a little weak, and that was with a 5 min steep. It was about to get bitter so I had to take out the tea basket.
That said, the coconut part is great!! just love it!
With some milk n sugar, I do get a cream pie sortof texture. Yumm!!
I’d consider buying this, if I could figure out how to make the base stronger.

I’ve been wanting to try Matcha for a long, long time. But for whatever reason, I’ve been totally afraid of trying it. I kept thinking I was somehow going to screw it up, or that I would purchase poor quality Matcha and end up hating it. Finally, I broke down and purchased some moderately priced starter Matcha and tried it. I made lattes with it and it was okay, but nothing earth-shattering. So I decided to try a flavored Matcha, which brings me to this review for Caramel Matcha from Red Leaf Tea.

http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/caramel-matcha.html

I have always been a lover of all things caramel. I’ve probably tried every caramel cookie, cake, ice cream, tea, coffee, pastry, and countless other items that contain caramel. But I am very picky about caramel flavorings. Many of them taste too artificial, butterscotch-y, or are just too faint for me to enjoy. Happily, this Caramel Matcha did not disappoint me. When I received the package in the mail, I immediately knew my Matcha had arrived. There was a wonderful, strong smell of candy-like caramel coming from the package. After actually opening the package and smelling more caramel goodness, I knew I was in for a treat.

I decided to try this as a latte. So I prepared it using my usual method of 2 grams Matcha, 2 ounces of skim milk, 3-4 scoops of stevia, and 6 ounces of water. I whisked this up using my electric milk frother and tried it. It was very good, but a little strong. After adding another 2 ounces of water, it was close to perfection. This Matcha is very smooth and rich. Even though I used very little milk, it tasted so creamy. The caramel flavor is just right – enough flavor that you can definitely taste it, but not enough to outshine the flavor of the Matcha. This may be one of the best drinks I’ve ever made at home, and I’m actually kind of proud. I don’t have to make any more trips to Starbucks when I want a great latte. So I can save money, time, and calories. Hooray! I estimate that this whole drink took me 5 minutes to make, cost less than $1.00, and has about 25 calories. Plus I didn’t have to drive all the way across town to buy it. The only bad thing is, now I feel the need to try all of Red Leaf Tea’s other flavored Matchas. Oh well…

Going strong with the second pot of the morning.

Sip down. But it’s OK, because I have more on the way. My wife went into withdrawal already on the Chamomile Vanilla Bean and it isn’t even gone yet. So since I am paying shipping anyway might as well take advantage right? Also grabbed the Earl Grey for a friend.

For those of you who avoid fruit teas for fear of hibiscus – this one does not have it listed as an ingredient. Super fruit is pretty accurate – pomegranate and gojiberry, but you can taste the Sencha base, and that is important to me. The lemon grass is just a hint. Definitely my favorite from Fusion. It is my second favorite fruit tea from any I have tried. (Number 1 is Empire Tea Services Peach Apricot – it is amazing.) I love this one steaming hot or room temperature. It remains consistently good through out.

Backlogging from Friday:
I enjoyed yesterday’s cup enough that I wanted to see how well the leaf would survive the night. 12 oz boiling water, 1 minute steep in my press. The orange flavor and the heavily oxidized roasted (charcoal like) oolong are both kind of extreme flavors, but the short steep balances them pretty well. I can pick each out if I think about it yet neither stands out in a casual sip. It still has a cooling affect on my mouth and throat, which I find fascinating from a hot drink with no mint. I must admit the bizarre nature of this combination is beginning to grow on me.

I don’t tend to enjoy green teas. I drink them but I don’t “get” them. Hopefully you all are following me. Anyway I think I found a green I can get behind! The toasty and nutty flavor is awesome in this green tea. So flavorful and yes I may have eaten the rice pieces too. I can’t describe the smell for you because I can’t really smell a thing at the moment. But I will tell you this has turned into my afternoon go to cup since i picked it up last weekend in DC. :)

So it seems Teavana has changed this blend a few times in recent years. The combination described on this page with the Monkey Picked Oolong (Tieguanyin) is one I’ve been making myself for about a year, blending by the serving, not mixing a tin at a time. If I am feeling particularly patient I will start steeping the white and oolong first and add the green in the last 30 secs.

However Teavana only started using their Monkey Picked Oolong for this blend in late fall of 2011. What I have at home in a tin is the previous incarnation with Phoenix Mountain Dang Cong and while I have recently come to appreciate Dan Congs, I do not like this blend. The Gyokuro and the Dan Cong seem to be battling each other and while Gyokuro dominates the taste, they really bring out the worst in each other and plenty of astringency (and I’ve gotten very good at brewing Gyokuro so i don’t think its me).

Curiouser still, the ingredients list toward the bottom of Teavana’s page of this blend lists Eastern Beauty (which is now only available in a gift set) as the oolong, interesting, though not sure if it’s interesting enough to use my last serving this delicious Formosa to try it out.

In the end I think Monkey Picked works better than Phoenix Mountain but I really have come to prefer just pairing Gyokuro with Silver Needle, it seems fresher that way, maybe their new Thai Mountain Oolong would be a better option, it’s fresh, slightly creamy and has more of a wildflower than orchid flavor. May have to try that out next time I visit.

I love the smokiness of a russian tea. I guess that is the main characteristic of a “russian” tea. I usually can’t keep my russian teas with my other teas — they smell that strong. This one is more of a mild scent and flavor. It isn’t too smoky, so it could be for someone who wants to try a smoky tea and then if you like it you could try a stronger one. (The Choice Russian Caravan is pretty strong for a tea bag — one of the couple I’ve tried.) But with this one, the flavor isn’t even that strong for a black tea. It’s still good though, just mild. Maybe I should have steeped it longer and at a higher temperature.

Looooove this one !! What a different fragrance ! Can’t believe this is caffeine free ! awesome option in life !

First tea of the morning. I picked this up last weekend in DC for a friend of mine and I snagged a cups worth for myself from the tin this morning…shhh! I needed a little pick me up and this did just the trick! Rich and bold the perfect morning wake up for me today. There is a little hint of honey to this one and I liked that too. I did steep this a little too long and needed to add one cube of sugar to it…but that’s it. Yum!

Interesting green. It smells wonderful! Lovely toasty white chocolate/vanilla aroma, both dry & steeped. At first I thought the green tea taste was oddly separated from the rest, but as I finished the cup it blended together nicely. Sweet, slightly creamy, but I might try this with creamer next time to bump it up. However, it was fine without any additions.