New Tasting Notes

I’ve been wanting to review this tea for a while and I finally got around to it.

This tea is really pretty. Long uniform leaves with buds. The leaves surround the bud in many cases. They are also white tipped, soft, and furry. As the leaves rested in my rinsed glass press they smelled nutty and mildly fruity.

My first cup was a soft yellow brew with a mild sweetness. As I tasted it and swirled it in my mouth, it is warm and smooth with a nutty flavor, and mild fruits of melon on the back of my tongue. I usually equate the melon notes to cantaloupe or honeydew, and in this case, cantaloupe fits the bill.

As I wait for my second cup to cool, the wet leaves smell sweet and nutty. The cup is somewhat darker in color, and a natural sweet aroma comes through. This is the best cup of the three I had. The nuttiness was somewhat stronger, as were the fruity notes. This was still a gentle cup, as white teas tend to be. It was again naturally sweet and smooth. Brewed 195 for 1 minute.

In my last cup (212 for 3 minutes), the nut aspects faded, leaving it more fruity on my palate-but even these were lighter than my second cup. Still a sweet and flavorful cup. Overall a very light, creamy smooth, naturally sweet brew I love.

It reminds me so much of the warmer months. This tea is so appropriate right now, as it has been in the 60’s the last few days, and today in the 70’s! What a nice welcome to what has been a warm March, and an early Spring! :)) Oh, how I do welcome thee…….

Cupped: Thursday, March 15, 2012. THE IDES OF MARCH!

Reviewed: Saturday, March 17, 2012.

Alas, I am confused. I don’t really know what this is. Chai Coffee tea! Baked Coffee beans so it doesn’t taste like coffee. It actually doesn’t. I get Chai.. and I’m not sure what else.

On another note, I actually got this sample from Craig Buntin himself last summer and forgot about it until I discovered it today (perhaps past the freshness peak). Story is he showed up for one of my Marketing classes and asked for help with marketing the product. It’s a pretty interesting concept but I think I would still need to be convinced that this is a “premium” product.

Things I like about this tea:

1. Green is always a plus.
2. So is mint.

Things I don’t like about this tea:

1. All mint and no green taste for me. It’s puzzling…
2. Not getting very much, if any, vanilla flavour. There is a mild vanilla note on the tip of the tongue, but not always.
3. I can’t stand the second steep! This is definitely a 1-steep wonder for me. Second steep smells and tastes like minty rubber.
4. A little on the bitter side.

I should state that this isn’t BAD in any way, it’s just not as great as I had hoped. Drinkable, but it crushes me that I can’t get through a second steep.

So there you have it. I’m sipping this one all the way down today. I grabbed it from a random pile of teas at 5 am in the dark, so the fact that I picked this on St. Patrick’s Day is quite convenient.

We are doing yard work and it is about 80 degrees outside, so I made a couple of pots of this and let it cool to room temperature. I love that it doesn’t take on any astringency when cold. This is very refreshing for a day like this. I am drinking it as is, no sugar added. It still has rich, buttery flavor and beautiful color.

Pup update: here is what Mr Sam is up to while we work:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24998856@N06/6990516913/in/photostream/

there is mango.
there is green tea.
sometimes that’s all you need. and this is it.
lovely.

Thanks to Angel at Teavivre! I tried this today and I must say, I am impressed. Steeped Gongfu style, it provided a much needed calmness to my morning.
Dry the leaves give faint notes of cream. The liquid color is pale yellow. I went 5 steeps on this and only the 5th was noticeably less in flavor. Still good, the 5th steep was just lighter. As Dinosara noted, it lacks the intensity of ATR, owing mostly to the stated fact that ATR uses TQY. I hadint known that before but it makes sense now.
I have been a devoted fan of ATR’s Milk oolong but I think for the price, I have a new favorite.

An order will be following.

Took the puppies out for a walk. Marveled at the budding greens of spring. Nibbled on a bit of wild garlic growing on my lawn. Came home with pups bounding before me only to notice a package by the door. Holy cow! It’s my Den’s Tea package! That was quick! And I was just getting thirsty.

I can smell the toasty cereal. There’s a hint of rice crackers. The brew is a brown and not beautiful to look at but comforting and familiar.

The taste? Hm… definitely roasty and honey sweet and a little grainy. It reminds me of a darker oolong and medicinal tea. It is also, very warming and soothing. Smoother than other houjichas I’ve had but not necessarily better. Unique and interesting, but not really that delicious. I may need time to adjust to this one. Hmmm…

THis time, I followed directions to used boiling water, but I think I might prefer it at green parameters. I’ll try that next time.

First review and a huge thank you to TEAVIVRE and ANGEL for this beautiful sample! (sample is hardly correct…it is generous and wrapped in a way that honors the tea inside)
I made sure that my glass pot, glass mug, infuser…everything was sterile so that no sneeky flavor from past tea tastings would interfer with this one. This tasting is special. I love Pu-erh! The little Toucha is cute (I know cute is tacky) with the little rosebud on top of the small dome of aged Pu-erh. I poured the water over the tea and waited….watching the dome disolve…1,2.5 minutes (tasting along the way). Pulled the basket out and smelled the leaves…small and almost black like wet potting soil earthy. The scent is like sweet straw and a bit spicy. The liquid pour looks like light molasses in color. First sip is slightly sweet, not too earthy with a slight caramel cinnamon finish. I’m a sweet lover so I added a tad of sweetening…and it brought up the caramel flavor. Delicious and mello. Now a bit of creme…um…buttery caramel Pu-erh with a bit of earthiness and still good color and body. No fishiness and I did not rinse the Toucha. The rose did not have an effect for me. Maybe it was in the background and gave the spice or sweetness.
*Second steeping 2.5 minutes reveals a less caramel taste but still a beautifully mild earthy flavor and round tone perfect for adding what you want for a latte. I made an iced version just to see how it would taste…thinking of the 72 weather outside. This was wonderful iced! Bravo! No bitterness at all! Ice cubes, sweetening and milk or whatever you use…ice cream…and a Puerh smoothie that you can still taste as what it is! Fantastic! Purely as straight pour…or as you wish..tea is such luxury. I found that my first tasting this morning took my appitite away which was a nice bonus since I could lose a few.

I am actually really surprised by all the negative reviews on this! I actually really loved it, but that might be due to two things:
A) I never drink things with sweetener.
B) I grew up drinking “medicinal” flavored tea
And lastly I think that everyone else may have steeped it for the higher steep time of 10min. I only did mine for 5 because it smelled nice that way.
The flavor is quite the mix. The chamomile is front and center for me, with the lavender being kind of a side note. The mint is pretty heavy too, but I love mint. I can also taste the small contribution being made by the raspberry leaf; which helps with lady things, but I hate drinking plain.
This tea is very sweet. Which was what surprised me the most about it. I can understand that it probably tastes better this way. But it still strikes me as odd that the manufacture is choosing how much/what is in the cup by way of this. Maybe that’s just me? I think that it helped a lot. But I see that a lot of other reviewers did not like that about the tea.
This tea also has that coating-the-throat thing that the kava one did. I have no idea what ingredient they are using that is giving me that sensation, but it’s not overtly unpleasant. After sampling this and the kava I must say that neither of them is inherently “relaxing” or makes me feel sleepy beyond the usual calming effects of enjoying a nice cuppa.

This was for a tea review of a sample of Yin Zhen sent to me by Teavivre.

The leaf was very fluffy and downy. This was very promising as their Bai Mu Dan was similarly fluffy and produced an absolutely amazing cup. I was expecting a high sweetness I think of as typical of Silver Needles over the heartier, richer White Peony.

My first hint that this was a different Yin Zhen was the scent of the leaves. It was very woody and a tad musty. Not in a bad way, just more potent than I expected.

I watched the color closely as I brewed it (in a gaiwan) since I figured it would be wise not to trust my “normal” Yin Zhen technique. The first infusion (80C for 2 min) was sweeter than a Bai Mu Dan, but not overly so. There was a noticeable and pleasant lingering effect of that sweetness on the front of my tongue. It was faintly reminiscent of thyme and rosemary, maybe even with a mintiness. The liquor was a pleasant blond-gold color.

The second infusion (at the same time and temperature) had an aroma of straw and that woodiness that I sensed in the dry leaf. There was less sweetness.

The third and fourth infusion continued to be more woody and less sweet leaving me with the distinct impression of a really good Bai Mu Dan. It’s interesting and not bad, just not what I was expecting.

I decided to treat myself this morning. It’s been a tough week and why not splurge on some nice gyokuro?

I steeped this with a mesh insert inside a glass – maybe not the most eloquent thing but it did the job. I followed Den’s steeping recommendations and did 150 seconds at 140 F. I got a very sweet, almost glowing green and vegetal cup.The second steep was at 2 minutes at 150 F and I think I liked that one even a little bit better. The only other gyokuro I’ve had was the one from Arbor teas and now I wish I could compare the two side by side.

Anyway this is great if you’re looking for a sencha like product but without the bitterness or astringency that can sometimes go with those. I did like this one a lot and the caffeine buzz is certainly nothing to scoff at! It wasn’t cheap but I will mostly certainly savor and appreciate it.

Thanks to Amanda for this sweet sample! I had my first Lapsang Souchong at my local tea house (Happy Lucky’s) last month and really loved it. When Amanda and I arranged our swap and I saw this Smoky Chocolate I was excited to try it. You either love or hate the smoky tea’s it appears to me, and I’m a lover. I read the other reviews and agree that this is lacking on the chocolate taste. The smoke is not too powerful at all which would be a relief to those who are timid about trying a straight Lapsang Souchong. Adding some sweetening does improve the tea and brings up the chocolate a bit so that in my opinion the aftertaste is almost like a chocolate Necco wafer candy. Malty, chalky. Don’t brew too long or you’ll have a bitter brew. 3-4 minutes max. I did not add milk.

What a tough week. It crept up to me out of nowhere and pounced. I found a puddle of blood on the floor on Tuesday morning. I was really worried and figured that my dogs had somehow gotten hurt. After thorough inspection I determined that my dogs were fine, I cleaned up and went to work. The next morning I saw my oldest dog peeing blood. I freaked out and took her to the vet. After a quick ultrasound, bladder stones were confirmed. Scheduled for surgery on Thursday. Thankfully surgery went well and my Sencha is now home recovering.

After taking the puppy (my other dog) out for a walk this morning, I am determined to lounge around all day with Sencha drinking tea and making sure she is feeling OK. It has been a terrifying experience, and I am glad it is almost over.

I bought this tea on my last trip to the US. I love rose flavored things, so I figured that this I would love. It smelled pretty good, so I figured I would have to give in to buying the minimum 2oz (!!!) to taste it.

The leaves are decently sized and are decorated with almond slivers and bright orange-red safflowers. I didn’t see any of the candied violets it claims to have, but they were probably hidden in there somewhere. The scent of the dry leaves was a light almondy dough. I got a sweetness note and a hint of cinnamon but sadly no rose.

The brewed tea was a nice orange brown that smelled a lot like plain flavored macaroons (the french kind). The taste was smooth and doughy, almost like eating almond cookie dough raw (yes… I am guilty of cookie dough eating…). Sweetened a tiny bit of something floral popped up, but nothing that seemed like rose to me. The aftertaste was pleasantly sweet and not overwhelming. Unexciting but overall yummy.

I did like this cup of tea, but I didn’t find the rose I was hoping for in it. I will drink my 2oz happily, but I don’t think I will be back for more.

Now… to go figure out which tea to drink next while lying down beside my beautiful Sencha as she recovers… She is such a sweet little dog that I think something sweet will be had in her honor!

More TeaSpring tea! I’ve had this twice now and the first time, all signs pointed to deliciousness but it just didn’t wow me. It was a nice mix of Keemun and Fujian-ish notes – a Keemun-y rye flavor with faint toasted-smoke but also with a nice Golden Monkey-like roundness and hint of creaminess – which logically should have made me ooh and ah and mmm, but didn’t. And that made me sad.

This morning, I said to heck with TeaSprings 2g/5oz suggestion. I wanted a big cup. So I did 4.6g/12oz. Same steep time (though technically it takes me twice as long to get the water out of the Zojirushi, so maybe it had about 10 seconds longer today but really… same steep time). Today? Yum’s and mmm’s could be heard.

It’s like the mix of flavors has changed. It’s still mostly Keemun notes of rye and malt with some toasted/smoke (which is a bit heavier now) but now instead of a Golden Monkey-like smooth creaminess at the end, it’s a bit more of a Yunnan stoutness and peppery prickle (though some of that prickle feeling could be from the stronger smoke notes). Still a full and faintly sweet aftertaste, but with a little more oomph and texture to it. And that oomph really tickles my tastebuds.

I’m much happier with this in my big mug. I can’t say I will necessarily pick this up with my next TeaSpring order though, but that’s more an indication of the massive wonderfulness I’ve encountered in other TeaSpring teas than an indictment of this one. Even when this tea wows, it still doesn’t make it to the top of my “TeaSpring Teas of Wonder” list. I think this means TeaSpring is spoiling me.

ETA: Second steep is more smoky and Keemuny. And there’s almost a minty/mentholated whooshy endnote now. Very yum!

Black Currant – a good friend after a lil too much Friday night fun.

ooh, wow. It’s got one of those caffeine kicks that start you shaking.

I got a sample size of this and it was quite pricy. I mean, anything you buy in British currency is going to be pricy, but I guess this is also a yellow tea. Rarest of the rare. :) Still not entirely sure what makes this different from a white tea, though it doesn’t taste quite like other white teas I’ve had. This taste is very crisp and clean. Like salad. Yes, this reminds me of salad. Spring mix sans dressing. The flavor is also quite light, but it’s possible that I simply didn’t use enough leaf. Though with a caffeine kick like this, more leaf would probably have been a bad idea. Next time I drink this, I’ll have some food first.

This tea went for three steeps with me.

Wow does the dry leaf smell fruity! The sencha leaves are small grass clippings when dry and large lush dark green pieces after brewing. There are some stems and fruit pieces in the mix. I steeped per the instructions at 170d for 2 minutes.

The brew is light yellow green and smells really tasty. There is a hint of spinach in the wet tea leaf. The sip is very fruity and tastes like it smells but without the spinach. There is no lingering nasty or candy aftertaste. The leaf smell of the second cup, @ 2 1/2 minutes, was Trix cereal! The brew scent and sip remained consistent with the first cup. I am not normally a fruit tea drinker but this is really good.

Sample provided by Fusion Tea Room http://www.fusiontearoom.com/
Slightly longer review can be found on my blog http://theeverdayteablog.blogspot.com/2012/03/fusion-teas-super-fruit-sencha.html

My standard Saturday morning cup at Steak and Shake. If I ever find the bottom of my tea drawer I have got to get a small tin of some cheap Darjeeling I can find locally. I love the Ahmad version. Any other suggestions?

Yep Irish Breakfast again :)

Deilig ettersmak.

I am normally not that big a fan of bottled teas because most of them are just way too sweet for my liking. But, I love Pomegranate and I am in a current love affair with Guayaki Mate, so I searched high and low for a bottle of this. Luckily, we had it local so I didn’t have to risk $30 on a case of bottled mate and not like it. I shouldn’t have worried anyway.

The taste is very interesting. It it only slightly sweet, but the sweetness is not overwhelming. I get that splash of pomegranate tang and then a note that tastes like ginsing. It does have some tulsi in it, so that may be what I am tasting. It is very good and not very expensive. About two bucks and change for a big, heavy bottle that feels like it is very good quality and two servings of a yummy drink.

I had my fiance try a sip or two and he thought it was very interesting. It was stronger than he was expecting, but he liked it. He read the memory enhancing properties of the tea and teased me for the rest of the night. He’ll just have to wait until I get some of the other flavors to try out. We only have three flavors local to us though, so it might take a while.

One note on the bottled mate: you will want to shake it up before drinking it. Some of the mate powder settles on the bottom and all you get is the slightly bitter pomegranate and really weak mate flavor.

My fiance helped me get a french press to take back to school so I could make a fair amount of mate easier in the morning at school. Getting the tea ball out first thing in the morning is a little hard to do and I always spill some from my tea pot when I try to put it in my travel mug. So, I had to break it in this morning.

I followed the instructions on the bag and pre-wet the leaves like it said. It tastes so earthy! Earthy, strong, and yummy. I took a sip plain to see what it would taste like and it was strong! But it didn’t get bad-tasting strong like some black tea can when you steep it too long. Then I added milk (unfrothed, sadly) for a nice mate latte. I am convinced that yerba mate will probably go well with everything now. I am thinking about getting a bottle of chocolate to use on indulgent occasions to make mate mochas.

I only did one steep this time, but I am sure that the second steep would have been even better. The french press is also nice and easy to clean as well.