Featured & New Tasting Notes
Day 6 of the Tea Thoughts summer countdown box. I enjoyed the other Amba tea earlier in the box, so it was nice to see another. This one is so pretty! It reminds me of the Star Trek Crystalline Entity for some reason, in a good way. I followed the recommendation and cold brewed at room temperature in a martini glass for… maybe three hours or so?
Unsurprisingly, it’s beautiful floating in the glass, with a pale gold-colored brew. 10/10 for aesthetics. Flavor is good too! Delicate notes of honey, peaches, and something floral – orchid maybe, or jasmine, or calla lily? Something in that general area. This would be a great option for a special event where you’re trying to do something a little fancy or elevated as an alcohol alternative.
One of my favorite teas as a Golden Mao Feng from TeaSource, which they stopped carrying. When I saw a Golden Mao Feng from Tea Runners, I had to grab it to see if it lived up to my memory… sadly, it appears Tea Runners no longer has this tea, either. I wonder if I’m just destined to always be chasing after this tea…
I love this tea, it exhibits so many elements of a Chinese black that I love. It brews up to a rich, malty aroma with a slight rosy aroma. On the tongue I get strong notes of malt, copper, and leather, with a sweeter flavor of dark chocolate-covered cherries that comes out as the tea cools a bit. Sometimes I get a slight rosy aftertaste. It’s a bit tannic but not bitter… sometimes it is a little strong on my weak GI if I drink it on an empty stomach. The caffeine-hit is substantial, too.
This will be missed when I finish up the bag!
Flavors: Astringent, Cherry, Copper, Dark Chocolate, Floral, Leather, Malt, Rose
Preparation
TTB: Can I be honest? I hate it when companies use natural or artificial flavor unless they give specifics. It makes it different for those of us with allergies, and honestly, it just shows a lack of transparency.
Dry Aroma: Subtle notes of bergamot and floral notes.
Initial Steeping aroma: More jasmine is coming out now. Not intensely, but enough to give you a smile. Jasmine reminds me of Hawai’i.
Wet tea bag aroma: Nice woody notes with hints of jasmine.
Flavor: Not as appealing as the aroma was. Very little jasmine. No bergamot. Just some nice woody tones. Would probably be nice when some milk would be added but not too much as this one is not that brisk.
I agree with you 100% about those natural or artificial flavoring! Transparency should be paramount in this industry!
It’s definitely a difficult topic. Even those who are better at it still have issues. For example, I recently interviewed the lady who runs Voiltion Tea. For the most part her company is very transparent, but yesterday I ran into an issue with one of her products. It’s called mocha. The precursor to matcha. The problem is a true mocha is not shaded but theirs is…
Hmmm. My understanding is that “shading” the tea leaves for Mo Cha production was a Japanese innovation, when introducing tea to Japan. (I presume “shading” in this context means blocking direct sunlight from falling on the plants, for a period before harvest, to stimulate chlorophyll production thus creating a more vibrant green color.) So it sounds like in your opinion “true Ma Cha” utilises only the original Chinese method, yes? If I’m understanding it correctly, I’m not sure I’d consider that an issue of ingredient transparency, but rather of proprietary process. Perhaps you can illuminate further, if I’m missing something? [see what I did there ;-) ]
Flavouring is very complicated, especially as it pertain to allergens. With the exception of very rare conditions (like some auto-immune disorders), the average person with an allergy is reacting to the protein in food product. Protein is incredibly uncommon as part of what is extracted and present in flavouring. So, if you’re allergic to strawberries you can almost certainly consume strawberry flavouring – natural or otherwise. That’s a big part of why companies don’t have to specify the flavouring type on their packaging beyond whether it’s organic, natural, natural identical (specifically used in Europe as a flavouring designator), WONF, or artificial.
There are flavourings derived from natural sources that are priority allergens. For example, I’ve worked with a natural roasted peanut flavouring. From a food safety/regulation perspective this ingredient did not have to bear any allergen warnings on the product packaging because of the production process of the flavouring. I’ve also seen flavouring where this is not true and the final product does carry either a contains or may contain allergen statement because the protein that triggers an allergic reaction is present in flavouring following production.
Not necessarily advocating for or against listing the flavouring types. From my perspective (biased working in the industry, obviously) there are definitely pros/cons either way. Sometimes specific flavours are used to give the impression of other flavours (ex. peach flavouring is a common inclusion in rose flavoured products) – if you listed the flavouring types you might break that flavour illusion, though. Popcorn flavouring also incredibly common in pastry/bakery blends – but most customers would be confused/concerned seeing popcorn flavouring as a component of their danish or apple pie inspired food/bev. So it’s grey, for sure. You want to evoke a specific taste or feeling but naming what’s contributing to that can sometimes immediately prevent that from happening since that ‘suggestion effect’ can be so powerful.
Obviously the opposite is true too – by telling you the flavouring used it might further plant the perception of that flavour in your mind. So it’s sooooo situational when (from the perspective of the formulator) it’s a pro or a con.
…and that’s not even touching the side where sharing flavouring types can be very bad from a protection of recipe/formulation standpoint. Think about it, if Oreo listed EXACTLY the flavouring types and compositions of its products then what’s to stop all of their other competitors from directly copying their recipes? Often flavouring is the key differentiation between one companies blend and another’s.
(Sorry – I obviously have very strong feelings on this lol)
Thank you for that interesting explanation, Kelly!
That was an awesome read. Thank you, Rosewell! I was not aware of that fact with the allergens, though I do question sometimes still after I have something with flavoring, and then I feel off, but who knows, maybe it’s something else entirely.
On Mo cha vs Matcha. (Nice pun btw XD)
There are other factors beyond shading that also make a big difference. In order to be considered matcha it has to be grown in Japan. It has to be shaded and has to be separated properly before grading (to make it go from aracha to Tencha). Anything else is just powdered tea.
Now with Mo cha the leaves are not shaded. And the biggest difference, even more so than the shading (though this is also a big factor) comes from the fact that historically the leaves were formed into bricks and then powdered. So one could almost say mo cha is closer to a pressed white tea. I don’t know that I would go as far to say dark tea because the broth tends to end up looking more whiteish.
@ Skysamurai, Sorry, I’m totally confused now. I was trying to read up on it all at your recommended (a few months back) site at https://ooika.co/learn/mo-cha-tea-drunk I’m not sure who gets to say that matcha may only come from Japan. That sounds rather ethnocentric for a process that was borrowed from China. But I don’t mind buying champagne that is grown and made in California, either, so go ahead and call me blasphemous. :-) I’m not going to argue in the comments, but at some point it might be helpful for you to raise the issue as a new discussion topic in the Discussions area here on Steepster. Cheers!
PS, my pun was meant to be on “illuminate” vs. shading of plants.
Hmm, I’m not sure that ethnocentric would be the right word for it, as I would be evaluating based on tea here but I think I get what you mean.
As for this topic, it is more about the farmers and less about us consumers. Though we consumers are the ones who tend to mess things up and make it difficult for the farmers. If someone walked up to you and said, “Anything can be tea if it’s a liquid!” You would know that not to be true because only a true tea can come from a Camellia Sinensis. But but your current thought process, Who gets to say that? It makes it difficult. If Japan can put a geographical indicator on matcha, it will greatly help the farmers. I don’t have anything against powdered teas from other places, but I personally think it just shows a lack of fair trade and transparency. I wouldn’t call it blasphemous because it shows that other farmers want to try to be just as good, if not better than, their GI counterparts, but that really hurts those who are in the area with the GI.
And yes. I picked up on illuminate vs shading with the pun. My placement of where I said that was confusing. Sorry about that.
Well shoot…I guess I’m busted for being a hypocrite, because I do stick to the tea/tisane distinction, even though I’m not sure where to place Camellia taliensis infusions. Heh. Anyhow, for matcha, I’m just going to try to follow a sensible convention that minimizes offense and maximizes clarity— once it makes more sense to me. Meanwhile, please continue leading the way!
Sipdown of a tea swap tea or a sample for ashmanra’s sipdown challenge. I grabbed this from the recent TTB and it didn’t last long around here. This was kind of perfect for migraine days – better than the mediocre peppermint I keep on hand for when I’m not feeling well, but not as good as my fancy mint blends so I don’t feel bad about drinking it when I can’t fully focus on enjoying. So glad I got to try it!
I got this in London. I love green rooibos, and this one is super fresh and tasty. It’s so smooth and fruity. It’s delicious cold and lightly sweetened. The cold resteep is perfect as well.
This is one of four grades of Tieguanyin currently being sold by Tealyra. It is Stock Code 405, and is currently the cheapest of this type that they sell. I don’t doubt that it is from the Province of Fujian, but Tealyra does not claim that it is from Anxi County, the “home” of Tieguanyin oolongs. That claim is reserved for two other somewhat more expensive products. Nevertheless, it is the product I naïvely bought and am reporting on here. To be fair, I did just finish sipping a competitor’s Ti Kuan Yin, but this (code 405) is clearly inferior in color, aroma, and flavor. It does hit some of the expected notes of floral fragrance and mineral flavor, but it really tastes more like a fourth steeping of exhausted leaf. And for goodness sakes, please ignore Tealyra’s health claims— get your diabetes remedy from a physician and don’t look to a knock-off tea for it. Ditto for cancer. Ditto for weight loss. Etc.
I brewed as directed, and got the pale yellow swill that was described, with echoes of the sensory experience promised. I did try a second, hotter and longer steeping with minimal improvement. I was justified in taking a grain of salt with the description of it being a “tea masterpiece”. The only masterpiece was in the florid writing by Tealyra. Not recommended, and rated as a 35 score. This is going to the compost heap. Some day I may try the more premium offering(s), but a lot of water will have to pass under my bridgework first.
Flavors: Watery
Preparation
A very interesting tea that my coworker brought back from Japan for me to try!
It seems like some, if not all, of the ingredients in this tea are upcycled. The yuzu seeds, for example. I was super curious about this one because I have no concept for what yuzu seeds should taste like – and new ingredients/flavours are always appealing. They looked cool! Because they were rather large and round (and also hollow?) they reminded me a bit of popped lotus seeds, and it was neat seeing them mixed in with the more twiggy hojicha base.
The hojicha was a bit of a lighter roast with more of a mineral profile that had some brassiness to it, a little bit of a woody or bark-like character, and a lot of nuttiness that read as quite golden. So, so smooth. Taste wise, I really didn’t feel like there was anything citrusy to the profile but that wasn’t really a surprise. Seeds and leaves rarely totally mirror the taste of the fruits they’re from. Hard to 100% say it was from the seeds, but there was an almost sunflower seed/oil kind of note that I think was stemming more from the seeds than the green tea.
Overall I thought this was really nice, though! Quite clean, balanced, and a really nice medium level intensity that felt well suited for a bunch of different times of day or moods.
Heh, I guess I’m not too surprised that you mention a woody bark-like character for the hojicha. You are generally professional and charitable in your notes. Earlier today I was reading Harney’s description of their own hojicha product, and was amused by their somewhat less charitable reference to it as “roasted twigs”! I guess their elaborate explanation was educational, at least. And who’s to say that roasted twigs are less than wonderful? After all, the same could be said of rooibos, which appeals to many, and is graded according to the amount of stems in it (according to Wikipedia.). Anyhow, the coincidental references to woodiness amused me. Thanks for making me smile!
I wanted to try this one as it reminded me a few of my fave no-caff blends from 52Teas in the past. And really, the inclusion of the marshmallow root made it a sure thing buy. It’s great! Exactly what I expected it to taste like. Citrusy! With a pillowy marshmallow sweetness, if that makes sense. Then a hint of lavender. Not as good as my beloved ‘Peachy Keen’ but that is a high high bar that I will never shut up about. Also, now that I think of it, not really trying to be the same thing… Also, I got super sleepy, super quick, so I think this works as a sleeper tea.
Steep #1 // 1 1/4 teaspoons for a full mug // 22 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep
A few weeks ago when my friend Todd was visiting, several days of lackluster sleep were starting to catch up with me, so I pulled this out even though it is a “newer” order (which I typically ignore to drink older teas first) just because it was only one of two yerba mate blends I had in my current stash. After opening the package I realized it was cut with rooibos and thus probably not the caffeinated bomb I was hoping for, but at that point I brewed it up anyway.
Todd and I both really enjoyed it! The tea smells like cinnamon and cheesecake, and the flavor isn’t far from that, either. The tea is very sweet, with strong notes of woodsy cinnamon and cream cheese. There is a little lingering spice in the aftertaste that I think may be the ginger, but it doesn’t really come out in the sip. I’m not sure if I could say I’m getting horchata specifically, though I definitely understand it. I think for me it’s more of a warm cinnamon bun with cream cheese frosting, which I’m equally down for! A very desserty cup. Makes a fine latte, as well.
Flavors: Cinnamon, Cream, Creamy, Frosting, Pastries, Spices, Sweet
Preparation
June Sipdown Challenge Prompt – a tea swap and sample tea
I have had this sample pack for a very long time. I may have ordered it, but it is possible someone sent it to me, and I am sorry if I have forgotten. It got overlooked because of being an unknown, and usually a night time tea with no caffeine is sought for pairing with a food and I had no idea how I would like this.
I love tea and ice cream and yesterday I had a tiny amount of leftover vanilla ice cream as well as some chocolate chip and pecan cookies I made a few days ago. I decided to make ice cream cookies and wrap them up in the freezer as a surprise dessert for Ashman, aka the Cookie Monster. I decided it was time to try this tea!
Wow! It knocked my socks off! The reviews already here are great descriptions already. This is nutty and dark, so so smooth, and roasty with no bitterness or smoke at all. No one has said hojicha, but I get a super smooth and silky hojicha vibe from this, but ultra soft and silky while still full of flavor. Almost milky.
Since two of us were drinking and Ashman like refills, I took their word for it that it resteeps well. I made it as they suggest – very short steeps at low temps increasing by ten seconds each. The instructions call for the whole 5 gram sample to be made in about 6 ounces water but I used seven ounces water. I made four steeps in a row and combined them in a big pot to share.
Edited to add: just discovered that there was a little tea left in the pot. It smelled like chocolate so strongly that I thought Ashman had emptied the pot and made a chocolate tea until I saw the golden color and realized what it was.
I would 100% order more to serve as our evening tea with Asian food or ice cream. Absolutely.
Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – June 2025 Tea #2 - A flavored green tea
Not quite a sipdown yet, but I love this one. Rhubarb! Light and sweet bergamot! Rose! A buttery green tea base! It must be melding together even better with age. It’s mostly a sweet, light flavored tea at this point. I would definitely keep this tea around.
Sounds wonderful, tea-sipper! I noticed that Fusion Teas recommends steeping at only 175°F, and I wonder if you have deviated from that, or followed their suggestion?
No idea on the actual temp, but if it’s a green tea I’m steeping, I usually wait a half hour after boiling the water to steep.
Ha that feels like the most chaotic way to steep tea vs a variable temperature kettle or looking at the bubbles to judge temperature
chaotic is one way to put it. ha :D
Sometimes I look at the bubbles, and sometimes just let the kettle simmer on a low flame. If preparing a tasting note, I use a digital thermometer and a timer.
Just like most of the Dilmah bagged teas, this one is also pretty decent, with solid black tea base and naturally-tasting pineapple flavour. Nothing extraordinary, of course, but decent as a casual tea.
Flavors: Malty, Pineapple
Preparation
I have never had any Dilmah teas! I don’t know if it is sold around here but I will keep an eye out at World Market and Home Goods, just in case. It sounds like it is worth a try!
I honestly have no idea about their availability in the US. They are a Sri Lankan company, but they seem to be popular in Europe.
Good luck with your search!
It seems they have official website here: https://shop.dilmahtea.com/
I agree with you dreamloomer, they are again a bit more popular in Europe recently. I wonder if it is just a better marketing; but I see them more often than I used to a few years back.
This reminds me of other peach black teas, but this is a super high quality version. In some cups, I can maybe taste the extra something desserty that makes it not just an apricot black tea. I like it best at room temperature with milk and sugar. The resteep tastes just as good as the first.
The flavor I taste most strongly is the sugar. It’s pleasant and sweet with milk and sugar, and sometimes I feel like I really can taste the boba, especially during the resteep. It’s nicest cold or at room temperature. I enjoy eating the boba after it’s finished steeping.
A sipdown! (M: 3 Y: 77) — prompt: A tea you can buy in your town or city
I consider myself lucky that I have a small corner shop in my town with a vast variety of Basilur teas.
This is one of the sampler I bought last year; and I think it’s great one… lots of good fruit infusions that you can almost pick any according to your current desire.
I will repeat myself from my last note… both fruits are present here, genuine and not artificial tasting; but unlike that note, I haven’t noticed too strong hibiscus — it’s not tart today. Thanks to that I am raising the rating.
I am a little sad that I haven’t tried this cold or iced; but ces’t la vie and I will try that method with other teas in my stash. And this one may return one day.
Preparation
2025 Steepster TTB Tea
This has a high quality base, and it fairly malty and smooth. I get grainy notes. No sweetness at all from the tea. There are some cinnamon and vague pumpkin spice notes, but no pumpkin or buttery/cakey ones, which is what I was looking for. Even some vanilla would have been nice. Now, I did use just under a tsp of leaf for my cup (300 mL) since it is a small cup and I want to leave enough tea for the next person who receives the box. Maybe with more leaf it would have been a bit more well rounded. I tried brewing for quite a while (6 or 7 minutes) to compensate. I’m drinking this was a dash of unsweetened soy milk and wishing I had some agave or maple syrup to sweeten it with.
Flavors: Cinnamon, Grain, Malty, Pumpkin Spice, Tannin
Preparation
June 1st Sipdown Challenge Prompt – in honor of June’s birthstone, the pearl
Although I have had this tea before, Ashman has not. I told him we needed to drink it today to fulfill a prompt and told him we would have it at afternoon snack time. When asked if he had a preference for snack, he said his only request was that there be one. I made blueberry cobbler and we ate a remarkable amount of it, both of us going back for seconds which we don’t usually do for snacks.
We have only done two steeps so far but I will make another in a few minutes.
Notes are as before – it is a mild green tea without so much astringency and bite as I have come across in many jasmine teas and even in pearl tea. The jasmine is lovely and just right – not heavy and cloying but also more than just a whisper. I would definitely be willing to repurchase this tea.
Uh oh… sounds like you’re now all out of jasmine green tea pearls! Looking forward to your reports from the next adventure!
Not out! The sipdown challenges can be fulfilled by any tea you have! I have over half the tin left, but it is a very small tin. I already have another jasmine silver needle to work on, too.
I have received this tea from derk, quite a long time ago; and I felt I need to be very focused on this tea to enjoy it fully. And as I am home alone for once again, and I have a mood for damn good tea, I picked those 8 grams in small zip-lock bag; got water ready, preheated the gaiwan, measured half of the tea amount, and put tea in the gaiwan. Actually, I wanted to use all 8 grams; but I read the notes by others and rather used just half. That means I will have a chance to have this tea once more; with a proper sipdown.
Thank you a lot, derk that you send me such gems in the tea industry.
Dry leaves smell mostly after honey and cocoa, with some fruity line — it could be mentioned black currant by vendor; it could be something else, but nevertheless, it is a lovely scent.
I haven’t done any rinse, as, in my opinion, it doesn’t need any; as there are only nice twisted wires of leaves; nothing broken, no dust to strain.
First steep was only 10 seconds long, enough to wet the leaves; with first notes to appear in the drink as well. Leaves now smell really lovely, very familiar, but again, I feel short to point out what is it like. I think it could be again that black currant, but others say wintergreen. I am trying to recall if I ever had the experience with the latter and probably not at all. Just some teas that tasted like that before, but not the plant itself. If I look into Internet what wintergreen is, I found out many essential oils with such a scent.
The flavours are a bit weak, but hey, 10 seconds steep… you can’t have miracles.
It is a little tannic, however then the refreshing notes appear, fruity, something between red and black currants, hints of cocoa and woodsy. Long mouthfeel and aftertaste with cherry notes. Amazingly complex!
Second steep has been 12 seconds long; it seems I am more-less following Leafhopper’s note; brought much more darker liquor with a lovely aroma and I will tell it is that wintergreen.
Leaves started to be like chocolate covered cherries, a little bit reminding me griotte. The flavours exploded in my mouth, filling it with wonderful fruity notes; again the cocoa and the aftertaste is like the aroma of the leaves. And it’s long indeed!
Third steep, 15 seconds
I wish I could get high from the leaf aromas! It smells so nice and I could smell it very often. Narcotic isn’t probably the correct word for that, but my mind can’t bring other one.
This is chocolate covered cherry, there is nothing off-putting; lovely aromas rising from my teaware filling whole room; flavours that are mouthcoating like a honey… and that note appears in taste too, especially in the long aftertaste.
Fourth steep, 20 seconds
Oh my, that aroma from leaves. I know that I repeat myself. But it is such sooo nice. I am speechless.
As of flavours, it turns more into currant notes. Maybe a bit of herbaceous. Delightful woody notes; a little bit tannic, but note that there was a really low level to start from.
Fifth steep, 25 seconds
It started to fade, but it is not faded at all.
Currant-y flavoured goodness, with cocoa and woody notes. A little bit drying too.
A flaw? I don’t think so.
6th steep, 30 seconds
Still so fruity, so flavourful; drying and tannic level has risen a bit though.
And many, uncounted following steeps that are without written notes.
Preparation
What a lovely review, Martin! I truly admire your taste buds and ability to identify flavor and aroma notes, almost as if you have had formal training! Mostly, I’m happy to see you enjoying your tea so much! And certainly A Different Eighteen is worthy of such talents!
I agree, this is a great review that reminds me how much I miss this tea!
I am blushing my friends in tea.
In love with chocolate-covered cherry as a note in tea
