Featured & New Tasting Notes

Brewed at quite a low temperature to make sure I wouldn’t get bitterness, but then the fruity flavor didn’t infuse too intensely. The main flavor is the gentle green tea. There’s a little bit of what seems like pineapple in the background. It needed extra sugar because I’m not too huge a fan of green tea flavor. But I’m sure this would be great for someone who is who wants just a hint of fruitiness. The more I drank it, the more I ended up enjoying the freshness of the brew.

A pleasant gift from Mastress Alita.

I haven’t had rooibos since early this year in the winter. It’s Halloween eve and I’m lounging around in a drawn-on moustache (I’ll be genderbending as Gomez Addams at work tomorrow. We have the whole Family), so I made a pot of Psychocandy for the house tonight. All 14 grams in a 1000mL teapot. Steeped with boiling and forgotten about.

So the dry leaf smells rich like butterscotch with medicinal rooibos but the medicinal aspect does not come through in taste at all. Woohoo! That aroma! Rich but a little hollow buttery caramel-butterscotch, vanilla milk and something darker — that rooibos aroma. I let the tea cool a bit and the caramel-blackberry leaf sweetness really comes out on the sip followed by the dark red rooibos and a bit of apple tang that hangs out after the swallow. Pumpkin is always a difficult flavor to pin down in food and drink but I think it’s there. What else… something reminiscent of the scorched sugar topping of crème brûlée. Long butterSCOTCH flavoring aftertaste. Later, there’s some dryness in the throat.

I couldn’t see myself drinking this often because it’s so sweet but the flavor is just awesome. As far as flavored tisanes go, this is bumpin’.

Happy Halloween tomorrow!

Evening came quickly today. I am at home since 4 pm, but somehow I could not do anything but wasting time.

Now a tea, caffeine-free naturally. Very strawberry in aroma this time. And marzipan.
In taste similar. Marzipan with strawberries, maybe like a pancake too.

Enjoyble fruit tea.

Sipdown.
The last few steeps of this went better than my initial review. It’s still not one that I would want to buy again. It was a weird tea overall. I didn’t care for the edible silver – it didn’t add anything to the experience and the silver leaf got everywhere! The pine flavor mellow out some (or I got better adding less).
I didn’t get any of the white tea flavor from this. It was drowned out by the jasmine.
Apple, pine, jasmine, glitterfest = silver everywhere in the tea, stuck to my strainer, in the cup, etc…
I bumped my rating a little as it was a little better flavor blended in the following cups.

This was a sipdown today and I see I never even added it to my cupboard.

I liked it fine in the past. It is definitely very coconuty and sweet. But this last bit in the pouch was so sweet my guest wouldn’t drink it and asked to pour it out! There was so much oil floating on top that I poured mine out about halfway through as well. I guess it would have been better to put it in a tin and occasionally turn it upside down to redistribute the ingredients.

If you love coconut and really sweet tea, you would love this! It is definitely dessert-like. Just a bit too much for me.

Got a sample size of this with a previous order which was at least a year ago now. As I was steeping this I wondered… what makes a breakfast tea regional? I’ve had French, English and Irish breakfast teas. They are all malty, heavy, go well with added cream, but what differentiates a French from an English one? Is there a different base used in each? I’m going to have to consult the googles and see what info I can find.

This tea follows the breakfast tea profile; malty, heavy, goes well with cream. There is a sweetness to it. The finish is almost a barley like flavor. It’s good and mildly interesting, but probably not something I’d put on my shopping list.

Gongfu Sipdown (718)!

It may be pouring rain outside, but I’m feeling nothing but warm and cozy inside right now. I decided to have a late morning/early afternoon session from the comfort of my bed. Brewing very strong this morning (the whole sample tossed into a 70ml pot), so keeping infusions short and to the point.

What teas do you gravitate to on rainy days!? Aside from things that are heavily roasted (Houjicha, Yancha, etc.) I also often will steep up some shou/chenpi or sticky rice scented teas when it’s all rainy out. To be honest, I may still make one of those – just Western style in amug, so I can go sit outside later in the rain and soak all the delicious wet earth smell in.

This tea is deeply nutty with a solid roast – it’s taking ages for this tightly compressed piece to open up, but I’m enjoying the journey. Early infusions have notes of heavily roasted mixed nuts (chestnut, peanuts, almond, hazelnut) and burdock/chicory root, with a warming spice undertone. There is a consistent minerality, and a woodiness to the finish. Starting to evolve into a hint of something fruity, but dense and deep, in the finish: prune or raisin maybe? Some kind of cooked down plum!? I can tell by the end of this session I’m going to be wicked tea drunk!

We’re on steep twelve now and counting – I don’t see this brewing out any time soon!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/B4IS7AlAD_i/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm9RNjR4IOM

Sipdown (722)!

Finished off Western style because I didn’t have enough leaf left to steep it Gongfu. I wish I’d taken better notes of the taste during any of my steepings because, although I know I enjoyed this tea, if someone were to ask me to describe the flavour I feel like I wouldn’t be able to. My answer would just be something vague like “Oh, really good”…

Kind of irony that I ordered in a coffee shop a tea. But I had to try it there. 11 flavours to go.

Backlog from yesterday.
Well, the server does not know how to pronouce Darjeeling correctly when ordering it at bar. I chuckled a little honestly. I received a double-glass cup (see here: https://bit.ly/2Pj73oU) filled with hot water. So, I could put sachet in by myself and let it steep for my own time. I decided for about 4 minutes, I have not counted it exactly (they suggest 3-5 minutes).

Overall, tea was very tasty, malty with jam notes. Little citrus zest notes in aroma mostly. Honestly, nice surprise for me. As an extra for me, theey have their own blends, so their own sachets! New for my collection.

Not the boldest earl grey I’ve had, but it’s flavorful enough that you can enjoy it without milk. I liked the addition of the delicious vanilla because it adds some complexity that sets it apart from other EGs. I finished my sample in no time at all. It’s heavier on the creamy vanilla than on the bergamot, but I didn’t mind.

Sipdown (231)

My giant Dammann Freres advent calendar arrived today and so in order of its arrival, I am finishing off (what I believe to be) the last Dammann tea I had in my cupboard prior to the order’s arrival. To be extra festive, I even had it in a Christmas-themed mug. Check out the picture here: https://www.instagram.com/p/B372an1hEat/

This tea’s best before date passed in April of this year but it is not bad. It is not great either but that’s likely my fault. I don’t hate the base like I sometimes do in fruity French teas and I think that is because the fruits in this, i.e. plum and fig (which may not actually be in the tea but something tastes like it), tend to compliment that more dark/flat base tea (sorry if this is not making any sense). Essentially this is generically fruity but not in a bright or sweet sort of way. It is more dried fruits-fruity, a little less sweet and slightly passed its prime. Again, that latter part may because the tea is past it’s best before date.
I also get some creaminess which was unexpected. I think that is the vanilla coming through.

Voting Day!! It took me almost an hour but I did it. Never has the process been so slow so I blame London. It is done now and I have since returned home and made a latte. Unfortunately that didn’t go as planned either since the milk didn’t seem to want to froth and then I waited too long and the whipped cream melted.

So now I am drinking the maple themed latte in honor of the election but similarly to Adagio blends, I feel like the base used by this company is low quality because the teas I have had from there have all been sort of muddy. A lot of maple flavor but muddied maple.

The last of the four cakes I bought from boychik is this budget semi-aged sheng. Today’s session was very nice, with a bit more body and more pungent character than when I tried it a few weeks ago. Apart from having acclimatized by now, I think that preparing it in a larger gaiwan also helped. Even though this particular cake has been stored by boychik for a few years, the notes are very similar to the ones from the sample I got from YS more than a year ago. Nevertheless, I do detect some more tartness. In the aroma, it’s an alcohol like scent of fermented fruits, while in the taste it manifests itself through a grape skin flavour. Forest notes like moss and tree bark are also quite present, as is the camphor in the aftertaste. Apart from being cooling, mouthfeel is also slightly numbing I’d say.

I am very happy that this tea expanded my tiny collection of aged sheng, and I have no doubt I will be drinking quite a bit of it in the near future.

Clove heavy cuppa – saw at least three in the leaf I measured out for my cup. I try to give my samples bags a gentle shake before I measure out leaf so that the more dense ingredients don’t sink to the bottom of the bag, but that seems to have at least somewhat been the case here despite my efforts. I fucking love clove though, so I’m not mad about it – plus it did still taste like rootbeer, just rootbeer mixed with clove.

Song pairing first this time: Portishead — Strangers
(Roseland NYC Live album on my turntable)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbSu2UM8kcQ

Did you realize no one can see inside your view?

Stoner tea if you believe in tea energy. Like a heady sativa dominant strain with enough grounding indica to keep me in one spot. Sedating hyper-awareness. How uncomfortable. This feeling is why I no longer smoke marijuana. I submit, though. How could I not to such a power?

A sample courtesy of Togo.

Dry leaf is shades of brown with leaves and buds furry beige and camel. Smells citric tart and vegetal with a hint of unripe raspberry. Warmed leaf brings out a leafy, bitter medicinal smell with powdered sugar. Rinsed leaf aroma is old wood, buttery floral, sweet vegetal. Drank the rinse. it was very good.

The tea begins viscous with an undeniable lingering rubber-aspirin bitterness. You can’t hide from it. It is there and you know it. The liquor is substantial yet light as in it’s heavy, yet no one characteristic or flavor dominates; well balanced. Leafy medicinal with cotton candy and corn soup sweetness, osmanthus florality. Drying with thick gummy-fluffy salivation. High minerality leaves a clean finish. Initial aftertaste of gingerbread catches me off guard. Warming in throat, cooling in chest. The thing about this tea in its current state — it’s really quite drying but that quality just lets this ridiculously complex, space-filling peachy-plummy-floral-buttery aftertaste resonate for what feels like forever. Time dilation with too much thinking. My brain whirls, I come back to the aftertaste. Too much thinking again. Oh hey, how am I still tasting this tea? And she’s off again.

By the fourth infusion, camphor is coming out my ears and each inhalation through my parted lips cools my entire mouth. I sit for a while with a deep returning honey sweetness. Fifth and sixth infusions, the astringency finally departs, opening up to a less viscous but bittersweet, buttery-rich liquor with apricot-osmanthus, honey-powdered sugar, hay. Tongue coated in tea oil. I have no idea how many infusions I got. Ten? eleven? longer than usual gongfu steep times before I called it.

The experience of this sheng gripped me for better or for worse. I loved what it had to offer but the heady energy was overwhelming for my currently questioning mindset. If you’re into powerful teas and crave that bitterness, for the current price of $0.38 USD/g I can recommend Head. It does seem like it will age well.

I’ve been doing a smashing job of putting off weekend housework by catnapping with the cat, and now I’m having an afternoon tea time. I’m still trying to work out the old coconut teas since I’m expecting many to end up in the trash; I got this one from a cupboard sale from Ost (thanks Ost!) and have no way to judge the age, but considering it’s a DT retired tea, I’m expecting it to be quite old. I figured it would be a sampler that would be going, but when I nibbled on a flake, it didn’t taste soured, so I figured I’d be brave and try brewing it. I made 3.3g of tea in a small teapot using 470ml water, western style.

Admittedly the aroma smells a little sunscreeny for my tastes, but maybe that is just the flavoring being used… the coconut is just coming off really strong and a little artificial to me? But from the first sip… I’m not getting the soured note I’m very sensitive to, so I think I’m out of the woods as far as off coconut flakes in the leaf, at least. And the flavoring doesn’t taste as bad as it’s coming off to me in the aroma… it is a bit artificial for my tastes, but the base tea has brewed up a nice golden color and is very pleasant. And I am getting a little bit of a berry note; looking at the ingredients it is apparently raspberry flavor, but I’m getting more of a cherry taste on my tongue. That might be adding to the artificial taste to me, because while I love raspberry, I find most raspberry flavorings used in tea end up with this odd slightly metallic taste to me. While the flavorings are reading a little overbearing/artificial, I will say they are complimenting each other well and coming off as sort of a coconut creme/berry dessert. It is a nice enough cup for an afternoon tea and I’m glad I got a chance to try, but ultimately I’m not sad is unvailable.

Sipdown (229)

This was the second oldest tea in my steepster cupboard based on the recently added sorting and it comes from Roswell Strange. This blend is so old, it was sent to me in either 2015 or 2016 as part of the package of teas to be had with certain songs. The song she recommended for this blend is “One Day I’ll Fly Away” by Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge.

Bit of a disclaimer – not only is this tea old but it may be overleafed and I got distracted ordering clothes online so by the time I started drinking it, it was cold. Essentially this sample wasn’t treated well so if this note is talking about a garbage tea, it is likely my fault and not a reflection on the tea.

So while this has what is clearly a nice vanilla note to it, that pairs well with Nicole Kidman’s smooth and soft voice in the song, there is just too much lavender for me :( I think the lavender probably stands out more b/c it is cold. While I can definitely see where Roswell was going when she paired this tea and song, I treated this too poorly for it to be an enjoyable experience. Nevertheless, thank you Roswell Strange for the share!!

Wanted to get 2 oz of this before it retired since I enjoyed the sample I had once upon a time. The flavor is light, and I could totally believe that it’s pear. It’s refreshing, sweet, and so lovely to drink. 2 oz of these heavy fruity blends disappears quickly, so I’ll be saying goodbye soon.

I brought this one to the hospital with me, i’ve been drinking it up for the past few days because hospital tea sucks. i’m gonna have to order a new when i get out of here.
As usual damn good tea.

Sipdown no. 2 of October 2019 (no. 101 of 2019 total, no. 589 grand total).

I took the last of this to work for a couple of days. I really didn’t do it justice. I’d been off for a couple of days and my routine was messed up, so one of those couple of days I forgot to drink this until late in the day. By then it wasn’t terribly hot, even in the thermos, and it is much better hot than cool.

I agree with my original statement that it is a nice change of pace, though I don’t think I’m as enamored of it as I was at the time I wrote my original note. I’m on the fence about changing the rating and there is a sort of uniqueness that gets it points. So I’m staying put.

This is a typical tea from East Africa, the only differentiating trait is its dry leaf appearance: the leaves are small and twisty, which reminded me of some Chinese reds like Keemuns.

Everything else is rather typical: not much of wet or dry leaf smell besides vague maltiness. The taste is robust but not rough: malt,bread, clear astringency. It is pretty much Lipton but how Lipton would taste if it prioritized taste and storage as much as cost-efficiency.

Sample from variatea. Not sure how old it was but I found that it was a super strong scent that didn’t translate in to the brew. For whatever reason the taste was really weak. I’m not sad because while I do like a good grapefruit tea, I don’t love green teas.

Prepared. Sorting tea bags for tomorrow exchange meeting. Forgot that I kept a tea bag in all the time. Maybe 30, 45 minutes? Who knows? But now it is quite cold. So – I can it write a tasting note while sipping.

Well,
it is not great. Not terrible. Not even average. It tastes quite funky, it is cloudy! It is dusty!
I notice mostly cardamon and clove notes, all together is soothing my throat. But weird funky note of basil or something like that? Weird.

40. But thanks derk – I bet I will swap the tea bag at least and that is positive.

I agree with most of the previous reviews for this tea: it is indeed smooth, not astringent at all and full of stone fruit (plum, apricot, cherry), raisins and baked apples. The best part is the dry leaf appearance: very intricately rolled into wavy, twisty curls.

When I took a first sip (Western style) I thought “Whoa, that’s a unique taste with its combination of sweet and sour!” – but that feeling dissipated quickly: this tea does not grow on you much as you drink it . The main flavors, why pleasant, come as somewhat underpowered, and the tail of the taste is disappointingly sour. It is not a bad tea, but I had decidedly more balanced and lively teas with the stone fruit profile.