Featured & New Tasting Notes

i have 2013, 2014 and 2015 in my cupboard courtesy of terri. Today i figured i’d try 2013 vs 2014. Only slight difference between the two, though 2014 makes me think of marshmallow + yams. go figure lol

Shengy and green tasting. Tolerable when brewed light enough. I can see this being a great tea for people who enjoy sheng.

Thank you to SuperStarling! for this sample.

This is definitely a SMOKY tea. The scent out of the bag is like fire place ashes smoky. I was a little nervous brewing this up that it would be too much in the mouth.

My worries are slowly dissipating. Don’t get me wrong. This tea tastes smoky. There is no getting around that. But there are other flavors there as well. Specifically a sweet malt, and a bright black tea flavor. I’ll state this once again. You need to like smoky teas in order to even consider trying this. If you don’t like smoky teas and you try this, you’re not going to have a good time. But it is a flavorful smoke.

This one from terri is more up my alley. Spring 2015 is the version she sent me. It’s not a bold malty tea, but there is more going on here to make it a more complex brew than the last tea. This has a great smooth taste, but without becoming bold and dark. There’s maybe some hints of sweetness here…but sweet like a rich caramel versus a fruit. Interesting tea to try. Thanks terri!

Been sick this week with a cold and was taking the gel pills for congestion but decided to try this tea. At first I didn’t think it was working but one evening after work I had this tea two hours before bedtime and I noticed I didn’t need any meds before bed. It really helped settle down the lungs and stop some of the congestion. I’ve been taking it now all through my cold and it’s best in the evening. When I first drink it I don’t notice any difference. I seem to notice a difference 1 or 2 hours later.

So this tea is very effective when you have congestion in the lungs. There’s licorice root in it so there’s definitely a bit of sweet licorice flavour mingled with a bit of medicine herbs. Not unpleasant tasting at all. My rating is based on how it works and not the taste since that’s what this tea is for.

pulled this one out today to have again. While not my favourite Damn fine tea, it’s still up there as delicious :)

First tasting note for this one? This was such an interesting mix of ingredients! It screamed ‘ME’ and I was happy to receive it in my grab bag: Red and green rooibos, blackberries, peach, vanilla and marshmallow root. Whoa. There was a big blackberry in my teaspoon, so I wasn’t surprised the flavor was mostly blackberry. There is also a healthy amount of marshmallow. I’d say that was somehow the strongest flavor. Marshmallows and blackberries. Possibly only the slightest hints of peach and vanilla and I really wish there were more. Maybe in other teaspoons there will be. Or I could try a teaspoon and half next time. There did seem to be more flavor with the second steep, the second night I steeped it. The base is just enough red rooibos to blend nicely with the milder green rooibos. Four awesome ingredients, happy to try this one. A better balance of the four flavors and I would have given it a better rating, but this one is good.
Steep #1 // 1 teaspoons for a full mug// 5 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 5-6 minute steep

I know this sample I got has to be older… something about Upton’s quality and storage makes it like liquid cardboard though…. not appealing :/

I’ve had this tin in my cupboard for so long and it’s weird that it’s not there anymore. Gunpowder Green and I lived in some interesting places together.

Goodbye, old companion.

Sipping on this one with Milk and a little homemade Ginger Syrup, it is pretty damn good.
This tea is bold enough to stand up to the also bold flavor of my ginger syrup(its strong) and the milk makes it smooth and creamy and take away the bite of the syrup.
On my second cup now and i’m already thinking about the next cup, This is just ridiculous good like OMG! This one would probably make a decent Chai tea base.

Found this tea at a local store. It is strong with a malty and a fruity note. It is strong enough to stand up to my adding honey and it still tastes like tea, not like honey. This is definitely one of the strongest teas I have had.

I brewed this once in a 16oz Teavana Glass Perfect Tea Maker/Gravity Steeper with 3 tsp leaf and 200 degree water for 3 minutes.

Sipdown! 100g no more. This made a great cold brew, and from what I remember, it was great hot too, but it started to dull down in flavour a while back. Best root beer!

noms. delicious afternoon cup. this one will be back in my cupboard i’m certain of it. Just need to get through another 4kg haha

I could resist no longer. Boston has been sitting on my counter all week, unopened.
I tried to be strong. I tried to finish off lots and lots of summery teas, samples, and other odd bits in my cupboard before touching this. And, while I have made progress on all those things, I am not made of stone.
So today, with reverence and joy, I brewed up Boston Blend, possibly my favorite autumnal blend of them all.
The notes of almond and cranberry sang, and the fragrant steam from my cup caressed my face as I sipped this, the first cup of fall.
Oh Boston, how lovely it is to have you here again.
I am afraid there is no stopping me now…. The autumnal blends are now fair game!

I wanted something fairly straightforward this morning, and this fit the bill perfectly. It’s still one of my favourite plain black teas – deliciously malty, with strong chocolate and cocoa notes. It’s very easy to drink, very smooth, and works well both with and without milk. I have a feeling this – or one of Teavivre’s Dian Hongs — will be a permanent fixture in my cupboard. They’re just too good to do without.

Bought some of this today having totally forgot that I had bought it before. Ah well. There seems to be a note of apples, that must be the chamomile. A lemon taste from the lemongrass is also present. This is reasonably good tea but I don’t really know that it will help me sleep. It has elements that are considered relaxing, mainly chamomile, but it doesn’t have anything sedating like Valerian. Of course if this contained Valerian Root it would taste pretty vile.

I steeped this one time in a 16oz Teavana Glass Perfect Tea Maker/Gravity Steeper with 4 tsp leaf and 200 degree water for 5 minutes.

Crazy game update time! Yesterday I woke up early, as Ben was leaving it caused me to become awake enough to have to go to the bathroom (tea drinkers woes) and I saw my phone was blinking up a storm, the Minecraft update had arrived…and my desire to go back to sleep left. New blocks and banners make my builder self happy (though so bummed about no purpur blocks, I neeeeed them) and the Chinese Mashup Pack was beautiful, but with almost all the really thematic textures it makes my world look so tacky so I didn’t buy it. Tempting though for a new world full of Chinese builds, but I have enough to do on Ramble, even if it does mean no Jianshi zombies. Later that night, unable to sleep, my phone starts blinking like crazy…apparently Ark Primitive+ got a massive much needed update to fix the enormity of bugs, so I keep bouncing between Minecraft and Ark and that is more or less my life right now!!

It is probably well known by now that I have a ‘thing’ for purple tea, and it is not just because it gives me a reason to shout ANTHOCYANIN like a battle cry, there is something about this flavonoid pigment that subtly alters the taste to a way that makes my brain happy. It is no shock that many of my favorite foods and flowers (and edible flowers) are loaded with Anthocyanin, so of course teas with high levels of Anthocycanin have to be tried. And they do taste different than their less purple associates, no matter how it is processed, I once tried a Kenyan Silver Needle and a Kenyan Purple Silver Needle from the same farm and year, and yep, definitely a difference in taste, so it is not just a visual difference. This all leads up to today’s tea from Bitterleaf Teas, Dragon Blood 2015 Spring Lin Cang Zi Juan Raw Purple Tea. Zi Juan (which is one of the names for Purple Tea, along with Zi Ya, and Zi Cha) can be processed like any tea (ones processed like a Hong Cha are a personal favorite) and this one is processed similar to a Sheng Puerh, similar enough that I brew it like I would a young sheng. Before brewing though, I need to give the beautiful dark leaves a good sniffing, and I am greeted with a smorgasbord of notes! Grilled eggplants, fresh sage and oregano, distant almost perfectly ripe peaches, basil, lettuce, and cooked tomatoes. It smells like a veggie kebab straight off the grill on a summer day, I want to eat the leaves, it is so savory and that slight sweet edge from the peach note is delectable.

After the rinse and first steep, the aroma of the leaves is fascinating, it is malty yet meaty, savory and sweet, green and smoky, fun times! Notes of sage, grilled eggplant, lettuce, gentle pine wood campfire after rain, pine greenwood, and a touch of camphor lift off the wet leaves. The liquid is light, a buttery blend of eggplant (man I really want Baba Ghanoush now) with fresh sage and a touch of peach skin and peach leaves. Like the dry leaves the peach note is just short of being perfectly ripe so it has that crispness and not just intense sweetness that a perfect ripe peach has, I am Southern and the ripeness of peaches is very important, clearly.

This tea starts out nectar sweet, like an immense burst of flower nectar that takes you by surprise, it then changes into something else and depending on what steep it is can be either vegetal notes of lettuce and bok choy or bitter hops. This then turns into the part of the tea that was one of my favorites, grilled eggplants! I hated eggplant when I was a kid, nowI love them, especially when they have been grilled and have that touch of smokiness to them. The finish of the first couple steeps all have a peculiar hard to nail down finish, it is not quite malty, not quite savory, not quite salty…it flits around between different notes at lighting speed that when I finally feel like I know what it is the taste has drifted off to something else, it reminds me a bit of the way Kimchi dances around from note to note at a rapid speed, though it tastes nothing like Kimchi except savory and a bit like cooked cabbage. The mouthfeel starts thick and stays thick, almost oily, coating my mouth like a non-Newtonian solid. I enjoyed the first part of this session so much I drew a little heart in my notebook next to it.

Let it be known that steep four, five, and six had me floating on an eggplant like cloud. Seriously I was so happy and floaty that I think I am going to drink this tea next time I have to do public speaking…I might not make any sense though since I am pretty sure this tea makes me super tea stoned. Even though this tea’s qi is super powerful, its effects were pleasant, not the ants crawling under my skin sensation some powerful qi can hit me with. There is more to the middle steeps than a qi that makes me float off into another realm, there is the grilled eggplant note that sticks around til the very end, a gentle sweet sugar cane note, a rain on slate and copper note with a finish of bok choy. Like the earlier steeps this one is thick and oily but finishes with a subtle lightness that matches the floaty feel of the tea.

The end is near, the final three steeps bring in notes of sugar cane, distant grilled eggplants (until the very last steep, steep ten, where it is gone) and a blend of mineral and copper. There are fleeting notes of bok choy and peaches, but they float away quickly, at times having me wonder if I dreamed them. This was quite the enjoyable session, one that lifted my spirits and made me feel relaxed and blissfully without pain, something someone with Fibromyalgia doesn’t get much of. I am saving the rest of my sample for extra pain or stress filled days and hope to get a cake for later, as I am very curious to see how this one ages.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/10/bitterleaf-teasl-dragon-blood-2015.html

This tea makes me happy. Not because it’s the “best” or “highest quality” tea, but because it’s exactly what I want in a roasted oolong. Good complexity with fruity, spice, grain, and resiny notes with just the right amount of roast to compliment but not overpower. Overall it just “fits” my pallet right, like the worlds most comfortable pair of underwear. I’ve been drinking this a lot lately, whenever I’m not craving anything in particular, and I’ll definitely have to stock up on a lot the next time I order from Mountain Tea.

I obtained a sample from the Pu’erh Plus TTB. I think it’s this particular shou – the label didn’t say who the vendor was, but that it was provided by mrmopar.

Brewed in a ceramic gaiwan. Gave the leaf a 10-second rinse, then a rest for a couple minutes. Steeping times: 5, 8, 10, 15, 10, 20, 40; 1 min, 1, 2, 5, 12.

The dry leaf smells earthy and sweet, and the wet leaf aroma even sweeter, so much like dark chocolate. The soup color starts off as burnt orange and darkens to ruddy brown. A little cloudy in the beginning (viewing the soup from the pitcher), but eventually clears up by the end of the session. The first couple infusions are a little sweet with some thickness, mostly tasting of fermentation (I think). The middle infusions – 3 through 10 – taste just like the wet leaf aroma: very sweet with a bitter dark chocolate note. Creamy in texture. This was the heart of the session. One word I wrote down was “yum.” I also eventually tasted the Raisinettes note that I usually get in a chocolate-like shou. Infusions 11-13 are still creamy, but the chocolate disappears, replaced by cut wood.

This is another tea that Superanna brought me from London. There are three beautiful boxes of sachets in one presentation box. The sachets are cloth and not paper. Kudos!

I am enjoying another quiet morning at home and wanted a special tea again. The red fruits appealed to me this morning. It is very cloudy and chilly outside (63F is chilly for here right now, okay? Ha ha!) and I have to go out to feed and water the chickens first thing, so breakfast is extra cozy.

The fruity aroma is a herald of the fruity taste to come. The tea base is present, not hidden under fake candy taste, and the fruit flavor is smooth, natural, and balanced. I got a really nice second steep out of the sachet so I may try for a third.

Very nice and worthy of such a morning as this, peaceful music playing and cozy under a linen blanket.

Sample obtained through the Pu’erh Plus TTB and prepared in a gongfu session, with a ceramic gaiwan. I gave the leaf a 3-second rinse and no rest. Steeping times: 5 seconds, 8, 10, 12, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 45, 60, 90; 2 minutes, 4, 10.

I’m going to kick off this review my saying that, during the four months since I took the sample from the box, I think I inadvertently dried the humidity out of the leaf.

The dry leaf smells of tobacco, light apricot, and black pepper all at once. Having sat in the pre-heated gaiwan brought out more apricot and a little smoke. The wet leaf in the beginning of the session smells of the field grass, then changes to apricot in the middle.

The soup color is golden. Infusions 1 through 4 are incredibly sweet with apricot – with a little bitterness underneath – and have strong huigan. After the second, the soup has energetic mouthfeel. 3’s texture is thick and oily. I reheated the water to boiling since the temperature had fallen to 195-200. I would later confirm that infusing the leaf in 200< degree water produces sweetness. Boiling brings out bitterness as well. Infusions 5-8 taste of camphor and black pepper as well as a continuing apricot. The more I let the soup sit in my mouth, the more peppery it is. There is a cooling effect upon swallowing. At this point and this point only I feel qi, which is induces relaxation. (Maaaaybe because I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. I started feeling nauseated just before my break – HEY I ACTUALLY NEED TO EAT, I remembered. Quickly fixed.)

After the first break, I go through 9-11. The soup tastes more bitter – same intensity as the apricot note. The bitterness strengthens in the aftertaste. The texture has become creamy.

Another, longer break. 12-14 mostly have bitter, grass notes with slight huigan. (I didn’t feel like boiling the leaf as the website suggests because I was hungry (just came back from exercising and all).)

I’ve had this for a while, I don’t remember where from, and for some reason I just haven’t tried it. I actually recently lost my job, so I will probably have more time to drink tea! (have to look on the bright side right?)

I actually thought this had black tea in it instead of green, and brewed it accordingly, but luckily it doesn’t seem to have burnt the tea any! I definitely smell the vanilla in this one, though the taste is slightly more subtle. The rooibos definitely doesn’t overwhelm the flavor and that’s nice

Started my morning with a cup of this one.

I thought the toastyness of the tea would be the perfect hug this morning for the weather; and the sweetness of the chocolate notes creeping it fit perfectly as well. It was very much a cup of tea for pensive reflection and engulfing yourself in the surrounding environment.

It’s been raining heavily all week, and is expected to do so for the rest of the week as well and while my roommates are heavily complaining about the rain I’ve been loving every second of it. At the very least, I’ve been hanging out in the living with the balcony door open just listening to the pitter patter and soaking in the smell of the petrichor.

However, this morning I was actually on the balcony during the storm with a hot cup of tea, and Eilert behind the gate with a bowl of spinach just soaking everything in and enjoying it all. My roommate Cathryn got up to make breakfast/head to class and saw me out on the balcony – and of course I had my laptop propped right inside the balcony door so it couldn’t get wet and I could listen to my obligatory music whilst enjoying my cup of tea. It just heavily tied into the overall mood and aesthetic of not just the cup of tea but the rain storm as well.

Today’s song pairing was this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G10fjK9bUJk

But holy shit, I didn’t expect it to lead into the conversation that I wound up having with Cathryn. She very happily came outside to tell me that “I know that song!”. Which, honestly, kind of excited me too ’cause we have such different tastes in music. So, this was a rare occurrence.

“Yeah, isn’t Fleetwood Mac great? I mean, I’m especially partial to this song but they’re just great in general”. This got a very puzzled look from her.

“No, it’s a Dixie Chicks song. I should know, I just went to their concert over the weekend. It’s one of my favourites and they sang it there. But yeah, this is a decent cover I guess…”

“No, Cathryn, this is the original. The Dixie Chicks version is the cover…”

“I’m running late for class – so I’ll just let you have this one.”

“But… I’m right…?”

So that was a thing that happened this morning. I’ll admit that it made me feel quite old; and Cathryn and I only have two years of age difference in the first place. Well, we almost agreed on something music based. I guess that’s something.

Why don’t I drink more green tea?
I always love it when I drink it, and I used to drink green tea every day, but I don’t love it the way I love Black/Red Tea. I guess that’s the reason.
Plus I can’t drink green tea on an empty stomach…there’s always that…
But anyway, this is a lovely one, more delicate in appearance than Dragonwell, with a clean vegetal taste, a buttery aroma, and a thickness that builds on the tongue, sip by sip.
Much gratitude to Angel and Teavivre for the sample.

Speaking of Teavivre, I finally got my sipdown extravaganza down to below 200 teas in my cupboard (190, actually), so now I’m allowed to order from one company per month, with wild abandon. This month it was Teavivre, as their black teas have been missing from my cupboard for quite some time, and I’m getting low on black teas anyway!
sipdown – 189