Featured & New Tasting Notes

This smells like a chocolate truffle – the earthy kind that you’d dig from the ground, and then add some dark chocolate to. Seriously, that’s the kind of truffle I get out of this – if you like that kind of earthy pu-erh, you’ll love this. Well, and if you love chocolate, too. It’s earthy, rich, deep and velvety.

Cue the sense of dread that just courses through you (or otherwise sits in your stomach) when you see the work week stretching out before you, accented with awful, awful weather. Sometimes it feels like tea is the only thing that can cheer me up on a Monday morning. After having this cup turn into a disaster of epic proportions on Saturday, it was lovely to have a perfectly creamy vanillay cup this morning. I am also taking my mini keurig into work today, and i’m hoping i’ll actually use it to enjoy tea in the afternoon, but it’s starting to feel complicated, and I might not. I hope I do though!

One of those mornings. The body is trying to do one thing and the brain is trying to remain in a sleep induced coma. Wow. Everything is taking so such effort. Standing at my tea wanting to get that first cup down me. Craving black pearls but using scissors is too technical. My hand grabbed this one. It is open and the ‘tin’ is cardboard. I probably can’t get hurt on that. Over leafed on purpose. Boiling water and anywhere between 1 and 5 minutes steeping. Seriously, I say it again, wow! Probably 3 minutes on the steep. Wonderfully lightly smoky with rich honey caramel. Just what I needed. Tea do your magic. This really is a great Yunnan.

Tasting note 1111 for the number amused among us.

Just one more cup before I run off – and as always, this makes for a flawless one.

I have a little more than half of this tin left, which makes me ponder the logistics of tea storage. I mean, I have a lot in my cupboard now, which I assume is typical for this stage of tea obsession – you tend to overbuy once you get completely hooked, because you want to explore certain brands and tea types.

There are definitely numerous new teas I’d like to try now, too, but I’d really prefer to have a cupboard consisting only of teas rated 80+ before I get anything else. However, that’s roughly 1/4 of the 100+ teas currently in my cupboard, which means I’d have to finish 3/4 of all the tea I own before I buy more. I don’t see that happening, even though I have not yet purchased any tea this year, which is quite a feat in itself.

I really like when there’s a system, though. I need a system.

Ok, so this isn’t actually going to be a tasting note about this tea, because I’ve written about it enough for you to know that it’s a lovely EGC, and that’s about all you need to know.

But last night, I decided to take a timolino full of this to a friend’s place for dinner and hanging out. And instead of using my Keurig to dispense the hot water like I typically do, I used Watson (Watson is the name I’ve given to our Culligan water cooler, that has both a hot and cold water tap—we named him Watson after the computerized jeopardy contestant! /nerd). Anyway, from my understanding, the water dispensed from Watson is around 107 degrees F, while the Keurig website says that the Keurig dispenses water that’s 192 degrees f, so that’s definitely a noticeable difference. The thing is, however, that I never never successfully brewed a cup of satisfactory tea using Watson, and it seems odd to me that a temperature of about 207 (ETA—sorry, I originally wrote 107, which explains the general wtfness in the comments below, but it really was 207) would be too hot for absolutely every tea (especially since I drink mostly blacks, which are reputed to almost always take extremely hot water). As for the water I use, the Keurig takes filtered water through my brida filter, and Watson uses Culligan’s water—both are filtered, but are provided by different companies, so perhaps that has to do with it. But last night’s tea tasted bitter and horrible, just horrible. No vanilla cream notes to speak of—only an amped up bitter bergamot note that was bitter and gross.

But this has me terrified to ever get myself a variable temp kettle, because what if the Keurig is the only acceptable source for hot water for me in this universe? this is actually really upsetting to me! Because i so badly want the Bonavida goose-neck one liter variable temp kettle, but like, if I drop 100 dollars on it but it makes all my tea taste like bile, then…then…then what?!?!?!?!!?

Please comfort me.

This poor tea – it’s been offered to guests on numerous occasions, and swapped, and I have snuck an un-Steepstered cup on occasion. There’s not that much left now, and this is only the second tasting note for it.

The shame.

I’m so on the fence about Palais des Thés. I know they’re not even comparably as high quality as Mariage Frères. MF have such excellent base teas, and such exuberantly debauched flavour profiles that it’s not even a fair comparison.

But when I just want a simple, comforting cup, I admit I go with PdT more often. Because MF’s teas are demanding – all head games, smoke and mirrors. PdT’s teas, on the other hand, are simple, accessible, predictable.

And I just turned into Gone Girl’s Nick Dunne, didn’t I?

More snow (sigh).

I decided to brew up a trusted favourite. I think I must always keep a coconut oolong in my cupboard. I haven’t tried one that I dislike, although I do prefer some over others. This is one of those that I like a little more.

Infusion is bright yellow. Upfront taste is toasty coconut. As the cup cools, butter and a touch of salt lingers.

The second infusion doesn’t offer much, but the toasted coconut still makes its presence known.

Funny that this should be next in the queue, when I’ve been drinking another Irish Breakfast blend today. It feels a bit full cicle-y

This is another take from the EU travelling teabox, one I didn’t really have to think too hard about before pinching. I rather like breakfast blends, but I never seem to actually buy them for some reason. I think it’s because, in the actual ordering situation, I either get too focused on interesting flavours or on unblended teas, and if they have a breakfast blend at all, then I don’t even look for it.

But I do like a good breakfast blend, so perhaps it’s something I should start paying more attention to. They are so varied, because many companies make their own unique blend that for them is breakfast-y, so it’s not a tried-on-tried-them-all sort of thing at all.

My perfect breakfast blend is actually quite easy to find. In fact I can go out tomorrow and pick up a box from the supermarket. You see, I grew up on Pickwick tea bags when having tea, and their English breakfast blend have a distinct note of honey to it. At least it did 15 years ago, who knows what sort of shenanigans their product development people have been up to in that time? I rather enjoyed that honey note, so that’s what I want in a breakfast blend.

Irish breakfast or English breakfast, though… I can take either. I’ve never really been able to put my finger on exactly what’s supposed to be the difference here, so one is as good as the other for me.

This one smells vaguely grassy and quite malty-sweet. There’s a fair bit of grain in here as well. I find this bode well for the possibility of that honey note.

Unfortunately it doesn’t taste like honey at all. At first, when I sipped, I thought ‘oh no, grass! Darjeeling!’ but then the malty notes came in and sort of took over. Those Darj-y notes aren’t actually so bad after all, so now I don’t think it’s in there at all. It lacks the prickly spicyness of Darj, fortunately. Maybe some other high-grown tea. It really is a quite sweet tea, this one. Under that, forming the body, there is a bit of grain and a whole lot of general Assam-ness with malt and a whiff of raisin. This is robust, strong and lightly astringent in the aftertaste.

This is quite nice. It’s not the sort of tea that I would want to drink all day, but it works well for the first cup of the day. Which this actually is, actually. Evidence to this can be found in how the leaves were initially given a short rinse in cold water because I forgot to boil it first and then had to pour it back in the kettle. Yay for strainers… I hope it’s not going to be one of the those days.

Husband found it pleasant too. He said it was a good breakfast tea and better than most English breakfast blends he’s tried (which likely came out of a bag, mind you) which were often much too (and here he made a funny face). And this one wasn’t.

PS. Lightly astringent turns into quite astringent if you drink this while eating yoghurt, apparently. So don’t do that.

This tea sparkles! I love sparkly teas! However, I think I will be keeping Glitter & Gold around to appease my sparkle love as it is more consistent. I find this to be a huge hit sometimes and not so much others. This particular cup is alright but not the best I have had. I am working my way to a sipdown in the near future so hopefully the other few cups are better.

It is so cold. I know I shouldn’t complain. I have lived in this darn country and province my entire life. I have made a conscious decision to continue living here. I actually quite like how we get four distinct seasons. I normally would not mind if it was this cold. But come on polar vortex, it is March 1. It is supposed to be like -5C, starting to melt a little every day.

It is currently -40C, feels like -52C. If you would like to know what that is in Fahrenheit, -40 is where the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales meet. That’s right! It is -40F feels like -61.6F. WHAT?!?! I am not even going to bother going outside, not because any exposed skin will freeze in 3 seconds, or because my nostril hairs will freeze on contact to the air, but I am scared my door will break off its hinges if I open it because it is so cold.

So I am drinking this to warm up. I brewed it a little extra time today so it is nice and thick. 7 pearls for 2 minutes (I usually do just 1 minute). It is thick and bold and malty. Some hints of cocoa, but a lot of sweet dark plum flavours. It is STRONG. And I need that today.

I declare today a tea day!

I ate too much tonight at the Italian place we went to. Ugh. Still, I am celebrating a 10 lb weight loss as of yesterday, and I don’t think one night is going to be enough to sabotage it completely. I’m also feeling pretty good because I finished a pro bono project today and turned in my research. And I’m looking forward to going to sleep as soon as I say that I had sort of been hoarding this, which is the last of the Adagio herbal samples, and now I remember why.

It deserves a higher rating and I’m giving it a bump. It’s a very gentle, almost vague, herbally lemon, not a fruity one, but it doesn’t push any of my buttons. No bitterness, no soapiness, no unmitigated tartness, no random un-named unpleasantness.

In the grand scheme of things it’s something I wouldn’t mind having in my cupboard, but not until I’ve determined there isn’t a pure lemongrass I like better from another vendor. (Perhaps lemongrass is lemongrass is lemongrass, but how will I know unless I try ALL THE LEMONGRASS?)

Back in Florida so I am reunited with my Candy Cane Lane and Nutcracker Sweet teas. Seeing as it is midnight, I of course reached for the caffeine free option (though I don’t think caffeine really affects me), and it tastes just like a candy cane. Delicious!

In other news, DAVIDs officially launched their March tea and it is “Hibiscus Punch”. Why?!?! Does DAVIDs really need more hibiscus-heavy teas? I think not! So far, 2014 has been a disappointing year as far as tea of the month goes.

“OMG, this is so good.” – me, 30 seconds ago.

Why do I feel like I haven’t accomplished anything today?
I woke up at 7, wrote in my journal, did my blend of Qigong, Taichi, & Yoga.
I made myself a good breakfast.
I met with clients at 10:00, played for them, booked their wedding, & got their music setup.
I set up this year’s annual Harp Society Recital, making arrangements with the church who hosts it, & sending announcements to our google group & facebook page (I’m president).
I answered emails & booked another wedding, sending the contract.
I returned a few phone calls.
I finished doing my laundry & put it away.
So…sigh…why do I feel like I haven’t done enough? Probably because there is still a never ending list of things to do.
I drank a pot of this tea while I was doing some of them. It’s a great stand by for when I want something satisfying, but uncomplicated. A rich malty assam that is very balanced & fool proof.
“Now back to work”, Ms Theresa said…somewhere in my head.

It was only a couple years ago that I had my first taste of puerh. A lot of people seem a little freaked by the experience but I found it instantly accessible. At first I could only tell by taste if it was raw or ripe. Slowly I am beginning to grasp the wide range of flavor of each. This one gets my award as the best aroma ever from the dry leaf. It is hay, green tea, and citrus. Really nice. The steeped leaf is minty, anise, citrus, and deep green steamed vegetal. Again, really nice. The sip reveals the youth of this cake. It is not the bright metallic taste I usually expect. This is dusty and musty. The taste is very earthy like fresh clean damp soil. It reminds me of digging potatoes as a kid with my dad. So mega-points for memory association. I very much enjoyed this cup and look forward to seeing how it changes with age.

I know, I know. It’s such a shock that I had the Queen this morning. Had her with a bagel and cream cheese, and experienced a small slice of heaven before having to change into stupid work clothes and then plunge myself into the god-forsaken outdoors.

Stay warm, guys!

Also, is anyone else watching jeopardy? Holy smokes, Arthur!

I’m on vacation and haven’t been on the internet at all but had to login today because it’s my 1 year steepsterversary! 1 year ago today I stumbled upon this site when looking for a good vanilla black tea. A year later and I can’t even imagine what life would be without all my steepster friends. Thanks for welcoming me and teaching me so much!

I have been drinking this during our whole trip. It’s just really friggin good. And it was the straight black tea that got me into straight black teas and I would never had heard of it if it wasn’t for steepster.

This cooled quite a bit as I got distracted by Lupicia and other tea related things. Now I am sipping on this as I continue to watch Homeland. It is always a nice, pleasant cup. It is also one of my oldest teas (August 2013) so I am hoping to finish off what I have soon but I’m sure I will be restocking it as it is one of the few caffeine-free options I consistently enjoy.

Tea?yay! First cup since Sunday and it’s soooooooo goooood!

Yesterday morning I awoke to find that there was no hot water, thinking it was the pilot light on the boiler (which is ancient and has instructions which may as well be in a foreign language) so I left it for my husband to do when he got home. He arrived home (late due to overtime) and had a fiddle around for half hour before enlightening me that it’s not the pilot light. On top of the hot water there is also no central heating. So I phoned up the gas company this morning and they sent someone over to have a look (he too was late). The man said his name was Wayne and after ten minutes of reading the instructions and starring intently he had to phone a Mr Gotham. My face lit up, Wayne…Mr Gotham…I knew where this was leading. When he got off the phone I as casually as I could asked what time Batman would be over (not being able to hide the smirk on my face for long). The only response I got was a blank expression and a quiet ‘What?’. I thought it was Batman comedy gold but gas engineers apparently are oblivious to it. Oh well, made myself chuckle anyway! Long story short – Boiler still doesn’t work so I have tomorrow morning off work while Mr Gotham comes over to inspect it himself.

So here I sit with my Genmaicha, a smile on my face and the start of a Civilization V game. Oh well, it could be worse.

So I totally meant to drink Sugar Cookie and not Sugar Plum, as I rummaged through the tea bags that VariaTEA was nice enough to send me, but whoops?

This was actually ok. I was worried it’d be a little too tart so I added a little bit of sugar and it was pretty great. I drank a mason jar of! Awesome. :D

Wow.

I opened up the packet and cantaloupes fell out. Or at least, that’s what it smelled like.

This is what other sweet flavored white teas aspire to and fail to achieve in my view.

I decided to steep in the gaiwan per the comment from yyz on my last white tea endeavor, however, I didn’t have the note in front of me and steeped a bit shorter. 30 seconds, then going up to 45.

The aroma is also of cantaloupe, though mellower. The liquor is pale yellow.

The flavor is pure cantaloupe, without any adjustments. There is no winy-ness to speak of, like some other melon flavored teas I’ve had. There’s no bitterness.

The tea isn’t planty or overpowering, nor is it non-existent, but I don’t get a strong flavor, more like a dark undercurrent that lets me know I’m drinking tea rather than hot cantaloupe juice.

The aftertaste is sweet and gently melon-y.

It’s the best flavored white I have had thus far that doesn’t rely on a tart citrus to cut an unpleasant mustiness, and I’ve rated it accordingly. The good news is I have a fair amount of this and I can play with the time and temp until I get it as close to perfect as possible.

This isn’t have the same blow-me-away quality that it had the first time I tried it, but I knew what I was expecting this time. It’s still really good and a bit like cake and cookies for breakfast or cinnamon sugar donut holes (and who could complain about that really?)

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

This tea is so good. It deserves a better rating.

I’m having it with honey, and …roasted fennel I haven’t put away yet. It’s for a beet-fennel-orange salad, probably with cranberry honey.

Can you get the munchies from tea? It’s ridiculous, the way I’ve been nibbling on veggies all evening. I haven’t even had dinner – just more and more vegetables! The idea was to cook them all and then eat them with lunch for the next few days, but then I ate, umm, most of them.