New Tasting Notes

I am gathering some more swap ammo from my home-stash and came across this one and don’t think I sent any to LiberTEAs…so…This one…has HER name on it :) See previous notes…

This is wonderful. I’m stressed beyond words today and for no real reason. I’ve got to stop using my days off to go out and be sure busy >.<. My hormones are all out of whack…when my wife showed up to see me at work today and brought me a diet dr pepper, I nearly cried. One of those days. Anyway, this got me through work today and I just have to make it through one more day before I get three glorious days off. Yay! But this was creamy and sassy-frassy and tasted a bit like a root beer hard candy with a creamy vanilla swirl. Definitely one to love.

cold steeped.

this tea was my first puerh, and when it arrived today, I opened the bamboo leaf and was attacked by the wonderful aroma. It smells like sweet iced tea, but I haven’t really tasted it yet, because the brew is incredibly hot, and the liquors color is similar to a reddish coffee. I would most definitetley buy more.

This is the first loose tea that I have tried. Previously, I have drank tea in sachets by Harney & Sons and I have gradually made the transition to starting to drink loose tea. I have been told by many that they prefer the taste of loose teas and believe that it is better quality and provides a better taste. After this experience, I agree.
When I opened the tea sample, I was a bit fascinated by the sight of these tea leaves. They were long thin leaves. Most of the leaves with a nice bright green and a few had a bit of yellow in the leaves,which might be as a result from the fixing of the leaves via hot woks during production.
I brewed the Huangshan Mao Feng to 175 degrees Fahrenheit.I steeped the tea for about 3 minutes. The first flavor that I tasted was a grassy flavor. While I continued to drink the tea,I tasted vegetal flavors with subtle smoky flavor. I also tasted a bit of a toasted nutty flavor. The liquor was a light green to a light greenish yellow. I believe that the vegetal flavor is complemented by smoky and nutty flavors that I tasted.

I appreciate Russel from Harney & Sons for sending me this tea sample. Harney & Sons continues to offer it’s customers great quality tea. Hopefully I can visit one of their shops soon. :)

Thanks to Phoenix Tea Shop for sending me this sample. I finished it off today but I can’t say there was anything totally remarkable about it. Not rating it because I still don’t know if my tastebuds are feeling all too perky and back to normal. :((

Definitely a sweet treat. I’m baffled by the dry scent – half of me thinks it smells sweet and appealing, and the other half of me thinks it smells like medicine. In any case, the taste is mild and sweet, and is just fine as is.

Using my gaiwan on this and the usual drinking method. Two infusions per cup I drink.

For the first two, I’m glad I did because this is so light. It has this sparkling, effervescent taste to it. I also am getting flowers and grass. Lots of minerals, though for sure. Kind of not a fan of that.

Onwards to the third and fourth! This cup is a bit darker in color, more green. Lots of grass, reminds me of Gyokuro but lighter. I ended up on the phone with my mom so that’s about all that I remember from those.

Cup 3, fifth and sixth steepings. Steeped these while still on the phone so I got to hear, “are you making iced tea?” Haha, that will be the next thing I try with this tea, perhaps a cold steep! This one is even more flavorful, almost reminds me of an oolong now rather than a green. Tastes like fresh peas cooked in butter. It has a very cool mouthfeel that I don’t even know how to describe. Maybe like it suddenly has bubbles that are dancing around in there? Sounds good.

There will definitely be more to come!

Thanks for this, TeaEqualsBliss!

Today was such a dramatic day I… left my job.
Wow.
I was shaking when I got home – it really didn’t sink in. And now? I’m elated! (Don’t worry folks, I have another temp job lined up)

And I reeeeally needed a calm down tea. But also a super special one! And so, out pops my best friend, Laoshan White. Thanks LW, for seeing me through this crazy time!

Putting your face into a cup of sencha sprinkles is like diving face-first into a rice paddy? Toasted rice and grass jump up to hug your nostrils in a delightful way. Not lying about the fluoro green colour, and a bit spendy ($26 for a box) but consider it a special toasty treat.

Hubby loves this as an iced t, it’s the only one he’s ever asked me to buy more of.

I feel like celebrating and this is a great tea to do it with!

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me a bit of this tea!

When I opened the package I could smell a hint of smokiness and a rugged, earthy kind of smell. After brewing, a smoky aroma really emerged, as well as a hint of peppery essence … kind of like what I think it might smell like if I were to burn peppercorns in the fireplace along with pine wood.

This is much different than I anticipated before opening the pouch… I expected a typical afternoon tea… you know, something on the lighter side, like a Darjeeling blend. This is more like a powerful kick-in-the-pants kind of pick-me-up in the afternoon. I’m enjoying it though!

I got this today, iced as the tea of the day. With some agave, it tasted like liquid peppermint candies. I love mint, so I thought it was delicious, but to those who don’t like mint, be warned!

this is a creative blend that works really really well…a mild, consistent flavor with some smoky and earthy notes and a slightly bitter after taste. the box i have also blends a bit of peppermint which is present in the taste too. since its bagged its really convenient to have on the go…i drink it on rainy monday mornings or when i really feel like an extra boost to face the day. the tulsi in the tea is quite calming which really complements the cerebral energy of yerba. good stuff!

Another workday, another overly large spoonful of Mermaid’s Kiss. My goodness, these leaves E X P A N D ! I have to remember to use less.

Drank 2 brewings from the leaves I brought from home this morning. Just as good as last week!

I never had much tea growing up. Or rather, I actually had plenty of tea, but it was all of the monolithic Southern Sweet Tea variety, i.e. inexpensive bags of orange pekoe unscientifically brewed and loaded with sugar and ice. Refreshing and affordable and culturally comforting, but my youthful imagination craved something more. The thought of hot tea seemed absolutely exotic and the epitome of hoity toity poshness, lifestyles of the rich and famous and all that. China cups and saucers and haughtily poised little fingers. Very much outside of my realm of sweating glasses of Luzianne attracting flying insects. And what tea seemed the height of that hot-tea paradise I had yet to enter into? English Breakfast Tea.

Just see it through the eyes of a dingy girl of eight or nine years or so. English Breakfast Tea, boxes of it shelved a bit above the stuff her mother uses to make that common, everyday beverage of iced tea, little boxes from foreign brands, a product that’s never been in the cupboard at home. How it comprises all the allure of tea drinking amongst some phantom notion of upper-crust gleaned from snippets of Masterpiece Theatre productions. English— a very faraway land when you’re in South Carolina. Breakfast— why, who ever thought to drink tea at breakfast, when everyone here drinks it during the day and night? Tea— not stuff in a pitcher in the fridge, no, this is tea for pots and cups, steaming liquid colored with milk.

Then came the day, in my early teens, when I acquired a sampler box of Twinings tea, with accompanying funny look from the parental unit when I asked for it at the grocery store, as if in confirmation that, yes, this one’s going to be a bit of a snob. How I gloated over that box, with its seal from the Queen, and I sampled the samples with excitement and reverence. And what did I find, in those fateful few bags of Twinings English Breakfast Tea? That it’s all right, but I rather vastly prefer Irish Breakfast Tea. XÞ

But seriously, it is a solid, reliable tea, but simply not one of my favorites from Twinings. In bags and loose leaf alike, it seems to brew up on the weak side, and there’s this very slight peculiar taste which I can’t quite pinpoint… it is almost a waxiness, but that may just be my tastebuds acting wonky. Otherwise, it takes its milk and sugar nicely, as is to be expected, and has a classic if not especially outstanding taste, mildly malty, smooth and with little astringency. I find it nourishing without being too strong, if it’s one of those days when you want a breakfast tea, but something on the less kick-in-the-pants end. And on the whole, I actually prefer it in the afternoon, food optional. A decent fair-to-middling tea which I brew from time to time, especially if I am engaged in something in which I shall be distracted from properly sitting down and enjoying a cup, but still want something nice and hot and flavorful. In that respect, this tea is undemanding and consistent, great for writing letters or worrying about something— it assuages the thirst without my feeling bad for not using much concentration in appreciating it.

In Masterpiece Theatre terms, I would go for something heartier if you’re a great, strapping lad or lass who wants a cup with a big fry-up breakfast before a long day of roaming about the moors or whatever, but it’s perfect, brewed weakly and served on a tray, if you’re a pale invalid in a dark-curtained room who might only manage to nibble a little toast of a morning.

Multiple infusions permitted (I prefer three, maybe four). Good tea. I need to drink another cup of this. Later. LOL

Tried this hot several months ago, when I was feeling under the weather and feeling like a lemon tea might perk me up. It was too tart, and adding sweetener to it made it taste like hot lemonade.

Now that the weather here is sweltering, iced tea is a lovely treat. Unfortunately, I drink so much, if I’m not careful, I will be awake all night. An herbal tisane is an ideal iced drink in the evening.

It makes a lovely, pale yellow cup of iced tea. I can definitely taste the lemon and lime, though I’m not sure what the marigold did besides add color. I didn’t find the need to add sweetener, as it’s lovely enough on its own, though I imagine it would bring out the citrus flavor even more.

Sipped on this all day. Today I got something a bit different than last time. The charcoal smoke flavoring is the most obvious flavor. Beyond the obvious is a grainy bread flavor. This may be what the description is calling caramel. Occasionally I got hints of cinnamon. At one point and ever so briefly, there was a fruity flavor that immediately made me think peach. It didn’t last long and did not repeat. This never develops anything approaching a tiguanyin oolong taste or bright floral notes like the alishan oolongs. It does have a lingering sweet aftertaste and offers a nice cooling sensation on the breath. A nice Dongding.

I’ve been so excited and eager to try this tea since I saw that Stacy from Butiki Teas was going to try to make a Tamarind blend for AlphaKitty. The only other “tea” that I’ve had with Tamarind was a sparkling yerba mate RTD, and somehow, I don’t think that really qualifies since it’s a RTD. And it’s yerba mate. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVED that yerba mate, but, I have been wanting a “real” tea with tamarind since tasting that sparkling yerba mate.

I LOVE the aroma of the dry leaf. It smells like candy: sweet with hints of chocolate and vanilla and brown sugar. The brewed liquor smells lovely as well.

The flavor is rich. I like that I taste that Guranse base first and foremost. It is earthy and rich and bold – even bolder than I remember my tasting of the pure Guranse. Maybe the tamarind brings out the stronger side of the tea? Anyway, the natural fruit tones of the tea seem to play very well with the flavor of the tamarind.

Even though I grew up in Southern California and I’ve had a lot of experience with Hispanic foods, tamarind is one that I never really became very familiar with, so I haven’t really tried a lot of tamarind (at least, not to my recollection or knowledge) But, I really like this. It tastes sweet, a little bit sour, and quite unlike anything I’ve really tried before.

I am tasting this straight today, but, Stacy told me that I should try it both ways – sweetened and unsweetened – as they are two totally different teas. Tomorrow, I shall brew a pot and sweeten it and see how it turns out. But for now, I’m really enjoying this cup unsweetened. It has a very unique flavor, not like anything else I’ve tried, and I’m loving it.

I saved the leaves from the Element Tea chai last night, since it seems like such a waste to use them only once when they’re the only chance I’ll ever have to try this tea! However, I didn’t think there was enough oomph in them for a cup by themselves—it was a teeny sample and I brewed it for extra-long last night. I brought a few teas to my parents’ house to try but went through them all, which means blending time!

The only thing I had that I thought would work was the ETS Scottist Toffee Caramel Pu-erh, so into the little french press it went! As a side note, my parents have a freaking adorable little Bodum french press with enough room at the bottom to not squish the tea leaves when you’re pouring, perfect for saving them for re-steeps. They never use it since it’s a 1-cup thing, so now it’s all mine!

These two teas melded perfectly. Spicy and bold from the chai, rich earthy and sweet from the pu-erh. They went together so perfectly it was hard to tell what base notes were from which tea, definitely a happy marriage! I have a few other chais I might try mixing with dessert-y teas now since this worked so well.

Cold brewed the rest of my sample pack. It was probably about 9-10 teaspoons per my large Takeya 2L pitcher. I added one small packet of stevia just because I felt curious about how it would change the flavour. Wow, this is delicious. So true blueberry/grape flavour. Yummy

I love this matcha! I find it holds up very well drinking it straight or mixed in to other things. I just had it now in a very delicious smoothie.

You should try making it! I used:
- 1 ripe banana
- about a cup of frozen peach slices
- about a cup of almond milk
- 1.5 tsp of matcha
blended together and served in a tall glass. A perfect way to enjoy this matcha.

Sadly, I’m almost out. There are more expensive matchas out there and I’m tempted to try them, just to see if I can tell the difference between them and this matcha.