15695 Tasting Notes
Another tea that I steeped this week but then blanked on pretty badly while drinking it. Not as badly as the First Flush from Tea Runners though, because I at least remember thinking my first few sips were surprisingly good and flavourful with a really nice tangy kind of strawberry/cranberry note but still that cardamom finish. Not sure I’m sold on this as a chai, but snap (absent minded) impression was that is was more chutney like than expected and in a pretty great kinda way!
This is one of the teas from my monthly Tea Runners subscription box. I steeped it up immediately after opening it because I felt like I needed something caffeinated and more traditional, but I was so busy that afternoon that even though I drank a large mug of this tea I didn’t pay attention to it AT ALL. So I genuinely don’t remember a damn thing about the taste. Gonna have to make it again and be more mindful…
Steeped this one iced earlier in the week and I was surprised by how unpleasant I found it to be. The peach notes themselves were fine, though pretty unsweet, but there was a real off tasting smokiness to this tea that felt out of place and more the result of a low quality tea used than the lovely smokiness I get from other Brutalitieas blends that use Lapsang. Not smoke contamination from being blended/stored near smoky teas either. Just an off note in the base…
This has been the absolute busiest feeling week that I’ve had all year, so bare with me tonight as I work on tasting notes. They’re probably all going to be very, very short because most of my tea drinking this week has been while doing other things occupying much of my time/attention…
This is something I made during the evening after getting home from office. I was craving it all day, and the deep notes of burnt, smoky sugar were spot on for me. Like very burnt marshmallows from camping, which not everyone loves but I definitely love!
Kept my steep times nice and short today which let the delicate & soft honeysuckle notes from the white tea and the often missed floral undertones of blueberry really shine. It’s a straight forward blend, but it’s hard to heat a good blueberry tea when you find one!
Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CewujtLuyuv/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQiLGReUuP0
Earlier this week I sipped on some Takachiho Koshoun to christen this absolutely stunning Japanese teacup that was unexpectedly gifted to me by two friends! Finding the perfect first tea for this teacup was surprisingly more challenging than expected. It obviously had to be from Japan but my two usual Japanese teas of preference, matcha and hojicha, didn’t feel quite right and I pretty infamously avoid most other forms of Japanese green tea…
This beautiful oolong tea totally fit the brief though! It’s quite delicate with such an intricate bouquet of floral tasting notes all weaved together; perfect to capture the beauty and absolutely ASTOUNDING level of detail and intricacy to this teacup’s design! Did I overthink it? Idk, probably – but when you have friends who go out of their way to bring you beautiful things then I think the effort is more than justified…
Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CetaVVnOPyj/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bPdIehZfF0
Gongfu!
I think I definitely expected this #oolongtea to have a floral character to it, but the specific and distinct notes of orange blossom, rose, and lilac in the early steeps did catch me a little off guard with just how floral and clear they were. Aside from that, there were delicate top notes of sweet lychee that softly bled into the body of the sip, and were met with a soft woodiness and minerality and, in one particularly nuanced steep, a bit of pithy citrus zest!Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CeyvL6qum2I/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp43OdtAAkM
Gongfu!
This is from my recent Spring Pu’erh haul! It’s the first tea sample from this order that I’ve steeped up because I simply couldn’t resist the description of heavy honey sweetness appealed to me so greatly! It’s actually a pretty great description for this tea though! The texture of the steeps is so soft and gentle, but the taste really does have a kind of sticky honey sweetness that lingers after each swallow! More of a deep, golden honey with some subtler floral undertones. Excited to see how this sheng progresses with some time!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CerPbvcu89K/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S_8C8mYEkQ
This week has been pretty busy for me, so it’s been nice to fall back on some consistent favourites, and this unsmoked lapsang souchong definitely ticks that box for me! I love, love, love the almost green strawberry notes in the finish of each sip. It’s like tasting that last little bit of a strawberry before hitting the stem, where you get some of the sweet flesh but also a bit of the white pith! It’s distinct, and delicious!
Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce1RbJWu9Ha/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnOnjdS0l00
