1234 Tasting Notes
The name is so repulsive and hilarious. Nothing like the tea tastes. It’s fantastic. I am giddy with excitement while it steeps. The aroma coming off the leaves in the water is strong in mineral and buttered popcorn notes. The flavor is packed with minerality. Wet rocks. Rocks wet with crushed summer flowers. If you steep it too long it becomes astringent. Not quite like an Assam but kind of puckering like an herbal steeped too long. The mouthfeel is soft. Mainly minerals but a bit of summer flower presence too.
Side-by-side matcha tasting. I’m pitting this one against Cultivate. The tin is cute. The color of the matcha is not. It’s not terrible. The worst was still the olive green matcha from Sri Lanka. But that’s a different story. This is in between the olive and much-preferred emerald green. Not much in the way of aroma. The taste is bitter and bracing. I may not be able to get this crinkle out of my face. Permanent Grinch face. Sip number two. Nope. Still not good. Oh, that’s worse. A slight grassiness for a moment and pure Mt. Crumpet. And then the face made by Elf when he sprayed perfume in his mouth. I shall use the rest in muffins. By the way, if you’re wondering which one, it wasn’t this one. Also just to note I am drinking these plain. This probably would be fine in latte form.
Side-by-side matcha tasting. I’m pitting this one against Bird & Blend. I knew the moment I opened the tins which was the winner but since you are here for the ride let’s drag out the answer like a recipe with a life story in front of it. Open opening the package of Cultivate I was greeted with fairly nicely green-colored powder and a slightly chocolate, slightly frozen parmesan smell. Which from what I’ve learned means that it’s a higher grade matcha but it may have been sitting out in un-proper conditions. The flavor is heavy in umami. Smooth mouthfeel with very little grit, despite my lack of siting and terrible whisking. I am drinking this thick so it’s quite a punch to the face Bits of seaweed and light hay notes as well. I drank this one first assuming the other wasn’t going to be too bad. I was wrong and now I need to go put something else in my mouth.
If it wasn’t for the TTB I probably would never have tried this. The aroma is bright and refreshing with berry notes and juniper in the background. The delicate taste of juniper mixes well with the soothingness of the honey and the mint comes in last but is almost tasteless unless the after taste. I’m surprised at how tame the mint is in this considering how it usually likes to hustle its way into your mouth in everything else it’s in.
Decided to start with this one because it was the closest and sounded interesting. Tea blossoms are something I don’t think I have tried before. A slightly spicy flavor. Slight black pepper. But mainly very earthy. Green wood. A fresh plank of wood. Slight mulch, the plain kind that was delivered yesterday. Or maybe a few days ago. The aroma is a bit of barnyard, a bit of composting leaves, and a bit of a slightly sweet mystery note. The mouthfeel is smooth. While the leaves steep they appear to be freshly plucked off the tree and laid in my cup. It is pliable but not easily broken like the majority of tea one drinks.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to try this one Vallhallow!
Oh, man! That dry aroma is stellar! It has unique sweet notes. And light grassy notes. Sweetgrass and star fruit. Was not expecting that when I first opened the package. The wet leaf also has a sweet note to it. The flavor is great. I feel like it has improved since I last tried it. Very vegetal. Fresh cooked asparagus. A hearty vegetable tomato sauce. Marine. Bits of unsalted seaweed. Smooth mouthfeel. Deeper vegetal notes with longer steep and slight spiciness that reminds me of black pepper. The second steep has more tomato sauce notes. Lots of asparagus still with fewer marine notes. And a slight minerality.
Just fo the record. This is powdered tea. Not matcha. Matcha can only be made from the Tencha leaf in Japan. Okay, now that I’ve let the tea nerd speak this is very unique. And now I really want to try the other experimental white teas that they have powdered: https://www.facebook.com/profile/100063628717884/search/?q=dian%20cha
The aroma coming from the cup immediately hints you to an experience that won’t be like other powdered teas. It is profound and deep. The flavor is woody and herbaceous with distinct roast notes. The end it quite a bit more gritty than I expected but not in a bad way. It very much reminded me of the tea that I bought while in Hawai’i that was roasted to a chocolate brown. Thank you Vallhallow for joining me!
