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TeaTiff TTB. David’s Tea is the new Teavana. Great for people breaking into the tea world but for others … idk. I just haven’t been too thrilled. Rinsing once because I am not sure of the age of this tea. I really wish tea companies would add the year to their packages. And also because I want to help these leaves open a bit more. Apricot on the wet leaf. Quite nice actually. More apricot notes mixed with compost leaf pile when steeped for about a minute. Soft mouth feel. As you steep longer the compost notes coincide with some bready/toasty notes. The second infusion is less stellar with more astringency.

TeaTiff TTB O_o Three Minutes? Most sencha do 30 seconds to 1 minute at tops. Maybe if this was a genmaicha. The picture of the sencha from the website is quite a bit greener than this sample. This one is just a bit more olive in color. The problem with sencha is it’s not really a tea to pass around in a TTB. It degrades in flavor so quickly. I won’t rate this one because I don’t think it is in it’s top form. I can sense some grassy flavors and even an interesting tropical note but it just doesn’t quite taste like a good sencha should be. The color of the infused leaf also suggests to me that this is a summer-harvested leaf

TeaTiff TTB. Whoa. I went into this tasting note knowing nothing. The aroma is intense with apple. We love apples up here in Minnesota. Our UofM has done a lot of research etc on apples. This one reminds me though of a Fuji apple with a slight hint of red delicious and a bit of golden delicious. Muted olive greens mixed with muted browns. Maybe not the prettiest leaf but the aroma makes up for that. I’m not sure of how old this sample is so I know that will take into account some of the old notes I am getting but they aren’t terrible. But overall, I’d say the flavor isn’t anything too exciting. It is mellow. Earthy with different apple notes and a small hint of barnyard. The wet aroma is somewhat vexing. Reminds me of some Indian black teas with bready and raisin notes. The mouthfeel is smooth.

I really appreciate that David’s Tea sticks to its French roots and includes French on all its packaging. The Vervain root plays a pretty strong role in the dry aroma. Medicinal, menthol, lemongrass, and a clean sensation in the nostrils. The wet leaf is a nice and pleasant calming mix of earthy aromas. The lemon flavor though is not as strong as I was expecting. Higher in lemongrass and valerian notes than it is in lemon. An earthy yet herbaceous mix.

Awhhhh look at all those trichomes. Golden fuzz all over the packaging. The dry leaf is tightly twisted and curling. It seems to be in between green and black. It resembles more of a white tea than it does an oolong honestly. Even the wet leaf has some farm yard notes that remind me of some white teas.
A bit floral. Fresh greens both vegetal and the greens one finds as they venture out into the spring forest. A bit earthy Soft and filling mouth feel. The earthy notes come out even more in the second infusion. Dried grasses on top of a pile of wet grass. This is an interesting oolong. More white then oolong I’d say.
On a side note, my sister and I are doing a therapist session tomorrow. I’m trying my best not to be nervous about it and hoping for the best. I try to keep my notes free of personal stuff but sometimes it’s a relief to do so.

I’ve decided to do a back-to-back tasting this morning this one verses Uva from Basilur. This is very opaque for an English Breakfast. However, I do think the steep time helped with that a bit. This is a soft brew with a nice amount of astringency. Cedar notes along with some sweet wood dance around each other. A good one for maca nut milk or oat milk. Or even a thicker regular milk.

I’ve decided to do a back-to-back tasting this morning this one verses English Breakfast from Basilur. I had forgotten how fast black tea in a bag steeps. Holy smokes. Little leaf, little infusion time needed. This one is nice and brisk. Resin forward with stained cherry wood notes. Smooth but astringent. Perhaps it is because it has been traveling around but there really isn’t much to the flavor. Just a slight woodiness. This would go well with milk.

TeaTiff TTB
The leaf is a bit broken due to travel and the aroma is very minimal but when I first opened the bag I did sense something nice. The charcoal notes come out pretty well on this one. But… I don’t know.. I guess I feel like this one is different than other duck shit I’ve had. The roast notes are stronger than expected. Which I like but not in this type of oolong.

If I could choose a super power it would be to speak any language fluently. The caveat would be I could only choose one language a day. I would love to go to China, Japan, etc and not just drink tea but fully immerse in the tea culture there. I had to use Google translate for this package. It says ecological tieguanyin and above that says orchid fragrance. The dry aroma is very nice. Fresh with tropical floral notes of orchid and gardenia. The leaf is rolled with fairly tight balls. The initial aroma is also full if orchid notes. Nice floral and smooth mouth feel.

TeaTiff TTB. It is important to try out different teas, from different companies, in different forms. But even so, I can’t say I am looking forward to this.. Typical small leaf in a typical-looking tea bag. I don’t like the plastic that it comes in. Wet leaf smells like sad leaf from the factory floor. Mud and a pile of weeks-old fall leaves. So tiny. Much… not wow. Muted green. Metallic in flavor. Kind of earthy. Acidic. Leaves a weird aftertaste. I can’t put any more of this in my mouth…