AJ

I like this, for a green tea. It’s definitely different—flavourful, with many different notes. I probably steeped it a little hot.

I think this is what ‘buttery’ really is. It’s also nice and earthy (though not vegetal), with a very subtle mineral taste. Although it’s becoming quite bitter as it cools—will have to make sure I user a cooler steep time in the future.

Made some more today. Transferred the tea to a nice clean tin, and realized just how fresh it smells. It’s very potent, and reminds me of hay (although much sweeter).

This transferred into the taste this time around too. My initial sips, sweet hay. Sharp astringency already, that’s building as I drink it.

Made it with less leaf and a longer steep time today. And boiling water.

The dry leaf smells sweet and of cherry.

Accidentally left this for a little bit to talk to my sister.

Brew smells slightly savoury with a hint of cherry (not as strong as dry).

The taste is slightly mineral, wouldn’t say vegetal or buttery. A sweet cherry comes about slightly in the after taste, mostly as I breathe out. Quite slight. I think it would be more noticeable with a second steep.

Edit: Accidentally forgot about it, and it went cold. The cherry is much more noticeable cold. Mmm very nice.

This had just recently come in, first flush for 2012 (so I was told) (forty dollars! Fifty grams; I think I was tired, I don’t usually make such purchases).

First steep: One level tsp of tea leaf in 100ml gaiwan, 1 min steep (intent: lessen time, more leaf), ~90ºc water.

Wet leaf smelt fruity, floral. Very grapey.

Tasted fresh, floral, and dry (but not biter, although I knew it would become more bitter as it cooled). I don’t drink wine (or any alcohol), so I don’t think I’ll ever truly understand what muscatel tastes like, but I found it like a dry, grape fruit taste.

I was nibbling on toast as I sipped, which it went all right with (I remember a while back there being a post for a toast-and-tea pairing program, will have to check that again).

It’s got a nice tang, almost. The bitterness which came on more as it cooled is, as always (or as I always fine) like walnuts.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p22/supermoon10/100_0793.jpg
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p22/supermoon10/100_0791.jpg
(dry, it was much greener than Steepster’s/UrbanTeaMerchant/TWG’s photo, but that may not be from this year)

Twisted green leaves when dry. Bits of white, red and orange mixed in as well. The leaves look very fresh when wet (although quite broken), orange mixed throughout. Many stems. Like other Darjeelings (that I’ve found) (at least with first flushes), it’s implied “black” but is only lightly withered and greener in taste, bordering more in oolong, I figure.

Fruity green, but not quite vegetal, almost fruity and savoury.

Second steep: Two minutes; still smells fruity and floral, almost like wine.

Brewed darker, and taste is much more sharp than the first. More bitter, but it may be because some of the leaves got through when I strained. Bitterness hits in the middle of each sip and trails off to linger in the aftertaste. Not getting the floral and fruit from the first steep.

Overall, not full-bodied. Light, bitter, fruity. Didn’t find a range of notes, but I’m no judge of Darjeelings. It’s nice, and I think I’ll like it on days that I can handle the bitterness. Will probably come back to it.

I’m drinking the very last of this, and trying to make it count.

This is still my favourite black to date. Made it slightly strong (using up the last of the tea leaves/fannings at the bottom of the bag), but still delicious.

Felt like something sweet so I made a latte, since this has ginger and a good, strong base. Agave nectar used, plus my hand-held milk frother.

Mmm pretty damn good, actually. Added a little too /much/ nectar, I think, but it’s delicious and sweet and with a strong ginger kick (used an extra teaspoon and steeped longer). The pu’erh makes it through the milk as well,; not fishy, gives a pretty unique taste to a latte.

Overall quite good.

Finishing off this one.

No notes yet.

A good Keemun, I think. Might have made it a little strong. No astringency, smooth and nutty, slightly smoky. Salty smoke.

Some days I’ll blend it with lapsang. But it’s also good and smoky on its own.

I think I can taste the age creeping into this one. I really shouldn’t put off finishing off my Simple Leaf teas. I love them to bits, but it’s best to enjoy them while they’re still good.

I always need the right mood for tea types. I need to be in the mood for a Darjeeling, or I don’t like it. I definitely can’t have them in the mornings. I enjoy them best in the afternoon, I think, after I’ve already had a cup or two of something else.

Still nutty—walnut—although less sharp than I remember it being. It’s still got a wine-like quality, but I’m obviously not the best person to be describing anything to do with wine, being a teetotaller.

As always, going more bitter as it cools, but not a dislikable astringency. Reminds me of the taste of the ‘skins’ on cracked walnuts. Clings a bit to the mouth afterwards.

The very last cup of this… I’m very sad to see it go.

I might consider putting in an order online, since the shop’s converted to a Digital Storefront only, but one of my favourite things was walking there myself, going in, and discussing tea.

Well, this is the last of this. I’ll miss it quite a bit. It’s delicious.

I plan to buy a nice big tin of it next year when it circles around again.

I’ve found that I really rather like it plain. It’s delicious, but not quite strong enough to hold up to milk. At least not for me, although I like “chai”-like drinks nice and strong. Still, the pumpkin and the spices—it’s very nice.

Made this quite strong this afternoon, but still all I can taste is sugary caramel, and no real spices. There’s a vague tea smell and taste, although I did add milk again so that might have covered everything up.

I think I’m getting a bit of cinnamon.

Finished this off. I’m still off the impression that there is no actual green tea in this, despite it even being listed under the Green-Black blend on Murchie’s website. It’s nice, and there isn’t so much rose as to turn me off, but I won’t get it again. It didn’t really jump out at me.

Finished this one off. Which is good, as I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would when I first got it. Odd bitter undertones I can’t get rid of.

This is… this is very different. Made it as a latte, so I’m missing out on flavour (will have to make it stronger/drink it straight next time!), but the first sip was caramel and sugar, followed by spices… Not sure if I can taste any tea.

Just used up the last of this. Woe.

That phenomena wherein a tea you were “meh” about from the start begins to become absolutely delicious when you’re running very low on it.

And then there’s the added threat that the company I got it from has since closed down, and I don’t know their sources.

Very classic Ceylon smell, taste is clean, slightly astringent, woodsy—oaky, yes. Dry. You’d think by now I would have gotten a little better at describing tea. Bah.

On my second steep of this, actually. I made the first last night.

Mmm second steep is still strong. Faintly buttery green tea—with sweet caramel.

Finished this one off.

This just smells so delicious and it tastes like heaven. I really should have gotten more. There wasn’t much left when I picked it up, and I’d already picked out three other teas, so I only got 25 grams of this. Next year I think I’ll get the tin. This deserves a permanent tin.

The smell is nutmeg and pumpkin. It’s not overflowing cinnamon as some spiced teas can be. It smells like spiced pumpkin pie, and it’s not a fake taste when you sip it. The spices aren’t too strong, so I like it without milk. The spices aren’t overall strong enough to stand milk very well, if you make it the traditional chai way, I mean. Just have to make it stronger next time I do that.

I made this in my thermos at work, and was in /heaven/. I’d forgotten what it was like to have a Yunnan in my cupboard.

Not a touch of bitterness at all, and I remember there being a toasted marshmallow sweetness. Not strong and peppery, this one. A better note will come when I get a chance to sit down with a cup in front of Steepster.

The leaves are long, wiry and dark, with twists of gold like the picture (although they aren’t nearly so bright).

It smells nice, and brewed to a nice red. I got a faint hint of fruit in the taste, but mostly a Ceylon tea taste. Oaky, I guess, although I don’t really know what that means. Perhaps smoky in that it almost seems salty. Ceylon in the front, sort of savoury. Almost, /almost/ like fruit at the edge, or the beginning.

I realized when making this, that Davidstea puts the same steeping parameters on all its tea. Well, that explains a lot. I’ll be ignoring those from now on, I suppose.

4-7 minutes seems like an /awful long/ steeping parameter for an oolong. I did four minutes anyhow, and just as expected, the tea came out tasting a tad stewed. It was a strong, slightly cloudy yellow.

But the hint of vanilla is very nice. I’m not quite sure what the lemon myrtle adds… I don’t taste a citrus, although the vanilla is almost zesty?

A bit like buttercream frosting. And pouchong.

Second Steep, Five Minutes: Less creamy vanilla, and I’m definitely getting citrus in this. Lemony oolong. It’s present in the smell as well. Pouchong’s less stewed tasting, as it’s weaker overall, but still strong enough to back up the lemon citrus. Very Pledgy.

Third Steep, ~10 Minutes: Let this one get away from me. Forgot about it for a bit. Ten minutes, I think. Got a strong citrus taste, tea, a bit too astringent. My fault.