4361 Tasting Notes
Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – April 2025 Tea #5 – A soothing tea
Does anyone else ever find that the last cup of a tea to a sipdown is the most delicious cup? This one was better than I remember. Maybe for the simple fact that it is probably now becoming even more difficult to get tea from overseas. ack. Anyway, I consider this one soothing, probably for the cocoa shells. It’s a lovely combination of flavors. Maybe the annoying licorice has aged itself gone at this point.
2025 sipdowns: 30
Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – April 2025 Tea #4 – A tea you have bought multiple times
I just finished one of my samples of this one, so it is a tea I have bought a few times. It’s pleasantly fruity! Not in its prime but still flavorful enough…
2025 Sipdown total: 28
2025 unique tea sipdowns: 23
Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – April 2025 Tea #3 – April 22 – Earth Day: drink an earthy tasting tea
Of course if it’s an earthy tea I need, I’m thinking PUERH. This one is from Michelle, quite a while ago! Thanks very much. I really love this one. Such a dark, rich flavor to it. Biscuity, bready, but also something that reminds me of marshmallow? The treat, not the root, which is something that quite amuses me about an occasional puerh, so I love finding that. Not even very unraveled yet. Two more steeps are planned for tomorrow, but I wanted to get this note in!
Steep #1 // 22 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // 15 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
From CameronB! Thanks very much! The flavors are unique here, as in I don’t think I have had this particular blueberry/lemon flavoring before in another tea. It’s a bit like candy… so not really tangy fruits. The blueberry is more like a muffin sort of blueberry. Neither fruit is very distinct. The green tea base isn’t taking over at all and I didn’t even notice the rooibos. It’s an okay blend.
additional notes: Finally finishing this beloved tea, as I noticed the pecans were understandably smelling a bit funky. The flavor is still okay though! It will be missed. Maybe by the time I finish ALLLL the Butiki teas, Stacy will start making tea again?!? I have probably said this before…
2025 sipdowns: 25
A sample from Teavivre! The leaves are lovely – long and half golden. The resulting tea with just a teaspoon and a half of leaves is certainly deep and complex enough for me. It’s dark and rich, but it’s also sweet. Hints of tomato soup, but really this reminds me of Ruby 18 but deeper but also another specific tea…. had my mind on it but it slipped. Notes of black pepper like to linger. It’s a good one! Not describing it well enough! Exceeded my expectations. I think Teavivre’s teas in recent years have had lighter flavored harvests, but this is darker than I thought it would be. Love that.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 22 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep
I’m quite sad about this. This tea is ancient. I guess I ignored it in the stash,thinking it was a subpar Keemun — weaker, flavorless. BUT I had it recently and it was quite good! Perhaps it has aged well. Perhaps recent Keemun harvests have been even more disappointing than this one. Anyway, the flavor now is rich enough for me, a bit smokey. I wouldn’t say it distinctly has Keemun flavor notes, but that could also be because of time. Delicious for such an old tea that I expected nothing from. I mean… I never even wrote a note for it! But it was a nice surprise. Two delicious steeps.
Interestingly, I had a similar experience with a Georgian 1847 Rolled Black Tea today. Much better than in years past! I recently began brewing with tap water (municipal well, softened & treated) because my source of alpine spring water has dried up (bare shelf at Walmart), and wonder if that has been a factor. Has there been a recent change in your water, @tea-sipper?
No, it has been the same water source than and now. Though, years ago, who knows how it has changed…
*then
I received this from Michelle quite a while ago — thank you! Three solid steeps. Very tasty, though the first steep did have a hint of fishiness. Only a HINT. But it is a little surprising it’s there at all if this is almost twenty years old. Otherwise, quite a delicious puerh. Peeking in the infuser before tossing them, the leaves looked huge and still looked a little twisted together, so I probably could have steeped this a fourth time, even though the third steep was LONG.
Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – April 2025 Tea #2 – A tea that is close to a sipdown
LOVE this one every time I have it. Next time this particular pouch will be a sipdown, but I have backups! It’s a classic, and I had to go over to check — Davids is still selling it. Raising the rating from 90.
