100

I’m testing out the leaves from my order a while back. This is possibly my favorite tea! Sadly, I think the leaves may have changed from the sample I had a while back (possibly a new batch?)

Steep #1 // waited 14 minutes after the water boiled // 3 1/2 min steep
Two teaspoons of this one. I’m not sure if I did something wrong, but the NUANCE isn’t here anymore. The dark chocolate flavor is here, but not as deep as before. And now any of the hints of fruits (like apricot or plum) are missing…even the sweet potato and squash isn’t there. It’s still very good, but it lost what made it so special. Maybe if I steeped with one teaspoon of leaves the fruity flavors would reappear. If I oversteeped this time, there would be a deeper chocolate flavor. Kind of disappointing.. I want the lovely leaves from my sample back!!!

Steep #2 // waited 14 minutes after boiling // 4 min
This cup is exactly the same as the first cup. It just doesn’t have that SPECIAL anymore. It’s very good, but I feel like other teas like this are better now (like the Teavivre I had the other day). Note to self: I’ll try one teaspoon at some point and another try with two teaspoons after waiting for 20 minutes.

Lesson learned: If a tea is your favorite, order as soon as possible. Do not wait for another harvest/batch! (I’m guessin g that is what made the difference here.) There are so many factors, even before a tea gets to the drinker, that the leaves are bound to be different.

Indigobloom

I hate it when that happens. I’ve made that mistake before a few times :(

tea-sipper

Butiki – I see your like! Can you confirm if this WAS a different batch? I would have received my sample in the mail around June 2013 or a couple months earlier.

Butiki Teas

Hmmmm, it might have been from 2 different years depending on when you first purchased or sampled the tea. We usually purchase this tea once a year.

tea-sipper

I had to look up through my e-mail… the sample was sent out 6/4/13 and my order was shipped out 11/4/13, if that helps.

Butiki Teas

The harvest date is in July, so yes you did receive tea from 2 different years.

tea-sipper

Aw, the other harvest was my PERFECT tea. Like I said, I learned my lesson in getting a tea from THAT harvest if I especially like a tea that I’ve sampled. It’s nice to know anyway! thank you!

Butiki Teas

You’re welcome. Hopefully next year will be even better.

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Comments

Indigobloom

I hate it when that happens. I’ve made that mistake before a few times :(

tea-sipper

Butiki – I see your like! Can you confirm if this WAS a different batch? I would have received my sample in the mail around June 2013 or a couple months earlier.

Butiki Teas

Hmmmm, it might have been from 2 different years depending on when you first purchased or sampled the tea. We usually purchase this tea once a year.

tea-sipper

I had to look up through my e-mail… the sample was sent out 6/4/13 and my order was shipped out 11/4/13, if that helps.

Butiki Teas

The harvest date is in July, so yes you did receive tea from 2 different years.

tea-sipper

Aw, the other harvest was my PERFECT tea. Like I said, I learned my lesson in getting a tea from THAT harvest if I especially like a tea that I’ve sampled. It’s nice to know anyway! thank you!

Butiki Teas

You’re welcome. Hopefully next year will be even better.

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Bio

Hi! I love tea and trying new ones – it adds a bit of variety to my day! Books, music, TV & movies are my thing… and tea, of course.

Some of my favorite tea shops (still operating):
birdandblendtea.com
teavivre.com
52teas.com
svtea.com
whisperingpinestea.com
justea.com
harney.com
Dammann Freres
fusionteas.com
Javateaco.com
Lupicia
Octaviatea.com
Davidstea
eco-cha.com
what-cha.com
singleoriginteas.com
teasenz.com
tealyra.com
Mandala
verdanttea.com

Favorite tea shops (RIP):
butikiteas.com
steapshoppe.com
steepcityteas.com
aquartertotea.com
dellaterrateas.com
zentealife.com
angrytearoom.com
theteamerchant.net
joysteaspoon.com
tealiciousllc.com
Rivertea
Specialteas

My icon photo is Richard Mayhew from the graphic novel ‘Neverwhere’ by Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey & Glenn Fabry.

Most of the teas listed in my cupboard are actually sample sizes. I don’t really have 2,000 ounces of tea around here! Many of my teas have only one teaspoon left… maybe two. But I like keeping them in my cupboard list for reference to what I could be sipping. Usually, I write tasting notes once for each tea. I’m still drinking them, just not writing tasting notes each time!

I’m always in search of: Hattialli, Qu Hao black, Jin Jun Mei, teas using marshmallow root.

My dislikes: hibiscus, ginger (unless in chai), turmeric, bee pollen, charcoal type flavors

My ratings:
95-100 – Super awesome deliciousness favorites – cupboard essential
80-95 – Also pretty delicious
65-80 – Pretty good
50-65 – Okay
1-50 – Probably won’t want to sip it again

I’m planning on being a Steepsterer as long as there IS a Steepster, so if you’re not hearing from me, that means something happened to my health… if you know what I mean. (Or as evidenced by the great computer hiatus of 2019, something happened to my computer… I have a dumb phone so can’t access internet on that. As of 12/20/21 my wifi might start getting unreliable.)

Happy sipping!

Location

USA

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