This is a good tea to me, Like I said last time I don’t understand the bad reviews. read my full post on my blog here with photos Please :)
http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/2012/11/gaba-tea-by-tea-from-taiwan.html
357 Tasting Notes
Just now I made Iced Tea for Lance, He wanted me to mix two for him so we mixed TC50: Uva BOP and TC54: Sarnia Plaiderie Estate BOP1 both from Upton Tea Imports here is link to both
They are both Ceylon from Sri Lanka just different estates I think.
The Uva estate is one of his favs for Iced Tea and this blend wasn’t bad at all, he likes it a lot.
He says it is Brisk and refreshing with very little astringency :)
http://uptontea.com/shopcart/item.asp?itemID=TC50&from=search.asp
I been sipping on this one today, It’s been a bad bay but at least I still have good Tea :)
http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/2012/11/bad-day.html
I think I will make a pitcher of this one Iced, its really good iced too.
Very tasty Tea first thing that I noticed is that when you take your first sip of this one you are not just flooded with all the flavorings, you taste black tea first off nice and strong and slightly astringent, next thing I notice is the clove and cardamom I may be wrong in describing this as a spicy flavor but that’s what it is to me I get spiciness of the cloves and such yet not too overpowering at all perhaps the roses and vanilla smooth those out and make them subtle. the last cup of the first pot was quite strong in the cloves and slightly more astringent most likely from the sediment in the bottom of the pot and the cup, after drinking it I can see the little particles in the bottom.
http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/2012/11/christmas-tea-melange-noel-by-upton-tea.html
On the way home from Thanksgiving dinner at Lance’s parents We stopped by the store for gas and I bought a bottled tea. I don’t usually buy bottled teas but I was thirsty and wanted tea lol.
This one isn’t too bad at all but it is very sweet, like hurt your belly sweet if you drink the whole bottle, I only drank half. It is surely not an iced tea that you want to pick up if your are thirsty because with all the sweetness in this tea it does nothing for your thirst. I remember having this tea in the bottle before somewhere but I couldn’t remember any details I just remembered that it wasn’t bad so I grabbed one today, they never have unsweet in the stores I guess folks around here likes tea that way.
This tea was a nice cup of tea it was warm and toasty with some hints of spice. the first few steeps were nice and bold and slightly nutty in flavor with some spicy notes, nice.
After a few steeps that slight nutty flavor turns into a slight woody flavor, still quite toasty and slightly earthy.
At about 5 or 6 steeps and this one has a slightly bittersweet, earthy woody type of flavor with a hint of spice to it that to Me is reminiscent to the way Sandalwood smells but in a pleasant way(i know that sounds weird).
This tea made me say a Bad word but in a Good way lol I don’t know what else to say but Thank You Wonks for this sample!!, I had to change my steepster sliding scale on 2 of my current favs to 100 pionts just so this could have 100 also, Awesome Tea! just read the other reviews.
I’m home from the hospital with Lance getting things ready for him to come home and be comfy hopefully later on today :), it feels so good to actually sit down to a good cup of tea it’s only been a few days since I could do that but it feels like a month to me,The few short times that I’ve been homeI just didn’t have the time or desire to have tea because I just come in a eat fed the dogs took a bath and went right back up there with Lance, I try to be there for him as much as I can. This tea right now is better than it has ever been!!
This tea is actually one of my top 5 favorites, I really like it very nice and toasty and it gives me great pleasure and enjoyment but today I did not enjoy it as I usually do but I think that has to do with my Water first then my mood and my surroundings and situation, I usually enjoy it(and all of my teas)with only filtered water heated in my kettle or on the stovetop out of my Roasty Oolong cup and in the comfort of my own home with a book or some tv or just sitting alone or with Lance. This time we are in the hospital my water had to be microwaved(no other choice)I do have my Roasty Oolong cup but my hubby is sick and we are stuck up here and i have bad microwaved water and this couch is NOT mine so this just isn’t the best situation. I thought this tea would make this situation better and I am still glad to have a not so great cup of it rather than none at all but it worked out opposite instead of this tea making this situation more pleasurable This situation made this tea less pleasurable. I’m not complaining I’d just love to have a good cup of tea right now and “not good” water makes for “not good” Tea and this is just saddening, Sitting in the dark with not so good cup of tea hurts my feelings, still glad to have it tho.
Scottish Caramel Toffee Pu-erh This one is not bad at all in fact it’s quite nice. The aroma of the dry leaf is very sweet like candy and earthy at the same time, the aroma of the steeped leaves at first is slightly pasty like some type of sweet dough yet very earthy, musty and kind of mushroom like. I rinsed this one because of the musty smells and the first steep tasted almost just like the way I described the aroma but not really in a good way I was very musty almost fishy at first and very dough like those flavors started to fade after the second steep and the flavors were very strong but not very sweet like a toffee candy the way it smelled so at that point I added some sweetener to it that really brought out the flavors, by the third steep slightly sweetened this was a very nice tea it tasted slightly like caramel and toasty very rich it does not need much sweetener but just a touch to make it come alive. the forth cup is really good you can taste the earthy puerh and caramel type flavors. 5th cup is still very earthy and delicious so far tho it is now starting to fade away but I usually start with short steeps and increase times as I go along so I made quite a few cups already. 6th cup I decide to have again without the sweetener because I just don’t care for too much sweet teas, the color has faded out some and the flavor is weak and taste almost of watered down whiskey still not too bad, I don’t think this one is going much further. It was a nice tea over all probably one that I will purchase again in the future, I recommend you try it if you LOVE puerh. After this tea I felt the need for a mild green tea to cleanse my palate because this tea was just so rich and flavor full.
See photos on my blog
http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/2012/11/scottish-caramel-toffee-pu-erh-by.html
Backlog
I was expecting thing one to taste similar to the last one and it did except for a slight mossy note in this one at first the type of thing I would expect from a nice puerh.
It has the aroma of a nice China black tea with slight citrus note.
2nd steep is a little stronger with mossy yet clean flavors with malty on the finish, I do taste the tobacco notes in this one very much like the last one. I think I’ll come back to this one when do don’t want to try and compare it to the last one lol. here is my first video I hope it works :)
This is from my blog here is the link to the post with my first video :)
http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/2012/11/china-panyang-wu-yi-golden-monkey-by.html
backlog
Grape Oolong
This was a Sample from Stacy at Butiki Tea and it isYummy!!, it smells like grape bubble gum and taste like grape Dum-Dum pops,I really like this one Lance like it and it is very hard to get him to drink an Oolong with me so I’m glad to get this sample.We Will buy more of this tea :)
Sorry so short but thats about it, it’s jusy grapey :)
Photos on blog
http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/2012/11/grape-oolong-by-butiki-tea.html
Backlogging from my blog, How did I miss steepster the past few days WTH???
Shan Ling Xi Oolong Tea by Tea From Taiwan
This tea has a sweet vegetal smell before steeped and after first steep the leaf has a sweetcorn green/green bean vegetal smell, it steeps up a pale golden color that is very pretty.
1st Steep The taste is sweet and floral with slight astrengency and it has a nice velevety, almost buttery mouth-feel.
2nd steep is still a nice golden yellow color and has a sweet floral aroma. it has a very green oolong flavor still very floral with some astringency and the same velvety mouth feel.
4th Steep (I skipped the 3rd because it was consistent with the 2nd) is very Floral less green and quite naturally sweet very enjoyable. The sweet flavors are like some other oolong I had so I hate to use it agai but almost like the sweetness of huneysuckles.
6th steep (last steep skipped again for same reason) taste is slightly floral more deppend less greenish and the velvet buttery mouthfeel is back.The color is slightly darker Golden Yellow than the first few steeps.
Steep 7 was consistent with 6 enough.
Steep 8 was almost as consistent but with out the velvet buttery mouthfeel.
Steep 9 The coler is a lot paler and the and the flavors are still pretty good but I can tell its fading out so I call it quits and clean up.
This was a quite enjoyable tea, not of of my faves but very good, I’d drink it anytime if it were offered :)
Photos on my blog
http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/2012/11/shan-ling-xi-oolong-tea-by-tea-from.html
Well, to be honest this one did not start off very well with me at all, at first I was really disappointed I thought this was going to be the worst tea I’ve had just by the scent of the leaves dry, Smelling them dry all I could think was “chemicals?” I wasn’t sure what I was smelling, after first steep and leaves were wet I realized that the “chemical” scent I thought I was getting was more like “camphor” instead much like some scents and flavors that I get from puerhs. Ok then my first cup the first taste of this was “horrible” I really hate to use such a word as “horrible” but thats all I could think, very camphorlike and I quickly noticed the “scorched/burned” taste of this tea, I tasted like this tea was “overbaked/roasted” (I brewed it at 185F so I wouldn’t scorch it myself) so it was just the initial taste of this tea that was “burned”, I also noticed a very smokey flavor to this tea not quite like a lapsang but more like a smokey “gunpowder” (I think some one else said that too in a review here). After about 4 steeps( BTW at this point there are pretty much flash steeps, very short) this Tea finally starts to mellow out and take on more roasty, toasty flavors rather than just burned flavors with some nutty tones, still smokeyness and only the after taste is slight “scorched” tasting.(Lance suggested putting some sweetener in it so I put some sugar crystals from butiki tea in there, it was not bad at all gave it a nice sweet flavor and brought out nutty tones but at this point it still didn’t help that little burned flavor, but it was nice). At about 6 steeps this tea turns very nice wonderfully flavorful smokey with some roasty nutty notes getting naturally sweet NO MORE BURNED flavors(after 5 steeps lol) Super good!
Steep 9 I pour on my water and it still turns dark right away, its not going to give up anytime soon, Different, this time no nuttyness, more smokiness and very nice, almost how you would imagine a really nice Oolong and Smoked Lapsang blend, perfection. The aroma of the wet leaves is still very “camphor” like.
Steep 10 ok perhaps I steeped it a tad long this time( a very short almost flash steep was needed but i was looking at the computer lol) the smokiness is heavier and the slight burned flavor is back but not so bad tastes almost like a Smoked Lapsang now lol nuttiness is back now tho and it is quite pleasant, smell like Oolong in the cup but Lapsang in the gaiwan .
Steep 11 Omg! same deal as steep 9 steeps up dark right away still I like this teas endurance, same basic flavors as steep 9 smokey and nice but with some nuttiness again and natural sweetness coming thru again, honestly kinda PUERHish in some ways.
Steep 12 is just a dark as before with the same type flavors notes but very smokey, i’m going to skip ahead a few steeps now, ok Steep 15 and it has gone very mellow and earthy even, still smokey and slightly nutty it is starting to remind me of a nice well aged naturally fermented Puerh, This has turned out to be quite a complex tea, I like it.
Steep 17 again the last 2 steeps were still pretty consistent with the few steeps before them, Smokey, Nutty, slightly sweet naturally, I’m going to stop talking notes now and steep till 20 times then I’ll write about the 20th steep Thats where I decide to stop even if the tea is still going lol.
Ok Steep 20 was one of the best just take all I said before and add it up and balance it all out perfectly and that was the 20th cup, I hate to give up on this one but 20 cups of one type tea is just a bit much for me today but I enjoyed it a lot.
At first I thought that this tea may have been over roasted, then I thought maybe not, then after the whole thing is over I have to say that I DO think it may have been a little over roasted because after 20 steeps all day and the leaves were still rolled tight and strangest of att they were still hard and "crunchy:, I took one in my fingers and crushed it like it was still dry AFTER 20 steeps lol(you can see it in the photo crumbled in my hand), I don’t know what to think, VERY GOOD TEA!!!
This was copy paste from my blog, the photos I tak about can be seen here :)
http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/2012/11/aged-oolong-1990-by-teafromtaiwancom.html
Nice delicate delicate yet bold, The aroma is like hay and honey, taste almost like the last “White Peony” that I had but much more intense with an aftertaste of flowers like honeysuckle or jasmine even and longer lasting too. I got several steeps from this over and over, Excellent Tea!
Lance drank this one tonight, the liquid was thin but really dark brown and the aroma was very Smokey and smelled up the entire living room. Lance said it was one of the best out of the Lapsang Souchongs that he’s had, said it was very smooth with no astringency and was very Smokey but not as strong or bold as he prefers and that the aftertaste was like coals of an old dead campfire. He got 2 good steeps from it, I tried to get a third steep from it but it was very light brown and just tasted like Smokey water.
I’ve been enjoying this one today, It has a nice light toasty flavor with woodsy earthy notes and almost fruity sweetness with a sweet vegetal aroma, This is only my second time have had this tea and while it’s not one of my favs (it’s not as bold as I prefer) but still a really good one to drink in the afternoon, I’m glad I got a 50 gram pouch this time. I may one day try this one with a little sweetener but for now it is nice on its own.
This is invigorating to me, nice and crisp, subtle flavors of Pear & Apple maybe even a little peachy too with slight floral notes. this one reminded me this of summer way back like in the 1980’s probably witch water sprinklers going and a slip~n~slide laid out, Daddy on the BBQ grill and Mom under her big umbrella sitting in the little garden area with all her pretty summer flowers around her, I can imagine her with a big ole pitcher of this one one ice.
Here are some photos of “Country Living” on my blog :)
http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/2012/11/country-living-by-steapshoppe.html
I like the Ginger in this Tea its nice and spicy and the Orange zest is a nice touch too, this to me is quite a perfect Ginger Pu’erh other than making one from scratch at home. I have many times made this myself with Pu’erh and fresh ginger tea that’s the way I like to use Ginger and I’m fond also of adding Orange zest/peel to some teas, if I needed this tea and did not feel like making it myself this one would be the one I would want. You can really feel that good burn from the Ginger(because it’s tore up with shreds and not just chunks and slices,imo) and the orange zest is a great touch the Orange spice mellows the Ginger bite some giving it a really nice balance in flavor. The Pu’erh seems decent its earthy but clean and seems to have a thick black liquid but I think the Ginger and Orange zest take away from some of the Pu’erh’s flavor(meaning I can’t pick out many other flavor notes in the Pu’erh itself for all the other flavors), the Pu’erh could be a little better in this one. It is a great tea overall.
P’s I forgot to mention the aroma it pretty much just smells like Ginger.
Photos here :)
http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/2012/11/organic-puerh-ginger-by-davidstea.html
This tea is very good to me, I haven’t had many Darjeeling teas but I really like this one, the aroma is like vanilla citrus and the taste is like a really nice black tea with citrus zest and vanilla notes and the aftertaste is interesting to me hard to describe, it’s a slightly astringent aftertaste that has almost a peppery bite. I could drink this one very often.
I already made my notes on this one a few times, This one actually replaced one of my favs for iced Oolong to keep in the fridge, I made this one just like I do Lance’s iced teas only in a smaller pitcher just for me and with not as much sweetener. I do enjoy slightly sweetened iced tea tho but then again I am a southern and thats what we do down here lol, Anyways I’m really surprised that Lance don’t care for this one because it is a really good tea with nice chocolate tones when iced (I think I mention “chocolate” like aroma in this one but didn’t mention chocolate like flavors) but lance just don’t care for Oolong which is a shame to me ;) I’m at dialysis with him today and I filled up a small water bottle of this to bring with me it is drank up and now I want more lol I like Oolongs like this with “darker” tones.
I spent the whole day with DMS Loose Black Tea from Siam Tee Shop, I have a huge crush on this Teas sister DMS Black Pearls so how could I not also love it loose, there are a few differences in the two that I notice right from the start but both are equally great teas.
The dry tea has a sweet aroma when but not as sweet as its sister with pretty brown and black leaves and after the leaves are steeped they have a really nice slight citrus scent to them like some black teas do, the leaves are whole and pretty to look at like an Oolong.
This is a really nice black tea it has many nice flavors of raw cocoa with citrus notes, very little astringency and a thin dark brown liquid it’s not dark and thick like some black teas.
I’ve had many cups today and the flavors are very light with the first few steeps then get a little stronger by the 3rd steep and start fading after about 6 steeps but the flavor pretty much remains the same other than at the very end it seems to go very citrus when it is starting to fade out.Very nice black tea.
I do prefer the Pearl when it comes to this one but like I said they are both equally nice, I do enjoy the citrus notes in this one, Great Tea Overall.
Also the steeped leaves are very nice to look at most of the leaves are whole little brown leaves, very pretty.
2002 Ke Yi Xing Raw Pu-erh this one is nice in appearance when dry I have a sample size of it broke off the brick and ready to be steeped, I notice big leaves folded and just a few stems, dark and light brown colored with a slight earthy scent, after the rinse the leaves are darker brown and slightly chopped looking and I see more stems so what I saw in the dry as folded leaves were actually big pieces of leaves pressed together still to create a folded appearance. The aroma at this point is earthy but not woodsy, forest floor type earthy its more like back yard garden type earthy.
1st infusion is brown and very smooth like a ripe puerh but quite thin, it has the aroma still of the backyard garden with very root-like earthy flavor much like a beet.
2nd infusion is about the same in color but the flavor is much stronger of the earthy beets in fact its a very strong flavor that tastes like big red beets.
I have a very earthy aftertaste in my mouth that is nice.
3rd infusion little darker, I can still see the bottom of the cup if I look close enough but still plenty dark in color but still a thin tea. Still the same earthy beet taste as the previous infusion but this time developing almost spinach type notes, I wanted to not like that taste at first but it’s actually not so bad.
4th infusion still just as dark brown as the 3rd there is a little of the spinach type notes but not enough to replace the beet like taste. The earthy aftertaste is quite pleasant
I want to say here that most folks who drink puerh will understand what I’m talking about in my taste descriptions(I hope) while those who drink other teas may not,This is Puerh and puerh is know to have “Earthy” notes so when I’m talking about beet and spinach flavors and notes I’m not talking about flavorings or anything like that, its not like steeping a beet it’s just the earthy flavor of this Puerh Tea itself is reminiscent of eating beets or spinach to me that’s all, this is just the way I describe this particular earthy flavor, it’s not Beet flavored Tea :)
5th steep and the color just started getting lighter brown but the flavors are still coming through, I’m not sure that this one is going to develop into anything much more so I’m going to end this review saying that this is a very nice and earthy puerh to me I enjoyed it, I’m going to watch a movie now and try to enjoy it a few more times since it was just a sample, I may even want to buy some of it so I can try it again.
http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/2012/10/2002-ke-yi-xing-puerh-raw.html
I had Coffee Puerh this morning from David’s Tea, I was not bad the Puerh had a nice earthy flavor to it but I had to add sugar to make the flavorings taste good, it was good kinda like dirt and chocolate at first then it balanced out after a second steep it had some caramel hints but still very chocolate, it has whole coffee beans it and I crushed those up before I brewed mine just because I didn’t like the way it looked lol Much to my surprise this tea wanted to re-steep a few more times but after the 4th it was just chocolate taste and very little tea, interesting most “flavored” teas I try tend to make strong “flavors” on 1st steep then loose most of that flavor and do not re-steep well, not so with this one. I had to stop because it was hurting my belly it needs sugar to taste “good” and sugar these days just isn’t good for my belly.
