9 Tasting Notes

100
drank Gyokuro Yamashiro by DAVIDsTEA
9 tasting notes

This is the best tea I have ever had. If I could magically transform my entire tea cupboard into this tea, I would be the happiest tea drinker there ever was.

I have been drinking this tea and steeping it for a minute, then reusing the leaves and adding 15 seconds to each steep. I can use the same tealeaves all day long, only noticing a weakening of the flavour towards late afternoon/evening. So then I just start upping the steep time a little more, and it’s still delicious.

The tea is warm and light and buttery, has none of the grassy taste that turns me off some green teas. This is a tea that makes the world slow down and give you some time to breathe and relax. I am taking it to visit my parents for Christmas, and they can’t have any because I am mean like that.

Preparation
165 °F / 73 °C 1 min, 0 sec

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87
drank Three Wishes Tea by DAVIDsTEA
9 tasting notes

Sometimes, the only thing that can save a bad day is a cup of this tea. And on a good day, this makes everything just right.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 30 sec

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83

I smelled this one on about 3 or 4 different trips to David’s Tea. I kind of liked the smell, but wasn’t too sure about it. Tonight when I went in search of more green teas (since my last excursion for greens ended up with 4 more blacks in my cupboard), I smelled it again, and it was a definite yes.

I’m sorry I waited so long on this one. The smell of the dry leaves is nice and vanilla-y, with a bit of earthiness lurking behind. When I first started to brew it, my heart fell, as the vanilla scent evaporated, and left just an earthy scent that wasn’t terribly appealing to me. Well, I’ll try any tea once, and I’m glad I did. This is a very mild, easy to drink flavour. There’s a nice hint of vanilla without smothering the flavour of the roasted bancha. There’s a touch of dryness to the tea, but nothing unusual, and there’s no bitterness. It’s very comforting.

My fiance tried a sip, and said it reminded him of genmaicha, which is somewhat true for me as well. It has the same soothing, comforting essense as a nice genmaicha, while not being quite so warming.

As I reach the bottom of the cup, I do notice a few small beads of oil on top of the drops left. I noticed the oil at the beginning of the cup, but the tea does not have an oily mouth-feel. I expect it’s from the vanilla essence.

Also, I can’t say it’s a beautiful cup of tea. When I took the infuser out, the first thing that came to mind was swamp water, especially with that oil sheen on the top. Definitely not the most attractive thing I’ve had in my cup, but so so tasty. Definitely worth a try, and sooner rather than later.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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78
I was a little skeptical of the box by the name, but when I picked it up and read the ingredients I was more interested, so I took it home.

I’m liking this a lot more than I expected to. It’s minty, sweet, and greenish. I’m not a huge fan of the smell, but the taste is pretty good. I don’t expect I’ll drink a lot of it, but it seems like a nice evening or hectic afternoon tea.

sorry, eta: spelling fix. =_=

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Bethany

I, too, was surprised by how good this tea was – now I wish it was available year-round..

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100
drank Malted Genmaicha by 52teas
9 tasting notes

LOVE the smell upon opening the bag. I could just sit here all afternoon with my nose in the leaves. Sweety and creamy smelling, with a touch of greenness. On pouring the hot water over it, it goes back to smelling like any regular genmaicha, and then returns to its sweet malty scent when the leaves are removed.

Oh my, this is delicious. I might have difficulties sharing this one. I’ve always found genmaicha to be a soothing tea, and this one is no different. It almost feels /more/ caring because of the slightly desserty flavour. The toasted rice flavour is toned down quite a bit, and the green tea doesn’t leave me with that flavour that makes me dislike so many of them. This is pure delicious. This tea makes me happy!

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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68

I just got this in the mail with another 52teas blend, and decided the try the one that smelled less good first. I found that this smelled mostly of raisins when I opened it up. I smell reminded me a bit of old leather as well, very comforting and mild.

I brewed it up, and the smell and flavour still reminded me mostly of raisins and leather until about a third of the way through the cup. I added no milk or sugar (though I plan to try this tea with varying “dressings” to find its stride. The tea is dry on the tongue, and as it cools slightly, the “toast” flavour begins to come out. Not at all unpleasant, quite enjoyable actually, but I’m thinking it needs some flavour enhancers to come into its own. This is actually hitting the spot that has been wanting a mild black tea these past few days.

I’m a little disappointed that I’m not getting the exact indistinguishable flavour that people have commented on, but it’s a tasty and comfortable tea. I’m looking forward to trying it a few other ways. I wonder how they sample it in the store.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec

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34

Have had this tea before with boiling water, 5 minute steep, and been unimpressed. Changing things up today in hopes of a better cup.

Maybe it’s because I’m not a huge fan of cinnamon teas, but this tea really doesn’t do it for me. I get more of the flavour of the cinnamon and cloves than I do of the tropical that’s supposed to be in there. Using the lower temperature water made the tea much more enjoyable, since the cinnamon hasn’t had much of a chance to overpower the tea, but it’s still a mediocre cup at best. Drinkable, but not great.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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76

Decided after the first sip that this would be much better suited to my tastes with a bit of sugar this afternoon. Lovely tea though; I just like it sweet.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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