336 Tasting Notes

96

Vague horror movie talk in the next paragraph…

So basically I’m really out of it. Last night I went to a midnight screening of The Shining that was happening in downtown Columbus (largely so I can finally understand the 900,000 references that have been made to that movie), and I had tried and failed spectacularly to take a nap beforehand. I got home from the screening at about 3:30 AM, but had to watch goofy anime before I went to bed to take my mind off… no, not the movie, but this one fake commercial in the pre-entertainment. I won’t go into details unless you want me to (I don’t mind, but I don’t want to upset anyone), but it says something about my psychology when a “hilarious” vintage-cartoon-gone-horrifyingly-wrong disturbs and upsets me more than ALL of a splendidly made Stanley Kubrick psychological thriller. More than just about any horror movie I can think of, for that matter. So then I wound up picking a really dark and angsty episode of a really goofy anime, and despite its angst it STILL took my mind off that stupid commercial, then I went to bed at 4:15 and woke up 4 hours later and my mind was going IT’S YOUR DAY OFF YAY GET UP GET UP GET UP and I’ve been awake ever since and I’m physically and mentally really really out of it!

…Yeah! Tea! This one came out really bergamot-y this morning. I was hoping for more cream, but with the way I’m feeling, some citrus perkiness may not be a bad thing.

Again, many thanks to Nicole for the sample! It’s been an absolute pleasure!

ashmanra

O.O I am the same way. I even feel a little angst just wondering what the commercial MIGHT have been. It helps if I know what is going to happen and when, but don’t surprise me. My kids sit beside me in theaters going “no lookie, no lookie, no lookie, okay now you can look.” But I get used to it and just watch if I see the movie several times.

Nicole

Sometimes it is the little unexpected things that keep us up. :) I was reading a horror book the other night (yeah, I’m masochistic that way…) and it wasn’t any of the big stuff that kept me up after I put the book down – it was the tiny things that didn’t even do anything in the story, they were just set dressing. But it took me forever to go to sleep. :)

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90

There are certain teas that just command your respect when you drink them. They may not be your favorite, favorite teas per se, but you just go, “Wow. That’s quality.” There are two teas that are like that from me, and they’re both from Teavivre. One is their exquisite lapsang souchong, which I can’t seem to drink without raving like a proud parent talking about her honor roll kid who placed first chair in the band and directed an anti-bullying video. The other is this one.

I don’t know if “complex” is the right word, but the flavor evolves. The longer it stays in your mouth, the more it progresses from earthy to malty, like a chameleon changing color. And it’s a pleasant and satisfying taste all the way. It’s one of those teas that’s best enjoyed when you don’t have to put all your concentration on something else. It is just really, really well made.

I wish it wasn’t night. Because I want another cup of this. Actually, screw it. I’m making another cup!

TeaLady441

Hahaha. I’ve done that so many times. There’s no proper deadline for me to stop drinking my black teas!

TeaKlutz

I’m just like, caffeine be dratted! I’m going to drink a tea I really really want to drink!

Terri HarpLady

It’s been awhile since I had this in my cupboard, but it is definitely a tasty tea!

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90

Did a second steep on this this morning, for a little under 2 minutes because it was a resteep. It’s actually pretty similar to what I tasted last night, except without seeming underleafed. I actually quite like the tea itself, although I think I have to be in the right mood for it. Earthy is a good flavor for foggy gray fall mornings. Still a malty aftertaste, which is unexpected but cool. The smell is something I have to get past.

Next time, I’m rinsing this!

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90

Uh… 3-4 teaspoons for 8 oz?

WHOOPS

This is what happens when they don’t put the leafage on the bag! Grrr!

Ah well. It’s a free sample, so there’s only so much griping I can do. I would try steeping it longer, but I have a bad feeling that would only result in the overwhelmingly flagrant essence of FISH! Like the last pu-erh I had, which is still sitting in a bag in the back corner of my cupboard with absolutely no plans for a sipdown anywhere in this dimension of time and space because it tastes exactly like FISH!

This one is… earthy? It’s got a fair amount of FISH!, especially in the aroma, but the flavor itself is darker and bassier. There is actually a bit of maltiness in the aftertaste too. It’s actually fairly pleasant, at least once I stop smelling it. Next time, I’ll use more cake per water. Also I won’t spill it all over the damn stove as I’m trying to pour it.

JustJames

some really are that way,though i have no idea why. verdnat’s golden buds puerh isn’t and the mandala puerhs aren’t…. but i’ve discovered that i taste a moss pillow or fish if there isn’t astringency to balance it(but that’s just me). =0)

TeaKlutz

Yeah. I was wondering about that, since I’d only had one other pu-erh and I figured since I’d heard good things about that kind of tea, they can’t all taste like FISH! In fact, I’m curious to explore the world of pu-erhs simply because I’ve heard so many contradictory and counterintuitive things said about them, I can’t help thinking they must be such an interesting tea, even if not my favorite cuppa.

JustJames

have you tried steap shoppe’s cinnamon swirl bread? that’s a combination black and puerh with the puerh playing the part of the bread VERY convincingly. so long as you like cinnamon this may be a good way to get into them?

i started with flavoured ones from david’s teas and teavana and then moved into the unflavoured. for myself an astringent (but not acrid or bitter) balance is necessary or i really feel like i’ve been whacked in the tongue with a moss pillow dipped in fish, lol.

Dexter

I’ve never had this pu’erh, but Teavivre has good quality teas and all the reviews are favorable. I’m just wondering if you didn’t rinse it enough. Sometimes lack of rinse or too long of a first steep with yield some fishiness even in great pu’erhs. I would suggest 2 10 second rinses and then short first steep. Even western brewing a pu’erh I usually only steep 20-30 seconds for the first steep. I’m not sure, just suggesting. Did you resteep it? Was the next steep also fishy? If not then I would look at longer/more rinse for next time.

TeaKlutz

James, I have yet to try a flavored pu-erh. To be honest, the flavor of pu-erhs is so distinctive I have a hard time imagining them with other flavors! It sounds like at least the cinnamon swirl bread was a success though?

Dexter, it’s definitely a good tea. I have yet to rinse a pu-erh although that’s something I’ve heard you should do, more than anything because I just haven’t had the time/patience to do it yet. :P I would have resteeped, but it was late at night and I was afraid to do more than one cup of a fairly caffeinated type of tea.

keychange

Ew. There’s tea that tastes like fish in this world? Even if you rinse it…I just. I can’t imagine why you’d rinse away the fishiness of tea when there’s so much tea that isn’t fishy to begin with?

Dexter

LOL keychange – I’m not sure if that’s a rhetorical question or if you would like an explanation. My answer would be because great pu’erhs are AMAZING teas. If you look at my tea ratings and change the sort by to highest rated, 5 out of my top 6 are pu’erh. When it’s good it’s amazing, but it’s not for everyone – some can’t get past the fishy, some can’t get past the “earthy”, “barnyard”, “mouldy”, “stinky feet” part of it. There are lots of unflattering words used to describe it. I put some in the travelling tea box. You should at least give it a sniff if you get the chance. :))

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85

Sipdown!

Just poured the rest of my leaves into the strainer and steeped for a little under 4 minutes. a-HA! THIS is the renowned Assam flavor! Bold, sweet, honey-esque, a translucent flavor. Kind of a classic “black tea” taste with little to no astringency.

This is really good. I don’t know how often I’ll drink Assams, but I’m glad I now have more than one reference for the flavor. I recommend this to anyone who’s an Assam fan, or even just a black tea fan.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 45 sec

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Backlog from Thursday night, since my computer was Down With the Sickness.

THIS is the oolong I effed up the first time I tried it! So I attempted it once more the other night after I got home from work. Recently, I found this article that’s actually from Verdant Tea’s website, written by David Duckler. It’s about how to best enjoy tasting a tea, and I found it so enlightening that I’ll leave it here if you haven’t seen it: http://verdanttea.com/how-to-taste-tea/ What hit home the most with me is that, rather than being the Tea Critic who jumps to figure out what I’m tasting, how it compares to what I’m told is in it, and how highly I would rate the tea, the most important thing is just being present in the experience of the tea and enjoying what I’m drinking.

With that article in mind, I took a bit of time to do some gaiwan brewings and tastings of this oolong. This time, I used a thermometer to gauge the water temperature so that I was sure I did not burn it.

I’m not sure I liked the tea itself, it reminds me too much of other oolongs I’m not crazy about, but it was a very enjoyable experience. I did four steepings. The first two had a roasty, slightly “burnt” flavor, but I did find that on the third steeping, the roastiness had subsided and I was getting more of the fruity/floral tone. I’ve rarely had luck with multiple steepings, so I enjoyed finally being able to discern a difference. I also enjoyed smelling the flavor of the wet tea leaves in the nose cup, if that’s what you call it.

But my favorite part about doing gaiwan steepings, honestly, is the auditory experience. Working in a music store, I relish the lack of background noise that I get in a quiet room (we live in what I’d call a rural suburb, so it is possible to achieve complete silence.) There’s something about the sequence of pouring water and the little clacking of the lid on the cup that’s exquisitely soothing, in this way I can’t really describe. I think I would quite enjoy having a whole gongfu set, which I plan on putting on either a birthday or Christmas wish list.

So the tea? Eh. The tasting? Mmm!

keychange

Oh, thanks for sharing that link. And I completely agree with you about the auditory experience and how important it is. As someone who’s blind, sound (and smell) matter a great deal to me.

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drank Anastasia by Kusmi Tea
336 tasting notes

Pretty sure this is the last of the untried samples from Nicole – thank you!

For once, I made sure I didn’t underleaf the tea. However, this is still really mild for some reason. I might have understeeped? I’m kind of getting the bergamot flavor but not really (it’s more prominent in the aroma.) It’s more some vague mix of floral/citrus tones. I can’t help thinking it reminds me a bit of soap.

Underwhelmed. I can see how people would find this enjoyable, but its personality isn’t quite pronounced enough for me.

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Profile

Bio

The name’s Holly. 27. Work for a small IT company. About to finish a Master’s degree this winter. ISFJ for what it’s worth. I play various instruments (mostly bass guitar right now), attempt to write songs that I’m too scared to play for anyone, and I’m currently taking voice lessons. I also enjoy starting various hobbies, wearing monochromes, writing, cooking, taking walks, and various and sundry other things…

I’ve been a tea drinker since spring of 2013. Tea is a source of happiness, positivity, curiosity, and relaxation (…and caffeine) for me.

I’ve been on and off this site over the years, and I even had a separate tea blog at one point. For now, I’m just working on getting back in the habit of enjoying tea regularly and to its fullest.

Love: Malty Chinese black teas, shu/ripe pu erhs, soft flowery teas (esp. jasmine teas)

Like: Japanese green teas, sheng/ripe pu erhs, white teas

Still trying to get into: Most oolongs, chai teas

Not crazy about: Roasty teas, fruity teas, rooibos, many (not all) herbal teas

Ratings:
90-100: YEAH!
80-89: Nice! This is good stuff.
70-79: Respectable tea.
60-69: Not bad.
50-59: Middling. Not really worth it.
25-49: Eeeeeugh. Not good.
0-24: Did you know you can use tea leaves as odor absorbent?

Location

Ohio

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