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An interesting tasting.

I quite like the dry leaves – they’re green, rolled up, and really easy to handle. I meant to steep them for 1 minute, but that wound up not quite happening, although I think they’re still under 2. At the beginning of the sip, the aroma is that half-vegetal, half-roasted flavor that I now associate with oolongs (did I mention I’m still fairly new to oolongs?) But then something interesting happens. Now, I’m not familiar with the flavor of ginseng, so I’m probably tasting it without recognizing it as such. But the longer the tea remains in my mouth, the more of a bright citrusy tangent the flavor takes, getting higher and higher in pitch while the vegetal/roasty oolong base remains until I swallow. It’s almost a bitter flavor, but it’s such an unexpected development that, at least for this tasting, I don’t mind it because it’s a cool experience…

Did you know this goes really well with vanilla ice cream? I had absolutely no intention of them being a pairing, but the pointed, morphing quality of the tea makes a great contrast with the vanilla WHOMP. Damn!

Uh oh. Methinks I may have underleafed this?

I steeped it just under boiling for 5 minutes. The first sip made me go, WHOO ASSAM – and then all the subsequent sips have been a lot more mild. I’ve heard Assams are supposed to be bold, and while I’m certainly getting an Assam quality, it’s muted. I’m afraid to try brewing it more because I let it steep for 5 minutes.

No numbers for now. Next time I’m going to try more leaves. Oh well, still a pleasant morning cup.

EDIT: Forgot to credit Nicole for the sample! Also, it got more Assam-y as it cooled. Tea is so weird. Science.

Mm-hmm, I thought I smelled some Earl Grey cream in here. (I may or may not have ordered some from Zen Teas last night at 1 AM. Only a little obsessed, I swear.)

Dry leaves smell delicious, basically like EG Cream with a bit of rose. The pink little rose petals mixed with the tea leaves are charming.

This is good! I think in this case, something about the mix of the cream and the rose tip tip the aroma a little on the sweet side for me. The taste is a little milder, and it averages out. A little perfumey, which I don’t complain about, without being chemical-y. Nice bergamot, too. Yay royal weddings!

Thanks to Nicole for the sample! I’ve really been enjoying the Earl Grey batch!

The Fact That Black Tea Has Caffeine. I love it in the morning, I hate it at night. Why? Because any time I want to drink tea, it’s ALWAYS black tea I’m tasting in my mind. That’s… tea. Anything else just doesn’t sound quite satisfying, even though I know if I do a cup of black, I’ll be fluttering around at 2 in the morning, and nobody needs that.

I was going to do a new oolong in the gaiwan, but the experience wound up being such a stinker that I’m not even bothering to log it (tasted like the cup and smelled like burnt yuck.) So I, against my better judgment, went with this tea instead. Why? I don’t know why; I wanted something I hadn’t had in a while. It is the most generic green tea on the planet. And tonight, just like my failed oolong, it tastes like the cup. * sigh * Guess I’ll just have to hope for better tea luck tomorrow.

Woo this is some smooth tea! There’s some kind of dark fruit drone I, once again, can’t quite pin down. I’m seeing the word “raisin” in the item descrip and that’s not quite right. It’s almost molasses or something, or some kind of berry-flavored syrup. NO astringency whatsoever.

I can see why people like this tea; to be honest, it’s a little too heavy/rich for me. Worth a try, at least, considering all I’ve heard about it.

Thanks to Nicole for the sample!

EDIT: I’m drinking cup 2, and now that it’s cooled down I’m getting the maltiness that I didn’t get in cup 1. It’s quite pleasant. Oddly, it makes me think of fall, too. It’s September. I’m OK with it being fall now…

Backlog. I tried to post a tasting note on this last night, but #$&%@*! Steepster was having One Of Its Episodes.

I… don’t think I have an opinion on Tie Guan Yin. I’ve had two of them now, and they’ve both been about the same; brightly vegetal, a little bright-fruity, a bit on the roasty side. I don’t like it, I don’t dislike it. It’s enjoyable, but not something I would crave or reorder. It’s the kind of tea I have to be in the right mood to drink; unfortunately, usually when I’m in a “tea” mood I’m picturing black tea, so I’m seldom in the right mood for this kind of flavor, unless I’m doing a late-at-night cleansing tea or something.

Wanted a comfort tea after a busy day at work, and somehow I just didn’t feel like anything green, white, or oolong. So I’m drinking a black tea at 11 PM against my better judgment.

This is quite decent. The blend of lavender and bergamot is smoother than expected. I had one other EG lav by Adagio, and that one just tasted like soap, so I was glad to find that this one doesn’t, at least not as much. Still don’t think I like this one quite as much as the EG cream, though. I like Mahamosa’s EG’s; they’re kinda smooth, at least compared to what others I’ve had.

Thanks to Nicole for the sample!

A rare second day off in a row, so I’m considering this a do-over from yesterday. Woke up pretty sleepy, and exactly in the mood for some kind of earl grey. This was the first one I grabbed and I thought, “Eh, why not?”

This is my first earl grey cream. I really didn’t know what to expect, and to be honest I wasn’t expecting to like the combination of cream with bergamot. But I took one sniff of this tea and went, “Whoa!” Turns out I really, really like the combination of sweet with citrus. The tea tastes a little milder than it smells, but it’s still really enjoyable. It’s reminding me of something I’ve smelled or tasted years and years ago, some pleasant association… I can’t put my finger on it. Kind of perfume-y (which I actually like in my teas.) Is this the best earl grey cream out there, I don’t know. But this is one flavor that’s definitely going to become a fixture in my cupboard!

Thanks Nicole for the sample!

Day off wound up being a little bit of an off day. Nothing went quite as intended, and I’m just left feeling kind of frustrated and slobbish rather than relaxed.

Finishing off with this tea, one from the oolong sampler. I’ll have to give it another try on a day I haven’t left the water to cool so long. So far, I’m getting a light, pleasantly floral/vegetal oolong with a bit of… not maltiness, not roastiness, but a somewhat savory effect. Refreshing and relaxing.

Still feeling sluggish at almost 4 in the afternoon on a Sunday off, so sipping this while putting away laundry and watching Slayers.

Once again, I get the feeling I accidentally underleafed this. I keep pouring 2 cups of water into the kettle, then taking out one cup’s worth of tea. Oh well. Item descrip says combination of Assam, Ceylon, and some other types of tea. I’m definitely getting a combination of mushroom malty and bright floral-y vegetal-y, although it’s hard to pin down flavors since I think I underleafed. A little on the astringent side, but enjoyable.

Thank you to Nicole for the sample!