1445 Tasting Notes

90

The weather is gloomy rain and I got my booster shot today. The two books I’m currently flipping between are both slowburn tales. (The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley is whimsical and slow; The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara is repulsive and slow, with a MC who has the hubris and “issues” of Victor Frankenstein x100, with extra content warnings.)

Mood: lethargic. I need to put together a parcel and pack up the Christmas decorations. Tomorrow. Tonight is for this tea and too many blankets.

Flavors: Brandy, Bread, Caramel, Coconut, Cream, Honey, Malt, Root Beer, Smooth, Vanilla

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML
Evol Ving Ness

Hurray for booster day! Hope the after effects are easy and mild.

I hope you have treats for today too.

Crowkettle

Lots of treats, and infinite books! +300 unread ones on my kobo (my book hoarding is worse than my tea collection).

The side effects seem mild again (fingers crossed).

Leafhopper

Glad to hear you got your booster! And yes, The People in the Trees is a disturbing book.

Evol Ving Ness

Good to hear that after effects are gentle. Yay!

My (Moderna) booster exhausted me. I slept and slept and ate and ate and then I was fine.

I hear you. Books and tea both happily crowd me.

Crowkettle

@Evol Ving Ness. That sounds identical to my day. I took so many naps this evening, and ate so much food..

@Leafhopper, this is my first Hanya Yanagihara novel; it’s definitely compelling so far, despite the heavy themes, unpalatable narrator(s), and real-world tie-in with Carleton Gajdusek :|

Evol Ving Ness

Oh, in that case, you should wake up in reasonably fine form.

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67
drank Capri by August Uncommon Tea
1445 tasting notes

Sipdown!

This herbal taste like a lot of mint with vague summer fruit inserts. It is what it is.

Flavors: Apple, Earthy, Fruity, Herbaceous, Melon, Mint

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more 2 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML
Evol Ving Ness

Hmm, vague summer fruits. Plagiarism!

hehehe :)

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80

Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge January 2022: A Tea with Bean Notes

Another tea bag unearthed during the Great Congestion. I consider this quite the find and don’t know where it could’ve possibly come from. Back when I first started venturing more into tea I really wanted to try this tea company, and this tea in particular. Don’t ask me why. I don’t believe they ship to Canada, however.

Before steeping, it was not promising – a generously filled satchet with some brown looking, sour smelling, long-leafed tea. How old is this thing? Add water and the leaf remembers it’s green and gives off a wonderful lemon-hued butter veggie aroma. To taste, it has notes found in other Chinese green and white teas (ie – Silver Needle, Dragon Well): lemon, sesame, green beans, spinach (you know how spinach has that milky calcium quality?), melon. It’s smooth, nearing cream and butter.

Yeah, this is a treasure in a tea bag.

Flavors: Bamboo, Butter, Cream, Floral, Grass, Green Beans, Lemon, Melon, Nutty, Peas, Sesame, Smooth, Spinach, Sweet, Vegetal

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 2 min, 0 sec 12 OZ / 354 ML
Evol Ving Ness

This tea company has also been on my wanted list. Maybe one day.

Crowkettle

I made a mock order and they do ship to Canada – for $20.

I think I may wait to visit Portland directly (or for a particularly weak-willed evening).

Mastress Alita

I went to Portland in 2019 for the PDX Tea Fest and visited one of their local stores while there. I was a bit sad that even visiting them directly, other than ordering just a cup of tea, I still couldn’t get a bag of loose leaf smaller than 4 oz (which is just too big for me).

Daylon R Thomas

They have some unique blends like Rose City Genmaicha and a good Jasmine, but I think they are a bit overpriced. The company has become especially steep with their limited edition blends, and there are some quality loose leaf that you can get elsewhere for cheaper.

Crowkettle

The lack of size selection and generally high prices is further exacerbated on my end by the exchange rate and shipping costs.

The Rose City Genmaicha and Ice Cream Oolong are big temptations for me but, even with a 10% coupon and this delicious mystery sample, I think I’ll pass for the time being (to be revisited at a time when the tea cupboard is smaller and bank account is fuller).

Evol Ving Ness

All of those factors come out to a firm no. At least for now.

Kittenna

Ice cream oolong?!

Daylon R Thomas

They call it Ice Cream Royale. The original blend had jasmine with Jin Xuan, salt, a lot of vanilla, sugar, and some amaretto. The modern one uses chamomile. It’s a brilliant blend, but they charge close to $2 or more a sachet, which is insane.

Evol Ving Ness

That one sounds tantalizing, but with all the prohibitive factors, especially for us in Canada, still a firm no.

Crowkettle

If I ever cave and order online or pick some up while visiting Portland I’ll buy 4oz and share it. XD

Evol Ving Ness

I adore you for even the thought of it. It doesn’t actually have to happen. :)

Kittenna

Ugh, so tempting! One day. If I could get one sachet, I’d be cool with paying $2 or so for it. I mean, I’ve paid nearly $7 for drinks from Starbucks before!

Evol Ving Ness

Thank you, Kittena, for bringing logic to the tea math.

Crowkettle

Yeah, it’s just within the realm of what I’m willing to pay for tea. A coupon would sweeten the deal, but I don’t want to pay shipping on top of it if possible (US free shipping threshold is a low $39 so if I can arrange a border PO in WA that would be fine).

I don’t mind buying 3.5oz – 4oz as either as long as my cupboard is emptier and I have possible people to share it with (stale tea is sad tea). Right now my cupboard is full from DF’s 4oz Christmas splurge, and some reaaally old teas so I’m looking at spring lol.

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Here’s another tea bag I earthed up during peak congestion and stashed for later consumption. It’s from Numi’s “Nspire” series, and their website implies it’s intended for iced tea purposes (whoops).

It’s not super exciting: the jasmine is pretty strong, the green base is.. green and astringent (puckering mouth feel), but still kind of smooth. There’s something of the collard greens about it (slight bitter veg, but not unpleasantly so). Probably a twiggy base. There’s a hint of floral sweetness. It’s not something I’d run out to get, and doesn’t hold a candle to other jasmine teas I’ve had, but it’s drinkable!

Flavors: Astringent, Floral, Grass, Jasmine, Kale, Metallic, Vegetal, Woody

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 2 min, 0 sec 12 OZ / 354 ML

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76

Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge January 2022: Apricot Tea

I was positive that I didn’t have an apricot tea in my collection, and I spent the majority of my time drinking this thinking it was a nectarine tea! (or something decidedly not apricot, even though it tastes just like apricot). I’m also surprised to see that this blend is from November 2020. Wow. I’m usually better at drinking up my subscription blends.

This isn’t my favourite honeybush or muffin blend from 52Teas, but it’s still pretty tasty! the stonefruit and cranberry flavours come through as gently tart and tangy, over top of buttery baked bread. The honeybush and the fruits are sweet too – complimenting the light tartness. There’s a bit of a spicy burn to finish and as a lingering mouth sensation. Everything is well-balanced.

For this sipdown, taken with milk. It may have brought out the sweetness a tad.

Flavors: Apricot, Bread, Butter, Cinnamon, Cranberry, Fruity, Nutmeg, Pepper, Spices, Stonefruit, Sweet, Tangy, Tart

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 8 min or more 2 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML
Kittenna

Ha, I don’t even remember this blend. But apparently I do have it… might be my apricot sipdown too!

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83

Sipdown!

So long, plush lemon cloud. This and Sun and Cloud Mist are treasures.

Flavors: Candy, Cream, Cucumber, Floral, Fruity, Hay, Herbaceous, Lemon, Marshmallow, Smooth

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 3 min, 30 sec 2 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML

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70

Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge January 2022: New Tea

I received this tea as a Christmas gift from my sister and it was enjoyable, if somewhat lacklustre. I don’t really get mango (or pear) except in the aroma while steeping. What I do taste is canned peaches; this may be due to possible mango/apple/pear flavouring chemistry.

The fruit flavouring is definitely secondary to the bai mudan base itself, which has its own fruity notes as well as prominent notes of cucumber and hay. It’s nice and I’m glad I got the chance to try it, but I’m not sold on the combo.

Flavors: Apple, Cucumber, Floral, Grass, Hay, Mango, Peach, Smooth, Stewed Fruits

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 30 sec 2 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML

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88

Continuing to love this passion fruit jasmine bergmot concoction immensely and bumping up my rating.

I generally think the combination of green and black tea base is a bad idea; I tend to avoid them at all costs. However, in this blend the slight bitter-sour note, incurred from steeping at a temperature normally too high for green tea, creates a lovely effect; it makes the passion fruit taste more “real” – filling it out more. It’s good stuff and satisfies my craving for tart-sweet tropical fruits.

Steep Count: 2

Flavors: Astringent, Bergamot, Floral, Fruity, Jasmine, Malt, Mango, Passion Fruit, Pineapple, Sour, Tart, Tropical Fruit

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML
Kelmishka

Sounds like an interesting blend!

Evol Ving Ness

Happy-making happy post.

Crowkettle

I’d write more tea notes but I’ve just been drinking this one every day for the last week, so…

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80
drank Forever Nuts by DAVIDsTEA
1445 tasting notes

Backlog. Made this up as a late (mid)night latte – the pink beetroot really pops when steeped this way.

I don’t make enough tasting notes for this one; I’ve written only one in the ten years its been in (and out) of my life! After all this time, I still rely on this tisane to deliver quick, easy, and dependable nutty dessert-tea goodness. No fuss or stress! It’s also one of my mom’s favourite of all time (which is the main reason I repurchase it whenever it’s available). This is a David’s Tea classic, and gives me the warm, nostalgic fuzzies.

Flavors: Almond, Apple, Cinnamon, Nutty, Sweet

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more 3 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML

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79

Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge January 2022: Spicy Tea

Well, this didn’t last long. So long, carroty turmeric lattes! This could’ve also fulfilled the “new tea” and “latte” portion of the challenge, I guess – but I’m going to try and fill those with different teas (I’ve so many to choose from).

Also, now that I can smell things I can say the blend reeks of earthy ginger. I’m so grateful that this was in my possession while stuffed up.

Flavors: Carrot, Earthy, Ginger, Pineapple, Spicy, Sweet, Turmeric, Wood

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more 2 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML
Kittenna

Oh dang, there’s a January sipdown challenge?! Time to head to the discussion threads!

Crowkettle

It’s a little more casual than last year, with prompts that can be fulfilled at any point in the month. Still fun though! So far it’s motivating me to finish off some of the larger quantities of teas :)

Crowkettle

Love how I totally missed the “2021” typo. Always takes half a month for me to adjust to the new year number.

Kittenna

Ahahaha, there was a typo? I didn’t even notice. Also same, struggling to remember that it’s 2022 and already wrote the wrong date a few times.

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Profile

Bio

I started my Steepster loose leaf adventure back in 2012. I can’t say I’m completely new anymore, but I still view oolong as a magical, extraterrestrial creature that unfurls in water.

My favourites are teas like Milk Oolong, Silver Needle,and Japanese Sencha/Gyokuro, or fruity and floral flavoured ones. However, I generally enjoy ALL the teas, including a good old cup of Earl Grey or Breakfast blend.

FAVOURITE INGREDIENTS/NOTES:

DESSERT FLAVOURS
Vanilla, Maple, Caramel, Butterscotch, Cream, Toffee, Nougat, Marzipan, Butter

FRUIT & BERRIES
Citrus Fruits, Passionfruit, Banana, Pineapple, Melons, Blackberry, Raspberry, Currants, Elderberry, Persimmon, Rhubarb..

SPICES
Ginger, Turmeric, Clove-forward chai, Cardamom

AROMATIC & HERBACEOUS NOTES
Sandalwood, Frankincense, Juniper, Eucalyptus, Mints

FLORALS
Lavender, Jasmine, Rose, Lilac, Violet, etc.

VEGGIE/GRAIN NOTES
Spinach, Grass, Hay, Cucumber, Rice, Sweet Potato

Less Preferred Flavours/Ingredients:
Stevia, Apple, Cocoa Nib, Almond, Licorice, Cinnamon-forward blends, Chinese Sencha

Subjective Rating System:
I don’t give a lot of low ratings out, since a) I tend to grab tea I know will appeal to me, and b) I don’t have a lot of strong dislikes.

90-100: Favourites. The Desert Island Teas.
80-89: Loved teas. Possibly staple-worthy.
70-79: Good teas, but I’m less likely to repurchase. Minor quibbles.
60-69: Ok teas. Likely a few preference and/or quality issues.
50-59: Cup of meh. Will do in a pinch.
11-49: Varying levels of undrinkable tea.
1-10: Nightmare tea from the chaos realms. This tea is the embodiment of the primordial swamp, an unholy abomination. It’s very gross and I’m almost positive it doesn’t exist.

Location

BC, Canada

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