1433 Tasting Notes
I’m having an awesome time with this tea today; it’s putting me in the same head space that Vanilla Citrus Spice used to before I picked up the last harvest/batch. I haven’t had enough quality tea moments like this lately.
Flavors: Bergamot, Chocolate, Citrus, Malt, Rose
Preparation
I picked this up, with encouragement from Plunkybug, ages ago with the Victoria group meet. I think I came away with more than sixty new teas from that event, and I haven’t even started digging through that stash in a meaningful way…
This one is smooth, maybe even watery, with a good Caramilk vibe. I’ve been in a “decadent” dessert mood lately, so it hits the spot right now. I’m going to need to wean myself back on tea after over a month without!
Flavors: Caramel, Cocoa
Preparation
I find teas with both floral and spice profiles hard to mentally digest. I simultaneously want to add milk and go chai, while also wanting to do a low temp steep without milk and sugar. The tea is a mixed black and green blend with fruity notes, and the main spice is the cardamom so I ended going with a cold brew.
Notes of cardamom and spiced fruit draw my attention the most, like a watery homage to mango lassi, while the rose is light and more inclined to a dessert-like Turkish Delight juiciness.
The blend is more of an abstract aromatherapy/spa mix than a concrete dessert tea, but that isn’t stopping my mind from filling in gaps..
Flavors: Cardamom, Mango, Pepper, Rose
Preparation
I’m on my fourth steep of this now (160F/3min), and I swear the hay note has transformed into coconut. The kind of sugary coconut you might get from the Hawaiian McDonald’s Haupia Pies. I liked the hay honey-jam of the first couple steeps but baked/fried coconut cream is a special class of friend.
Thanks, OMGsrsly, for bringing this over for me to try!
Flavors: Coconut, Cream, Hay, Honey, Jam
Preparation
This one is delicious. The lemon verbena and marshmallow root give it that fluffy citrus meringue texture. I appreciate that I can pick out the sweet green note of the Mao Zhen Hair Needle base; the green tea actually enhances the sweet lemon dessert vibe.
It’s pretty good, and definitely in the same family as my beloved Lime Jello Salad tea, and the cheery-clean Sun & Cloud Mist tea.
Flavors: Garden Peas, Lemon, Marshmallow, Meringue
Preparation
OMGsrsly (or someone else who passed along this tea) wrote “interesting” on my sample packet, which essentially sums this tea up. It’s not the savory spices that are “interesting”, but the fact that I don’t get pineapple from this pineapple tea at all.
The dry blend smells of tropical fruits, but the fruitiness to taste is more a fuzzy peach, banana runts, or even plantain/banana with the finish and aftertaste- also reminiscent of a clove and banana accented hefeweizen. But, just as there’s a smiley face at the end of that “interesting” on my packet, this tea is a lot of fun- you just have to accept it for it is.
The aroma of the broth is probably the most “pineapple-y” aspect of this tea, so I’ll continue to breathe deep. Although now I want a plantain tea. Or a German Wheat Beer. Whichever is closer.
Flavors: Banana, Candy, Peach
Preparation
When I got this one right it was simply amazing. Two out of half a dozen steeps tasted of a potent raspberry infused honey. Nectar of the gods.
While this was also good the other four times, the couple of awesome experiences set the bar really high and made me envious every time it didn’t turn out like that. It was often just not enough raspberry, or not enough honey, or a little too much black tea astringency.
Amariel/Plunkybug recommended this one, and now I’m hooked.. although it sometimes feels a little like gambling as the flavours aren’t always consistent. Raspberries and honey make me weak.
Flavors: Honey, Raspberry
Preparation
In one of our first meetups, OMGsrsly got me hooked on black currant flavoured things. Now every time I see them listed in teas I can’t resist picking up some.
This particular rooibos doesn’t quite live up to my expectations, but it’s still enjoyable. I just want more specific black currant and less dry and fruity-berry rooibos.
Flavors: Berries, Black Currant
This one is actually pretty tasty, with lots of passion fruit flavour and subtle dessert vibes. The second steep had less passion fruit and more generic cake flavour, but it’s still good.
I cold steeped it in the fridge for +8hrs, instead of using the boiling water and ice cube method- for some reason the taste of ice cube water in tea bugs me. Second cold steep went through a similar process.
I’m pleasantly surprised with how much tea I got out of the tea bag, but I wish I didn’t have to pay $4 for one session with a re-steep (14g of fannings). Iced tea goes so quickly!
Flavors: Cake, Passion Fruit
Preparation
Lots of caramel. Lots of pecan. Lots of crust, thanks to the earthy qualities of mate and cheap ice cream cone notes of the oolong. The cheesecake is largely up to your own imagination to find. I swear I’m picking up on some delicious tangy dessert..
I forgot how heavily I rely on mate/guayusa blends to wake me up after late evenings/mornings. Currently on the lookout for interesting flavour blends.Flavors: Caramel, Earth, Pecan