1112 Tasting Notes
Farewell, my lovely Black Dragon Pearls! You will be missed. I am astonished how quickly I drank up your roasty chocolatey wonderment — I only added you to my cupboard in mid-July!
Now that Starbucks have bought Teavana — my head spins. I’m not holding my breath on being able to buy Black Dragon Pearls on every corner, but… can you imagine?!?!
Preparation
A friend sent me two of these teabags in a card to try. I was telling her about how I drank an entire pot of Harney’s Vanilla Black in the evening, and was up all night, and I think she was worried for me :)
For itty bitty tea bags, this was robust and flavorful. It reminded me of a coffee drink and not tea. The sarsaparilla was an interesting addition to a nutty vanilla blend. I think it helped make it taste rich, but it did register as a little odd or out of place of a flavor.
In short, I’d gladly drink this again if it was offered to me, but it’s not on my to-purchase list. Vanilla Comoro is more to my taste as decaf vanilla teas go. :)
Preparation
Yum. This was another of my tagalong tin purchases from my recent order. Sweet and jammy, plus gooooood tea flavor. I thoroughly enjoyed two nice steeps. It makes me wonder if I should add honey instead of sugar to Paris…and also makes me wonder if I should order this instead of Paris when I run out, as it’s absolute perfection in its natural state.
P.S. – Tasting note number 1000 here!
Preparation
congrats on 1000!
happy 1000 notes !
The tin of this H&S seems really cute
Kidding? 1000? How on earth?! Wow! I’ll never get to that high a number! Congrat’s!
Wow, congrats! Makes me want to ask: how long have you been on Steepster??
TheTeaFairy — I’ve been here since December of 2009. It is almost my 3 year Steepsterversary :)
(My 1000th just made me feel old and crusty ;) Perfect tea for a milestone, though!
Wow, Jacqueline! We must have joined at about the same time! You are sooo much better at tasting notes, though! Congrats on 1,000!
Had to backtrack and look…my first posts, September 2009.
I went all the way back to my first but it just says three years ago. I think it was around September or October, though.
ashmanra, When I’m on my dashboard, right next to my photo, it says: JacquelineM
Joined Dec 01, 2009 — see if your exact date is over there :)
gmathis, That sounds about right because I remember you being here as a regular when I arrived.
Congratulations on reaching this milestone, Jacqueline! I love Tower of London, and yes, I think I do like it a leetle bit better than Paris. If only ToL came in a decaf version! But I suppose that’s a bit too much to wish for. :)
Today is a wonderful, wonderful day! I have a green tea that I not only find palatable, but actually love!
I threw in the selection of Historic Royal Palaces tagalong tins into my latest Harney order, because my husband travels quite a bit, and was expressing how nice it would be to have a “sleepy” tea along with him. He gets the chamomile, and I thought I could also give him the Earl Grey Imperial, and keep the others for myself. I had recently been wondering if I would like an Earl Grey Green, and thought the Canton Green, included in the tagalong selection, would be a sort of Lady Grey Green.
(oooh! Lady Grey Green. I am conjuring a Alphonse Mucha-like picture in my head of a grey and green Art Nouveau illustrated lady. I digress!)
The tea itself is light, not the least bit bitter, yet I can taste green tea for sure. The orange flavor is natural and delightfully present. Harney says this one is a great introduction to green tea, and I agree with that wholeheartedly. My baby step :)
A tin is soooo going in my next Harney order. I can drink this alllllllll day.
Preparation
How great to find tea you love!
Bonnie – this is the first green I think I’ve ever said the L word to :) I was very enamored of this one violet French green, but she was very hard to get ;)
Are you going to design the Lady Grey Green print? I’ll find a wall to hang it on!
gmathis – I was going to make you a cross stitch turkey card, but I think I have a better idea now :)
Well, now you have me intrigued!
I don’t think I have had this done! I better put it on my next order. I had an Earl Green that KS sent me and it was delicious!
Ahhhhhh. So nice to have this in my cupboard again! I’m having it sans additions here at work and I do believe it needs a touch of sugar to bring out its full berry vanilla citrus splendor, but it’s still pretty gosh darn wonderful. On my second pot, which should tell you something!
The only thing is that it makes me feel very decadent and languorous, which is not precisely how one should feel at the office!
Preparation
Chapters/Indigo has this in a tea sampler from H&S which i’m considering if only to get around crazy insane shipping prices.. hmmm
Hehe, I agree…After I drink this I always feel like I should be dressed up and wearing heels.
Which is even sillier when my “office” is a field;)
wearing heels in a field can make the greatest fashion photograph !
with a muf og Paris in one hand for sure :)
I am not proud to admit this, but I grunted when I tasted this tea. Not a mmmmm or an ahhhh but an absolute grunt like a pig. It touched the primal vanilla loving animal in me (who I have just discovered is porcine). I guess it could have been worse — at least I didn’t oink!
A subtle and delicious vanilla bean flavor. Slightly rubbery/tarry/dark (that’s a compliment) and the tea base is WONDERFUL. Smooth and flavorful and not the least bit bitter. Extremely elegant. Perfect. I’m drinking it with some sugar and milk, and it’s just lovely. Harney and Sons describes it as baking sugar cookies with your grandmother, but I completely disagree. It’s more like being served shortbread with your grandmother…the Dowager Countess!
…which makes my grunt even more inappropriate! I hope I can learn to control myself around this tea!
In short, I love it.
Preparation
I ordered a sample of it with my last order and drank 4 cups back to back!
This one is definitely on my shopping list thanks to your review, oink!
Oh man… I need to try this!
Is this your first time having Vanilla Black? This is one I had to buy by the pound because my youngest went through it so fast!
Might have to try this one!
I like the grunt admission!
Vanilla loving porcine. I love it.
Fabulous, absolutely.
Lovely note, Jackie. ‘It’s more like being served shortbread with your grandmother…the Dowager Countess!’ I miss elegant teas, I haven’t had any in a while and I see what you mean.
ashmanra – I knew I was going to love it because your daughter loved it so much, but I didn’t know I was going to grunt! I was waiting until I was finished my other vanilla tea before I bought this one. I think I found a new cupboard staple, to put it mildly!
Oh, my..I don’t know which I’d enjoy more: tea with Maggie Smith or tea with E.B. White (with Charlotte in the corner busily spinning SOME TEA.)
I am glad you found a new, grunt-worthy tea love! It is delicious! Daughter was in such a panic about running out when she was about twelve that a friend gave us four ounces to tide her over until my order could arrive. Said friend also ordered it by the pound, LOL! And I did pay her back! :)
stares in awe
…and this lovely, finished!
Made a giant, hearty milk and sugared mug for homework doings. Stout but a little mellowed by time. Just tasting a hint of raisiny stone fruit flavors. I think this tea is at least two years old – it’s held up remarkably well! I enjoyed every pot — this was the first Irish Breakfast I tasted with complexities, and I would be pleased to find it in my cupboard at a future date.
Preparation
Happy homework to you! I’m just sitting down to get started (easing back into a writing project after 2-week hiatus). I’m not good at starting to think in the afternoon.
We had to tear up part of the kitchen and I had to move my tea. I am astonished at how much tea there is, yet at the same time that I am vowing to drink up this tea, I am staking a couple of websites planning my next order. Time for an intervention!
Yep. I just finished picking out a small shoebox full of half-packets to share with my teaching partner at church and making another list of gotta-gets. Ay-yi-yi.
I’m down to 47 teas, guys! I am so proud of my restraint! I am going to place a Harney order soon, but it’s mostly going in with my coworkers for a few things and maybe I’ll finish a few others before it comes. I still can’t decide what is a reasonable amount. 30 seems too little, 40 too much? I usually drink 2 types of tea a day and have half of my teas at work, so maybe…36 to make it even? 18 at work and 18 at home? LOL.
38 Harney, 21 Teavivre, 9 Tin Roof Teas, 4 Dammann Freres, 6 Red Leaf, and about 25 assorted. Oh my goodness. Not counting samples and swaps. Oh dear.
Oops, I missed the Harney ones in the living room so more like 44…
The last bag! I really enjoyed this tisane — as long as you used the specified bag per 6 oz of water, you got a chocolatey, minty, creamy delight that is very nice in the evening. That being said, I don’t think I’m going to repurchase. My local tea store has a rooibos concoction which contains mint, chocolate, and vanilla which I’m curious to try.
Preparation
Another very loved tea…all finished! This one is perfectly spiced and enjoyable no matter if you cook it stovetop with milk, or brew it like regular tea — which is how we had it this evening. The tea base is strong enough to stand up to all that spice (and honey, and milk!) but never bitter. I took a thermos of it to visit my mom, along with a home made cheesecake. Very nice pairing — the creamy cake and the spice are lovely together.
Many thanks to dear Doulton for this one — I enjoyed every sip and I’m sad to see it go.
Preparation
I chose this tea today specifically because we are out of spring water at work, and I had to use tap water to make my tea. I hoped that the strong flavoring would mask the bleeeeeaaaachhhh Philadelphia water taste. Alas — I can still taste it (feeling very princess and the pea here!). Moral of the story: when the experts tell you water matters when preparing tea, they are not exaggerating one little bitty bit!
I’m equally interested to see what happens to Tazo brand now.