1926 Tasting Notes
I have bought a few teas from Farmerleaf, focusing mostly on the puerhs. But two bags of black teas jumped to my cart too; and I have decided to try again a Jingmai Sun-dried black after 5 years. I have no idea what Shengtai mean, so feel free to educate me.
Anyway… this tea seems to be definitely more robust and stronger black tea than the 5 years old counterpart. Reading that notes now, and this is definitely “darker” tea. In fact, there are woody notes (oak and cherry), dark honey, autumn leaves and spices. Malt isn’t missing and there is long and a little tingling aftertaste, but I wouldn’t consider it bitter or astringent. Strong in caffeine and warming up body and I am feeling cozy after drinking a mug of this.
For the price 12$ / 100 gr; great deal. But sold out now.
Preparation
Derk the lovely sent me this tea and it is the very first tea in my new and refurbished room (still shared with older brother). I can easily drink tea prepared gongfu here on my desk, without using windowsill as an extension, where I had my gaiwan, teabowl and thermos. Thank you a lot derk!
I prepared it gongfu, all 5 grams in my 125 ml gaiwan, with temperature carefully heated to 70°C (possible variance +- 2°C), 6 pm.
Oh my…
this is a grassy tea with herb (thyme) flavour. Freshly cut grass, even it’s 3 and half years old. Smooth, round and creamy. Very aromatic, with following steeps turns more into green beans with buttery and oily texture, some florals. Kinda brings me memories of late summer/early autumn in Finland and my hiking trips near the lakes — probably mossy and swampy forest, if it makes some sense with the notes above.
While it has got some umami, it’s not dominant and feels just fine with the other notes. No seaweed as some greens are, no or very low minerality, and I just wish never finishing this tea.
I completely understand my friend’s statement being left with no words. Just go and try it yourself. And tell us your impressions. If you are able to.
Preparation
A sipdown! (M: 5 Y: 77) prompt: A tea Miss Piggy would drink
Okay, I will be honest. I never saw Kermit and his friends as a TV show. I know the characters, mostly Kermit, but that’s none of my business (pun intended).
But luckily, I saw some hints about the others. And I thought that this tea would Miss Piggy drink.
Strong black and high quality tea with sweet notes of banana and fudge. Definitely her tea.
For me… I wasn’t paying attention to this sipdown, sadly.
A sipdown! (M: 4 Y: 76)
In a week, three sessions of this tea; steeped for 2 or so minutes, best before date 2024-12-30, so not past the date, but anyway quite old apparently… not mentioning I just need to reduce amount of teas in my cupboard.
So, yes, happy with sipdown with flavourful cuppa… mostly cloves and cinnamon, sadly absolutely no almon or mandarin anymore here.
It was also somehow flat tasting. Well that was probably because the age. But as I wrote, it’s a sipdown, so I am happy to have another tea down. Now, let’s focus on some other one. Which one?
This sounds like it would have been a pretty stellar tea when the almond and mandarin flavors were present. I am not a fan of much clove, though.
I agree with ashmanra, given my fondness for Bigelow’s Constant Comment, which is a similar concoction, without the almond. For your sip-downs, I encourage you to sip your BEST teas down first! We never know when our number will come up, and “life is too short to drink bad tea”! So unless it’s a sheng Pu’erh that you’re saving for your mutual old age, drink up! As with money, you can’t take it with you! And, when you get to t(e point that he poorer teas just aren’t appealing, you can add them to the compost heap without compunction, for the benefit of your flower garden, and take comfort that it is FINALLY appropriate to acquire new tea!
A tea from derk — thank you, but I assume you sent it mostly because the outer wrapping, didn’t you?
Anyway, it’s a candy like strawberry smelling bag that turns after steeping into candy like pineapple. The base is very hay-like, but the flavours are fine.
Also as my mom said: “You have a wonderful smelling tea.”
So, yep, pretty fine for those not so caring about the tea… fine and fruity. For me, I would like to have a bit stronger fruit notes.
A sipdown! (M: 3 Y: 75) Prompt: A tea from India
A tea from the office, bought during my stay in Germany, from German vendor… but chai is an Indian thing, as well as the Yogi-Ayurvedic stuff.
I actually made this tea yesterday afternoon, when I was working hard and overtime, hardly with any time focusing on the tea itself, but it was nice warming up mug. We experience start of the autumn season with rain showers, cold, foggy mornings, warm afternoons… just the weather when you don’t know what to wear.
This tea is just right in spices level for me, balanced ginger and cloves; warming cinnamon… just I wish it have got some stronger base. I haven’t noticed any cardamom, but as I wrote, I hardly had time to focus on the tea.
Preparation
Just brewed another 2 grams today afternoon after work. Those days after vacation are just terrible.
And when your co-worker is yelling on you, it’s no fun. I am all alone doing so many things, none were my business before and I am still learning; the priorities aren’t well set, it’s just tiring and very exhausing.
As of this week, I already have 4.5 hours overtime, that’s half of the workday! And no, tomorrow it won’t be better. Actually I plan to go earlier to the office to get work done before others wake up and start to distrub me.
Taste wise it was same as last time and I was drowsy again, but this time maybe because I haven’t slept well (woke up at 3am) and worked overtime again today.
Preparation
Martin, sometimes we do have to put in some OT, and that’s why it’s defined. Hopefully this tea helped you settle down so that you CAN sleep, despite being stressed and tired. Just ensure you comply with the maxim “Work to live, don’t live to work.” Meanwhile, I wonder if you have experience with the so-called GABA teas, and if so, were they helpful? The one I’ve tried was an oolong, unlike your tisane today, and I’m perplexed by the notion of a caffeinated tea with GABA, as it seems to me that the two would have a fistfight in my body!
Jim, I am aware of GABA teas; but I haven’t found them so good as herbals for relaxing purposes. Maybe because I want to unwind, I don’t want caffeine boost either.
As of work, yes, this and a few following weeks will be hard, but I am sure it will go better soon-ish.
Martin, yes! My GABA tea also has a huge complement of osmanthus flowers in it, which is the main thing attracting me, I think. I note that the “Betty” tisane you reviewed has chamomile. I adore chamomile, And have been drinking it since childhood in California, where it also grew wild as a weed. (Although I’m learning that the weedy stuff may have been a different species with not-so-great metabolites in it.) I have a bag of Egyptian Chamomile from Tealyra that is my preferred relaxation brew these days. Good luck at work, and cheers!
No plain chamomile for me, thanks!
And also no St. John’s wort.
It’s a tricky to find relaxing teas without the second and the ones with first only.
A sipdown! (M: 1 Y: 73) Prompt: A teabag tea (August)
Not a trouble for me to check off this prompt as I have many teas in tea bags; and this is no exception.
However, all I remember from this tea that it is a dismal for it’s very weak in lavender and bergamot being very faint and generic. Definitely, sadly, not worth the money.
Western method, 3 grams, 2 minutes steeping, 80°C water.
The remaining 3 grams and so I will try gongfu later.
I have been surprised to see on the pouch label temperature saying “80-90°C” but as my brother prepared a colder water for his coffee I took a little more sensitive tea today morning; and below are my impressions for this Japanese black tea sample I bought when I have been in Dresden, in Teerausch. However, it is available from more vendors world-wide (Europe?)
Aroma is woody, with hints of rose and spices, maybe sweet cinnamon and hints of black pepper.
In taste instead this tea is quite mineral and tannic; a little bit flat tasting compared to Indian teas; but yes, it is a whole different terroir for tea plants. Marimo Tea who carries this (very same!) tea too, says on their Facebook post: “If autumn had a taste it would probably be this one.”
I have to agree, as fall slowly creeps to our lives, with sunset coming sooner than expecting. It’s warming up cup of tea, again with woody notes, with interesting, almost bitter (in a good way!) aftertaste, spices as allspice, muscatel, star anise and anise. Some vendors also see the fruity line in the tea; saying it’s sour cherries with cinnamon.
While I do notice fruits, I am not sure it’s sour cherries. I am not able to point out a exact fruit though.
As I wrote before, it is an autumn-time tea giving fall-vibes. I assume it is the spicy flavours and woody notes.
