189 Tasting Notes

60

Bagged
Aroma when Dry: floral, apple-y, dusty
After water is first poured: fruity, sweet
At end of steep: slightly floral, citrus hinted at
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: very light brown– green
Staple? No, but would drink and buy again
Time of day preferred: any, medicinal use
Taste:
first notes: mild camomile, citrus closes
As it cools? notes open, mellow, almost apple- minty qualities
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Moderately, mainly camomile

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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73

Bagged, will restock with loose leaf
Aroma when Dry: bright, floral, apple-y, green base noticeable
After water is first poured: sweet, hints of citrus
At end of steep: fruity, floral, faint grassyness
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: very light green
Staple? Yes, looking into loose leaf
Time of day preferred: any, primary use medicinal
Taste:
first notes: green base very noticeable, grassy, with hints of fruit and floral from the camomile
As it cools? floral notes open up quite a bit, then all the notes mellow out
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Very slightly, both notes

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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71

Bagged
Aroma when Dry: fruity, sweet, berry notes linger
After water is first poured: still sweet, blackberry then raspberry notes
At end of steep: floral, fruity, berries dominate, no hibiscus notes noticeable
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: floral, hibiscusy, berry red
Staple? Yes Summer seasonal
Time of day preferred: any, seasonal
Taste:
first notes: berry, blended, blackberry a bit more noticeable, slight astringency, hibiscus barely noticeable
As it cools? Hibiscus notes stand out a bit, tea balances in sweetness berry notes blend
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? Not for tasting, have used agave in summer, chilled successfully
Lingers? Only faintly, hints of berry, leaves a dry note.
Prefer chilled

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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89

Bagged, will restock with Loose
Aroma when Dry: minty, layered
After water is first poured: minty, dusty
At end of steep: minty, slightly nutty
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: light mint green
Staple? Yes, especially summer seasonal
Time of day preferred: any
Taste:
first notes: crisp mint, gets a bit mossy in closing
As it cools? mellows into fuzzy mintyness
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? Not for tasting, have used with honey or agave in past, with success.
Lingers? Yes, minty clarity stays.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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37
drank Revitalise by Pukka
189 tasting notes

Bagged
Aroma when Dry: bright, floral with cinnamon, slightly sweet
After water is first poured: sweet, fruity cinnamon, licorice noticeable
At end of steep:
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: Light green
Staple? No, might use medicinally
Time of day preferred: afternoon
Taste:
first notes: Sweet, cinnamon and licorice most noticeable, with hints of cardamom
As it cools? gets much sweeter, syrupy
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, with a floral syrupy note

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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70
drank Love by Pukka
189 tasting notes

Bagged
Aroma when Dry: floral, rose jumps out, camomile next
After water is first poured: balanced floral all notes present, hinting at lavender
At end of steep: slightly fruity, floral, rose and camomile most noticeable
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: light grass yellow
Staple? Yes, primarily medicinal
Time of day preferred: Afternoon, evening
Taste:
first notes: rose, slightly woody, then chamomile closes
As it cools? Chamomile notes surface only slightly, rose lingers longer
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, with general floral texture, notes build with each sip.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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51

Bagged
Appearance:
Aroma when Dry: bright, lemony
After water is first poured: hints of camomile and lemony notes
At end of steep: camomile with the brightness of lemon
Tea liquor: light meadowy yellow.
At end of steep: light meadowy yellow.
Staple? No, but would drink again
Time of day preferred: any, use medicinally.
Taste:
first notes: apple-y camomile, no mint noticeable, buttery aftertaste
As it cools? Gets very lemony and grassy, camomile notes lengthen,
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No.
Lingers? Yes, with mild lemony buttery notes

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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78

Bagged, will restock with loose
Aroma when Dry: Sharp, Spicy, peppery, slightly fruity
After water is first poured:. Light almost floral ginger, pepper balanced
At end of steep: notes blend and mellow, but still present
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: brown-red
Staple? Yes, Likely Autumn, winter seasonal
Time of day preferred: Any
Taste:
first notes: earthy, gingery, warming, not spicy or overly sharp,velvety
As it cools? gets a bit woody, slightly spicy, peppery and earthy
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No.
Lingers? Slightly at the back of the throat, with faint hints of ginger spice, light sweetness (eastern)

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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45

Bagged
Appearance:
Aroma when Dry: Very fragrant, Bright, lemony, minty, woody, sweet
After water is first poured:. deserty minty, lemon undertones
Tea liquor:
At beginning if steep: light green
At end of steep: foresty brownish green
Staple?No
Time of day preferred: any
Taste:
First Steep:
first notes: sweet moderate Mint, hints of lemon, green tea base hinted at
As it cools? Mint develops a foresty spicy note, sweeteness all but disappears, lemony notes mellow out and get a bit grassy and creamy.
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No.
Lingers? Yes, both mint and lemon noticeably stay, notes build with each sip

Second Steep: mellows into a good mid grade mintyness

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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72
drank Zen by Tazo
189 tasting notes

Bagged
Aroma when Dry: Bright, lemony, slight mintiness
After water is first poured:. Light lemony minty fresh
At end of steep: fresh, bright mint
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: faint spring green
Staple? Yes, especially summer seasonal
Time of day preferred: Any
Taste:
first notes: bold green tea taste, hints of mint and lemony notes
As it cools? Notes flatten and blend a bit, green base notes get stronger, tea sweetens a bit.
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? With Very faint mint
Good chilled too.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 5 min, 15 sec
fermataleaf

This really brings me back. I used to have a lot of this as something that I would have in the evening. Tazo still carries it?

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Bio

Drink your tea slowly and reverently,
As if it is the axis on which the whole earth revolves
Slowly, evenly without rushing toward the future.
Live the actual moment.
Only this moment is life.

-Thich Nhat Hanh

If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty.” ~Japanese Proverb

Tea is a cup of life.” ~Author Unknown

Tea is liquid wisdom.” ~Anonymous

tea leaves
tea loves
loves tea
lives tea
leaves tea?
never.

~Uniek Swain

You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” ~C.S. Lewis

Divinity is a smile or a tear drop; or yes, even a cup of fresh green tea.
-Chinese Author unknown

Tea…is a religion of the art of life.” ~Okakura

I am Chajin. A 98% Loose leaf gentleman.

When in practice, and with access to loose leaf tea, I drink tea daily. With Loose leaf, often I will stay with the same tea for 2-3 days. With Teabags I flit around between kinds a bit more, though if I am restricted to only teabags due to any kind of lack of access, I often reduce my tea to a few a week, get bored easily, and as a supertaster I am very sensitive to quality.

Being of Japanese, English, French, Welsh heritage(Southern, Texas),I have had a lifetime’s experience in true teas, in one way or another. Growing up, my mother’s cupboard was rarely without a daily go-to quality genmaicha, and a matcha for cooking. My father loves blacks, and his mother was never without a box of Red Rose Tea. My Aunt and Uncle usually had Greens,Pouchongs and Oolongs around the house. Due to location and accessibility issues, I have gravitated towards bagged tea recently, but grateful to find more options opening up for me, and it is a relief to restructure my loose leaf stash!

I think of Teas as friends…exploring new relationships, deepening established ones…having a strong circle of solid support to stand alongside you through life…I have found some of these kinds of relationships with individual teas, I am hoping to find/build more along my journey courting my current circle of acquaintances, and not get sidetracked by frivolous dalliances flirting too long with a newcomer along the way.
(Due to this point of view, I will often taste a tea at least twice before fully evaluating enough even for a first rating.)

I drink true teas, and tisanes. Among Tea,
I love my Japanese Greens, and more recently love exploring whites and oolongs, and want to rediscover Pouchongs. Mixed results so far with pu-erh and also blacks, but use blacks for chai, as well as medicinally. Limited exposure to (Chinese)red teas, but interested. No experience with yellow or purple teas.

Among herbal and floral notes, my favorites are (Seaweed) Kombucha, Mints, Ginger, Honeysuckle,Yuzu, Jasmine, Lavender, and Rose.
After all this time, I still understand unflavored Matcha, jasmine or rose fragrance in tea to be a sweet tea.

The flavors I Treasure in my Tea are the Classics/Orthodox blends, I gravitate most towards the layered and nuanced teas.
Of those I always return to Scented and “Plain”…while I do enjoy some classic flavored tea also. I feel strongly that life is to short to drink bad tea.

Ingredients you will not find in my tea stash: 1. Stevia, 2. rooibos (red or green), 3. Fermented kombucha, or more accurately, kōcha kinoko.
I am attempting to avoid any artificial flavors as well.

My permanent stash consists of mostly varieties, teas I know I enjoy at any temperature( at least 1-2 each of Houjicha, Genmaicha, Sencha, Moroccan or other Green tea/Mint Blend, Thai blend, Silk Oolong, Jasmine, Chai, and White, Matcha, Darjeeling Black..

Ginger, Lychee, Lavender, Mint, Rose, Rosehips, Hibiscus, Mugicha, and Japanese Konbu-cha (both plain, and Ume flavors) and Yuzu are among the tisanes/blends ideally in residence) I chose based on overall quality as well as how a tea’s flavor and texture holds up over various temperatures(as in can it cool and keep my interest?).
I try not to be too brand loyal, in case of discontinuance, or lack of common availability.(Of course I do have my further favorites, but I try to find a few qualifying faves to rotate through.)
I have a small collection of tea ware, collect some lines of Wade Rose Tea figurines.

Rating Legend:

100 = What I will restock first and most likely always have on hand

90-99 = Where is the Tea IV again? Soul Nourishing Teas I never want to be without.

79-90 = Daily Drinker Teas, comfort teas must haves.

66-78 = Specialty stash. Seasonal must haves, Medicinals, Teas that I love that are too expensive/rare to qualify for unrestrained consumption, or that I have to “be in the mood for”

65-50 = Acceptable, 2nd choice brands or types of of my staple kinds of tea, teas that may need reconsideration.

30-49 = Will drink if only tea around. Won’t buy personally.

48-20 = Might finish a tasting cup…For Research only.

20-1 = Why am I drinking this?….Just…NO.

1= also often a tea where the smell of it, dry, or brewed makes my physically react badly, before tasting

Rated, but No tasting note?
I have tried it prior to joining, and rated from memory. If it is in my stash, or something that got a high enough rating to revisit, I will get to an update with a formal tasting note as well. OR: The first smell or sip made me ill enough, I did not proceed with the tasting.

Favorite Companies So far:
Numi
MAJANI
Shang
Tealet
Butiki Teas
Nature’s Tea Leaf
The Persimmon Tree
Steven Smith Teamaker
Japanese Green Tea Shops
Mellow Monk
Blue Lotus Chai
Red Leaf Tea
Hibiki-an
Yuuki-Cha
O-Cha.com
Maiko
Den’s
Hojo
Aiya
-
the minimalism of tea

“Tea is a an act complete in its simplicity.

When I drink tea, there is only me, and the tea.

The rest of the world dissolves.

There are no worries about the future.

No dwelling on past mistakes.

Tea is simple: loose-leaf tea, hot pure water, a cup.

I inhale the scent, tiny delicate pieces of the tea floating above the cup.

I drink the tea, the essence of the leaves becoming a part of me.

I am informed by the tea, changed.

This is the act of life, in one pure moment, and in this act the truth of the world suddenly becomes revealed: all the complexity, pain, drama of life is a pretense, invented in our minds for no good purpose.

There is only the tea, and me, converging."


Thich Nhat Hanh: Tea Ceremony

Location

Oregon, USA

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