818 Tasting Notes

And another sipdown today! This tea was pretty fabulous. I loved the vanilla flavor. Wouldn’t mind getting more, but I’m making room for others! Yippee!!

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drank Florence by Harney & Sons
818 tasting notes

Sipdown this morning! Hate to say this, but I’m kind of glad to see it go. It was not my favorite. Something about Harney’s chocolate flavoring just doesn’t work for me, but it wasn’t bad…just not great.

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Angel also sent me this tea to try. Thank you, Angel! If you like jasmine tea, this one is really delicious. I kind of have to be in the mood.

These pearls are adorable! Tiny and cute! I found the tea was sweet, smooth and with no bitterness and it wasn’t like drinking perfume…the jasmine was well balanced. This is a great tea to enjoy later in the day. It has a calming effect, like a spa treatment! I think it would be fabulous paired with Chinese food, like dim sum! Mmmm, now I want some dim sum! :)

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O. M. G. YUM!!! This is absolutely fabulous! This tea was one of the samples Angel sent me and I can see now why it’s such a popular tea. Thank you so much, Angel!!

When I first tried a cup of this, I wasn’t really sure how many pearls to use, but it turns out I estimated correctly for western brewing based on their website. I also couldn’t believe the recommended steep time ranged from 5-10 minutes. I mean, 10 minutes for a black tea? Are you crazy? So, I went with 5 minutes. That turned out to be a mistake, because, although the flavor was good, I could tell it was weak. I guess I should just follow directions!

So, today, I put 9 pearls in a 16 oz. mug (my whale color-changing mug ;) ) and steeped it for 9 minutes. That’s the way to do it! Those little pearls are so cute, but once the water hits them they totally unfurl. Have you ever had a tea with a pearl-like shape that didn’t want to fully unfurl? I’ve had that happen and it’s kind of annoying, especially with those flowering teas. Anyhoo, this tea is amazing! It has a rich black tea and unsweetened cocoa taste. It’s like those dark chocolate bars that are 60-80% cocoa. Amazing! Teavivre’s teas are so good and of such high quality, it’s sad that I’m just now discovering them. I do have to admit though, that the timing is right, since I seem to have developed a much stronger taste for unflavored teas lately. This is going on the order list. :)

Stephanie

Love these!

Tealizzy

I know! They’re awesome!

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drank Caramel Matcha by Red Leaf Tea
818 tasting notes

After I tried the cheesecake matcha sample last month, I was totally obsessed with matcha. I really enjoyed the iced lattes I made, so I thought I’d order the steepster favorite, caramel matcha. I ordered it at full price like an hour before they put in on sale, and was pretty bummed, but I emailed Red Leaf about it, and they were super generous and sent me a free package of the special offer version. Pretty freaking awesome! Customer service like that makes me want to be customer for life!

So, this matcha is good, but I ordered the distinctive flavor level and now I think maybe I should have gone with robust. I can taste the caramel if I add a little sugar, but it mostly appears in the after taste and as the matcha gets cooler. I tried this both as an almond milk iced latte and straight. I thought the almond milk was hiding the flavor, but now that I tried it straight, I don’t really think it does. I think it’s just my lame tasting abilities. I did find, in drinking it straight, that it was not nearly as grassy as DavidsTea’s matcha matsu, which was a good thing in my eyes. It’d be interesting to see what it tastes like as a hot latte…I’ll have to try that. Overall, though, when the flavor comes through, it’s really delicious with a sweet gooey caramel flavor. I might just up my flavor level next time around.

ohfancythat

It’s my fave as a hot latte :)

Tealizzy

Awesome! I’ll make it that way next time!

ohfancythat

Hopefully you will enjoy it more that way!

Tealizzy

What’s your recipe? How much matcha vs. ounces of milk? I just made it this morning and I think it had too much matcha because it was nasty bitter. Smelled like delicious caramel though. :(

ohfancythat

Aw. I just do as Red Leaf recommends, about 1/2 tsp matcha to 6-8oz of milk, plus a bit of hot water at first to melt-mix the matcha into a liquid

If I use a bigger mug, I put more matcha and more milk but the same water, maybe half – a full shot glass worth (I’m not overly specific but have always enjoyed it!!)

Tealizzy

Thank you!!!! I was led astray by one of the pamphlets from Red Leaf, which recommends a tablespoon! I didn’t put that much because I thought that was ridiculous, but I did put in about a half tablespoon! Man, it was so icky! :P Another pamphlet from Red Leaf correctly recommends 1/2 tsp. I’ll try it again with 1/2 tsp. :)

ohfancythat

Sometimes I do 1tsp, which I still enjoy, but I’m sure 1tbsp would be extreme!! Hope you like it :)

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Let me just start by saying I love milky oolongs! I have had natural ones and those with added flavoring and I loved the flavored ones until I tasted the natural ones. Ha! This one has been on my wish list. I’ve actually thought about ordering the oolong sampler from Teavivre because I really liked the idea of trying a whole array of oolongs.

This is one of the samples Angel sent me. Thanks, Angel!! I was very excited to try this one! The recommended steeping temperature threw me off a bit, because they recommend 212 degrees, and I normally steep oolongs at a much cooler temperature…especially greener oolongs. I went ahead and steeped it at almost the recommended temperature (205 degrees) and it was great! I guess they know what they’re talking about!

They also have a huge range of steep times…3 to 8 minutes. I did 3 minutes, but plan on trying 8 next time! The leaves expand a lot when you steep them, going from small little rolled up balls to full leaves. Pretty awesome!

This milky oolong is probably my favorite. It’s sweet, but not unnaturally sweet. It has a creamy soft mouthfeel, is smooth to drink, and isn’t overly vegetal. I love it! Makes me think of the song from the Lego Movie: “Everything is Awesome!” :) I think the oolong sampler is in my future.

TeaVivre

So glad you like this milky Oolong tea.

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Angel at Teavivre was extremely generous and added me to their free tea tasting activity and sent me free samples of 5 teas. Everything came in pretty silver packaging, and it arrived very quickly from China (like 10 days!) I thought it would’ve taken a lot longer, but that’s great! Also, the sample sizes were quite generous…at least 3 cups worth, but most likely more, of each tea.

This tea was the first one I tried. I actually took it on the go with me in my timolino. Shocking! I know, I felt a little bad drinking these fine teas out of a travel mug for my first taste, but it didn’t seem to matter. This tea is absolutely delicious! The dry leaf is like little pieces of hay, but curly. The aroma is very pleasing…I just wanted to smell it forever!

The flavors I could detect in this tea were definitely sweet potato, caramel, and some warming spice (like nutmeg?) Teas that taste like potato haven’t really been my thing, but I really liked this one. I can tell this tea is high quality…it’s very smooth and the leaves don’t look overly processed. I think this tea would be amazing in the Fall (or now!) I’m really enjoying unflavored black teas right now, so this one is right up my alley. I knew Teavivre teas had good reviews on here, and after tasting their teas for myself, I think they’ve just jumped right to the top of my list. Thanks, Angel!!

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drank Apricot by Harney & Sons
818 tasting notes

We also enjoyed a pot of this tea yesterday. I usually find teas that are supposed to taste like apricot mostly taste like peach to me. This one does not disappoint. It has a “warm” fruity flavor, with a nutty-ness that definitely reminds me of apricot. Nicely done. Wouldn’t scoff at another cup of this.

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drank Queen Catherine by Harney & Sons
818 tasting notes

Had this yesterday at afternoon tea. Not a fan. Too smoky, although I do have to admit the smoke flavor was smooth. Maybe it would be a good tea to pair with a meat dish for those who aren’t vegetarian. Ooh, or smoked salmon!

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Yesterday, we had afternoon tea for my mom and grandmother’s birthdays. I brought a large bag of teas, but my mom had quite a few herself! She recently ordered from Harney & Sons and Stash, so I got to try a few new ones. We enjoyed lemon cream scones, egg salad sandwiches, haystack cookies, white chocolate kona shortbread cookies and lemon bundt cake. Yum!

So, I’ve always kinda poo-poohed (if that’s a word) Stash tea because I thought everything they sold was bagged tea. Plus, I’ve had their spicy chai and I hate it. My mom, however, changed my opinion when she brought out a couple of their teas in loose form and gave me samples to try at home. I’m not sure I’ve ever really had a straight keemum before, but after reading the description for Golden Moon Tea’s version, my curiosity peaked. (I still intend to order some of that tea).

As for Stash’s version, it wasn’t exactly love at first sip, but as I sipped, it really grew on me. The description talks of plum and orchid notes…not sure I get that. What I did taste was a sweetness that was hard to place, but by the end of the cup I thought I got cocoa notes. Yay! I also tasted some smokiness, which I’m not a fan of, but it was balanced by the other flavors in the cup and didn’t overpower. Not bad! I guess Stash could still be a player in my cupboard. ;)

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Profile

Bio

Another profile facelift! My tastes have changed a lot from when I first discovered loose leaf tea.

I can trace my tea journey back to October 2012, when I discovered DavidsTea. Before that, I had the occasional cup and enjoyed high tea at An Afternoon to Remember, which has since closed.

I went through a period of wanting to try all the teas, and was really into flavored teas, especially dessert blacks, but my tastes have substantially changed over time.

I still enjoy the occasional flavored black or rooibos, but I’m more into unflavored black teas right now and recently, puerh. Chinese black teas are amazing…with their notes of chocolate or sweet potato, who needs a flavored tea? I had a much steeper learning curve when it came to puerh. I used to dump out cups of puerh for tasting like leather. Now, I am really enjoying them. I think it took finding good quality puerh and steeping them gong fu style to really enjoy them.

I also, on occasion, enjoy a good oolong, white, or green tea.

Favorite tea companies right now include: Mandala, Teavivre, Butiki, Golden Moon, Lupicia, and DavidsTea (for teaware mostly).

Just a note: I don’t rate my teas numerically because my iPad doesn’t like the scroll bar. Maybe someday that will change…hint hint, steepster! ;)

P.S. My profile picture is of one of my 2 cats, Holly, who is a little princess but very photogenic, and she loves boxes, including those that bring me tea! :)

Location

San Francisco Bay Area

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