83
drank Lychee Black by Samovar
2036 tasting notes

Second Samovar sample of the day. I’m now out of Samovar black tea samples to try until I come out of lockdown and can order again. It looks like there are only two that I haven’t tasted yet.

Does anyone else occasionally look at their tea log and go “wow, I can’t believe there are even that many teas in the world, let alone that I’ve tasted X number of them, let alone that I’ve written about Y number of them?” It’s a little mind boggling to me sometimes.

Wow, love the smell of the dry leaves. Floral. My first thought was lavender for some reason. Maybe my smeller is still off from being sick. It’s really rose.

The tea is a little too red to be called mahogany, but otherwise pretty close. And it has a sweet, fruity, floral aroma that is difficult to pin down. I’ve only had lychees in restaurants and I don’t really care for them as dessert offerings, but I like what their flavor does in this tea. It gives a sweetness to the tea that is a departure from the usual malty sweetness I get in Samovar black teas as it is lighter and fruitier. Nectar-like, really. There’s a slight nuttiness to it too, which is consistent with my experience of lychee in general.

This is one I’d like to drink next to some other rosy florals for comparison purposes. It seems to be a bit more subtle in its floral qualities than some others, which I like, and though I’m not an overly enthusiastic fan of the lychee by itself, at the risk of repeating myself, I will say I do like what it does in this tea.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
Ewa

That is exactly what I think every time I look at TEB’s tea log! Truly she is an example to us all.

Ricky

“wow, I can’t believe there are even that many teas in the world, let alone that I’ve tasted X number of them, let alone that I’ve written about Y number of them?”

Yep. Gotta try em all!

ashmanra

You have no idea how many times I have promised myself, " I will not buy more tea. Not for a long time." And then…something happens. A Harney special, a sale at Southern Season. I mean well! My hubby says I need an intervention…but I don’t want one! I looked over my list of teas in the house at present and couodn’t find a single one I wanted to get rid of! Even the ones I didn’t like as well, I keep thinking that maybe I should prepare it a little differently and then I will LOVE it!

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Ewa

That is exactly what I think every time I look at TEB’s tea log! Truly she is an example to us all.

Ricky

“wow, I can’t believe there are even that many teas in the world, let alone that I’ve tasted X number of them, let alone that I’ve written about Y number of them?”

Yep. Gotta try em all!

ashmanra

You have no idea how many times I have promised myself, " I will not buy more tea. Not for a long time." And then…something happens. A Harney special, a sale at Southern Season. I mean well! My hubby says I need an intervention…but I don’t want one! I looked over my list of teas in the house at present and couodn’t find a single one I wanted to get rid of! Even the ones I didn’t like as well, I keep thinking that maybe I should prepare it a little differently and then I will LOVE it!

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Bio

I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes

Location

Bay Area, California

Website

http://www.jjroth.net

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