2036 Tasting Notes

84

Started the morning with this one, without having had the Irish before. It is indeed “stouter” and more full bodied, but without the Irish precursor, it has it’s own malty sweetness (which shows up as non-sweetness by comparison to the Irish). I also taste something of what I associate with the Yunnan blend flavor that I taste in Earl Greys with Yunnan base. I wish there was a word for this quality. Maybe there is and I just don’t know it. I have had Zinfandels that also have this quality and they are my favorite wines.

In any case, it’s a toss up with regard to rating the Irish vs. the English. I can’t say I like one more than the other as they’re very different. I think the Irish may be more of an every day drinker, because it is generally milder and sweeter. But all of this is moot of course, because LeafSpa is kaput. So it’s really more of a question as to which I’ll feel like drinking more frequently on the journey to inevitable sipdown. Now I’d say the Irish, but as an experiment I’m going to do the English for the next few days and see if I’m still saying that by Wednesday or so.

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79
drank Peppermint by Teavana
2036 tasting notes

I realized tonight that I’m soon to be in a very unbalanced tea situation. I have way more true teas than I do herbals/fruit blends. At the rate I’m going, I predict I’ll run completely out of herbals/fruit blends in a month or six weeks. Maybe two months at the most. So it is looking like I will escape from lockdown (in part).

The problem is, there are decafs and herbals I want from a lot of places, but I also want teas from those places, too. I know that if I order from a place that has teas I want, like Harney & Sons, I’ll be tempted to justify the purchase because I’ll be over the limit for free shipping or whatever. Ugh. File under first world problems.

In any case, Teavana is one of the places that has a lot of selection in terms of herbals and fruit blends. I’m not really interested in any of their true teas at this point, so perhaps they’re a safe bet. I really like this as a peppermint, but I doubt it would be a reorder assuming they still offer it. I’ve decided that Tazo Refresh is my go to mint.

I’m also eyeing a lot of the herbals and rooibos blends at DAVIDSTea.
I would buy rooibos, provided that it sits in the background in the blend. Same with honeybush. I don’t like savory blends that much.

With that in mind, I thought I’d ask—what are your top three decaf or herbal or fruit blends that aren’t savory, aren’t overly tart or egregiously sweet, don’t have pronounced rooibos or honeybush flavors, aren’t lemon myrtle, and can be found at a place that has a healthy selection of decaf options? (Thanks in advance.)

OMGsrsly

What you described there is pretty much everything I like! :) Zen Tea has a decent selection of fruity teas. The prices are good, they frequently have sales, I don’t really dislike anything they have. Although, the strawberry cream fruit isn’t as good as the goji chokecherry strawberry or juicy blueberry, and the ginger rooibos doesn’t have enough ginger.

__Morgana__

Thanks so much! I will look into Zen Teas. I have to ask, when you said what I described was what you liked did you mean my list of nots (savory, too tart, too sweet etc.) were all things you also didn’t like or all things you liked? I am tired and my brain is muddled so I’m not sure. ;-)

OMGsrsly

Your nots are all things I like! But Zen Tea seems to have a good balance. The Northern Berry rooibos is VERY fruity, leans towards sweet but isn’t too sweet. I love the Cranberry Acai, but it might be too savoury for you due to the nettle. Juicy Blueberry is a surprising fruit tea with hibiscus. Not too tart at all (I guess unless you hate hibiscus) and the Goji Chockcherry has no hibiscus. It’s light and fruity and really really neat.

__Morgana__

Ah, got it. These all sound very tempting, thanks so much!

Flowery

Depending on what you’re into, I was just able to do an herbal binge shop at Camellia Sinensis (http://camellia-sinensis.com/en/tea/herbal-tea) while telling myself I’m waiting for all the new 2014 greens and green oolongs that will come in over the next few months. Bit of a mental trick, but it mostly worked. And I haven’t received them yet, but those herbals look crazy good.

Ubacat

Forever Nuts at David’s Tea is a good one. I have some other fav decaf herbal blends but they don’t fit into what you’re looking for.

TheTeaFairy

I second OMGsrsly for Zen Tea, and their herbals are really on the wellness side. I liked Bamboo Integrity a lot.
Although I haven’t been a fan of their teas in a little while, DAVIDsTEA new spring collection seems to be a hit this time, my sister in law is gushing over Grape Expectations, Blue Lagoon and Cool Cucumber!

__Morgana__

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I have a good head start now. I will check all these out and I’ll probably take a look at some of the Della Terra herbals as well as those seem to have some fans here. TF, the gushing was what made me put DAVID’s on the list, that and the fact that I’ve wanted to try Forever Nuts for … Forever. If/when I order from Zen, I’m gonna have to try that Earl Grey Crème.

TheTeaFairy

Oh, you remembered! Of course Lady Bergamot, you of all people MUST try their Earl Grey Cream :-)
But I think you should add a new one on your list, their Vanilla Black. Did not review it yet and I’m not even a real fan of vanilla tea, but this is different, like pure vanilla bean, so good!

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78
drank Lemon Grass by Adagio Teas
2036 tasting notes

Sipdown no. 117 of the year 2014. Really glad now that I didn’t sip this one down yesterday or I would have had no candidates for today. Either that or I would have had to drink a caffeinated tea after 8 p.m.

Just got back from getting my hair cut and colored and dinner. There’s a place that does really great roast chicken near where I get my hair cut and I’ve been craving their roast chicken for a while now so the fam met me there after my hair appointment. Now I’ve eaten too much, had a couple of glasses of wine, and all I want to do is lie down and zone out for about 10 minutes until I fall asleep. In fact, I am uncomfortably full and I expect that when I do lie down, I’ll do it with a mug of peppermint next to my bed.

But in the interim, I have enough for one small cup of this before I say goodbye. I would not have thought that a plain lemongrass tisane would be something nice to drink, but it was. I love lemon flavor, and this was surprisingly lemony, albeit in an herbally, grassy sort of sense rather than a citrusy, lemonade-y one. But that’s okay. Both have their place in my lemon pantheon. I like this so much better than lemon myrtle, it’s not funny. This, I’ll try more of from other vendors and perhaps keep around for the times when it hits the spot. Not so lemon myrtle. Back, back, I say, hell spawn herb!

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79

Wow, haven’t had this one in a while. It seems to be among the last of the 52teas flavored blacks I have. Not counting chais, I think I have three left. This, the butter pecan and the Irish cream.

The aroma of the steeped tea today was…. Cracker Jacks! Definitely a caramelly nuttiness, like what I get from caramel corn in movie theatres. The flavor has some light cashew and some undefined sweetness to it. I appear to have got much more complexity from the flavor the last time I tried this. Perhaps part of my problem today is I’m rushing—need to leave the house in about two seconds to get my hair taken care of (grey grey go away)—or it may be general flavor decline as this one I’d opened a while ago. But I don’t think so. I think it’s more likely just a reflection of what showed up in today’s mix. Must remember to shake the packet next time.

Not ready to mark it down yet. I’ll see how it does next time.

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84

I started the day with a cup of the Irish Breakfast (no notes on that one today because I’ve nothing new to say) and then decided to see how this compared. I see from my previous note that when I drank it way back when, I used boiling water. I’m going to lower the temp this time because LeafSpa recommended it, and also because that’s how I’ve been steeping the Irish Breakfast.

I’m doubling up on the bold breakfast blends today to get the day kick started after spending the morning in bed watching Catching Fire on pay per view. I have wanted to see it for freakin’ ever, and I’d invited every single family member to go with me to see it in the theatre but no one was excited about it except me. So we ended up going to things like the Lego movie instead. The lot of being a parent, I guess. I really enjoyed the movie. Not surprising, because I quite liked the book. In fact, it may have been my favorite of the three because I really liked the arena design aspects. Also, I didn’t know Amanda Plummer was in the movie, which was a pleasant surprise. I am so glad she’s working.

Anyway, there’s a definite difference between the Irish Breakfast and this, it is very apparent when drinking them back to back. Judging from my earlier notes I would have said I preferred the English version but now I’m not so sure. The the Irish is definitely sweeter. It has the natural Ceylon sweetness. The English is maltier, has a fuller body, and is less sweet. I’m definitely getting smokiness this time, particularly compared to the Irish. I’m wondering whether there might be a little Keemun in the English. It has a bold flavor, and while I wouldn’t say it tastes like coffee it announces itself in a similar strong and no nonsense way.

Now I need to try it by itself again to see what I think about it on a clear palate.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec
boychik

Lego movie:-) my son went w/ hubby. Girls said no. Went shopping instead. I wish i went see movies. Hate shopping and prefer shop online.

CelebriTEA

I love the Iris Breakfast Tea from Au Bon Pain…
I need to try more of that variety &
Then try the Organic English Breakfast Tea.
I have to admit, I like teas on the sweeter side, generally speaking ;-)

CelebriTEA

Irish not Iris….ughh…New phone and don’t have all the appropriate
spellings in its dictionary YET…I absolutely hate auto correct.

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58
drank Sleep Tight by TeaGschwendner
2036 tasting notes

I’ve been working this into my rotation every night for the last few nights as I have a ton of it having bought the smallest available TeaG size and I’ve decided it’s something that needs to be sipped down.

Last night I was drinking it while watching Grey’s Anatomy (am I the only person in the world who still watches that show?) and I was actually getting a pretty nice note toward the end of the sip, something that crossed over from savory into sweet right at the end.

Not enough for me to bump the rating, but if it repeats, it’ll make the sipdown somewhat easier than I’d anticipated.

Fjellrev

Come to think of it, I don’t really hear anyone talk about that show anymore. But then again, I never got into it myself and maybe I’m just coincidentally hanging around non-GA fans.

__Morgana__

It sort of jumped the shark a long time ago, but I still watch it because I need something to amuse me and there aren’t enough shows I like to go around. ;-)

Jennkay

I got suckered back into watching it through a friend of mine (the only other person I know who is still watching). Something about medical dramas/sitcoms always gets me..

Nxtdoor

I fell behind this season because there is so much good tv lately (Homeland, True Detective, House of Cards, Californication, etc etc) but yes, I still watch.

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79

I had such a good time with the Formosa Pouchong last night I decided to do another green oolong tonight. This is also from the maestro sampler set.

The leaves do an amazing job of expansion. They essentially tripled in size during multiple steeps. Whoa.

I love the Iron Goddess, but somehow this one wasn’t as magical as yesterday’s pouchong. Perhaps I still had too much left on my palate from dinner, so I won’t rate this just yet. It has a very similar buttery, creamy, floral aroma and taste, but the pouchong is lighter and oddly, I think, at the same time more complex and flavorful. This one has a flatter aspect, and doesn’t morph as much from steep to steep as the pouchong did. It’s still quite nice, though, and perhaps if I’d had this first after my long green oolong drought I would have preferred it. Who knows. There’s enough similarity that it’s at least possible. This one doesn’t have the amazing sugary finish, though.

I want to try it again soon, though.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C

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84

I usually give points for consistency of flavor in a tea. There’s something comforting about being able to rely upon a tea delivering a particular flavor when you’re looking for that flavor.

Some teas, though, are inconsistent in a good way. I don’t perceive them as tasting the same each time, but the differences are always enjoyable.

This is one of those teas. It’s not as fresh-baked-bready today as it was the last time I had it. It’s quite sweet today with a dark honey note heading toward molasses. The aftertaste is very nice and tea-y. This might not sound great to most people, but it’s a flavor that reminds me of the smell of those freeze dried tea crystals from Nestea or the like, which is a smell I associate with summer as a kid, when I could make my own iced tea from those crystals and feel so grown up.

In this tea, not tasting the same each time is definitely a strong point.

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82
drank Dreamsicle Darjeeling by 52teas
2036 tasting notes

Sipdown no. 116 of the year 2014. Just enough left for me and the BF this morning.

An enjoyable sipdown. I hope for more like this, where I’m not dreading having to make the tea go away (and arranging it so the BF’s cup is much bigger than mine each time I steep it).

I should find/drink more orange flavored tea that I like. I’m sure I have some in the stash somewhere. I really do like orange flavor. I have an orange from our tree in my refrigerator at the moment. I didn’t even know we had an orange tree until the BF and kids came in with three huge oranges. I think what happened was: we had a crazy neighbor who we couldn’t work with on a fence repair so the deer had been eating the little trees and the fruit. The crazy neighbor died, and a couple with kids bought her house and completely gutted it and made it look very nice. They also, of course, worked with us to put in a new fence. I think the tree has recovered! I’m pretty sure we have a tiny lemon tree out there somewhere too.

Lest you think it is weird that I don’t even know what sort of trees I have in the backyard, our house is on a hill, and it’s a pretty steep slope. The backyard is terraced but not very easy to get to and not overly usable, so we don’t go down there a lot. I’d like to change that—would really like to completely redo it and make it kid play friendly but landscaping is so incredibly expensive.

Time to buy a megabucks ticket.

Stephanie

Nice that you can have citrus trees outside where you live. I have some baby dwarf ones indoors in containers. In a few months I will put them outside for the summer!

__Morgana__

Yeah, I’ll say one thing for this area. The weather is nothing to complain about!

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84
drank Formosa Pouchong by Adagio Teas
2036 tasting notes

I haven’t had an oolong on the greener side of the spectrum in a long time and I’d forgotten how much I like them.

The leaves are jade green in the tin and they expand and unfurl and turn olive green after steeping. I steeped this in the gaiwan at 30, 45 and 1 minute, 2 steeps each.

The liquor is a yellow with no gold in it, that leans toward a green tone without actually getting to green, and it’s clear. The aroma is creamy, buttery, and floral. I wish I could identify the flowers. I want to say lily of the valley? Maybe lilac? But I’m not sure. There are various degrees of cream, butter and sweetness in each steep, including some downright sugary finishes. There’s something else too but for the life of me I can’t put my finger on the smell or taste. It’s really nice, though.

I quite liked this one. Yes, it’s been a long time and yes, I have very little memory of the last green oolong I had and how it stacks up, but as it stands now, I’ll definitely enjoy drinking this again.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C
Anna

This sounds lush.

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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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