3226 Tasting Notes

drank African Rooibos by Twinings
3226 tasting notes

Hmmmm. I am drinking this to say I drank it. Anyone else do that? This was actually sent to me by a friend who, I THINK, likes it, but rooibos and I have an uneasy relationship. Some kinds taste like straight Robitussin to me. The weird thing is that when I sniffed this one I smelled cherry cough syrup but as I got closer it smelled like….cheap gravy mix – the kind that gives me heartburn, but mixed with cough syrup. Needless to say, I wasn’t looking forward to the sip.

But the sip wasn’t as awful as I thought it would be. Sure, it is mostly Robitussin but there is an earthiness here. Maybe that is the gravy mix smell. Twinings really does do a great job on their bagged, grocery store price range teas. I can see this being soothing and comforting to a really sore throat. I can see that many would develop a taste, even a passion, for this, just as many people love puerh and many others hate it. If it had seem health benefit that I was not getting elsewhere, I could drink it and probably grow to like it a lot. But for now, I prefer to stick with mostly camellia sinensis!

K S

Straight rooibos reminds me of the straw on the ground in a horse barn. That’s still more appealing to me than Robitussin. At least you got to mark it off your list.

ashmanra

K S: I totally get that! LOL!

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When I got home from Raleigh this evening, youngest had made me a pot of Baker Street to revive me. This is smoky but sweet at the same time and has a nice, medium body. It goes so well with food and is also good by itself. I like it both with and without additions, usually taking it without.

Youngest was excited to show me that in my absence today, the girls taught Sam both shake and high five!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24998856@N06/7173431688/in/photostream/

Bonnie

So cute doggie! Nice to make you a pot of tea youngest!

JacquelineM

Sam is getting big! So cuuuuuuuuute!

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I took my daughter to Raleigh today and we went to the spice shop and two tea shops and….get this….I didn’t buy ANY tea. Don’t clap. I am ashamed because one order came yesterday and three more boxes are on the way so I really couldn’t justify buying any tea. I did, however, buy a Zoku ice pop maker because Tin Roof Teas had a recipe for green tea and fruit Popsicles in their newsletter! :)

I got this at Teavana. I have had it several times there. This is a blooming tea, and as far as I know they do not sweeten this one, though they do sweeten their other samples. The last time I had it, the salesgirl apologized and told me that it was a white blooming tea and really more for looking at than drinking as it had very little flavor. I disagree! It is mild, but far from lacking flavor and interest.

The peach is very fresh tasting and rather subdued, not “in your face”. Today, the salesperson who helped me (hey, I didn’t get pestered this time!) told me there is a strawberry version that she likes even more. I bet I would like that one best, too!

TeaBrat

I have looked at those a few times on Teavana’s website!

Daisy Chubb

oooh the Zoku! I covet! Let us know how it works :)

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drank Coconut Truffle by Tea Guys
3226 tasting notes

This was the final tea of tea time today. The aroma is very nice, and my guest really loves coconut so she especially liked this one. We took it plain, but I think this is one I might like best with a wee bit of milk and sugar to enhance the dessert tea qualities. Though it was proclaimed “very good”, I don’t think I would be inclined to buy this one again. I would go for a pound of Harney’s Soho blend instead.

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This was the first tea I served at tea party today. We actually drank this one before starting on the sweets plate because of how light this is. I really like it, but I think I like it best when it doesn’t have to share the spotlight. This is a good tie guan yin base and a nice, fresh and fruity pomegranate flavor. We used two sachets for one 22 ounce Beehouse teapot. My guest liked it very much, as did I. This could become a real favorite for meditative times when I want to experience what is in my cup and have quiet time, rather than for boisterous conversation and food.

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drank Vanilla Jasmine by Golden Moon Tea
3226 tasting notes

It is tea party day! We just did cookie plates – store bought – due to fatigue and being busy, busy. At least they were good cookies, though! Like Raspberry Pim’s.

This was the second tea I served but I am reviewing it first because I think it was my favorite today. My youngest daughter made all the tea as usual, and remarked about the dry leaves smelling just like root beer. That is what I thought of it, too, until someone said it was cream soda that it smelled like. Yes! And the taste is very similar. This is very good tea and went well with our sweets.

tigress_al

Tea party day!! That sounds like a lot of fun!!

ashmanra

tigress_al: We look forward to it all week! It began two or three years ago when I was teaching a lot of students on Wednesdays and didn’t get supper until after 7:30pm or later. My daughters would make tea and a dessert or snack plate and rush it to the tea table between afternoon students. One day I asked an adult student – the coolest, hippest, great-grandmother I have ever met – to join us and she said yes! It became a tradition. We used to also have “little tea party” on Tuesdays with another lady and her two young daughters but they moved up north. We are always inviting people to tea. :)

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drank Queen Catherine by Harney & Sons
3226 tasting notes

Long day at the polls yesterday. Got up at four am to get ready and to load precinct supplies. Set up at 5:30 am, opened at 6:30 am. Five hundred people came in, closed at 7:30 pm, and finished packing up and delivering supplies back at 9:15 pm.

This morning, getting to stay at home for several extra hours, was especially serene. It is completely overcast and not as blazing hot, so a pot of tea after breakfast was very appealing. I chose the Queen, my faithful friend and encourager, comforting and fortifying pal, to get me ready for the rest of this day! Wonderful stuff, and I drank the whole pot by myself. No additions. This is such a classic and versatile black tea.

Janefan

As an NC resident who voted yesterday, I’d like to thank you for all your hard work!

ashmanra

Thank you, Janefan!

gmathis

Does that represent heavy turnout? I got kinda tickled at our first local election in our new burg - nearly 100 people showed up according to the nice election ladies; a record!

ashmanra

Not really heavy turnout but about what I expected. I think that is about one-third of our precinct. Do you think someday we will receive a unique code and just text in our votes? LOL!

Bonnie

Seems appropriate, politics and the Queen!

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drank Snow Dragon by Harney & Sons
3226 tasting notes

I have had ants in my pants all day because I haven’t had time for tea. I really meant to go to bed because tomorrow I have to get up at 4:30 am to work the election, and won’t get off work until 9:00 pm, and it is forbidden to leave the premises, even for lunch. I feel like an addict! I could not make myself go to bed without my tea!

I chose this one because it is soft, soothing, and gentle. It is the tiniest bit creamy, if you pay really close attention to it. There is no astringency at all, just frost kissed flavor with the barest hint of walnut. This is Ike a lullaby sung so softly you must strain to hear, whose very beauty lies in its quietness. I guess this is the perfect time for this tea. Good night!

Indigobloom

phew you must be tired!! night :)

TeaBrat

This sounds so nice!

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AmyOh, I was determined to save this one for a day when I really had time to enjoy it, and that is what I did! Hubby and I have a tetsubin full of hot water on a warmer, my tea tray, the easy gaiwan, and some Yixing cups.

This is only the third sheng puer I have ever tried. I find this somewhat similar to the one from purepuer.com and completely dissimilar to the shu puers I have tried. (I love shu puer, by the way!)
I really didn’t realize that sheng were so different from shu until not long ago.

Like Amy, I find myself resteeping and drinking, resteeping and drinking. This puer has a cool feeling without being minty, perhaps being more like camphor, as I have read in descriptions. When I drink shu puer, I think of words like “deep, dark, low notes, earthy.” This sheng makes me think of high notes, light, brilliance, and minerals. We have done many, many steeps and it is still going strong. There is a sour aspect that isn’t overly drying, and a nice sweetness rises in the throat after the sip on these later steeps. If you swish the warm tea around your mouth, you will notice a creaminess to it as well…creamy, but not heavy.

My husband used to drink only Tetley or Ceylons with tons of milk and sugar. Now he enjoys Silky Green by Bird Pick, and doesn’t mind drinking shu puers with me. I was really curious as to how he would feel about this, half expecting him to make a face and say, “All through!”. But no, he drank cup after cup right beside me. I told him that at this price, it would be wise to buy a bunch of these and lay them in storage for up to a decade or more, just making conversation, and I was surprised when he said, “You probably should do that.”. And now, like Garrett, I find myself thinking, "Oh, how I hope I live long enough to see how they taste in (x) years!

Thank you, AmyOh! This has been a real treat!

TeaBrat

I’m glad you and your hubby both liked it! And yes, it is quite an excellent price!

TeaBrat

I’m glad you and your hubby both liked it! And yes, it is quite an excellent price!

Garret

Hey there Amy and Ashmanra!!! Happy day to you both! I am excited because as you both enjoy this tea, I think you’ll like the sheng pu’er that I just finalized the pressing for in China. When I was there a couple of weeks ago, I found several mao cha’s for pressing into my private label cakes, one of which is a wild tea picked in DeHong. I secured enough of it to make several hundred 100gram cakes. They will be pressed in Yunnan and then dried appropriately before being shipped. While we probably won’t see them here until August, I am excited all the same, knowing it is there and that soon, we will be drinking it!

As far as the bamboo raw that you tasted, I think that I only have 5 or 6 left in stock. Then that’s it. But I am going to check with one of my connections there and see if there are more of that vintage left. Doubtful, and if there are it’ll be more expensive for sure. They’ve got supply and demand down in the tea world there :) My best to you both!

TeaBrat

uh-oh. I might need to buy another one!

Garret

Just got your order, my friend!! Gonna pack it up myself!!! Had I given you a sample of the Mandala Wild Mountain Green sheng pu’er yet?

TeaBrat

hmmm. I don’t think so. Feel free to send it my way, I’ll drink it eventually. :)

Garret

Your order (along with a few samples – including the sheng I asked you about) has been shipped!!!! I hope you got the tracking number notice. Thanks, Amy! I’m sitting down with an afternoon yixing pot filled with one of the many mao cha samples I have to work my way through to figure out my next pressings!! Tea ya!!

TeaBrat

Wow – now that’s what I call customer service, thanks! :D

ashmanra

Thank you for letting us know, Garret! I will pop over to the website and have a look!

Garret

Ashmanra… The stock of the bamboo pu’er is 3. I just checked on the website and for some reason, after Amy’s order the shopping cart put it as out of stock. I fixed that. It now shows as in stock. Thanks!!!

TeaBrat

I bought them all! Just kidding!

ashmanra

LOL, Amy! All’s fair in love and tea? Right? I wouldn’t blame you one bit if you bought them all!

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drank Asian Pear by TeaGschwendner
3226 tasting notes

I made a deal with myself today. I wasn’t going to buy more tea for a while, but….well, crap. I just ordered frm two different companies this week and then ordered again. Sigh. So my deal with myself is that snce I didn’t restrain myself, I will only let myself buy one tea at a time when my kids go to Raleigh and can hit the tea shops for me. By giving myself new tea, I get the excitement of something new without spending a lot, and it makes me choose very carefully.

I am really exhausted from work this week, didn’t want soda, and daughter who drinks green tea with me is coming over, so I asked youngest to make a pot of this. I just sat here sniffing it for a while and picturing fresh pears. Ahhhh. So relaxing. Then I drink, and swirl it in my mouth. Oh, pear juice! Swishing about, so sweet and tasty. This is a winner. Thank you, Tin Roof Teas of Cameron Village.

SimplyJenW

I understand your tea ordering dilemma. I am always trying to cut back on ordering and I always fail at it. Minimal damage is a good approach, though! My most recent order was a refill of a favorite (I really wanted a pound, but settled for 7 oz.) and the rest of the order was for a gift.

This does sound tasty! TeaGschwendner is on my list of places to try, but I am not trying any more new ones for a while.

TeaBrat

Story of my life! ;-)

ashmanra

We’re pitiful! I think this is a sure sign of a “problem.”

ScottTeaMan

If we could regrow limbs quickly and correctly, I’d have sold them time and again for more tea. Need an arm? Leg? How about an ear canal? No probs, I’ll just take some of that Tea there and head to the regeneration hospital. :))

ashmanra

LOL! ScottTeaMan, don’t give anyone ideas about spare kidneys and such!

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Profile

Bio

I am a music teacher, tutor, and former homeschool mom (25 years!) who started drinking loose leaf tea about fourteen years ago! My daughters and I have tea every day, and we are frequently joined by my students or friends for “tea time.” Now my hubby joins us, too. His tastes have evolved from Tetley with milk and sugar to mostly unadorned greens and oolongs.

We have learned so much history, geography, and culture in this journey.

My avatar is a mole in a teacup! Long story…

Location

North Carolina

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