493 Tasting Notes
My recent purchase from Zen Tea. Actually this tea is the main reason I placed an order . i really like this tea. I made it gongfu style.
1TBSP 150ml gaiwan 205F
rinse/10/15/20/30/45sec etc
this tea is wonderful malty,chocolaty some grains. Like brownie if you add some sugar. No sugar for me, i prefer to drink it without additives. if you a fan of Laoshan Black by Verdant tea i think you would like this tea as well.
Flavors: Chocolate, Malt
Preparation
Breakfast tea. Nice bold malty, something I would love to drink in the morning. It’s my 3rd tea fr Devotea courtesy of Terry HarpLady. I have to mention that all the teas I tried fr them are very finely crafted quality teas.
Thank you so much Terri for a chance to try these wonderful teas.
PS Two Tigers is still a leader. 1910 is a runner up
PS1 Sil, it does have some smoky notes, probably from Keemun.
Preparation
This is a sample from Terri HarpLady – thank you.
This tea, it’s a breakfast tea . It’s 8:30pm and I just felt like I need something strong. It’s bold blend, malty and sweet , with citrus coming fr Ceylon. Some roast and nuts fr Chinese teas. As it cooled some astringency creeps up, but it’s pleasant. I like it a lot. I think I like Two Tigers more. Unfortunately for me Two Tigers are retired. Bring it back,please!
Preparation
There is a constant argument here at Devotea HQ about whether this tea is a ‘breakfast tea’ or “afternoon tea”. I seem to be losing the battle. Glad you enjoyed it!
I agree that it is a breakfast blend :)
2 tigers was retired? didn’t terri just buy some a “short-ish” time ago?
and yes..breakfast tea!
It was recently retired and after being retired I still had a bit of stock I sold. I am always willing to re-blend a tea if you can muster up enough people to purchase a whole batch. Bit sadly despite being enjoyed I rarely sold any TT here in the states.
Amazon, how much would we need to buy in order to have you make a batch?
I would love to get some 2 tigers, but what’s the minimum?
@Terri batches are 5 lbs here at Devotea USA ~25 aka 3 oz packets, so if you get enough converts on steepster for a mass order i’ll blend it up and mail it out to everyone so no one needs to worry about getting my large 1lb bags and splitting them up.
in fact 5 lb batch applies to anything reblended (tea of the months etc)
ponders
So we’d need 25 or so people willing to take a 3oz bag.
I’m sure I’d take 1. That’s a start
let’s just say you might have influenced an upcoming tea of the month, and there might be some limited overblends available soon for a limited time
Yay I’m so happy. Will you start a new thread AmazonV?
I stopped drinking Kusmi. I discovered other teas with the help of Steepsterites. But today made a pot. Surprisingly it was good. I’ve noticed all 4 fruits, wasn’t that lucky in my previous attempts. I should finish a tin, probably 2-3 pots left.
Preparation
My main complaint about Kusmi is the huge tins. Even the couple of them that I still like, I don’t want that much of around at once. Too many other teas to drink!
Agree. But if you buy samplers like 5 tins they are too expensive just to taste. And I really dislike their bags. Tea just taste different in those muslin bags. Good thing for me I can always come with tin to the store for refill. I’ve done it since all my friends love Anastasia and Caramel.
Didn’t know they would refill the tins! I just finally threw away my Assam tin. Wonder if my Anastasia will be ready for a refill when I go to the store in June… Since Mom likes it, too, I don’t feel as obligated to drink it all the time. :)
Oh yes, they do. You should bring it. I also was wondering if I could bring one tin and refill it with other tea. I have Polish EG empty tin but want to try Smoky EG. I want to try this and I will let you know if that will work. Also they sell refills online not for every tea but some.
The Polish sounds interesting. Have never tried it.
Not bad at all. Very citrusy, lemon, lime. I finished the tin long ago rather quickly. But I was also mixing it with bouquet de fleurs( which I didn’t like some ashtray notes). I still have B de F:(
I want to try Traktir, Petrushka and Smoky EG, but don’t want to get the whole tin. They don’t do sampling in the store:(. Also I always ask them for samples in store and they give because if you order online they always put 3. You should ask.
Don’t forget in H&S to say that you are frequent shopper. They give 5% off on anything in a store.
Oh, sweet. Thanks for the tips!
Anytime;)
this is a sample from Terri HarpLady – thank you.
Afternoon tea. yes, i needed that cup not to fall asleep, it gloomy outside. I wish i could nap. this is how i felt before my cup of Two Tigers
http://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/MjAxMi00YWVmYjk3ZGQwNTQwMjFm
But this tea is amazing. its the best of the both worlds: Chinese Black and Indian Black.
This tea is incredibly smooth and sweet with some smoky notes. I love smoky teas. this one is not harsh but rather welcoming to put all flavors together. Like a final touch. lovely tea. Goes to my every day growing shopping list.
Thank you so much Terri for the opportunity to try this wonderful tea.
Preparation
i cant find it on US site. Was it retired?
I’m afraid it was retired a few months back, both in the USA and Australia. Whilst very well reviewed, it was not a big seller. It may well re-emerge one day as part of the Tea of The Month club or as a special one off.
please, bring it back. i love it!
two in stock – leftovers from tea of the month http://us.the-devotea.com/store/products/two-tigers
Cannot checkout problem with PayPal message problem to connect to PayPal
Help pls
Boychik, I had that problem once. I sent the devotea an email, & they sent me a paypal invoice, so I was able to sign in & pay.
Terri, AmazonV came back to me. So, now Im a proud owner of Two Tigers and Finbarr’s Revenge;) Thank you for giving me a chance to sample, i’m very happy to discover them with your help
Yay! Glad to bring happiness & tea your way! :)
This tea is a surprise gift from TeaTiff – thank you.
I prepared it according to Butiki parameters
170F 1 1/2tsp 8oz 3min
the tea was pale yellow purple tinted color.. Smells like caramel and fresh plum, berries.
This tea is very nice and smooth. Kinda unusual for oolong cause i didnt noticed any vegetal or floral notes. i dont really like oolong with strong floral notes. Some sweetness lingering. Overall its a delicate tea. As it cooled I’ve noticed some slight spice and even cool mint. this tea is very interesting. I’m so happy that i had an opportunity to try this tea. Thank you so much TeaTiff .
This shu made me very happy. its aging nicely, very smooth with creamy mouthfeel. There are prunes and leather, but its not loud. it feels refined to me. the brew is dark burgundy color and clear, like wine.
5g 100ml gaiwan 212F
rinsed twice pause 5/5/10/15/20/30/45 sec
i will continue to brew it tomorrow.
Preparation
This is generous sample i got from Terri HarpLady- thank you.
I made it western style 1tsp, 205F 8oz 3min
This tea is soo good. its sweet, malty, multigrain bread. it has Fijian dark chocolate notes as well. this type of tea i’ll never be tired of drinking. it goes on my every day growing shopping list for Yunnan Sourcing. 100% order.
Once i get more of it i will try gongfu style.
Thank you so much Terri for including this sample. i really enjoyed this tea
Preparation
Their selection is so huge, I’m afraid to get “caught” inside their website and never be able to come out, lol!
true. But you should follow Terri’s cupboard. thats what i do;)
Terri for blacks
mrmopar for shu and sheng
Haha! I agree! I’m awaiting a box from Terri, I bet it’ll be easier to make my selection once I have tried a few for myself…
ooh she sent me that one true. Must try!!!
I find their Yi Mei Ren black pretty similar (and similarly great), if you haven’t tried that one yet, a bit less roasty and a bit more sweet, but still in the same family i think.
i have to try that too. thanks for recommending, im gonna pay attention to it while sampling
heaping 1TBSP 185F 150ml gaiwan
1st steep 5sec. So pale, almost colorless. Smells of chorizo (i must be hungry). not strong, but so delicious. i find nuts, sugar snap peas, hay. its very smooth. nice mouth feel, some tongue numbing ( maybe I need it,cause i talk too much)
it is delicate but flavorful.
2 steep 10sec Whoa! this is too much.its like Longjing overbrewed. very strong vegetable notes and bitter. my mouth more numb.
3rd steep 5 sec its like young sheng. bitter. i dont like it.
Western style (Lee style)
1tsp 165F 8oz 7 min
Nice white tea, not much interesting notes . just tea. How abt leaving it steeping for 30min. Its nice more Longjing not overbrewed,almost no bitterness,but some interesting cool mint showed up.
To conclude, my favorite brew was 1st gongfu style, but its kinda wasteful, because i liked only one steep. Any suggestions on how to brew successfully white tea are welcomed. maybe i should start a thread.
I usually do gongfu but with a little less leaf and a longer steep time. I normally use about 1.5 TSP / 8 0z and around 75°C. After a rinse my first steep is about 50s. The first steep is some times a little thin but I find the second and third steeps to have a nice creamy thick texture. My second and third steeps are close to 50s as well. I’ve generally enjoyed white teas this way. I modified mine from the Tao tea leaf brewing guide http://www.taotealeaf.com/blog/tea-steeping-guide/
Interesting. I’m not a huge consumer of white tea, but I do have a few favourites, silver needles and bai mu dan white poeny mostly. I rarely do gongfu brew with whites, I brew them like I’ve been brewing some of my green teas for a while now, the David Duckler glass tumbler method, here’s the video. Note that I use the basket method, at 2min 51sec. It works every time, never a bitter cup. I brew usually with water around 70c for about a min max, sometimes even less depending of how it smells. Kind of the opposite of what Lee does, lol, that’s why I want to also try her method to see how it compares. But this works for me. (5g of tea approx. is usually my standard.)
Thank you yyz for your suggestions. I think I will try it again tomorrow. I’m curious to see what flavors will show up. I want to learn to love whites to fully appreciate sheng.
Thank you TheTeaFairy for your method of brewing whites. It’s all different. I feel like a scientist experimenting;). Luckily I got 50g so it’s plenty. Just want to say for the record that my 1st steep gongfu style was like nothing I tried before.
I know, right? So many ways, that’s why I rarely give up on a tea I buy. In the end, it’s all about finding your own sweet spot, there’s no real rules, that’s what’s so interesting :-)
Glad you could at least experience a superb first steep!
I’d try lower temps, treat it like a really delicate pure-bud green (since that’s what this one basically is), like maybe 165-170
I did western 165. Tasted like water even after 7 min
Agreed!
I do like this one as well. I don’t drink it as often as I should.
Buying this. Right now. Lol
Glad you liked it :-) did you get your new Yixing as well?
Guess what, i seasoned my new pot with shu. David Duckler youtube video is very helpful. So easy.