I’ve prepared a couple of pots of this, and have held off writing a tasting note, since I wasn’t getting what I thought I should be getting. The dry tea smell is heavenly. Cream, strawberries, tea, it is all there and it smells like it should taste wonderful. But my first couple of preparations didn’t. I didn’t really get any of the flavor notes, I’d get vague whiffs of strawberry and cream, but nothing like what the dry mix promised. And bitter. Clearly, my standard black tea preparation of boiling and a four minute steep wasn’t cutting it.
So this morning I set out, Brita pitcher in hand (okay, fridge), and looked over what Steepsteristas had to say about their preparation. According to most tasting notes, I was oversteeping. So step one was to cut the steep time to a mere 2.5 minutes. I admit, I was nervous. It seemed so little. Then I came across AmazonV’s tasting note. That recommended a scant 190-200 for temperature. At this point, I was game for anything. So I set up my Breville, filled my pitcher with filtered water (a first for my tea—normally it gets straight tap), and let the Breville do its thing.
This pot definitely has a much stronger scent than previous pots did. It is also significantly less bitter. It still isn’t there however. On the sip I get….tea. Yes, tea. Good tea, but tea. No fruit, no creaminess, just tea.
Is my palate broken? Is this thing on? This is not funny. Maybe I’m just not cut out for fancy flavored teas. This is very demoralizing. Maybe I should stock up on cheap bagged tea so that I’m not spending money on tea that I don’t really “get”.
Okay, hissy fit over. Onward and upward, right?
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Frankly, I find the same issue with the black teas from 52 teas. Either I have to oversteep and they get bitter, or I lower the temp and get nothing of the amazing flavors I’ve been promised.
Try a flavored tea from DavidsTea or Butiki Teas. I have a large amount of Davids and would be more than happy to share, if you’re interested!
But yes, I’m beginning to find that 52teas just aren’t for everyone. Some people love them, and that’s great! But there are others (like myself) who just don’t care for the blends.
Ooh, I’d love to try a few samples—thank you so much! I definitely want to try more Butiki teas, I really liked the samples of the items I’ve tried, even if I wasn’t much of a fan of the purple tea.
I think I’m coming to the same conclusion as you about 52teas. The more I think on it, the less I’m sure I like the teas themselves. I really love the smell of the tea, and I think that is what I responded to so strongly the first few pots I’ve fixed. I find myself increasingly frustrated that the tea only occasionally comes near the promise of the smell.
Sure, sure, have a look at my cupboard and let me know what you’d like to try. I’ll likely get lynched for saying this, but to me, 52teas is more about the gimmick than the teas. The black tea base he uses just doesn’t strike me as a quality base. I mean, DavidsTea has their fair share of gimmicks, but they’re built on a base of really good tea.
I’m such a fan girl. Anyway, let me know what you’d like to try and I’ll send them along to you! And if there are any you’ve been dying to try, but I don’t have, I can see if they have any in-store and pick up a few grams for you. What good is tea wealth if I can’t spread it around a bit, eh? Now I’ve got Hello Dolly in my head. “Wealth, pardon the expression, is like manure. It isn’t worth a thing unless you spread it around, encouraging young things to grow.”
…and now I sound uber snooty >.<
I’ve started to realize with this morning’s Pancake Breakfast that I’m rather dissatisfied with the base tea. Incidentally, I find there is nothing wrong with being a fan girl when the thing you’re a fan of is worthy. After you suggested Davids Tea I looked at their website and am definitely going to invest in a few of their sample sets once I’ve reduced my stash somewhat. I’ll p.m. you with a few sample choices—you have some very delectable sounding teas. It is very difficult to choose just a few (since “all of them” seems rather obnoxious)! Also, I’m pretty sure its a law somewhere that anyone who uses the word “manure” in any comment cannot be uber snooty. One negates the other :)
Is there anything in my small stash you’d like to try? The Andrews & Dunham holiday blend is really good, and if you liked the blueberry purple tea, I can send you some of the regular purple tea I bought. Let me know if you’d like to try anything!
To be quite honest, I’m trying to bust down my stash a little, so how about I take a rain check on trying something from your stash? Also, if you’re looking to sample what DavidsTea has to offer, may I recommend looking into their Advent/Countdown calendar? It’s 24 teas for $34.50, and contains some of their best teas. I have one and I am so, so, so ready for December to be here so I can start opening it!
I believe DavidsTea is totally worthy of my fangirling, and I’ve started so many people down the road of tea love with them. When we stopped by to visit my brother in NY a few months ago, I took him a Perfect Mug and a bag of teas from my stash. He fell in love, and in the time it took us to drive home (we’re only an hour and a half away), he’d already placed an order with them online. He’s coming up to visit in December, and we are going on a tea crawl of Toronto, starting (of course) with my favorite DavidsTea. My sister in law as well, raised on Red Rose bags (essentially Lipton), now has a travel press and a cupboard of DavidsTea. I just introduce people to the teas, though. They really sell themselves.
Gah, my wife calls me a tea pimp and I’m proving it once again XD
Frankly, I find the same issue with the black teas from 52 teas. Either I have to oversteep and they get bitter, or I lower the temp and get nothing of the amazing flavors I’ve been promised.
Try a flavored tea from DavidsTea or Butiki Teas. I have a large amount of Davids and would be more than happy to share, if you’re interested!
But yes, I’m beginning to find that 52teas just aren’t for everyone. Some people love them, and that’s great! But there are others (like myself) who just don’t care for the blends.
Ooh, I’d love to try a few samples—thank you so much! I definitely want to try more Butiki teas, I really liked the samples of the items I’ve tried, even if I wasn’t much of a fan of the purple tea.
I think I’m coming to the same conclusion as you about 52teas. The more I think on it, the less I’m sure I like the teas themselves. I really love the smell of the tea, and I think that is what I responded to so strongly the first few pots I’ve fixed. I find myself increasingly frustrated that the tea only occasionally comes near the promise of the smell.
Sure, sure, have a look at my cupboard and let me know what you’d like to try. I’ll likely get lynched for saying this, but to me, 52teas is more about the gimmick than the teas. The black tea base he uses just doesn’t strike me as a quality base. I mean, DavidsTea has their fair share of gimmicks, but they’re built on a base of really good tea.
I’m such a fan girl. Anyway, let me know what you’d like to try and I’ll send them along to you! And if there are any you’ve been dying to try, but I don’t have, I can see if they have any in-store and pick up a few grams for you. What good is tea wealth if I can’t spread it around a bit, eh? Now I’ve got Hello Dolly in my head. “Wealth, pardon the expression, is like manure. It isn’t worth a thing unless you spread it around, encouraging young things to grow.”
…and now I sound uber snooty >.<
I’ve started to realize with this morning’s Pancake Breakfast that I’m rather dissatisfied with the base tea. Incidentally, I find there is nothing wrong with being a fan girl when the thing you’re a fan of is worthy. After you suggested Davids Tea I looked at their website and am definitely going to invest in a few of their sample sets once I’ve reduced my stash somewhat. I’ll p.m. you with a few sample choices—you have some very delectable sounding teas. It is very difficult to choose just a few (since “all of them” seems rather obnoxious)! Also, I’m pretty sure its a law somewhere that anyone who uses the word “manure” in any comment cannot be uber snooty. One negates the other :)
Is there anything in my small stash you’d like to try? The Andrews & Dunham holiday blend is really good, and if you liked the blueberry purple tea, I can send you some of the regular purple tea I bought. Let me know if you’d like to try anything!
To be quite honest, I’m trying to bust down my stash a little, so how about I take a rain check on trying something from your stash? Also, if you’re looking to sample what DavidsTea has to offer, may I recommend looking into their Advent/Countdown calendar? It’s 24 teas for $34.50, and contains some of their best teas. I have one and I am so, so, so ready for December to be here so I can start opening it!
I believe DavidsTea is totally worthy of my fangirling, and I’ve started so many people down the road of tea love with them. When we stopped by to visit my brother in NY a few months ago, I took him a Perfect Mug and a bag of teas from my stash. He fell in love, and in the time it took us to drive home (we’re only an hour and a half away), he’d already placed an order with them online. He’s coming up to visit in December, and we are going on a tea crawl of Toronto, starting (of course) with my favorite DavidsTea. My sister in law as well, raised on Red Rose bags (essentially Lipton), now has a travel press and a cupboard of DavidsTea. I just introduce people to the teas, though. They really sell themselves.
Gah, my wife calls me a tea pimp and I’m proving it once again XD