KIMICHA

Today in class we had two types of oolong teas. I believe one of them was Jin Jun Mei. It tasted a lot like earth and had a scent of nature. It also smelled like coal, or smoke, or some kind of burning sensation, which I guess should be expected.
9/7/18

Thanks to Indigobloom for this sample! It’s my first KIMICHA tea! :D Needless to say, I’m always excited to try out new-to-me tea vendors.

I meant to go for a little shorter steep time, but I got distracted washing dishes. I’ve been trying to cook more at home because we have a bad habit of eating out. I’m also trying to cook healthier dishes, mostly organic and with lots of greens. Did you know the food Americans eat the least is greens? Well anyway, so far I’ve made kale chips, kale crust pizza, sautéed spinach with garlic and onion, red chard with turkey bacon and cheese, and Thai baby bok choy. The Thai baby bok choy is by far my favorite! It’s cooked in coconut milk with a dash of red pepper flakes. Mmmm!

But enough about food, ON TO THE TEA!

Sans additions, it’s a slightly bitter black tea with a hint of caramel. Adding a splash of skim milk and a little Truvia awakens this tea’s true potential! The bitterness has dissipated, and now I’m left with a lovely cup of caramel tea. The base is still fairly assertive here, which is a nice change from the other dessert teas I’ve tried. I’m thoroughly enjoying this cup! Thanks again Indigobloom!!

a very delicious tea, fragrant & strong. probably one of the nicest i’ve had from this company.

having it black for first taste. it is sweet, delicate flowery flavour overshadowed by acidic lingering aftertaste. perhaps milk would help. i’m having it hot because a) it’s cold now; b) i am not much on ice tea. i will try again with milk later. i’m not much for sweet flowery teas.

very delicate taste. its aftertaste is a tad acidic. don’t yet notice the woody notes. i brewed this as per instructions, steeping for 4 minutes, but next time i shall steep for less time, hopefully to reduce the acidic & bring out the other flavours.

i’ve fallen in love with this tea. like a good man, it’s strong yet sweet, not cloying or overpowering. still drinking it hot, am not much for the prep that goes into ice tea; never have any ice around. as a spontaneous elixir of heat and sweet, this tea is a peach.

i had it hot on this cool rainy morning. i’m not normally into fruity black teas, but the peach taste for this one is subtle, doesn’t overwhelm. not sure which type of black tea was used, but it’s a good, strong one that can withstand the peach. i steeped the tea for 4 minutes as per the directions & this was the right strength for me, who likes my teas strong. i didn’t add sugar, no need, just a wee dollup of milk.

Azzrian!! is it you that so generously sent this my way? if so, thank you!! I quite enjoyed this.
The base is nice and works really well with the caramel. Actually this is the second time I am trying it, this time I lowered the temp a tad to see if it would help with the astringency and lo! it did :)
With a bit of honey (I’m out of agave, don’t judge!) it was perfect. Caramel goodness. Oh yes.
Except… I got a really odd headache after downing my cup. My first headache accompanied by nausea so I am wondering if it had anything to do with my tea? shrugs I certainly hope not! but it’s something to watch out for.
Well, time for bed… thanks again Azzrian, you are so kind!!
Rating: 83

just received as part of my black tea by mail subscription. first cup brewed only for two minutes. very light flavour, subtle with milk & sugar.

this is a nice strong tea for a sunday afternoon. even with no steeping time at all it can handle milk & sugar, turns a taupe coloured brown. lots of flavour.

steeped for four minutes, added a sugar cube & a wee dollup of milk. tastes warming & creamy. not as strong as Irish Breakfast but gives you a good morning jump start to your day.

this is my first steep. it’s got a very delicate flavour. i’m trying it black so i can taste it without any other influences. it’s got a bit of a sweet aftertaste. i steeped it for only three minutes. am glad it has durability & am looking forward to trying it for several more steeps. thanks to Kimicha for including this tea in my May/June package. i never heard of it before & love being exposed to the new.

the 2nd in my first shipment from Kimicha’s Black Tea by mail club. i’m not a huge fan of Earl Grey. usually i find the bergamot taste a bit cloying, but this cream version is deliciously creamy, to state the obvious. the fruit taste is very understated, just a wee taste toward to end of the sip. unfortunately i’m still tasting a bit of bitterness, as i did with Kimicha’s organic black assam. i’m wondering if a slight decrease in temperature from boiling would make the bitterness go away.

drinking this time w/ milk & honey. i have the flu. the tea seems very soothing right now on a parched throat. i suppose the honey overwhelms the taste of the Assam & my tastebuds are wonky, but right now this feels like the best panacea. there are some good things in the universe after all…

2nd time round, this time i steeped for only 3 minutes; followed the directions to the letter, putting the leaves directly into a tea pot & straining. yes, it was much, much better. no trace of bitterness, just a good substantial cuppa. i’ve always used those tea balls or some kind of in-yr-cup strainer. never occured to me to use this right-in-the-pot method before. revelation!

have just received my first shipment from Kimicha’s Black tea by mail club, which is quite different from a blackmail club, thankfully. The Organic Assam is one of two teas I received this month & it is the first I chose to try because I eAssam as part of Irish Breakfast, my favourite tea. the first thing i noticed was its fragrance when i opened the package. It is an olefactory delight. usually i have to steep teas beyond their longest recommended steeping time because i like my teaspoon to stand up in the cup, but in this case the max 5 min steeping time may be a bit much. i taste a wee bit of bitterness that probably wouldn’t have been there if i’d steeped for less. still, it’s a full-bodied tea. it’s the first time I’m drinking Assam on its own. I can see why it’s used as a base for blends. i like it, but feel like there’s something missing. i might try blending it with another tea. if anyone has any experience with Assam blends, I’d be delighted to hear…

wow. Thanks for the sample Azzrian! this is a neat one :)
When the cup is hot, I get some smoke. but not like LS smoke, more like tobacco that’s smoldering. but no longer lit. or even unfired.
After that, I find a sort of sparkly mineral note, and then something fruity/corn like.
Second steeping was more of the same, only a touch lighter.
Be careful not to oversteep here, I almost did and it got a littl thick.

Now I am off to the store so I can exchange some boots. They gave me two left feet!! and I did check that they were both there before taking them to the cash… but they had trouble finding the price marker so it must have gotten mixed up. Oh well. It gave me something to chuckle about!
Just don’t ask me to dance, k? ;)

I must thank Azz for this award winnig sample. It’s actually a little confusing though. I don’t know much about the varieties of black tea, nor the differences from keemun, assam, darjeeling, etc. That said, I am confused about the flavor I’m getting from this tea.

The dry leaf smells fruity, yet the drink itself has a stronger malty aroma. the first sip is where the confusion began. Though there is a malty note, it is not overly so. A faint smokey note is present, but stronger is the fruity sweetness that makes itself apparent as the sip is swallowed. I am really surprised at how smooth and light this cup is. Though it is not bold, make no mistake, it still has much to say. I think I made this cup a little strong yet there is only the tiniest bit of astringency. I, ‘THE ASTRINGENCY WEENIE’ that does not normally make his cup strong has spoken; this tea a smooth drinker! I love it, which is good since Kimicha notes that this black can be steeped SEVEN times!

Also note that this is my first cup after sleeping (the third shift switching back to first shift for the weekend kind of sleep that leaves you feeling weird) and yet I welcome it with open arms…I guess that would be mouth eh.

A little more on Azz and my thankfulness to her; she is a peach! I’m sure many of you know that but I still feel the need to exclaim it. You see she painstakingly, atleast I believe it was painstaking- I wasn’t there and she may have just tossed a bunch of leftover samples in a box, though I doubt it, she painstakingly went through her stash and hand selected such a variety as to completely overwhelm a ‘newer to tea’ drinker. Many of the samples were from a depleted bag, but she made sure to give me a taste so I’m very thankful Azz.

tunes-Black Keys(again today)=I’m Not The One/The Go Getter/Sinister Kid/Next Girl/She’s Long Gone…same as earlier I’m just gonna play the whole Brothers album. Black keys rock and if you don’t know it you NEED to. Ask anyone that likes them- they love them and don’t downplay how good they are. Nobody has said to me “they’re OK”, but rather “they rock!”.

This is my morning cup today. I won this from Kimicha’s FB page.
Lizeepea I am so sorry it has taken me so very long to review this.
This is a very fine tea.
A cocoa essence, with playful hints at a maltiness but very delicate hints, sweet, super sweet really.
The leaf is beautiful – deep brown with golden tips. Very sunny and it smells amazing!
As for this being produced in the method of LS well I don’t know anything about that – it has none of the same flavor elements of LS in my opinion well none of the smokiness anyway.
Just a full hearty mouthfeel meaty almost – rich and delicious without any astringency or bitterness whatsoever.
Love this!

This has a nice caramel flavor. Good black tea base. Did not do too well on re-steeping but I got two great cups out of it! I have discovered finding a GOOD caramel tea is difficult. This really hits the mark and I would recommend giving it a try! I mean look its not going to be one of MY all time favorite teas because honestly for me, caramel tea is not on my “I MUST have a good caramel black tea in my stash” list. But for those of you who do like to have a good caramel black – this may be the one for you!

i received a sample of kimicha’s kukicha to review, and i have to say i have fallen in love with it. kukicha is a green tea, but it’s comprised of the stalks and stems of the leaves and not the actual leaves. it makes for a nuttier aroma in the dry leaf, which i adored. when brewed, the liquor is a yellowy-green colour, still retaining a bit of a nutty aroma but venturing a bit more towards a vegetal aroma, which is more like a standard green. what i love most about this tea is that there’s absolutely NO bitterness, in fact it almost tastes like a white tea. it’s light but still retains a slight vegetal flavouring. all in all, a very pleasant tea, and i will most definitely be picking some up for myself :)