Théhuone

Edit Company

Recent Tasting Notes

92
drank sencha kura by Théhuone
11 tasting notes

“A high quality first green tea of the year from the famous tea area Shizuoka. The young and tender leaves have a fruity aroma. A very delicate and sweet sencha from Otsuka, the multiple prize winning company for best tea of Japan.”

Color of liquid: light yellowish green, with small particles of leaf dust swirling around. Beautiful.

I take a sip and close my eyes: grassy summer slopes with the sea visible from the hills, sun shining gently on top of everything, a warm slight breeze keeping the air fresh. I´m taking a nap beneath a giant lemon tree. There are no worries here. Soft but light. Umami.

I went to get some new teas today and battled my way through late- autumn Helsinki. The wind was so bitter I was sure my face would just fly off any minute. Somehow I made it back home and this tea was the first one I prepared of the batch of six I brought home with me. I´m happy I chose this nice Japanese wonder.

Sitting here after the first cup I feel acutely present in this moment. Being present is perhaps the only thing a human should strive for in this life. It is painfully difficult, though. Or maybe it´s more like that not being present in the moment is what is actually painful? Or running away from the pain that is present… I lost it.

Steep number 2: Only 20 seconds at 70 C. A lot darker mossy green and cloudy liquid. A conifer forest. Dash of citrus, a little spinach, not too much to make it vegetabley (?). The taste: now we are definitely in a moist shadowy forest, with moss covered logs and stones. Shiitake mushrooms. It´s that umami taste of sweetness without being sugary. A remarkable change between steepings. I´m starting to feel really pretty high with all the caffeine, L- theanine, antioxidants and what not.

A lot of the plants that are native to Japan also grow somewhat well here in Finland. I have a rare dwarf form of the Japanese rhododendron, for example, growing in my yard. Unfortunately the prettiest Japanese tree, the Acer palmatum, or Japanese maple is too tender to grow here. I´ve killed three of them being stubborn and just trying to plant them against what I know is inevitable. There´s something in Japanese plants that is very special; they look “Japanese” no matter where you grow them…

Steep no 3. 40 sec at 70 C. Gets more fruity and lemony. The flavors are mellowing out, comfortable and round. I´m a bit disappointed that the greatness stopped here, maybe a little bit short? But those first two cups were really special, so I won´t complain.

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 1 min, 0 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

78
drank Anhui Qimen Hong by Théhuone
11 tasting notes

Update: Yes, a little teardrop of honey worked very well after coming home from the forest.

CupofTree

Wow do you have any photos of the forest?

Crane

I was on a macro-mood ;)

CupofTree

How pretty, the first one is like a little magical world, thank you for sharing those! You should take more :) I love macro too, I have an amazing macro lense as well, I can’t wait to get back to the real forests with my gear.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

78
drank Anhui Qimen Hong by Théhuone
11 tasting notes

The dry aroma consists of rum, Madeira wine, plums and tarred wood. Taste is strong and sharp, somewhat dry. I taste leather, pine needles, smoke and tar. A good afternoon drink on a cold day. Would probably work with sugar or honey.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

80
drank Jade Dragon by Théhuone
11 tasting notes

The leaves give a champagne colored drink. The scent is somewhat fruity; sweet lime. Taste is light and quick. Fresh with some spinach. Very refreshing, possibly with quite a lot of caffeine (three cups were enough to give me an OD). Second steeping is rounder with a bit of grass coming through.

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 2 min, 0 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

90

Second oolong to try out. I’m beginning to enjoy these lazy mornings.

This one feels already different from Tit Kon Yum I tried yesterday, from the visual presentation to the scent itself. The leaves look very delicate and fragile when they’re curled up in tiny shapes resembling a pearl (but still not falling to the pearl tea category). They open up very nicely when rinsed a little and watching tea unfurl is a good way of knowing one has a slow morning. Or just spacing out badly.

The scent itself before brewing is more floral than with the other one, more related to the green teas I’ve enjoyed. Even the leaves are way greener than in Tit Kon Yum. Would associate the scent to peony, perhaps, or chrysanthemum, if not directly then by pure smell impuls. A very delicate-looking yet big and astonishing flower comes to mind. It also appears as if the scent would’ve been tinged with something, something soft, to take the pointiest edge away from the sweetness. Refreshing, I give it that.

When brewing I really don’t know what to expect. Since the first one was so delicious it seems I’ve managed to subconsciously heighten my standards already for this.

First try: there’s something wrong. Minuscule bit of bitterness bites through. Alright, if you need a challenge…maybe waking up fully would do the trick…

Second try: Reminding myself that it has combined both Japanese and Chinese methods of preparing the tea. Best result would be Sencha Kura vol. 2 with the determination of a steel monk accompanied by a Tibetan spaniel with an ego of a Siberian tiger. Let’s prepare for the worst then…

Oh my.

Sweet yet sophisticated, tad flat aftertaste. The floral palette vanished and was replaced with fruity tinge, like pure fruit flesh from an almost overly ripe plum or similar kind. Not tangy but toned down to earthy, like the difference between a bit too raw prunes compared to the almost squishy ones. Very soft, and one could feel there’s something covering up the strongest sweetness. Like velvet or silk in the mouth on your taste buds. Very nice light yellowish, golden tint in the liquid. Slightly more airy and lighter than the previous oolong, very thin aftertaste. Scent when brewed is actually slightly stronger than the actual taste. Not as delicious as the other one, but still giving its’ best.

As the cup turns cold the taste changes into more refreshing, but the floral aspect comes back and pushes the plum away, leaving the tasting itself happen during the first seconds on the tongue, then vanishing the flavour almost completely. Wonder how this would turn out when enjoyed with a glass of twelve-year-old Japanese Hibiki whisky…

I have it bad.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

97

Greenish scent. Very pure and refreshing. Hint of sweet. Lingers. Somehow very full scent, didn’t know what to expect really. Takes over the sense of smell. Reminds of sencha on some level, maybe the hint of green does it.

This is my first experiment with oolong beside another type which I bought at the same time just to see what they’re all about and if there are differences between them. Visually they are like day and night, as this specimen has very rough, big leaves and solid character the Wu Cha Oolong has very delicate and more greenish leaves, very thin and sophisticated. This one reminds me of some dry rush by the sea, and on closer look they start to resemble cliffs or worn wood. Beautiful in the sense of aesthetics.

Now for the steep after rinsing (made the morning feel more special, I have time to actually prepare a tea! I could weep.).

The scent takes on more layers, and sweet smoke lingers through, more weight on the sweetness. Smells very strongly, with a hint of dried fruit, maybe fig or dates..something slightly rough yet moist comes to mind.

Then the sip…

It indeed is very harmonic. Very sweet also, with added feeling of thin layer of milky character. Very flowing and pliant on tongue, leaves a pleasant feeling without being too short in its’ aftertaste. Would almost go with floral tinge and it does bring in mind the previous encounter with Sencha Kura; the same type of earthy tone, perhaps the dew on the ground but not during spring but early autumn. As a landscape would say a misty pond at the marshes…or maybe even the gray, worn duckboards through the field of rushes when one’s surrounded by absolute silence.

Silence. That’s the sound of this tea. No thoughts, no noise. Just being still and silent. Breathing.

The cup itself looks very delicate with the promised yellow color, and makes one agree with the golden tint in it. Not too bright, just enough to resemble the falling leaves and the humid autumn weather we have here at the moment. Well collected ensemble of senses and associations.

As I let the cup turn cold while writing and take the final sip..oh my.

Found myself falling for oolong. Fancy that.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

88
drank Keemun Congou OP by Théhuone
33 tasting notes

Very full. Tickling. Definitely a tiny hint of smoke in there. Slightly…pointy but nice. Small trace of subtle sweetness, maybe a fruit..perhaps lychee? Reminds of that at least-

A sneeze.

Yup. Tickling.

I went and purchased this interesting case with few others and have been pushing, pulling and threatening my schedules to get myself some time to drink. my. tea. in. peace. thank. you! Instead of hastily gulping down the average joe’s Lady Gray of Twinings (very good while working, doesn’t get in the way with its’ taste, very trustworthy) while running to the classes, meetings, the gallery where yours truly found herself working as an intern at the moment and playing dodge ball with the pleasant thing called life in general.

No need to emphazise the happiness when the calendar said I don’t have to wake up at seven thirty this morning but could actually sit down, watch the rainy morning and finally, f i n a l l y, would be able to actually enjoy a fine cup of tea without doing homage to Felix Baumgartner (nice jump though).

So. After reading Angrboda’s interesting post about keemun some time ago and how wonderful that tea seems to be, morning’s first cup is with that.

As described the scent above, this tea somehow tickles its’ way to my nose. Can’t say whether it’s because of the slight pointy layer of aroma or the subtle sweetness or the both combined. Still, enjoying the scent very much, it seems to be very good tea for rainy mornings and promises to slow down the time a bit.

The scent while steeping turns more round and full, and the smoke pushes through. The thin layer of something sweet remains, but mostly it’s all about full smoky scent.

Sip.

Sneaky. The sweetness is the first to taste, refined through smokiness, almost as if tasting smoked sweet fruit, maybe even smoked fish. Very full yet delicate, aftertaste a tad bit thin and short but all in all tasty treat. Hm. Time runs forward as always but personally seemed to reach the point where one just stops caring about it. Good tea.

And then going for a slightly longer steep, just to see what will happen…

The sweet flavour gains more strength but still keeps itself in balance with others, fills the mouth quite nicely and lingers a little bit longer than with the first steep. Making me drowsy.

Bliss.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

34
drank Assam TGFOP Koomsong by Théhuone
33 tasting notes

Both with assam and darjeeling there seems to be a small twist in my cup. They both can turn very bitter when they choose to, and very rapidly. Good that I never back off from a challenge.

This assam calls for some patience. The scent of the leaves is quite sophisticated and it gives an impression that this one likes to be drank in the mornings. Even a hint of sweetness pushes through after breathing it in a few times. Othervise very obvious scent of strong black tea.

After brewing the scent transforms into more sharp and tangy form. The sweet aroma is there but somehow more narrow and thin. Very pointy.

Sip…

It seems to awaken something at least.

The ‘fight-or-flight’ response, that is.

The flavor is indeed strong, but in a slightly disturbing way. Having troubles to put my finger on it when it harasses my tongue severely at the same time. Feeling almost molested. Even the aftertaste disappoints, very thin, short, fast and bitter. Something one wants off from the tongue and then opting not to swallow the second time. Not the best position in the -

Uh.

But.

As surprising as it is, the whole situation takes 180 after adding whole milk as an attempt to salvage the situation for all the teas holy. Suddenly all the bitterness is gone, the promised spices dare to announce themselves as small trace of something sugar-y and cardemum-y linger around and – where did that nutty flavor appear all of a sudden? It gets thick and full and long and swallowable and I really need to stop writing innuendos now.

Sliver of bitterness bites through the milk though.

It bit the wrong tea drinker.

Daisy Chubb

I love the style of your reviews! It makes me feel like I’m sipping the cup along with you

charab

hehe, thanks Daisy! It’s always a challenge to write something both personal and ‘neutral’ at the same time since it’s about taste and all that. And of course the tea itself. I’m glad you enjoy them.

cteresa

I am like you in that I find Assam and Darjeeling complicated (well, all India teas) except I have not the knack of really making them work for me. There are a few Assams, usually flavored I like, but India tea and me it usually does not work. Though I got a fondness for Ceylons, not sure I can explain that!

charab

Yeah, those two tea types are something I’m still trying to wrap my head around, without any successful outcome. Yet. Time will tell, I may need to get one type more to compare it with this case, just to see what will happen. Same with Darjeeling, having difficulties with that at the moment as well..

cteresa

I have come to terms that India tea is probably not for me. Even Darjeeling! A while ago I reread an old Enid Blyton book and there is this obnoxious mother figure complaining of being served indian tea rather than black – of course the lady was extremely obnoxious of complaining and meant to be a really bad bad parent, but I got some sympathy for the problem!

charab

Hehe, one can relate to that, as for when it comes to unpleasant discoveries with tea it can be considered as happening on very personal level. Like an intimate insult. For me it’s usually occurring when ordering green tea in a restaurant. I don’t know if it’s just plain ignorance here in Finland but there’s still hardly a restaurant which doesn’t serve bitter and yellow green tea. Which is a shame since sometimes the food just begs for a good cup of green after it.

cteresa

It might be temperature, if green tea is brewed too hot – and surprisingly how few people know about not brewing green tea with boiling water!

But in Lisbon you can only order tea with the meal at chinese and japanese restaurants, the ones I go to handle tea well. And the expensive so-good cantonese restaurant has some pretty good tea.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

85
drank King of Pu'Erh by Théhuone
33 tasting notes

“No.”

“Thanks but I’ll pass.”

“It smells like cowshed…mm, no.”

“You really want me to taste something you just described with a word ‘manure’?”

“NO.”

Seems like it’s ridiculously easy to get misunderstood when it comes to describing a taste and then equally hard to persuade people to taste it after smelling it. More for me then.

Pu’erh was something that bugged me ever since I ordered it in a small restaurant when we visited with our class in St. Petersburg. While others were trying to locate the second head I seemed to have suddenly grown without my knowledge I enjoyed my pot and the fact that this tea is divine with blinis with some smetana and honey. Then it promptly slipped my mind when I tried to remember it afterwards, leaving only the trace of taste that I tried to hunt down occasionally. Nagging taste memory, one could say.

But it’s worth nagging, though. The scent of the leaves is very subtle and earthy, and one can sense the full, round character this one has. And yes, it reminds me of those summers spent in the countryside adventuring in whole bunch of different animalsheds, but hey. Nostalgia is a good thing to experience once in a while. Besides cows smell pretty much a whole lot better than some humans I’ve met, or even yours truly after a rough night.

Putting that aside…

The color of the tea after steeping is magnificiently dark and rich, well suited for the chilly autumn season we have here at the moment. Crisp, sunny day with almost every tree wearing something else than green for a change and then a steaming cup of pu’erh. Ah, the simple joys. The scent turns more soft and somehow acquires even a thin layer of smokiness. The cow turns into a worn piece of wood which has once been part of a wall for a cowshed a decade ago. Faint, but not there, so to speak. It gives more way to the earth itself. The after taste is very rich and lingers thickly on tongue after swallowing, putting all the other things aside and making one focus only on the tea.

When accompanied by a delicious smoky single malt all is well.
One more factor to make the autumn look even more beautiful.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 2 min, 30 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

55
drank Thé Champagne by Théhuone
33 tasting notes

Every now and then there are situations that just crave for champagne. Putting up the first personal blog ever for instance, which you can find from here:

http://mintblack.blogspot.fi/

So, what to do when it’s Monday, the first day of the week and it’s only 11 a.m.? Well of course every good art student goes for the real thing since noblesse oblige. This time though yours truly went for a green tea blend called Thé Champagne, which with its’ name hits close enough.

The scent of old, dried fruits is unmistakably an underlayer of the floral palette, and delightfully the added strawberries don’t push too much through. As nice as strawberries are, they still work best when fresh and straight from the fields. Dried ones…not so tasty.

Always having flavors added as aromas is something that makes my neck prickle a bit, since it’s so easy to taste only the added aroma and in worst case scenarios the whole thing being very artificial both in smell and taste. So as with the real thing itself, this champagne is also something to approach with caution. The brewing takes the edge off of the scent, and turns it into more tea-like in its’ softness and fuller form. So good so far.

Sip.

Oh come on.

Giving myself a toast and going for another cup. Now it tastes. The dry taste lingers first on tongue, accompanied with the green tea, and somewhat airy character is thrown at you. No trace of bubbling though. Which might actually be a little unnerving if being suddenly hit with sparkling sensations. The promised champagne gets lost and stays only in the smell.

I can see this tea fitting situations where talking is the main thing instead of really tasting the tea. This is just tea for company. Nothing interesting, just very light and airy, a little bit of sweetness which does lose to the taste of dried fruits. What fruits they might be, maybe some apricots and grapes, but overall undefined.

I suspect the deities of decadence are not laughing with me in this case.

JacquelineM

Nice blog! I’ll be reading :)

charab

Why thank you! I’m glad to hear that, and if something comes up I’m always grateful for feedback if you see something missing etc.

cteresa

is this green sencha-like tea with dried strawberries and chamomile? If so i have it as well from another reseller but probably the same blender!

charab

Hmm, it might be actually, at least the leaves resemble it a little. If one can taste beyond the other flavors I could say it falls close to sencha. Glad to hear that someone else has tried it as well! How did you like it?

cteresa

I quite liked it at first, it was not too natural but it was interesting. A lovely tea to brew and have tea with friends and some tea and girl talk. But I found that this tea seems to age very fast. I guess all green teas age a lot faster than black teas, but I got this tea maybe some 9 months ago, I still got some and the older the tea gets the more bah it gets. Of the very same 50 grams I got and I got it zipped and away from light and heat and all. Not ageing well at all. so use it fast! And of course, how good it is is going to depend on how long it has been in the shop :(

cteresa

Just to add this was the review http://steepster.com/teas/unknown/18573-delicia-de-champagne
when i just got it. I am a bit surprised I rated it so high, the last times I had it I would not rate nearly as high. But as I said, the tea is ageing really fast.

charab

Good to know about the aging, need to sip it fast then. And it is familiar-looking on the blender’s site you linked in the review. Hm. Might be that indeed.

cteresa

I think that blender sells to so many european small tea shops and brands, you keep finding the same tea in several places! In a way it´s more difficult to compare review notes, but at least it means the teas are easier to find if sold in so many different places.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

83
drank sencha kura by Théhuone
33 tasting notes

Scent of sweetness is the first to push through, but also very earthy and fruity aromas accompany it, as a very delicate trace of dried fruits tries to get noticed. For some reason makes me think of dried apricots, but there are some other scents in it as well, dodging everytime I barely put my finger on them. Sneaky sencha this is.

The steeping process itself is both frustrating and rewarding if everything goes well. I have been working with this ninja-like specimen for some time and it still loves to give me gray hairs. To be honest, I can sometimes be considered very anal person when it comes to making things by the book to the utmost ridiculous detail, but this, this tea promptly makes me lose it. I have a craving desire to get it j u s t r i g h t yet at the same time I’m going berserk and think of ways of making this experience to go so wrong that even UN should consider intervening. Send me some of those blue barrets and I’ll show you an international escapade to last a lifetime. Which might lead to banning this type of tea and mentally scarring few generations, but what the hey. A n y h o w.

To make things a tad bit more interesting: the first time I encountered this tea was in a tearoom just a couple of hours before my wedding. I needed something to soothe and take my mind away from all the things happening around and sat there for a good hour by myself, wedding bouquet on the floor, enjoying the crisp, sunny spring winter morning (in March) and the delicate lingering taste of this tea. What I would’ve really said at the altar without having this moment, best to leave it untouched.

But that moment gave me a reference how the tea should look and taste when it’s made properly: spring green, like the first leaves that pop out in the trees, and very, very intriguing mixture of morning dew, dried fruits and sweet promise which doesn’t dominate others but complements them. The earth element was present, like fresh grass at five a.m. when the dew is on the ground. Ideal for mornings, that is.

Hence the frustration. Since being a person who doesn’t want to use thermometers and all that but learn things through trial and error because it’s always fun and problem solving is something my half-engineer mind enjoys, the steeping at home goes something like this many times:

First attempt: a bit too warm water, turned yellow and bitter and the flavor sharpens so much it’s violating my taste buds. eugh.

Second attempt: temperature just right, nice and green and sweet, but just had to forget the sieve in the cup as ended up doing something else suddenly. Well, at least it was g r e e n. The taste turned ugly. Note to myself: do not make complicated tea while making as well complicated art and/or schoolwork.

Third attempt: A-ha! All is right, the taste lingers as the sweetness is just right as well the solid character, not too thin on tongue and long enough to make the cup last longer. The dried apricots turn into more undefined rough yet subtle underlayer, like the after taste of dried fruits one usually ends up on the tongue: something dry yet still solid and moist. Very pure taste of green, if one could say that. This is what I enjoy with sencha, somehow the taste, even with trace of sweetness, resembles something I categorize as ‘pure’. And it’s also something I wouldn’t enjoy during winter, somehow light and airy flavor suffers when there isn’t enough natural light to boost them. Finnish winter melancholy blues is too much to handle for these types. Figures. Optimists never last here.

Still retracking my way to the succeeded attempt, step by step. But, everytime when things turn right, it’s worth it.

The UN approves.

Preparation
155 °F / 68 °C 0 min, 45 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

86
drank Russian blend by Théhuone
33 tasting notes

A nice, basic black russian tea for mornings, noons, afternoons and evenings. An all-around-companion when one needs something not too complicated. Very soft flavour and works with strong and light steeping, also seems to fit with the Wild Cherry (at least for my husband). Very simple taste palette, mostly just earthy and pliant, hard to define any actual tastes in it. Having drank teas in Russia few times this definitely is russian tea, somehow they seem to have a similar kind of semi-tangy sweetness in them which gives a nice twist to the character. Not too sweet though.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

86
drank Russian blend by Théhuone
33 tasting notes

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

67

Sniff.

Sweet.

Candy-ish.

Something that may or may not be cherry, accompanied with the ’there’has-to-be-some-right?’ tea leaves trying desperately to compete with the overwhelming sweetness in the scent. Perfect tea for making divine pralines, especially when dark chocolate is involved. Since that’s why I bought this overcute specimen.

The scent after simmering a couple of minutes is still sweet and I start having doubts with it. Not that I haven’t enjoyed sweetness in my cup before, but compared to Japanese Cherry, that I also happen to have and need to introduce to people who don’t know it yet, which is green tea with cherry bits in it, this type of sweetness is like getting suddenly trapped in the middle of a swarming group of gothic lolitas and end up seeing more frills than in your baby pictures combined. No sense of discretion with this one.

No harm meant for the lolitas, though, frills and me just don’t mix well.

After the first sip…

Huh.

Not so bad.

Actually the sweet aroma that teases until the ‘bitter’ end (ah, the joys of bad puns) suddenly seems to give room to other tastes there are. As if finally realising that as cute and adorable as it is it’s still blocking the way and needs to move a bit. It gains more dimensions, gets longer, and instead of getting a frosting on your tongue it lures to take another sip and to enjoy it’s company. Sadly the trace of cherry gets lost, keeping itself as a very thin undertaste and the initial sweetness transforms into a character I’m yet having difficulties to decipher. That factor leads to a tad flat flavour and not so round as I hoped. The final feeling resembles something between actually tasting the branch where the cherrys grow instead of the treat itself and the nagging sensation of needing to add something to it. Something strong.

My husband solved the problem by promptly mixing it with russian black tea.

I went for Lapsang. And that is yet another story how things turn out when cute things meet rough smoky characters. Not so ugly as one would have thought.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 15 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

94
drank Nepal masala chai by Théhuone
33 tasting notes

Adding spices and flavouring the tea, with fruits for example, can be seen as a very delicate process when the balance of the taste between the actual tea leaves and the ingredients used for flavouring is at stake.

In my opinion the case of chai is where the aforementioned challenge is the most obvious. Usually the normal encounter goes on like this:

You’re in a situation which demands something spicy and strong to drink, say, for having a cold or enjoying some fine sweet carrot cake. One of the good options is chai, since having a chili cocoa with a cake is just pushing your luck considering the possibility of ending with a sugar rush. Not to mention combining flu with sweet dairy products. And since this site isn’t about whiskeys I’ll just stick with the tea as the best option.

Anyhow.

Then the following ensues: the served chai smells promising, the cinnamon and cardemum linger through your nostrils as well the promise of a nice mellow aftertaste with just a hint of tingling sensations on the tongue, the same one gets after good spicy food. Not to mention what new dimensions it’ll give to the said carrot cake.

Sit back, relax, take a sip, either as a ‘raw brew’ or with some added milk…

And then you feel like breaking an illusion, with which you had no problems at keeping it happily going until the end. In worst cases the sense of loss is similar to getting highly aroused after heavy flirting and dirty talk and then left hanging.

Feeling irritated is saying things nicely.

After trying out various chais from different brands I almost gave up. The usual feeling was being mercilessly teased and not getting any: vanishing taste, non-existant spice palette after adding milk, the feel on tongue when taking a sip mostly just thin and unpleasant. When one type covered the lacking qualities of the previous ones it failed on others.

Needless to say things changed after being introduced to this fine specimen. I’m usually not one to hype, but this stuff can be considered as something I would merrily have as an IV drop when the flu season hits the city. The first sensation is the curiosity aroused by the smell, which is very strong for what it comes to the used spices, and the visual character of the tea when one actually sees the chunks of all the ingredients that are used with the tea leaves.

The taste grants all the promises those two previous aspects give: for the first cup the taste is very heavy with spices, depending of course the time used for brewing and the amount of the used tea as well if there’s milk involved, but it still isn’t dominated with the most obvious ones as cinnamon and cardemum or anise, but gives space for others as well, slowly shifting through a very thin layer of sweetness towards the burning of the black pepper. After the second brew the flavour turns more mellow and the taste of the black tea itself comes more vivid, still keeping the flavour whole and round, as well the taste stays long in the mouth. Nothing is more irritating with chai than a flat, very rapidly vanishing aftertaste which almost makes one panic about the possibility of missing all of the taste buds suddenly.

This is also one of the few chais I’ve tried that work really well with both cold and warm milk. Of course the character changes for more mellow and significantly milder as the milk takes the edge away from the spices, but they’re still there rather than being annihilated.

As well the tea cup.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 2 min, 30 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

90
drank Lapsang Souchong by Théhuone
33 tasting notes

Since the winter is coming, again, one needs to stock up the goods in order to manage their everyday lives during the dark and cold months, which sometimes tend to make people wonder the motives of our ancestors who were curious/brave/simply too stupid and stubborn enough for not asking directions and ending here.

One way of staying sane when everything is pitch black after four p.m. is to have something hot and delicious to drink, and this tea is, in my opinion, one of the best for that. In comparison to, say, Fortnum and Mason’s Lapsang this one does have richer and fuller flavour, which also gives time to actually taste more than just the smokiness this tea is known for. It’s not overwhelming the subtle sweetness it has in both the smell of the leaves themselves and the brewed taste, not to mention the after taste which lingers nicely on the tongue, offering time to sit back and enjoy every sip in peace.

For a member of finnish tar culture this Lapsang offers very pleasing subtle tarry undertone, and it’s always fun to compare this to the Tarry Lapsang for its’ much stronger tarry flavor which usually associates with the scent of wooden boats and smoke sauna. With the basic Lapsang the wood in the flavour is given more dimensions than just the tar or smoke, it’s also very contradictional, as having a very simple and roughly designed wooden chair that has slowly been worn to have a beautiful patina on its’ smooth surface. Or a very nice wooden sauna one enjoys just when the lights go out because of the heavy snowing.

As for the flavour character this tea tends to fall into the category of ‘winter’, as the smoky, tarry, strong and full characteristics are something that may not suite the taste one has during summer, when more subtle and lighter tea types are preferred.

All in all Lapsang Souchong is worth tasting and enjoying with all the senses, a tea which compliments others by its’ delightful character, as well gives a very nice twist when mixed with other teas when one needs to use all that’s left before getting the shelves filled up again.

And makes the cold and wet time of the year just a tad bit warmer.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 45 sec
cteresa

Oh, another Lapsang Souchong lover. Indeed, sometimes there is nothing quite like a good cup of Lapsang Souchong for those who love it.

charab

I agree. When the timing is right, that tea is divine.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

38
drank Lemon Sencha by Théhuone
45 tasting notes

Taste the disappointment…

When I smelled this in the store, it was like smelling lemon juice. I love lemon juice.

The taste, however… Artificial to the max. That’s about all there was to it. Overwhelming artificial lemon.

Bleh.

Preparation
165 °F / 73 °C 2 min, 30 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

38
drank Lemon Sencha by Théhuone
45 tasting notes

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

38
drank Lemon Sencha by Théhuone
45 tasting notes

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

49
drank Ginseng Oolong by Théhuone
45 tasting notes

This tea is probably an acquired taste.

It tastes very milky, in a way. I got the more fermented version, and can definitely taste that, too. Even through multiple infusions, the taste was far too overwhelming for me. It wasn’t so bad that I had to pour it down the drain; this tea does what it set out to do. I simply don’t like it too much.

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 3 min, 0 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

73
drank Orange-Chili Rooibos by Théhuone
45 tasting notes

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

73
drank Orange-Chili Rooibos by Théhuone
45 tasting notes

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

73
drank Orange-Chili Rooibos by Théhuone
45 tasting notes

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

73
drank Orange-Chili Rooibos by Théhuone
45 tasting notes

Login or sign up to leave a comment.