Umami

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25
drank Apple Streusel by Umami
251 tasting notes

Another promise of a warm dessert tea that ultimately didn’t deliver. This time, a strong black tea that overwhelmed any hint of cinnamon, despite their use of three types. I wouldn’t have guessed apple as an ingredient if not for the name. I’m not sophisticated enough to speak to different types of black tea or the quality; I was looking for a tea that lived up to the dessert in the name and didn’t find it.

Added to note: a little honey made the cup much better; milk was less pleasant.

sipsby advent, day 1*
(sipsby packages this in no particular order, so your order may be different than mine)

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drank Sweet Maple Cream by Umami
24 tasting notes

This tea was a let down for me – it was a sweet black tea with no discernible maple flavor. It’s not unpleasant, but did not live up to the label. Umami usually never lets me down, so this is particularly unexpected. Steeped in a stainless steel ball for 4 mins, at 200F . Drank plain.

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drank Monk's Blend by Umami
24 tasting notes

If you are looking for a nice black dessert tea this is one is quite nice. My husband doesn’t even really like tea but he drinks this one regularly. It’s a medium bodied piquant Ceylon with calendula & sunflower petals, vanilla and grenadine. It tastes like a fruity marshmallow! I know that sounds weird but it’s really good. It’s very smooth and does not require additives (sugar/honey/agave, milk/milk subsitute, etc) unless so desired. A nice tea for when you want to satiate your sweet tooth without sugar. Used 1 tsp in a stainless steel strainer. Estimate the temperature at 200 F, steeped 3-4 minutes. This review is based on multiple tastings of this tea.

ScottTeaMan

Had this tea many years ago & really enjoyed it. :)

Amie

Nice!

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Very savory flavor. No bitterness. Steeped for 3 minutes, at boiling. Added some Himalayan pink salt as I usually do to my savory teas -it enhances the seaweed flavor and helps with any bitterness. I would like to re-try this tea when I get another smart tea kettle. Mine broke just before starting this acct so I don’t know what temperature my water is other than boiling the moment. Bit frustrated as I have gone through 2 Cuisinart PerfecTemps -they are not very sturdy. Looking for a recommendation on a better temperature gage tea kettle or smart tea brewer. Thanks.

Flavors: Grass, Nutty, Seaweed, Smoke

Preparation
1 tsp 6 OZ / 177 ML
LuckyMe

Ah, this tea brings back memories. It’s one the first green teas that I started out drinking. Not high end stuff, but smooth and satisfying. I used it a lot to make Moroccan Mint tea.

Interesting idea to put pink salt in tea, I will have to try it!

ScottTeaMan

The salt is a great idea Amie! :D Try brewing this for 3 minutes at 180 degrees. I do guesstimate the water temperature. Wait for light steam to rise from the spout (leaving spout open so you can more easily gauge the steam), and once the steam lightly rises, I wait another 10-15 seconds. It’s a close approximation, but you can also let the kettle boil, then wait 3-5 minutes before pouring over leaves.

Gunpowder teas can usually be resteeped at least 2 more times, because they are rolled into a pellet shape. Try this:

Steep 1: 180 degrees (light steam rising), steeped for 3 minutes.
Steep 2: 195 degrees (medium steam rising), steep 3-3.5 minutes.
Steep 3: 212 degrees (boiling), steep 4 to 5 minutes.

Of course it is trial and error at first, but after doing this a few times you should have a better idea of what works and how you like the tea! Also, usually when I do multiple steeps, I add more tea—up to twice as much(seems to work for me). One of the fun things about tea is experimenting like this, and a decent gunpowder tea like TOH is usually reasonably priced.

Amie, I hope this helps further your enjoyment of tea! :D

ScottTeaMan

If you do add more tea as I mentioned above, I would reduce first two steep times, by roughly a minute. That’s only a suggestion, and by experimenting with steep times, you will come to know what you like. :D

Amie

LuckyMe – I will have to try making some Moroccan Mint with it :) ScottTeaMan – Thank you for the advice!! Much appreciated :)

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drank St. Clair's Select by Umami
24 tasting notes

This brew is quite tasty and effective. The ginger is on point and makes one’s whole mouth and throat feel warm. The mint is quite calming. This is one of my favorite medicinal teas for treating nausea. Supposedly there is orange peel in the blend – I do not detect it -which is a slight let down, but nonetheless the tea works very well and keeps getting refilled for my needs. My tablet is not letting me drag the steep and temp , so I will say that I steep it a good 10 mins with just boiled water to extract the most out of each steeping.

Flavors: Ginger, Mint, Spearmint

Preparation
8 OZ / 236 ML

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drank Citrus Berry Sencha by Umami
24 tasting notes

Another of my favorites from Umami ! I drink this one as a pick me up when I need an instant inner smile. It has an ethereal brightness and floral air. The citrus from the yuzu is like sunshine. Not sure if I’m supposed to, but I smell some jasmine in this blend – a light wafting. The citrus gives it a tropical feel. I always drink this one plain – it needs no adjustments.

It’s kind of dreary here in RVA, and tonight I’m painting and listening to some of my favorite Canadian ladies (I live in the US now but I’m from Canada) Sarah Harmer, Jann Arden, Sarah Slean, Chantal Kreviazuk , Be Good Tanyas, Alanis Morisette, K.D. Lang, Sarah McLaughlan, Feist :) Getting my old Lilith Fair vibes on – yes, I went to Lilith Fair, and yes, I’ve always been an earth mama.

Flavors: Citrus, Floral, Jasmine, Tropical

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 4 min, 45 sec 8 OZ / 236 ML

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drank Birds Of A Feather by Umami
24 tasting notes

This is one of the teas I keep in my permanent collection. The first time I drank it was 6 years ago at place called Feathernesters , a local pop & pop’s ( lovely gay couple) French chic decor / high tea business. I bought the tea from them monthly. Eventually they retired and closed the shop – but their tea was so popular and they didn’t want to leave their customers in the lurch – so they gave a local small tea business that had popped up two doors down (Umami) their secret recipe so their customers would have somewhere to continue buying the tea. To this day I buy it from Umami, and it is the best cinnamon spice tea I have ever tasted. It contains no flavorings, just all -natural ingredients. It has a bite and has a nice heat kick that tickles the tongue and the back of the throat. I demand high spiciness out of my cinnamon teas – and this one really does deliver. No bitterness whatsoever. The directions say to steep it at 195 for 2-3 mins, but I like to steep it 5 for extra flavor, plus the boiling water extracts more flavor in my opinion. I give this tea as a gift to family and friends and they get hooked on it just like I do!! A lot of people talk about Harney and Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice being good – this one blows that right out of the water!!

Flavors: Cinnamon, Clove, Earth, Honey, Spicy

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 30 sec 8 OZ / 236 ML

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34
drank Cherry Rose Festival by Umami
75 tasting notes

Maybe I’m not brewing it right, but I’ve tried twice, following the directions on the sample package, and it doesn’t taste like much more than hot water.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 2 min, 0 sec
Em

That’s when you pop the rest of that sample in the trash :)

Anna

Ha! I was going to put it in a baggie and send it to you to see if you might like it. ;)

Em

I’m willing to give it a shot :)

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