Yokotea

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Recent Tasting Notes

68
drank Air (Vayu) by Yokotea
4293 tasting notes

Another from StarFevre! Thanks very much! The pieces of the blend are chopped up extremely small. And the scent from the leaf smells like rose potpourri. Usually rose in a blend does not usually have that distinct potpourri note, but this one sure does, which definitely translates to the flavor. Potpourri! The second steep tastes more like tamarind or lychee… maybe more of the jasmine. The green tea is astringent though. I wish there was more of a balance of jasmine. Not a bad blend, if you can tolerate the… potpourri!
Steep #1 // 1 teaspoon for a full mug // 33 minutes after boiling // 1 minute steep
Steep #2 // 29 minutes after boiling // 2 min

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83
drank Ascent by Yokotea
4293 tasting notes

Another from StarFevre!  Thanks again!  Sadly no tasting notes on Steepster for this one.  It’s pleasant enough for being so old.  The black tea is on the tiny side – probably Ceylon, but it has the flavor and dryness of something like Darjeeling mixed with Ceylon, and Darjeeling sounds dreamy enough paired with raspberry.  There is still some remaining flavor here, raspberry but on the side of tasting slightly like hibiscus.  The second steep is a bit too brisk, but the flavor isn’t faded from the first steep which is what I expected.  I bet it was really great when it was fresh.  As it is now, I really just want to drink it right down.  If I had to compare it to a tea, I’d say Bird & Blend’s Mrs. Claus’ Raspberry Prosecco.  I don’t think this tea shop is around anymore.  I don’t think I’d ever heard of  this shop before StarFevre generously sent over a couple of their blends. I don’t think much of Steepster heard of them either.  A shame.    I hope everyone is staying safe!  Just because it’s summer, doesn’t mean Covid went away (which I’m sure none of you lovely Steepster people need to hear it from me…but I must throw it out there anyway. Trump is going to make so many people sick for the simple fact he has never worn a freakin face mask… why why why ((vanity)) )
Steep #1  // 1 1/2 teaspoons for full mug // 20 minutes after boiling  // 2 minute steep
Steep #2  // 3 minutes after boiling //  3 minute steep

Nattie

I really hope nobody looks towards Trump as a model of best practice. I did hear about one guy drinking pool cleaner because of something he said – at what point do the things he says become dangerous enough for his press conferences to be stopped? He’s too unpredictable. I’d hate to be on his PR team that’s for sure.

I hope you are staying safe too. We’ve had a heatwave here and people seem to be taking it as a go-ahead to break all social distancing rules and flock to the beach in their thousands.

Martin Bednář

US have terrible president, we have terrible Prime Minister, World is black or white, nothing between. I am feeling tired of all the news in the world :(

Shae

Everyone on my FB feed is at the beach or going to a wedding. It’s like they got tired of covid so it just no longer exists.

tea-sipper

Nattie, that comment about injecting Lysol into the blood!  Oh boy.  And then he attributes every wrong thing he says to “joking” but I don’t think someone who has so many people listening to him should “joking” at all, or any president, especially in these times.Martin – I agree.  Sometimes I’d just like something positive.  I’m hoping some good things come from the protests at least. Shae – I agree with you too.  The weather is warmer so suddenly people are less worried about Covid.  I’m definitely very worried for the state of the world…

amandastory516

It definitely seems like most of the world has chosen to pretend COVID has just disappeared. I just had to go back to in-person work, and I woke up feeling sick. Ugh.

tea-sipper

Ah, amandastory, I hope it isn’t covid and you feel better soon.

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70
drank Bliss by Yokotea
8 tasting notes

When a currently-Category-4 hurricane is aimed almost directly at you, when you’re hunkering down and riding it out, and when you have two days to kill before the storm proper arrives? Drink tea. (Hopefully, of course, it won’t be a Category 4 when it gets here; if I thought that was likely I doubt I’d be sitting here writing Steepster reviews…)

Pre-hurricane time is a good time for something soothing and unfussy, so I thought I’d crack open my pouch of Yokotea Bliss. The dry blend looks interesting, like the cast-off outer husks of something a squirrel would eat, not that I mean that in a negative way. The blend is just … browner than I expected; I was thinking mint chocolate, with an emphasis on mint, not cacao shells with a scattering of chopped up mint leaves.

Dry, the tisane smells like a Peppermint Patty, a cool sear of mint on a backdrop of chocolate. About a teaspoon of tisane went into 8 ounces of water just off the boil, at a steep time of somewhere between 2-3 minutes (making tea during hurricane prep doesn’t always encourage precision). The fragrance is dairy-reminiscent, like hot chocolate with a hint of translucent mint on top.

The taste? Certainly not bad, but not mind-blowing. The taste gives an impression of sweetness without actually being sweet, like cool water on a hot day, and the cacao comes off like somewhat dusty milk chocolate, without much depth or staying power, the taste dissipating almost instantly after a swallow into a vague, if not unpleasant, mint that also fades quickly.

The brew seems a little weak, so maybe next time I’ll try a longer steep time, never mind the instructions on the package, or maybe it’s that this tea has been sitting in the package too long for its liking; hard to tell. Still, not a bad pre-hurricane brew. It tastes decent, and won’t put me to sleep, but it also won’t keep me awake, and right now, that’s all I wanted.

Flavors: Chocolate, Mint

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 30 sec 3 g 8 OZ / 236 ML

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12
drank Sun Princess by Yokotea
772 tasting notes

I think I"m the only person on Steepster who has even tried this company and I’m terribly sorry to say, that it is probably for a good reason. I babied this tea and it still turned out very very not good. Astringent and bitter and not fruity at all.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec 3 tsp 25 OZ / 750 ML

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85

So I’m a tea novice and I’ve been trying to cultivate/acquire a taste for black tea. I mean, why not? Then I’d have some more stuff to enjoy in my life. Lots of other things are acquired tastes: coffee, beer, red wine, Indian food. Brushing your teeth.

It’s taken a while, but I think I’m getting there. First there was an Oolong. And now this. (Much thanks to Starfevre for the sample.)

I didn’t expect much from this tea. (After all, it’s a black tea, eh?) When I opened the package, it smelled just like black tea, maybe a titch more interesting. As I prepared it, I was thinking, “Well, if it’s just a black tea and I don’t like it maybe I can cheat and add some chocolate syrup”. ;-)

The taste is really… great! And interesting!
I was so surprised. I’m not sure I have the language to describe the flavour. I looked at notes on other Assam Banasplaty teas — and saw words like “malty” and “smooth” and “slight metallic aftertaste” — and those fit for me. But it has more complexity and interest than that.

I made a big 16 oz mug (using 2 measured tsps of tea leaves), and it was gone in no time. I was careful to steep it for exactly 3 minutes. And I did add sugar and milk — I couldn’t appreciate a black tea without those, as I don’t like the bitter taste.

I wonder, is this one of those teas that could improve with multiple steepings?

And how does one do that? Do you have to do the 2nd steeping soon, while the leaves are still wet? Or do you spread out the leaves to dry, and re-steep later?

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
Starfevre

The leaves will stay wet for a very long time, so it’s fine to do it while the leaves are still wet. Really, the only restriction is not to leave them for so long that they grow mold, so you’re usually good for a couple of days before you have to throw them out. I’ve heard good and bad things about keeping used leaves in the fridge so I usually don’t bother.

Maryann

Thanks, Starfevre! I may try a 2nd steep tomorrow.

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41
drank Lemonosity by Yokotea
45 tasting notes

Not very lemony, contrary to its name, and the herbal flavors didn’t appeal to me. Kind of a ‘woolly’ taste, predominantly chamomile.
For me, this tea was blah.

Edit: I just added the listing for this tea, and so far, there’s only one rating — mine — and I gave it 41, and yet the “Steepster score” is 71. I wonder why? Shouldn’t the overall score be an average of the ratings given by people (like me) using this site? A puzzlement.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
Starfevre

He uses some weird algorithm to calculate the score, weighted to some global average I think.

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67
drank Activation by Yokotea
772 tasting notes

This tastes like a pleasant, but not especially special, Earl Grey. The tea base seems fairly weak, though I can taste the bergamot oil clearly. Perhaps more flavour will turn out as it cools.

Tasting the black tea more clearly as it cools, it’s lightly astringent and a tiny bit bitter. It tastes slightly wooden to me, but then I have a weird tongue. The bergamot oil is still the primary flavour, as it probably should be for an earl grey.

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

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72
drank Purity by Yokotea
772 tasting notes

Found more of this. I’m not sure I can properly make an unbiased tea note toward this tea because I’m resentful that I found more of it. I didn’t really measure properly when making it, just made the whole thing into one pot so this one had BETTER be a sip down. The hibiscus is a bit strong. Coconut is okay and not soapy, pineapple is present, otherwise I am very much not impressed. Yokotea has been a continual disappointment for me in terms of blends.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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72
drank Purity by Yokotea
772 tasting notes

Hopefully the last of this. It wasn’t really enough left for my normal mug so I mis-judged the amount of water slightly. Not awful, but glad to be rid of it and I hope I don’t have more of it hiding at home.

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72
drank Purity by Yokotea
772 tasting notes

This tea steeps to a very light red colour. It smells delightfully of pineapple and hibiscus primarily.

The sourness of the hibiscus comes through strongly on the taste, but also there is a feeling of the tropics in the aftertaste when the flavours of pineapple and coconut come through.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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