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490 tasting notes

I met up with 2 ¡awesome and kind! Steepster members – Mastress Alita and Todd – at the San Francisco International Tea Festival today. I got blasted on tea and being around that many people in general is exhausting for me. Now that I’m home, I figured a cooling cup of peppermint from my aunt’s stash would help me settle.

So I spent all this time perfecting my loose-leaf peppermint brewing only to have that effort decimated by some bagged leaf drank grandpa style. Seriously, this blows all peppermint tea out of the water. Pure, potent peppermint that opens my sinuses, cools my lungs and warms this icy heart. No leaf stew here, no burps, no scratchy throat. Good job sourcing that leaf, two leaves and a bud!

Preparation

175 °F / 79 °C 8 OZ / 236 ML

I Like This

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3 comments

Tabby
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That sounds so cool! I wish at Atlanta had something like that.

derk
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Maybe you can help start one ;)

Mastress Alita
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It was a good time, but conventions are always draining on introverts. By day three of a sci-fi/anime con I’ll be so wasted, and most that I’ve been to are more spread out/have better crowd control than that.

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Comments

Tabby
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That sounds so cool! I wish at Atlanta had something like that.

derk
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Maybe you can help start one ;)

Mastress Alita
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Profile

Bio

Always up for a trade. I keep an updated cupboard. Check it out. Don’t be shy — message me if you want to try something! I send international :)

Most enjoyment:

Wuyi and Taiwanese oolong, GABA oolong, sheng and shou puerh, Yunnan and Wuyi blacks, Laoshan green. I also appreciate Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Darjeeling and Nepali teas, bagged tea and herbal teas/tisanes.

I take my teas without milks or sweeteners except sometimes chai and the rare London Fog or matcha latte. I generally steep a tea until it has no more to give.

I’ll try anything once because it helps me learn. Not opposed to well placed herbs, flowers, fruity bits and flavorings. Just nothing cloying especially banana, caramel, coconut, cinnamon or maple. And no added sugars, sweeteners, candy or chocolate.

Preference reference:

100-90: A tea I can lose myself into. Something about it makes me slow down and appreciate not only the tea but all of life or a moment in time. If it’s a bagged or herbal tea, it’s of standout quality in comparison to similar items.
89-80: Fits my profile well enough to buy again. Some could be daily drinker teas.
79-70: Not a preferred tea. I might buy more or try a different harvest. Would gladly have a cup if offered.
69-60: Not necessarily a bad tea but one that I won’t buy again. Would have a cup if offered.
59-1: Lacking several elements, strangely clunky, possess off flavors/aroma/texture or something about it makes me not want to finish.
Unrated: Haven’t made up my mind or some other reason. If it’s puerh, I likely think it needs more age.

Location

Sonoma County, California, USA

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