64 Tasting Notes

98
drank Hojicha by Harney & Sons
64 tasting notes

I’m really trying to be better about drinking less pop. In the interest of doing so, I bought a whole pound of this. If there’s anything that can be a good substitute for my beloved Pepsi, this is likely to be it, and now that I have gobs of the stuff, I can make it a pretty much everyday drink. Now I just have to squeeze it into my tea drawer in my desk at school.

I’m really happy with this tea. It’s got the roasty, nutty taste I like, and the bit of sugar I added made that flavor pop.

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85
drank Strawberry by Octavia Tea
64 tasting notes

This would probably be very nice iced. I’m wishing it was a black base instead of a white base, but it’s still nice.

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100

Oh, but this is absolutely fabulous! This might become my favorite straight black tea in a hurry.

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85

I picked up a tin of this at our local tea store in the mall. It’s not the very best hojicha I’ve had, but it’s still really good.

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85

I’m actually sampling the bagged tea version of this, which I snagged from our hotel room last week, hoping the caffeine heads off the migraine that’s nibbling on my skull just over my left ear. This is really nice for a standard tea bag-type tea. It’s very smooth, with a hint of smokiness on the back of it.

I even broke out my new kettle I got to use at work, so that I could do at least a decent job of brewing it.

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70
drank Tokyo by Harney & Sons
64 tasting notes

I tried to try this one this morning at school, but I ROYALLY goobered it up with our less-than-ideal brewing conditions. It’s not as forgiving as a lot of teas I’ve tried here at school, and I ended up making it far too strong and ungodly bitter. I’m reserving judgment for now, and will try again at home where I can take the time and effort to brew it correctly.

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95
drank Paris by Harney & Sons
64 tasting notes

I’ve liked every Harney and Sons tea I’ve gotten at Barnes and Noble quite a lot, so I finally got around to ordering direct a few days ago, primarily so I could try their hojicha and genmaicha. I also bought a small tin of Tokyo, some Queen Catherine, and Paris, because it is the one Harney tea I’ve seen so many raves about.

Initially, I wasn’t sure this would be a big hit with me. I like bergamot okay in small doses that aren’t overpowering, but I have to be in the mood for it. This morning I decided to give it a go, no matter what the flavor.

And…I’m glad I bought it. I’m not really getting a lot of bergamot from it, and I think that’s because there is just so very much going on in a mug of Paris. I taste all kinds of fruit, but have trouble isolating this one and that one (though in a good way). The best analogy I can make is to Dr. Pepper, where you can’t tell what each of those 23 flavors are, but together they blend and balance precisely to equal WOW.

I’m also impressed that it’s lighter than I expected with all those flavors going on. It isn’t cloying at all. I can see why I’ve read reviews of it being comforting and refreshing and all of that. I bought the sachets just to try it, but when I eventually do reorder, I will definitely be buying the loose tea, and in a bigger quantity.

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85

After a chaotic morning and early afternoon of middle school, I popped down to the lounge to fix a big mug of this to regroup with because genmaicha equals comfort in my little corner of the tea world, and I’m trying to use up the last few bags of this while I wait for my Harney order. It’s not the very best genmaicha I’ve ever had, but I think it’s decent for a bagged variety, and it is very forgiving on long steeps. I haven’t ever had it go bitter on me.

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90

The catalog claims a taste profile that includes a bit of muscatel, a bit of oolong, and a bit of malty Assam flavor. I get all three. This was a pretty nice black tea, and didn’t get bitter, even though my brewing conditions were not at all optimal.

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I do not like vegetal greens. I do not like them, Sam I am. I love toasted greens, like Hojicha and Genmaicha, which are probably my two very favorite teas ever.

The descriptor mentioned a “nutty” flavor to this tea, and I decided to try it, thinking it might have a bit of toastiness to it. Oh, but the drooliemeister guessed totally wonky on that one!

This is a very vegetal, very spinachy tasting tea. If there’s one tea flavor I have a big aversion to it’s spinach. I cannot abide it, and this tea is almost exclusively spinachy. I also tried it at school, where brewing conditions aren’t optimal, and overbrewed it, so I got a bitter note on top of spinach. And it lingered. Three generous sips, and the rest went down the drain on my way to try the other tea we ordered.

Someone who likes spinachy notes may well like it. It is simply not for me. I don’t feel right leaving a number rating and skewing the data, so I won’t. I can say a friend of mine likes it quite a bit, and that’s good, since she can drink the rest and it won’t go to waste.

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Profile

Bio

My very first ever mug of tea was Bigelow’s Constant Comment, when I was about eight or nine. We also always had Lipton when I was growing up. While I almost never drink that now, it was my gateway, and I brewed it strong and on the stout side.

These days I tend to favor black teas, but hojicha and genmaicha are everyday go-to teas for me, too. Anything toasty is good. I’m not a fan of vegetal green tea flavors at all, though I will drink flavored greens if the flavors mask the veggie taste. For the most part, I cannot abide herbals. I’m not a fan of red rooibos, though I do have a couple of green rooibos teas that I like on occasion. I’m not a tea snob by any means, while I tend toward loose tea these days, I’m not above drinking bagged tea as well, as long as it’s decent stuff.

My day job is teaching (middle school), and in the summers I work for our city’s parks department (swimming pools).

In my off time, I am a voracious reader. I also love music and movies. My tastes can be quite eclectic.

I’m plagued by chronic migraines and fibromyalgia, but I manage to be pretty functional, despite the curves they throw at me.

I’ve not much thought about a rating scale, but here goes, on the fly…

90-100: Tea that I like a great deal, or even love. Tea that I will always replace when I run out.

80-89: Tea that is quite pleasant, and wouldn’t turn down. Tea that would probably be replenished at some point.

70-79: Tea that drinkable, though not particularly special. Ho hum stuff.

60-69: Tea that I have to be in the mood for, and that I wouldn’t be lost without.

50-59: Tea that isn’t impressive, though I’d likely finish the cup.

40-49: Tea that I sip on for a while, trying to find something redeeming, but that I usually dump and swap out for something else halfway through.

30-39: Tea that is only just drinkable, as in any-port-in-a-storm. If it wasn’t a storm situation, it’s probably something I’d dump and forget.

20-29: Teas that get dumped after only a sip or two, because they aren’t my cup of tea at all.

0-19: Tea that gives tea a bad name. Teas that I can’t stand, I find highly inferior, and are just plain vile and nasty.

Location

Montana

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